Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | January 30, 2026

Sweet Time Out

july 8

“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!”  Isaiah 30:18 (NIV)

“You’re in time out.”  Oh those words sting.  I remember them well when my son was a runaway toddler.  Age two – four seemed like a long stride, especially to this working mom.  So the miniature rocking chair in our kitchen was often filled by that sweet little boy.  He twisted, wiggled and resisted every minute of it, but eventually he grabbed the lesson.

Sound familiar?  As adults we don’t like time out either, but sometimes it’s the only way God can get our attention.  Being sidelined definitely positions us in God’s classroom, but it doesn’t necessarily mean we were being disobedient.  Sometimes God pulls us out of the chaos, noise and distractions so that He can speak into our lives uninterrupted.  Sometimes, He simply wants us to find rest for our tired souls – to climb up in His lap and seek refuge to avoid burnout.  Sometimes He re-focuses us for a greater work and that time out allows God to put everything into place for the next step. And yes, sometimes disobedience does land us in that chair – sidelined until repentance lifts us back up.

Regardless God intends for us to learn and grow.  Unfortunately, we too often twist, wiggle and resist every minute. We forego a temporary setback and plunge forward determined to do life our way.  And the end result – we will discover that time out will chase us until we surrender and grab the lesson.  “You’re in time out” may be the sweetest words we will ever hear.

“Father, help us to draw near to You even when doing so means letting everything else go.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | January 29, 2026

When Crying Is Not A Sign Of Weakness

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”  Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV)

Life is not a bowl of cherries – as a matter of fact, life sometimes has a bitter taste, especially if we only pay attention to our troubles and tribulations. We are, oftentimes, too focused on them and all we seem to have the strength to do is cry. We cry and we ask why, and we forget to show gratitude to God for all the things He does for us, big or small.

The prophet Jeremiah wrote the book of Lamentations at a time when the people needed to be reminded that God is faithful. They had been captured by the Babylonians, suffered a lot of hard times and they needed comfort. They needed God’s intervention, even if they acted like they didn’t.

Jeremiah knew the people had issues with trust because of what they had been through; he knew they suffered from apathy. He also knew his own words and advice would not always be heard and taken to heart because his people were so focused on their own suffering and hardship.

Our time spent with God is the source of our strength. Jeremiah literally felt the pain of his people, and he prayed and cried out to God, interceding for them. He became known as the weeping prophet because he was often seen crying out to God for those around him. And Jeremiah knew what God was able to do, because he knew God hears the sincere prayer of our hearts and that our cry is not in vain.

I have experienced heartache and disappointment in my lifetime. During my troubles, I learned to cry out to God and to seek Him to help me overcome the pain and disarray that had entered my life and heart. And you know what? He NEVER disappointed. Not me, not anyone. Why? Because our God is faithful, and because our God cares and He hears our cry.

“Lord, we don’t always say the right things, but we know that if we cry out to You, You hear us. Hallowed be Your name, dear Lord.”

For His Glory

Luska Natali
TRBC Women’s Life

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | January 28, 2026

Speak Life

Did you know every word we say has power? The power to give life or death. The power to speak truth or lies. The power to encourage or discourage.

The Message states it this way, “Words kill, words give life. They’re either poison or fruit. You choose.”  Proverbs 18:21

Sometimes we take our words for granted and believe we are ‘just talking,’ but scripture disagrees with that. It says what comes out of our mouth displays what is in our hearts.

My words are a walking advertisement for who I am.

What are we advertising?

Our words can give life, healing, hope, comfort, encouragement, and kindness.

Our words can give death, destruction, hopelessness, make someone uncomfortable, discouraged, or cause pain.

We have the gift and opportunity each day to choose.

James 3 reminds us that, even though our tongue is small, so is a rudder for a ship and a bit for a horse’s mouth, yet they have great power and can steer the ship and the horse whatever direction is chosen. Our tongue can not only steer us but will also bring those in our circle along with us.

James 3:4 tells us that the captain can turn a huge ship by the small rudder, “even though the winds are strong.”  We may miss this little gem, but in the middle of comparing how small our tongue is to how much power it has, James reminds us that it is possible, no matter what our circumstances or what someone else is saying, to steer our tongue!

James continues on to display the power of the tongue by comparing it to a spark setting a forest ablaze. “A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that(set a fire). By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it…”(James 3:5-6 The Message).

In contrast, Proverbs 25:11 reminds us, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” (NKJV)

This is a beautiful picture of richness and opulence. If you are not wealthy by worldly standards, you still have the gift of your words, and they can be greater than any famous masterpiece or treasures.

Our words have meaning, and our words have power. We can use them as a gift to others or we can use them to tear someone down, destroy their dreams, or hurt them. We choose each day.

Let us pause and pray before we share our words in any capacity.

God can use us to change our world through our words.

“Father, may we honor You by the words we choose.”

 

For His Glory

 

Terrie Tollerson
TRBC Women’s Life

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | January 27, 2026

Consider The Miraculous

“We found the prison house locked quite securely and the guards standing at the doors; but when we had opened up, we found no one inside.” Now when the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them as to what would come of this (Acts 5:23-24).

The guard and priests had recently seen the miraculous healing of the lame man at the temple, healed by the Name of Jesus, as well as hearing of thousands more believing (Acts 4:5-12). So, with so many coming to Christ and the reports of more and more healings, all the priests in the council surrendered their own lives to the Messiah!

Nope. “But the high priest rose up, along with all his associates (that is, the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy. They laid hands on the apostles and put them in a public jail” (Acts 5:17-18).

That very night an angel of the Lord opened the gates of the prison, releasing the apostles and telling them to go back to the temple and preach the Good News of Jesus. So, when the officials went to get the apostles from their locked, guarded cells, no one was inside. As this was being reported to the captain of the guard and the chief priests, someone came in and said that those same men that should be in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people (5:19-25). Another undeniable miracle! So now, with this miraculous prison break, the guards and temple priests all believed that Jesus is the Messiah!

Uh, sorry…no. The apostles were brought back in before the Council, where the high priest reminded them that they were given strict orders not to teach the name of Jesus. Peter and the apostles reminded them that they would continue to obey God, not men—and so the priests had the apostles beaten, once again ordering them to keep quiet about Jesus.

Because of the religious leaders’ pride, jealousy, and legalism, they missed the miraculous works of God.

Oh, beloved, does this cut you as it does me? How many daily miracles do I simply ignore because of pride, jealousy, or even just complacency? The indescribable hues of sunrise, uniquely painted by God each morning. The “lucky” or “coincidental” timing that either spared catastrophe or triggered blessing (when there’s no such thing as “coincidence”). Healing of a sickness through medicine or physician that we take for granted because of our modern normalcies (although it had to sift through God’s Providence). Or the raised hand in church of one (or 21 people) responding to the salvation call…is it “just another Sunday” or do we leap with the angels, praising the Lord for the dead who are now alive in Christ?!

Are we, like the Pharisees, missing the miraculous? As followers of Christ, are the miracles of God so commonplace that we look right past them, onto what’s next or, worse, what’s in it for me?

Let’s begin today to open our eyes. Ask the Holy Spirit—who miraculously lives within every believer!—to reveal God’s glorious work around us and in our lives. Let’s amplify the awe factor from the moment we open our eyes with God’s breath in our lungs, which in itself is amazing. Observe the miraculous in creation’s beauty, made by God for His glory and enjoyment, which we get the privilege of sharing in. See the very face of God in every person with whom we come into contact—the fellow believer with whom we’re united and made family by the Holy Spirit, as well as the lost, who is made in God’s image and is potentially one gospel conversation away from moving from darkness to light. Embrace deep gratitude for every blessing, no longer taking for granted what we think we “deserve” or is just “expected” in our particular time/place of life. When the prison doors open—for another or even in our own lives—let’s not give into jealousy, pride, or complacency. Instead, let’s celebrate the freedom found in our great God and the glorious name of Jesus. Let’s look for the miraculous and give glory to the Miracle-Maker.

“Father God, You are Great and Awesome—showing up and showing off Your Glory constantly. Open my eyes to every miracle you set before me…may I not miss acknowledging Your hand in it all.”

 

For His Glory

 

Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life

 

 

 

 

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | January 26, 2026

Why Leftovers Should Never Be Wasted

“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Romans 15:5-6 (NIV)

It was just leftovers, hidden away in the back of my fridge—a delicious meal that once satisfied my hunger and delighted my taste buds. Somehow, I overlooked my favorite food, tucked into a doggie bag, choosing instead to eat something else, completely forgetting what was waiting for me. Sadly, when leftovers are ignored, they eventually spoil and are thrown away.

Absolutely not the case in life when the leftovers from a messy, hard season offer us more redemption than we ever imagined. The beauty birthed in the aftermath of a hard journey unveils a smorgasbord of lessons learned definitely worthy of keeping and sharing. Nothing God orchestrates in our lives is ever wasted.

Releasing to others the leftovers of our hard fought journey redeems what seemed stolen from us. Precious time eaten up with challenges, sidelining us and halting us to our knees. Suffering laced with unspoken questions and doubts. Faith stretching us beyond what we ever thought possible (Hebrews 4:16). Surviving yet thriving all because we never let go of our God who was ever present, ever listening, ever intervening on our behalf (Psalm 112:7).

Our stories may seem insignificant to us, but to the one trying desperately to hold on – they are priceless. Like a crucial survival kit, the hard journeys we have traveled unveil pivotal lessons learned. Life giving eternal perspectives we never considered. Deep truths from God’s word we unearthed in the darkest of nights. All entrusted to us – our story –  with a divine purpose to encourage, inspire and strengthen us and others (I Peter 5:10). Nothing is ever wasted.

Sweet friends are there leftovers from your journey which you are ignoring? Is it more tempting to throw them out than be vulnerable and real? Have to admit it is so much easier to glean the treasures of hard, messy seasons than open up about our struggles along the way.  Ever so tempting to push the past away, forgetting what was behind us and enjoy the ease of now than reflect on how God worked in our lives. Yet all our stories, our good and hard journeys are incredible opportunities not to be wasted. Our testimonies when shared with others outlive us and continue to glorify God.

Trials and suffering are commonplace in our broken world (John 16:33). Yet, one day we will leave this world for our eternal home – never more to experience pain, sorrow or tears. We will see our sweet Lord face to face and nothing else will carry weight in that moment. It’s the blessed hope of God’s promises which propels us on regardless of our story. Until that day may He find us faithfully continuing to steward the stories He has entrusted to us.

“Father, nothing in our lives is ever wasted when we release it into Your hands and trust You for opportunities to share our journey with others. Help us to be bold and courageous in maximizing Your work in us versus maximizing the challenges we face.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

 

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | January 23, 2026

What We’ve Been Hiding Too Long

“Above all maintain an intense love for each other since love covers a multitude of sins.” I Peter 4:8 (HCSB)

Ever find yourself running for cover? It’s kind of how we’ve all felt – like Eve we instinctively know when we have done something wrong. A stirring in our hearts, a sorrow in our soul. Maybe, just maybe, we could run and hide. Cover it all up for no one to see. Or better yet, just pretend it never happened. Has that one ever served us well? Pretending is simply denial, and denial always rises back up to the surface just when we least expect it.

Hiding isn’t really hiding – we all know that right? We may think we’ve got them fooled, but the people who know us the best usually see right through our ugly places. And if they really, really love us then they ask those hard questions. Takes courage to love like that. Takes boldness to love like that. Takes humility to love like that. Why? Because we’ve all been there. We’ve all fallen short. We’ve all desperately needed washing from head to toe. We’ve all landed outside the boundaries of obedience and attempted to excuse our way back in.

Praising Jesus for those who have roped me back in over my lifetime. Thankful for love that propels hard words that softens my dead heart. Grateful for do-overs and grace that covers exposed, forgiven places. Remembering that intense love hanging on the cross covers all our sin – past, present and future.

Ready to stop running? Tired of trying to cover it all up? Pretending getting old and burdensome? Listen intently to the people who love enough, who care enough to not give up. Then gather at the feet of Jesus, confess what He already knows and allow His love to cover the wrongs we’ve been hiding too long.

“Father, Your love runs deep and wide washing over all our sins – our chains are gone we’ve been set free.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | January 22, 2026

Jars of Clay

One of my favorite word pictures in the Bible is 2 Corinthians 4:7:  “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”   (NIV)

Jars of clay. Picture a potter sitting down at his wheel with a large lump of shapeless, gray, nondescript clay, throwing it on the wheel, then beginning to work it with his slurred hands as the wheel spins, pulling up and up, molding and shaping, caressing the clay into the shape that he wants. Finally, it goes through the firing and glazing process. Now it’s complete. It will work for his intended purpose – to hold olive oil. He places it on the shelf, waiting for a buyer.

Let’s stretch our imaginations and give the jar human emotions. It sits proudly on the shelf, eager and ready to be put into service. It feels sorry for those little jars made for nothing but to hold herbs, or, even worse, to sit around and look pretty. It even feels a bit haughty, looking down its spout at the lesser jars.

Oops! Someone bumps it off the shelf, and it breaks into pieces. Now it’s no longer suitable for doing its job, even after the potter uses glue to put the pieces back together. And now it has those ugly scars. It can’t even be used as an accent piece in the décor. Being put back together enables it to handle some jobs, but it is still embarrassed at its condition. Now it feels inferior to the other jars, believing no one will ever want to use it.

In the meantime, customers come and go, buying the perfect jars and ignoring the patched one.

Business is good, and the potter spends and saves his earnings wisely until he has a small stash of gold coins. He needs to find a place for his valuables that thieves would likely overlook. Eventually, the potter stores his coins inside the broken clay jar, giving it a noble purpose. The jar rejoices. It knows it isn’t noble of itself, but because of the riches inside.

You know where I’m going with this. That’s what God did. He put His treasure inside us, the broken and unworthy jars of clay. If we go back to verse 6, we see what the treasure is – it’s the knowledge of God’s glory as displayed in the face of Christ. Think about that—we now have personal knowledge of His glory! We didn’t have it before we believed. That is a light reserved only for His children, and where did He put it?  In us, in plain jars of clay, with all of our flaws, with all of our cracks, with all of our un-specialness. We have this treasure in jars of clay. We can stand in awe of His gracious favor in allowing us to be vessels of His glory.

“Lord God, we are grateful that you have given us the honor of being your clay jars, vessels of your Light. We pray for Your help in living lives worthy of this calling.”

For His Glory

Cherie Williams (www.cherharbridgewilliams.com)
TRBC Women’s Life

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | January 21, 2026

Represent Well

“So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”  2 Corinthians 5:20 (NLT)

The headlines are overwhelming. The grief is real. The pain people are walking through publicly and privately is no joke. It is life altering and traumatic and heavy.

What are we to do with all of this? How do we teach our children Jesus is the Light of the World when the darkness is so thick you can feel it? Where is God and is it too late for Him to help us?

Judges 17:6 says, “In those days there was no king in Israel: everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”(NIV)  This is again repeated in Judges 21:25.

Notice this verse does not say everyone acted on how they felt or everyone acted on any other premise, other than ‘what was right in their own eyes.’  The key here is that we think we know what is right and then actions follow, and chaos ensues. This is not just about other people, this is about us. The Israelites, who had seen and heard of the miracles of God, were living this way.

The Bible has a clear antidote for this in several places.

Proverbs 3:5-6-”Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean NOT in your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.”

Psalm 119:105-”Your Word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path.”

Isaiah 30:21-”Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.”

James 1:5-”If you lack wisdom, you should ask God….”

It begins with us. We have to admit we do not know what is right apart from God and His Word. We have to walk in wisdom, leaning on His understanding, acknowledging Who He is, trusting His light to guide us, and being patient enough to wait to hear His voice.

We do not react to this world because it is not our home. We are called to be His representatives, not His lawyers. We do not need to respond to everything and when it is the right time to respond, we represent Him well.

How do we represent Him well? By walking with Him each day, talking with Him each day, and trusting that He is above every worldly leader, politician, speaker, writer, and pastor. By understanding those in the world are going to behave like those in the world. They do not have Jesus as their HOPE.

How can we expect our children and others to choose Jesus if we are walking as the world does, by doing what we ‘ think’ is right without consulting Him? Let us dare not assume we know what God wants or how God thinks before we spend time in His Word and talking with Him about it.Represent Him well. Lean into His understanding. Ask for wisdom and do not act, post, speak, until we hear clearly from Him.

If Jesus was reading our social media, listening to our conversations, or sitting near us in the coffee shop, would He be pleased?

We do this so Christ is made known to all. That others would desire a relationship with Him, know His love for them, and have the HOPE only Jesus can bring.

“Don’t shine so that others can see you. Shine so that through you, others can see HIM.” ~ C. S. Lewis

“Father, may we live well for You no matter what is going on around us.”

 

For His Glory

 

Terrie Tollerson
TRBC Women’s Life

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | January 20, 2026

Edifying Input

“I will walk with integrity of heart within my house; I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.” Psalm 101:2b-4

Phones, tablets, smart watches. The opportunity in our day for visual and mental input is pervasive. to the tantalizing bait with a click, and the next thing you know, the algorithm starts feeding you similar content—whether you liked what you saw the first time or not. Search something on Google (or even discuss something with your phone in earshot) and relevant ads will flood your feeds. Then there are all those streaming tv channels…endless story options that seem interesting, perhaps even tempting a binge-watch because of the “character development” or good-versus-evil plot. Ah, but a few minutes into episode one (or in the first 15 minutes of a film), there it is: the world’s immorality, sin normalized with an underlying soul-numbing message of, “This is natural, acceptable—it’s the way of the world, nothing to get uptight about. You can still live the way you want. After all, this is just entertainment—no harm, no foul.”

Friend, don’t be deceived! These are hissing lies of the enemy. Modern algorithms and streaming shows are his tools to either hook you into sin and trip up your walk with the Lord (and potentially damage your testimony) or lull you into the sleep of ineffectiveness.

Before salvation, we were darkness—but, as surrendered followers of Christ, we are now light in the Lord. So, we’re called to take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness (Ephesians 5:3-17). We are to look carefully at how we walk—and what we watch. These days are evil, and Satan knows his time is short. Are you (and I) making the best use of the time? By watching these worldly shows full of sex, homosexuality, cursing, and murder or doomscrolling for hours down dark holes of the same, we are acting like fools, partnering with the ungodly. In this, we befriend the world. But we need to recall the brutally honest exhortation of James: Whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God (James 4:4).

“But this is just the way the world is! Am I supposed to give up my smartphone? My television?” (Well, the answer to that is, “Maybe.” It depends on the Holy Spirit’s conviction within you and/or your level of addiction to it all.) For all of us, though, it is about turning away from the dark and setting our minds—and eyes—on things above (Colossians 3:2). It’s about filling our ears, eyes, mind, and spirit with godly things. That which is honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8).

Beloved, let’s assess our input. The shows we stream and the YouTube channels we subscribe to (even the seemingly innocuous ones about health or home—they could be contributing to confusion, envy, fear). This includes our favorite podcasts (political, cultural…maybe even spiritual, if the host tends to drive wedges among the Body of Christ). Let’s make a shift and devote ourselves to quieting the worldly noise. (I’ve already started, and I can tell you that the level of peace and joy I am already experiencing is beautiful. And I haven’t had any social media in about a decade—so my cutting away has been primarily YouTube and tv shows. I recognize that socials have an entirely different level of pull, so eliminating this may hold much greater difficulty.)

My prayer for you and for me in this mirrors that of the Apostle Paul in his letter to Titus (2:11-14):For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.” Amen and amen.

For His Glory

Julianne Winkler Smith
TRBC Women’s Life

 

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | January 19, 2026

Our Daily Bread

“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6: 5-9 (ESV)

If you’re like me there are probably only a few things you actually write – yes, with your hands gripped around a pen. My computer keys are exhausted from my constant pounding. And those texts on my phone track miles of conversations. My note app and calendar keep me scheduled all at the tap of fingertips. Modern day technology stealing away words written by hand on a page.

As a writer, I definitely spend more hours typing than using all those beautiful pens displayed on my desk, yet I love every single one of them. Special pens, colorful pens, gel pens – you name it I have them. And dare I leave out all those note cards, journals, highlighters, etc. – everything a Bible study girl would love. Enticing me to grab a pen and write on paper.

Sweet friends, that’s exactly what I did a few years ago. I released the urge to tap out words on my keyboard or text on my phone and welcomed the invitation to write out scripture daily. Oh, how I love the verses God has brought to my attention over the years. With lots of different scripture writing plans for free online, I’ve been blessed to dive deep into God’s Word and uncover encouragement, inspiration, pivotal wisdom, convicting truths, gratitudes – the list is endless. As my hand glides across the page unveiling God’s Word for the day, I am amazed at how His Words were just where my focus needed to land.

In a world filled with AI, false truths and careless words, the discipline of writing out scripture has benefited me in so many ways:

A renewed love for God’s Word
Easier recall of verses to share with others
Focused unpacking of one verse per day
Respect and awe for the character of our God
Laying a firm foundation for hard places
Gratitude igniters to cultivate praise
Hope lifters when life is challenging
Convicting reminders of His holiness

Would totally love it if you joined me on this journey of scripture writing. Grab a pen, paper and yes, the written Word. Check out the concordance in the back of your Bible and start with verses that resonate with your 2026 life. Look up referenced verses or pick one from many offered online resources. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed, but rather amazed at what God reveals to you and how He encourages you daily to treasure His Word. And when 2026 comes to a close, you will have written down 365 living breathing Words of God (we’re still early into January, you can definitely catch up).

“Father, give us a passion and thirst for Your Word. A new practice of writing down scripture each day – our daily bread – exactly what we need.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

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