“Trust in the LORD with all your heart
         And do not lean on your own understanding. 
  In all your ways acknowledge Him,
         And He will make your paths straight.”

Proverbs 3: 5-6

Welcome!  We’re very glad you stopped by.  I’m Joan and I live in western Tennessee. I’m a child of God, a Christian conservative and a homemaker.  I’ve been married for 26 years to a loving man named Al.  I am so thankful God gave me such a caring husband. Often I have told him that he has the gift of loving people unconditionally. 

I gave my heart to Jesus at the age of 13; but, I wouldn’t truly understand who God wanted me to be until the age of 34.  Many of the years from age 20 to 34 were spent living a life that looked like that of a true misfit.  In 1988, I rededicated my life to the Lord asking Him to lead me as He sees fit.  It is my hope and prayer that through sharing my faith that others will come to know and abide in Christ.  He is the source of my strength and contentment.  

This blog was born of my heart’s desire to have an online Bible study with others. We named the site “Learning to be Content” because we believe one of our greatest struggles is finding contentment. We all have those familiar places of comfort but they don’t really satisfy, do they? They are short lived at best. We believe true contentment can only be found when we learn how to surrender everything to Christ Jesus, in a daily, moment-to-moment walk with Him. We are each “a work in progress” but our goal is to draw nearer every day. As we study God’s Word, pray and meet together, it is our desire that we will be able to share our joy that comes when we sit at Jesus’ feet.

I hope you’ll take time to meet each of our authors below.  They all encourage me in their faith and I cherish their contributions to the LTBC blog

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Kingdom-minded Friends & Authors

Hello everyone!  I’m Linda, a former Minnesotan who moved to southern Nevada in late 2002. I spent all my working years in banking, at one office in Minneapolis.  I try to exercise my mind as much as possible; yet, I enjoy the lighter side of life.  In other words, I love to laugh.  And, as long as the humor is “clean,” I don’t think God minds a lot.  Laughter is good medicine, isn’t it?  One can’t overwork their ribs and lungs to excess,  right? 

I highly recommend retirement, as I’ve been practicing it for eight years already.  Participating in this blog is helping me grow in the Lord every day.  Studying the Bible, plus on-going prayer and conversations with God have strengthened my faith so much during the past several months.   I’m thankful  to have Joan as a friend and glad that she decided to build this site.  Most of all, though, is that I love God; and, I know He loves me, too, unconditionally; and, that His love sustains me on a daily basis.  My part is simple.  All I have to do is return that love and do my best to live my life as He wants me to live it; and, if my efforts here encourage others, then I am doubly blessed.

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Hi y’all, my name is Charma.  I live in North Texas although I was born and raised in California.  I left California 4.5 years ago, moved to Texas and became a Texan through and through.  I love the UT Longhorns and can’t wait for football season each year, and I am slowly starting to like the Cowboys.   I am the mother of two children and 2.5 grandchildren.  My daughter, Jordana, is 27 and is the mother of my grandchildren Benjamin and Kaylee.  She is currently expecting, and Baby Asher will be joining our family in December of this year.  She is a phenomenal mom and a wonderful daughter.   My son, Frank, is 25.  He has yet to marry or have kids but when he does he will be an amazing husband and father.   When asked what my greatest success is, I have always answered, “My children.” 

I have been a Christian since age 14 and I have had a struggle between my will and the Lord’s will the entire time I have known the Lord.  I have a feeling it might come from the fact that I am independent, stubborn and strong-willed (just ask my mother).  Through all my fits of free will I have never forgotten who my Lord and Savior is, and the fact that He died on the cross for me.  I am a sinner and I would always fall short of the glory of God if it wasn’t for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.   What comforts me when I feel like I am failing in my walk with the Lord is the fact that He knows me better than I know myself because He created me, and I know that He will always love me even if I fail.  Now that is love!!!!  I am continuing my imperfect walk with Him every day and I will continue until the day I get to meet Him face to face.

For years my favorite verses have been:

For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  Colossians 1:16-17 NIV

 When I read verse 17 above, it gives me comfort to know that even when it appears that everything in the world is falling apart it isn’t because the Lord God Almighty is in control and holding it all together.

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 ”Hi everybody!  I’m Bob from South Central Texas.  I’m the very blessed father of two incredible young men, Joshua and Daniel, and the husband of an awesome lady named Pat.  We’ve been married since 1976 and have spent 32 of those years here in San Antonio.  Pat is an RN; Joshua is a missionary in Mexico and has given us 3 wonderful grandchildren.  Daniel just received his RN as well.

I accepted the Lord when I was 8 and it “took”.  Through His grace and some great parenting from my folks, I made it through the teens hanging close to Him and accepted His call to ministry at 18.  After Bible College, I spent the next 30 years ministering mostly in pastoral capacities in interdenominational circles.  Early on in ministry, I began to recognize that the Lord had given me what I call a “kingdom” perspective, which created a natural aversion to the religious trappings of our church culture.  “Doing Kingdom” has been an incredibly liberating experience for my family and we have seen the Lord do some really magnificent things, proving that He is “the same yesterday, today, and forever.” 

Pat and I are now adjusting to the empty nest thing and I have been busy as a realtor the last few years.  If I’m not selling a home, I’m remodeling ours in preparation for building my bride one last home for our latter years.  I’ve appreciated the opportunity to share some thoughts here in the blog and hope they can be of some help to folks.

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Hi. My name is Sandra. I had attended Sunday School and church my whole life but that was a result of my parents faith, not my own faith. I had studied the Bible on my own but I hadn’t truly had an experience of accepting Christ as my personal Saviour. In the late 70′s I met a friend that became my “Big Sister” in Christ. It was through her witness and willingness to share her faith that I realized the need to accept Jesus as my personal Saviour.

One of my favorite scriptures is John 15: 14-16

“You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from my Father I have made known to you. You do not choose me, but I chose you…”

I am so thankful to have Jesus as my friend.

I now live in Western Kentucky with my husband. I have twin boys, a daughter, and three grandchildren. I am still adjusting to being the mother of adult children and an empty nest.

I feel like only God could have brought this group of writers together. I appreciate Joan asking me to share some of my thoughts and prayers. Her friendship is a special blessing.

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Hi, I’m Kathy and I reside in East Tennessee. I was born with a birth defect called spina bifida (an open spine); but, with the help of God, I have achieved much in my life. Though I could not walk, I attended public schools from first grade through high school and also graduated from East Tennessee State University in 1983, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education with a foreign Language option. I majored in French, Spanish and English; and, in 1987, earned a Master’s degree in Spanish from Auburn University. Until 2001, I was a Spanish teacher at Sullivan East High School in Bluff City, Tennessee.

I have always felt a close relationship to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. The depth of that relationship grew by leaps and bounds one night in 2002 as I laid in a hospital bed in Charlottesville, Virginia. I was facing the possibility of needing a feeding tube following surgery. In desperation for myself and worry about my parents who were with me, I cried out to God in my heart telling Him that all I wanted was to go home. After I prayed, I experienced a deep sense of peace as a verse from a song ran through my mind over and over. That verse was “God answers prayer, God answers prayer, He’s so good to me.” I awoke at around four in the morning. I felt hungry for the first time in about four days. Later that morning, I had some delicious dry toast. By five o’clock that afternoon, I was back home in Tennessee.

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Hi.  My name is Janet Ney.  I am a mother of three grown children and a grandmother to Payden, Lilly, Calel and Finnley.  I am a minister’s daughter and I was a minister’s wife until I was 35.  After spending many years in the clutches of addiction, I was baptized into Christ on April 20, 2001.  There is nothing more humbling than truly feeling the grace of God.  He died for us while we were still sinners!

Right now, I am living in Northern California in wine and redwood country.  I am the office administrator for a lumber yard and I’m working on a novel.  I am hoping to retire soon! 

Writing for this website is an honor and a blessing.  Especially since I am able to glorify God with my ’fred brothers and sisters’ and fellow sisters and brothers in Christ.

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Most importantly, we are all Christians seeking a closer walk with Jesus. We believe in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit and that the Bible is the inspired, divine Word of God.

We hope in time some of our other “Kindgom minded” friends will contribute to this site, as well. When they come on board, we’ll introduce them to you.

Thank you for stopping by and we hope you’ll visit again soon. If you would like to contact us, please email us at  learningtobecontent{at}comcast{dot}net