It’s been an emotional week. Thanks for riding and reading
along with me. I am an overly emotional person by nature. I sympathize, yearn
to fix the things of which I have no control, cry easily and laugh too much. I
broke down in tears today, not in sadness, but in release. I held it together
for our daughter’s wedding ceremony. It was my first wedding to officiate and
my own daughter! Still boggles my mind that God brought me through.
So many prayers
covered us on Saturday. So many prayers covered the weather, which turned out
to be ideal. Prayer is vital. I hope you have prayer warriors in your life.
Mine are the best. When I ask for prayer, they are faithful. It is truly a gift
that fills me with emotion. (well, no surprise there)
I have felt the
power of prayer so many times over the years. When dealing with heavy grief,
prayer sustains us. When we are filled with joy, prayer doubles it. When we
face chaos, prayer gives us peace. Prayers of gratitude bring us to praising
our God.
Our personal
prayer-time with Jesus is essential, both in sharing and in listening. His voice
is real and He will give us specifically what we need. Jesus gives us just what we need, not what we want. If He had granted all
of my wishes throughout my life, my life would be a disaster.
I have a coffee mug
that reads, “A day hemmed in prayer will never unravel.” Hem your days in
prayers. Begin each day and end each day with Jesus.
Proclaiming your love in the morning and your
faithfulness at night. Psalm 92:2
Pray throughout
your days. Jesus will never leave your side.
Pray continually. 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Take a minute right
now to open your heart to Jesus. What are your needs today? Safe travel? Prayers
for a loved one? Hope for an anxious friend? The right words to share? Gratitude
for the blessings? Trust Him to answer. And to my prayer warriors? I pray a
prayer of thanksgiving for all of you.
I thank my God every time I remember you.
Philippians 1:3
Lord,
We need to be in prayer with You and we need others to pray
for us. You intercede right along with us to answer our prayers. How grateful I
am to have such faith-filled prayer warriors in my life. Give them and each person reading this blog a sense of
Your loving presence right this minute.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Our summer vacation
is here. With our great day-job during the school year of watching our
1-year-old grandson and the wedding planning, it has been a whirlwind year,
filled with unexpected joys and exhaustion! I give my husband credit. Believe
me, it isn’t easy living with a legally blind wife on even an ordinary day.
As my eyes continue
to deteriorate, he steps in to, well…honestly…clean up behind me! I miss so
much as I cook, as I clean, as I walk through my days hesitantly. The missteps
and fear can take over. He wants me to trust his lead, but I tend to hold back
when I sense a step or a problem ahead. It’s as if he is leading an obstinate
puppy or a petulant five-year-old. You can feel his pain.
He gets the medal
of honor for being patient and kind and trying to navigate life with me and for
me. We do appreciate each other for the differences in our personalities, in
our decision-making, in our logic vs. creativity perspectives. But, now and
again, we hit a wall of frustration. You, too?
After the
exhaustion of the wedding, my emotions got the better of me and I felt like I
was letting him down. It happens every now and again, when my eyes take another
drop or the bumps and bruises or hesitations take their toll. This devotion is
for him. God gave him to me for a reason and he has faithfully walked alongside
me for 34 years. He is honest, trustworthy and kind-hearted, a great husband
and the best dad and grandpa I don’t tell him enough, even though our love for
each other is forever and deep and real.
So today, dear
husband, take a bow. You deserve it. There are no words of appreciation strong
enough, no special words of love meaningful enough, no message perfect enough,
to thank you.
My flaws are many,
but love conquers all.
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly,
since love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8
Lord,
We thank You for the gift of marriage, which You designed.
Help us to see each other through Your eyes, through the irritations and
annoyances. Thank You for my wonderful husband and for helping us cover a
multitude of sins.
In Jesus name,
Amen
It’s tough getting back to reality after the planning and
celebration of our daughter’s wedding. The bride is back at work and the piles
I have placed away until “later,” now have to be taken out and sorted, the
decorations divided and taken to consignment, and the ordinary events of each
day will unfold again.
Looking back over
decades and decades and decades (yikes the years are piling up) brings fresh
perspective on the passage of time. Weren’t we just eighteen with all of life
ahead of us, or crazily coping with raising two young girls? The ordinary days,
the struggles and sorrows, the joys upon joys add up in our earthly lives.
Each day brings me
gratitude. My 80-year-old friend, Connie, begins each day with this prayer,
“Thank you, Jesus, for the breath of life today.” A good way to start the day.
Each moment is a gift and when we know Jesus, we can trust He will use all of
the moments, both ordinary and extraordinary, both mundane and miraculous, both
grief-laden and joy-filled into bringing glory to His name.
He turns it all to
focus on Him. He is our eternal home and our steadfast companion. He will never
let you down. He will never leave your side. Enjoy your moments today if you
can. If it’s a tough time, trust Him with it to work it out for His good.
“So do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be
dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold
you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
Father,
Teach us to appreciate all of our days, no matter the
circumstances. You will strengthen us and uphold us through it all. We savor
the moments we can treasure and hold close to our hearts and they are many.
Thank You for the breath of life today.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Perfect moments, perfect hours, perfect days are rare. Do you
remember a summer day in your youth spent outside all day with friends? Or a
vacation day with gorgeous blue skies and endless water views stretching out
before you. I used to love a rainy day spent with a pile of books. What is your
idea of a perfect day? A day stretching into the wee hours of the morning
laughing with good friends? A day alone?
Saturday, June 22nd
2019 will go down in the life of our family as one of those rare, perfect days.
The moments added up to a magical, unforgettable day filled with love, laughter
and light. Our daughter married the love of her life. The day began for me
reading a devotional with my husband that included a verse I would use in the
ceremony.
Getting ready at
the hotel, seeing my daughter looking like a magazine-cover bride for the first
time, seeing her groom’s children looking like a prince and princess, all
dressed up, the yellow bridesmaids dresses flowing in the breeze of what would
be a perfect weather day (one forecast to include rain) Thank you Jesus!
Yes, the “sun” was
out and the “Son” was there in His full glory. The groom, so handsome, would
shed tears through most of the ceremony and the words of Christ were shared.
The vows were spoken, the kids added in with a sand ceremony, each one with a
glass filled with a color to represent how special and unique they are, would
be poured together, stirred and blended into one family.
Now husband and
wife. God is good and we praise Him for the perfect moments, etched in our
minds and hearts forever. Love. The perfect moments always include love. They
aren’t perfect if they are not shared and we are blessed to have wonderful
family and friends who honored us with their presence. We love you Angela and
De and we couldn’t be more proud of the love and commitment you two share.
“For this reason, a man will leave his father and
mother, and be united to his wife, where the two will become one flesh, so they
are no longer two, but one flesh. What God has joined together, let no man
separate.” Matthew 19:6
Here is the blessing
and the verse I left with them.
Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more
than all we ask or imagine, to Him be the glory forever and ever. Ephesians
3:20
Father,
We thank You for the perfect moments and the perfect days in
our lives. We give You praise for the gift of love that fills our hearts. Bless
Angela and De as they move into the future as husband ans wife.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Our daughter is getting married in two days! We have waited
for, prayed for, and anticipated this day for so long. Today’s blog is for all
of us as we ask for the peace of Christ to sustain us through these next
joy-filled days, to savor the moments and to soak in the blessings.
I don’t know about
you, but I crave the peace of Jesus each and every day. My personality causes
me to fret and worry, to be in my head too much, to question too much, to try
too hard. Our beautiful daughter inherited the same worry gene. Are you hungry
for the peace of God? He tells us it is available. In fact, He tells us to be anxious for
NOTHING!
Be anxious for nothing, but by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, make your needs known to God. And the peace of God
that transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
Ultimately, it
comes down to trust. Do we have enough faith to trust God with everything? I
say I do, but the worry and doubt creep in, especially during the night. But
that sweet peace returns over and over again. Keep praying to Him. Keep
believing Him. Keep thanking Him in advance for what He will do. Keep longing
for His peace and thank Him for it. It is there for the asking.
Paul’s letter to
the city of Philippi tells us to learn from his example. The books of the Bible
penned by Paul were written to guide us in the Christian life. Here are some of
his words to follow.
Whatever you have learned or received or heard
from me, or seen in me-put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with
you. Philippians 4:9
Jesus offers us a
unique type of peace. It is not of this world. It is beyond it. A forever kind
of peace, rooted in faith. I leave you today with more words from Christ
Himself.
“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I do
not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do
not be afraid.” John 14:27
Lord,
Keep us filled with Your peace. It is unlike anything else in
this world. Keep our hearts focused on You. We praise you for the love between
our daughter Angela and her fiancé, (soon to be husband, De) Keep them in your
peace and joy throughout the days, and bless them as they take these sacred
vows.
Amen
God has planned a life of adventure made just for you. Faith
is not a classroom, (or a church pew) where we take in knowledge, comfort and
love for ourselves. God wants us to study His Word, to be familiar with His
character, with His love, with His expectations, with His views on everything
so we can make a difference in the world around us.
After all, He
created everything. He has the right to be in charge! The world has gone off
the deep end in finding ways to make Jesus insignificant or just one of many.
For example, He was a good man and we can learn from His example. As C.S. Lewis
reminded us. (my paraphrase) If we read the words of Jesus, He was either a
lunatic, a liar or He is Lord.
Jesus is Savior,
the way, the truth and the life. He explained everything and the Bible, from
the very first bite of the apple, points to redemption through Him and to the
hope of a Messiah.
When we put into
practice all He says and when we walk in step with the Spirit, He will open
doors of opportunity we could never imagine. The greatest gift for any of us is
to share the Gospel.
Do you know the
Gospel? Have you shared it with others? It is simple and profound. The need for
a Savior ultimately brings us to our knees, as we long for forgiveness, as we
recognize our need to be loved, to belong. And there it is! The truth of His
sinless life, the agonizing death as He shed His holy blood and suffered all of
our sins, the beauty of the resurrection and the offer of freedom from death.
Believe it! Share it!
Watch for the next adventure. It is right around the corner. Adventure with a
purpose just the way God planned it. So often it is easier to sit in our
comfortable pews with people that look like us, act like us and speak like us,
isn’t it?
Jesus and His
disciples and those in the early church took risks. They went into places others
avoided. Jesus spoke with prostitutes and tax collectors. And the religious
leaders at the time? Here is what they thought.
But the Pharisees and teachers of the law
muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Luke 15:7
They were appalled
when Jesus healed on the Sabbath. They didn’t like that He ate and drank and
enjoyed time with His friends.
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say,
“Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” But
wisdom proved right by her deeds. Matthew 11:19
We can practice the
presence of Christ and His ways wherever we go, with an expectation of new
opportunities ahead. Where will He take us next? Who will we sit next to on the
plane? Who will we meet at work? What opportunities will He place right in
front of our noses? Don’t miss out. There is nothing like being a Christian in
a world starved for Him.
Lord,
Open doors of adventure to us. Help us not to judge as the
Pharisees did, but always, always speak Your truth in love. Your ways are
always best even when we don’t agree with them.
In Jesus name,
Amen
What does God need from me? Am I doing enough? Where do I go
next? Am I letting Him down? All good questions and questions I have asked over
the years. How do we know the purposes God has planned for us? First of all, it is HIS work in us.
Being confident of this, that He who began a good
work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6
The book of
Philippians is filled with good advice for us and filled with joy. God’s
purposes always involve love, encouragement and comfort. These next verses
remind us that we are children of the light. They also remind us of how
difficult it is to maintain our lives as Christians! I fall short every single
day.
Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so
that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a
warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the
sky. Philippians 2:14-15
Without grumbling
or arguing? Impossible most days. Don’t worry. Remember it is God’s work in us.
The Holy Spirit within us will set us on a new path, prompt us in our hearts,
discipline us when needed and continue to love us.
What a relief. His purposes
and His guidance will bring deep blessings as we continue to serve Him in a
dark world. He is way beyond our earthly grumblings and He will use us despite
ourselves until we shine like stars. And His purposes will fit you like a glove, using your very own personality, and your own unique talents and gifts. there is no one like you!
Jesus,
Thank You for never giving up on us. I can’t imagine how You
put up with us day after day, but You love us so much that You died for us and
we praise You for continuing to work on us.
Amen
