Bethany McIlrath

First and Second: Perspective On What Matters Most (Matthew 22:36-40)

Category: Faith

  • Cling to Christ

    Cling to Christ

    Stepping into the airplane, I noticed a sign that made me laugh.  The content wasn’t humorous. It wasn’t the design that cracked me up. There wasn’t really anything funny about the sign itself… But it was stuck with packaging tape…on to the side of a jet plane. Jet planes travel around 600-900 miles per hour….

  • The Secret to Glorifying God

    The Secret to Glorifying God

    Looking at others around me, it’s easy for me to assume they’re God-glorifying because of what great people they are. Sometimes I want to ask, “what’s you’re secret?” As for me, I don’t feel like I’m good at glorifying God. “This has me so ugghhh,” I complain to a friend. What I wish I said…

  • The Blessing of Endurance

    The Blessing of Endurance

    Isn’t it interesting that we tend to count our blessings most when hard things happen? It is after a major accident that we are glad to be alive, or post-loss that we are grateful for those who truly love us. It seems that we need disruptions to remind us that life isn’t actually in our…

  • Has This Already Been Paid For? (Mini-Series Part III)

    Has This Already Been Paid For? (Mini-Series Part III)

    One time, I accidentally stole. I was a kid in a bookstore and someone else was paying for my bundle. Reaching my hand up to the counter, I slipped a bookmark in the stack. Later, looking over my treasures, someone asked where I got that bookmark. Apparently, it wasn’t paid for. I still feel bad…

  • What Does It Cost Me? (Mini-Series Part II)

    What Does It Cost Me? (Mini-Series Part II)

    He plucked at his fingernails with his arms crossed. Defiant young eyes averted and glazed over in anticipation of another scolding. At the end of a long work day, in the midst of an already stressful week, I felt certain my patience-tank was too empty to be as loving as I ought to be toward…

  • Don’t Flush!

    Don’t Flush!

    Rushing down the sidewalk after a few too many hours on road with stops, I couldn’t wait to reach the bathroom. Slamming the stall door shut, I suddenly found myself distracted. The rest stop caretakers had posted the most specific sign I’d seen in a loo. What’s happening that you need to flush your undergarments?!…

  • Do You Think About These Things?

    Do You Think About These Things?

    “Bethanyland is a magical place,” I like to say to my husband when he calls me back to reality because I stopped listening and got lost in thought (again). The truth is, I spend a lot of time thinking. Most of us do. We dwell on things in the shower, in the car, at work,…

  • Don’t Quit Praying When It’s “Over”

    Don’t Quit Praying When It’s “Over”

    We pray before we eat. Before our days begin. Before we go to sleep. Often, we pray before big events and decisions. We pray as loved ones face difficulties. But we don’t have to stop there. We can keep praying after. God doesn’t say “cease praying” after the test results suggest the worst or the…

  • Prospecting for Treasure

    Prospecting for Treasure

    It was 1866. The Yogo Gulch in Montana was full of prospectors. They came for gold, but found disappointment. All that stood out in their sifting pans were the numerous little blue pebbles in the area. They threw them away. One man, Jake Hoover, took a different approach after some time. He sent them away….

  • More of God Book Review

    More of God Book Review

    6am. My phone alarm rang obnoxiously even though it was still dark. I had a new job, plus my old job, and a renewed commitment to spending time focused specifically on God. Every (very busy) day.  Some part of my heart got up so early because I actually wanted to grow in my walk with…