Toni Ford

By Toni Ford This week’s devotion is actually one I saw written by Sylvia Gunter with “The Father’s Business.” Sylvia is an incredible woman of God and has written several books and Bible study curriculum. You can read more about Sylvia and her ministry at www.thefathersbusiness.com. I love Genesis 1:27 and personally believe it is

By Toni Ford  One of the methods Jesus used in communicating His message to the people and to His disciples was through parables, which basically are earthly stories with a heavenly meaning. His disciples asked Him in Matthew 13:10, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Jesus basically replied in Matthew 13: 11, 14-15,

By Toni Ford  As we prepare for a new year, we often start by making a list of all the many ways we are going to improve our lives and do more by working smarter and not harder, which then leads to us creating all our New Year resolutions for the coming year. I would

By Toni Ford This might be a bit different from my usual articles, so hang in there with me if you will. After reading the gospel accounts on the birth of Jesus, my mind and thoughts began to shift to, “What happened after the birth of Jesus, and how should my own thoughts and focus

During this Christmas season, one of my favorite things to do is take time and read and reflect on the birth of Jesus. I love to read about the story of His birth, as well as all the events that took place before and after His birth. Each year as I am reading, the Lord

During this Christmas season, I am reminded of Isaiah 9:6-7. This Scripture is one of the greatest prophesies ever foretold and serves as a great reminder for the true meaning of Christmas. Isaiah 9:6 proclaims not only the birth of Jesus (“a child is born”) but also His deity (“a son is given”). In these

By Toni Ford In Luke Chapter 5, we have a beautiful picture of the difference Jesus makes in the lives of four individuals. We have numerous stories in the gospels of Jesus teaching and preaching to the crowds of people. The crowds were always drawn to Jesus; however, His message was always to the individual.

By Toni Ford As soon as you read the above title, your mind might have immediately gone to Psalm 100. Consisting of only five verses, this short psalm, is often referred to as the “Psalm of Thanksgiving.” When I think of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season we currently are experiencing, I think of a

By Toni Ford As we enter the holiday season, the Thanksgiving holiday has become my favorite of them all. Not only is this is a season to give thanks and to reflect upon all that we have to be grateful for, but it is also a time, more so than any other time in the

By Toni Ford This past week, I had the honor of speaking at a celebration of life service for one of our students. Carlie passed away last week in a tragic car accident, which was a shock to us all. She was a beautiful young lady, and although she was only on this earth a

By Toni Ford This week, we will have 375 students participating in “Expedition,” our annual obstacle race in Cullman. Leading up to the race over the past couple of weeks, one could hear multiple conversations among students consisting of anything from fear, anticipation of the unknowns, enthusiasm and all the way up to great excitement.

By Toni Ford I would not say that I am the best with plants, but over my years of trying to grow plants, I have learned a few things that plants need in order to grow and be healthy. The first thing is that plants grow best when we pay attention to them. This means

By Toni Ford There is a story of a little boy who was overheard talking to himself as he strode through his backyard, baseball cap in place and toting ball and bat. “I’m the greatest baseball player in the world,” he said proudly. The boy then tossed the ball in the air, swung and missed.

By Toni Ford Every person on this earth places his or her identity in someone or something. Depending on the stage of life we are in or the crisis at hand, what we place our identity in may change several times throughout our lives. And yet, who we believe we are and how we see

By Toni Ford Psalm 30 is a beautiful reminder for us as believers that no matter what trials come our way in life, if we choose to keep our eyes on our Lord, then joy will follow. This psalm opens and closes on a note of thanksgiving and yet, during the time David wrote this

By Toni Ford As of late, this has been an extremely busy season in my life. My time of reading God’s Word has been cut short on many mornings and I knew I needed more of Him to get through my day. I have found myself leaning more on prayer and conversations with our Lord

By Toni Ford Lately I have been thinking about the vastness and magnitude of our Lord, and how this attribute along with His consistent character never changes. I have been learning that as I reflect on these things, it changes my perspective concerning my current issues and problems. All of a sudden, my problems, which

By Toni Ford In the Book of Ephesians, Paul explains how we are to equip ourselves for the battles we face in this life and for spiritual warfare. Ephesians 6:11 says, “Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.” In ancient times,

By Toni Ford In a battle, I believe all of us at times need encouragement to keep fighting and not give up. We need a glimmer of hope or some type of sign that we can be victorious. Personally, I have found Psalm 86 to be a great psalm to read when one is faced

By Toni Ford It has been an interesting week as I have been faced with multiple situations where I have realized and recognized my need for the Lord and His wisdom more than ever before. As I began to pray and ask the Lord for wisdom and insight, He led me to Ephesians 1: 15-23.

By Toni Ford In the ninth chapter of Acts, we read about Saul’s conversion story. Saul, whose name was later changed to Paul, was blinded by a light on his way to Damascus, where he was going to arrest believers and bring them back to Jerusalem. Acts 9:3-4, 6 tells us, “As he was approaching

By Toni Ford Have you ever wondered if your words had any power? There is a story about a group of frogs that demonstrates how our words impact the lives of others. A group of frogs were traveling through the woods and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered

By Toni Ford There is a story about a young logger who approached a foreman of a logging crew asking for a job. “That depends,” replied the foreman. “Let’s see if you can cut this tree down in a timely manner.” The young logger stepped forward and skillfully started cutting the giant tree. Impressed, the

By Toni Ford In my reading of the Word, I recently came across Psalm 93. I had never before noticed the beauty and boldness of this psalm. This hymn, perhaps written by a Levite, presents three truths or assurances about our Lord that are never changing. Based on all the current events going on in

By Toni Ford Have you ever seen the letters “WWJD” on a frame of some sort or bracelet? Young people used to wear the bracelets with these letters on them which stand for “What Would Jesus Do?” The best place to find this answer is in the gospels, where we see numerous examples of Jesus

By Toni Ford What do you think of when you think of summer? What brings you joy about this season? Better yet, what do you want your summer to look like? I love the creativity of God when He created the four seasons. We use seasons as a way of dividing up the year, but

By Toni Ford Have you ever stopped to thank God for being a God of second chances? Personally, I know that I don’t thank Him enough for all the second, third and fourth chances He had given me in my lifetime and will continue to give me. When you think about it, we all have

By Toni Ford As we celebrate Memorial Day this week, I hope everyone took time to remember those who lost their lives by serving in the U.S. military. These men and women paid a great price to protect our civil and religious freedoms and gave their lives for our country. Honestly, our gratitude, appreciation, respect,

By Toni Ford In Chapter 8 of the Book of Mark we find the story of the feeding of the four thousand. people This story shows us a beautiful picture of not only our Father’s heart for ALL people but also skills needed to be an effective leader. Let’s take a look at this story

By Toni Ford Have you ever heard a speaker begin his or her seminar by holding up a $20 bill? Talking in front of 300 students, a speaker recently asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” Of course, hands started going up all across the room. He said, “I am going to give this $20