So…here we are – 2016. Where would you like to go? Better yet – where would you like to go with God – this year? Would you like to grow closer to your friends or your family? How about taking a look at a new job, or career, or vocation? How’s your health? Are you… Continue reading A New Direction
Author: Paul Simrell
The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program.
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
Dear Faithful Readers – Coming Soon, A New Look and A New Purpose
Dear Faithful Readers, My wife Elizabeth and I have very much appreciated how many of you have followed THE MUSTARD SEED DAILY DEVOTIONAL. For a number of years we have posted daily reflections on the Scripture and have enjoyed this opportunity to share our thoughts with you. With 2016 – we hope to transform this… Continue reading Dear Faithful Readers – Coming Soon, A New Look and A New Purpose
Week 52 If it’s God’s Plan, Nothing Can Stop It!
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 52 Scripture Readings: Acts 27-28 Key Scripture Verses: Acts 28:3-6 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from… Continue reading Week 52 If it’s God’s Plan, Nothing Can Stop It!
Week 52 Come!…Take the Free Gift of the Water of Life
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 52 Scripture Readings: Revelation 18-22 Key Scripture Verse: Revelation 22:17 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the… Continue reading Week 52 Come!…Take the Free Gift of the Water of Life
Week 52 How to Have a Committed and Happy Marriage
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 52 Scripture Readings: Song of Songs 7-8 Key Scripture Verses: Song of Songs 7:10-12 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me. Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside, let us spend the night in the villages. Let us… Continue reading Week 52 How to Have a Committed and Happy Marriage
Week 52 Delight Him With Praise!
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 52 Scripture Readings: Psalms 149-150 Key Scripture Verses: Psalm 150:6 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord.” The Book of Psalms ends with these two psalms that call the reader to “Praise the Lord.” Faithful Christians have much to praise… Continue reading Week 52 Delight Him With Praise!
Week 52 God’s Will Be Done
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 52 Scripture Readings: Esther 6-10 Key Scripture Verses: Esther 8:5-6, 8 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “ ‘If it pleases the king,’ she said, ‘and if he regards me with favor and thinks it the right thing to do, and it he is pleased with me, let an order… Continue reading Week 52 God’s Will Be Done
Week 52 Submitting to God’s Will
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 52 Scripture Readings: Deuteronomy 32-34 Key Scripture Verses: Deuteronomy 32:45-47 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “When Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel, he said to them, ‘Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your… Continue reading Week 52 Submitting to God’s Will
Week 52 Getting the Facts Straight About Jesus
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 52 Scripture Readings: Jude Key Scripture Verses: Jude 1:4 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus… Continue reading Week 52 Getting the Facts Straight About Jesus
Week 51 Planting Seeds of Faith
By Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell (Guest Blogger) Week 51 Scripture Readings: Acts 25-26 Key Scripture Verses: Acts 26:28-29 (NIV, Life Application Bible) “Then Agrippa said to Paul, ‘Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?’ Paul replied, ‘Short time or long—I pray to God that not only… Continue reading Week 51 Planting Seeds of Faith