Author: Carla Alvarez

The Fragrance of the Father’s Heart

Are there certain smells that you associate with specific people?   The smell of Old Spice always reminds me of my dad.  He wore it for years and it was one of my go-to gifts for him for a long time.  Peppermint reminds me of my grandma because she would always give us a peppermint lozenge when she had her coffee.  It was a special thing.

As I mentioned in other posts on detecting scents in the spirit, I try to make a note of what I experience, when it happened, and what was going on.  I try to identify the smell if  I can, but I’m not always able to.  Sometimes it’s a familiar smell, but I just can’t place it.  Sometimes, it’s just not a smell I recognize.

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Asking for More Than “Just”

As I scanned through my Facebook feed the other day, I came across a share from one of my pastors.  It was a photo of a attendance sign at a church that

He is currently on a missionary trip in South America.  I guess, this struck a cord with him because apparently other cultures have trouble understanding our usage of the word “just.”

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Hearing God’s Voice : Thoughts & A Review of Discerning the Voice of God

Sunday, someone in my Bible Study asked me if I could pray for them this week.  She was facing some decisions regarding her job situation. This is something we’ve discussed and prayed about several times over the past year.

It’s not a question of finding a job.  She is very blessed in that it always seems that she has a variety of choices.  The issue is “which” job is the right one for her.

I guess it’s been awhile since we discussed her job.  She had started with a company that was a new launch, that was faith based, and I had thought things were going well.  But she said, “I thought God was leading me to another company.”  She started that job a few weeks ago.  Then she said,

“But I think what I was hearing was something else.”

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What Does it Mean to Quench the Spirit?

Many of us are familiar with the verse, 1 Thessalonians 5:19, “Quench Not the Spirit;” however, not everyone will agree on what it means. There are a few guidelines one should follow when interpreting a passage of Scripture.

The first guideline is to read it in context. Not only in the context of the entire passage, but also in the context of to whom it was written as well as when.

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