Keep the Heart

Welcome to Proverbs chapter 30 on Build Your Bible Habit! These audio proverbs, read by Francie Taylor provide a easy way to learn and apply the Bible to daily living. Look at this prayer request from Proverbs 30:7-8:

"Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die: Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me..."

"Give me neither poverty nor riches" ...

Don’t you hate self-sabotage? You know, those times when you are planning to do something that is good for you, but then you’re forced to battle the inner toddler that wants to do the opposite. There was someone who had this same struggle in the New Testament, and he wrote these words in Romans 7:15:

"For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I."

The apostle Paul was writing about th...

Welcome to REPLAY THURSDAY, where you'll hear the most popular episodes from the previous season. Have you ever heard someone say they were "speaking their own truth?" The absence of God plus the presence of deception equals strong delusion.

We need to protect ourselves from deception by keeping our souls nourished. God's Word is our "necessary food," as Job observed in Job 23:12: "Neither have I gone back from the commandment of h...

Welcome back to Proverbs chapter 9 on Build Your Bible Habit! In less than five minutes, you can listen to a chapter of Proverbs while building a habit that will improve your daily decisions and interactions with others. Walking in wisdom is possible. We just need to apply what we're learning!

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding." (Proverbs 9:10)

INSPIRING NEW DEVOTIONAL ...

There are regular conflicts, and then there are MESSY conflicts. Regular conflicts are easily resolved, but messy ones take more time. Messy conflicts are a part of the cost of having relationships. There will be awkward, uncomfortable, embarrassing, infuriating, and even shocking events that happen in daily life. Maybe you’re facing a messy conflict right now. It’s like trying to walk over a bed of hot coals without burning your f...

Welcome back to Proverbs chapter 19 on Build Your Bible Habit. The theme of upright living is woven throughout this chapter, giving us principles to put into practice right away. If you haven’t started doing so, I suggest that you pray before listening to these Proverbs. Ask the Lord to show you what to work on from the chapter, and then watch for pop quizzes throughout your day. Remember, sometimes people are the "tests" in life.

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Here’s a question I’ve been asked a lot since my Norman passed away: "Francie, are you ever going to remarry?" There’s nothing wrong with the question itself, but may I tell you how it sounds to my ears? (I am only speaking for Francie here, not for all of widowkind!) It sounds like this:

Francie, when are you going to become whole again?

Francie, when are you going to stop being single?

Francie, what’s a nice girl like you doing i...

REPLAY THURSDAY: Guile is the art of being deceitful, dishonest, and double-dealing in our interactions with others. Guile is easy to practice because it's carnal, and carnal behaviors come naturally.

It's also problematic, because a person with guile cannot be trusted. Genuine Christianity is hard to find, but if we'll let God "create clean hearts" within us, we can become people who are without guile. Without the false front.

Rea...

Does it seem to you like people are more stressed out lately? The further we move along the timeline of what the Bible calls “last days,” the more we are seeing people who are operating in a constant level of distress. But is this our lot in life? Do we have to live as if life is ganging up on us and we have no way to stop it?

It’s unreasonable to expect life to be free of trouble. Job recognized this when he spoke these words in J...

REPLAY THURSDAY: A friend of mine once said to me, "If you don't like my cooking, lie to me." She was just kidding, but it reminded me how easy it is for us to pick and choose when we're going to lie or tell the truth. Lying is habit forming, but it is also a breakable habit.

When we know better, we can do better. God can help us to remove this habit from our lives, but we will need to ask for His help and yield to His Word.

"Remov...

Welcome back to BUILD YOUR BIBLE HABIT, the popular audio Proverbs series. Chapter 29 opens with a warning about being stubborn:

"He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." (Proverbs 29:1)

Stubbornness can fill our lives with unnecessary chaos and pain. This is another loaded chapter, and it will take you less than five minutes to read and listen!

Visit the shop links be...

Welcome to REPLAY THURSDAY, where you'll hear the most popular episodes from the previous season. This episode first aired on February 13, 2023, the day before Valentine's Day. Not exactly the kind of episode for a romantic holiday, but thousands of downloads later, it was one of the most played episodes of 2023.

It's devastating to hear about marriages and families exploding because of inappropriate relationships. This has become ...

BUILD YOUR BIBLE HABIT with the daily Proverbs system. 

You won't have to wrestle with yourself to develop and embrace this habit. Simply press play. In four minutes, you've covered one chapter of Proverbs. Repeat this daily, and you'll finish the entire book of Proverbs every month!

Gain wisdom, increase in understanding, and learn how to handle the issues of life while deepening your walk with God. 

"Keep thy heart with all dilig...

AN INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR KATHY ASHLEY

When Kathy Ashley heart about "AI," those letters brought two different words to her mind. Not "artificial intelligence," but Arrogance and Ignorance. This is the kind of AI that leads to an artificial inflation of self, and it's hazardous to our spiritual health.

Arrogance is pride on steroids. When you mix arrogance with ignorance, this creates a puffed up conceit that is deceptive. We can be...

BONUS BIBLE SERIES: Build Your Bible Habit! 

Do you struggle to get into Scripture daily? You're not alone, but this problem can be fixed and we'd like to help. For years, people have used the Proverb-a-Day system to build a daily Bible reading habit, and it has been very successful in helping people to develop a daily habit of reading and Bible study. If you've been repeating the same mistakes and falling in the same ditch, perhap...

Welcome to a REPLAY REFRESHER from Keep the Heart!

"Don't Be Fooled" first aired in January of 2023, and thousands of downloads later, people are still clicking this episode. These are confusing times, and we need more wisdom and discretion to be alert to the hazards of falling from the truth of God's Word. 

Have you ever listened to someone who was trying to sound like they knew what they were talking about, but you could tell tha...

BUILD YOUR BIBLE HABIT with daily Proverbs

Are you still trying to develop a habit of daily Bible reading? Here's an easy way to begin: one daily Proverb. In less than five minutes per day, you'll be on your way to building a Bible habit that will lead you from reading to studying and more!

Here's another practical tip: quit putting it off. Enough with the delays and excuses. Grab your ear buds and your Bible. You can do this. You'...

Wouldn’t it be great if we could have advance instructions from God for the day? I mean, what if God could warn us in writing, guiding us to the right way to handle stressful situations that often catch us off guard? Wouldn’t that be grand?

God already does this. He gives us instructions in advance, but we don’t always read or heed them. Instead, we try to live the Christian life on our own terms, making up solutions as we go along...