Author Archives: JoAnn Alo

Does Monday feel like a mountain to you? Does it look like the start of a race you haven’t the legs for? We don’t have to roll this way. If our schedule owns us, it’s because we’ve paid into it. Our pride buys the lie that we are everything to everyone—when that is God’s job.  ContinueContinue reading ““Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 1:3″

King David, in preparing for his death, is giving charge to his son Solomon to know and serve God with a whole heart and a willing mind.  I wondered this morning why Solomon would even need strength and courage? David had pretty much put everything in place for Solomon’s kingship. All expenses were paid forContinueContinue reading ““Be strong and courageous.” 1 Chronicles 28:20″

King David was a man of war, his son Solomon was to be a man of rest. But not the kind of rest we typically think. Solomon wasn’t called to sit on a beach, tour Italy, or indulge in french food. Rest, meant peace and quiet from all his enemies—an appointed time to build aContinueContinue reading ““Arise and work!” 1 Chronicles 22:16″

Do you think . . . 1 Chronicles 19:3 Upon reading this morning, I am sorely convicted and wholly enlightened. Have you ever slipped suspicion into a conversation against someone you’ve never really trusted? I thought it justified. I didn’t want someone I loved to be taken advantage of. But planting suspicion in the thoughtsContinueContinue reading “Suspicion & Transformation”

This part of 2 Kings is always so exciting to me. The moment some insignificant, supposedly holy man, goes snooping around the house of the Lord and stumbles upon God’s written words. Opening it, he can’t put it down. Pumped with his discovery, he shares it with another, who in turn runs to read itContinueContinue reading ““I have found the Book of the Law.” 2 Kings 22:8″

Heart check. Are you listening to the Lord? Are you obeying? Because God is Spirit we can be drawn away easily, start to think He’s not even listening. Don’t fall for this. The Lord is near to those who call on His name. I’ll say it again (for my own sake). The Lord is nearContinueContinue reading ““They neither listened nor obeyed.” 2 Kings 18:12″

I spent a month in Rwanda in 2016. Among other unforgettable things, God showed me the value of water. Most don’t have water that pours from one faucet, let alone seven. Women and men are seen carrying containers, lugging gallons of water up and down steep hills all day long. They must travel by footContinueContinue reading ““Drink.” John 7:37″

We can think our lives too small. Reduce ourselves to mere flesh and bone. If I could just kick the winning goal, impress enough friends, climb the tallest tree…then I’d surely taste greatness. Wishes like this don’t even brush up against your significance my dear sweet friend. We’ve got to think deeper, wider, higher thanContinueContinue reading ““There is a boy.” John 6:9″

Remember the work that went into the temple in the Old Testament? In 1 Kings 6 the building begins. And the Lord’s attention to detail blows my mind every time! Every cubits width, length, height, depth from corner to corner was measured and recorded. Windows had recessed frames, outside offsets were made because there wasContinueContinue reading ““The temple of His body.” John 2:21″

Are you like me and hate to cry? Our pride stops us or maybe someone shamed us for shedding tears when we were just a kid. For whatever reason we scold those tears, we need to understand this one thing: God listens for our cries like a mother her firstborn child.  When I brought myContinueContinue reading ““My cry entered His ears.” 2 Samuel 22:7″

If we’re not growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we’re dying with the world. Our gardens, fields, and flowers have grown all season. Not one day have they ceased to change. From seed to full bloom, even now to mature fruit, and approaching winter we’ve witnessed complete transformationContinueContinue reading ““Grow.” 2 Peter 3:18″