A Work in Progress….

I try to be a positive person. Most of the time I am successful, but I have to be on my guard. Sometimes the negative creeps in when I’m not paying attention.  This morning, for instance, before my feet even hit the floor, my head was already swirling with things that should have been done, that other people failed to do, that I had to do. I cannot allow the negative to hijack my thoughts and my day, and it will if I let it.

The beauty of my attitude is that I am in control of it. I get to choose whether to notice and dwell on the good or the bad. I try to cling to Romans 8:37–despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ who loved us. Sometimes it’s easy to trust that promise. Sometimes it takes Herculean effort to block out the clamoring world and focus instead on my Savior.

Lord, Thank You for this day and for the reminder that I get to choose what I focus on each day. Help me to cling to these verses from 1 Thessalonians and from Romans. Help me to focus on Your love, Your light, and Your grace. Help me to rejoice and be glad in You and to celebrate the many positive things that happen each day. Help me to be a light and an encouragement to all those I encounter. Draw us closer to You. Amen.

Have a blessed day.

I think many of us are instructed from an early age to be kind and helpful to others, especially those who are new or struggling. Personally, I know the anxiety of being the new one, the one who feels awkwardly out of place. My heart goes out to those who feel that sting, and it is easy for me to be kind. I treat them the way I want to be treated in similar situations.

But sometimes it is harder for me to show hospitality to those in my closest circle, those who know me best, who love even the difficult-to-love parts of me. Sometimes—way more often than I’m comfortable admitting,— when I am feeling particularly vulnerable or sad or anxious, those to whom I should be kindest and most hospitable see the very worst, most prickly and unlovable side of me. Jesus, help me.

Lord, Thank You for this day and for the perspective that I am a steward, a caretaker, of Your grace. Thank You for the insight that I still have work to do in the area of hospitality, especially with those I love best. Help me, always, to show Your grace to others through my hospitality to them. Help me to check my ego at the door and to seek opportunities to serve others in love. Draw us all closer to You. Amen.

Have a blessed day.

I am a planner in many areas of my life. It works well for me much of the time. But it also means that I often enter a situation with a plan, an idea of what should happen, when, and how. And when I have those expectations and they are not met, it’s not always easy for me to adapt, to relax, to go with the flow.

In hindsight, I guess entering a situation with a rigid plan reflects a pretty high opinion of myself. I think situations should go according to my plan. I think life should bend to my will. I guess I am still working through how to have a plan so that I am not aimless, but keeping that plan flexible enough that I don’t come unglued when it doesn’t pan out the way I envisioned. Jesus help me.

Lord, Thank You for this day and for the reminder that my way is not Your way nor THE way. Help me learn to navigate life so that I am neither aimless with no expectations nor rigidly locked into my own plan. Help me to breathe and to be present with those I love and those you place in my life. Draw us closer to You. Amen.

Have a blessed day.

This woman had been suffering for twelve YEARS. Let that soak in a moment. Verse 26 says, “She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.” Can you imagine the anger and frustration she must have felt? All those years, all that money, all that suffering, and all you feel is worse? How horrible. How hopeless.

Yet she doesn’t give up hope. In fact, she clings to that hope, goes after it, not in a “Well, I certainly don’t have anything to lose” way, but in a “If I can just touch His clothes, I will be healed” way. Would my faith, my hope, be that strong, that resilient, in the face if twelve years of suffering? Please, Lord Jesus.

Lord, Thank You for this day and for the reminder that our faith and hope in Your Sovereignty and Your power are crucial to Your ability to work in our lives. Help us, even in the face of overwhelming obstacles, to trust in Your fierce love and steadfast presence. Help us to reach for You, no matter life’s trials. Welcome us as Your children. Grant us Your peace and healing. Draw us closer. Amen.

Have a blessed day.

It seems I am not the only one who struggles to shut out the noise of life and to be still in God’s presence. And it’s no great surprise in a world that hawks self-reliance and self-sufficiency that so many of us feel the weight of our burdens so heavily. But our blessed Savior does not want that for us. He wants us to focus on how mighty and powerful He is instead of concentrating on how big our problems are.

I’ve heard worry described as rocking in a rocking chair—lots of movement with absolutely no progress. When I cling to my fears and anxieties, holding on with both fists clinched, I am no good for anybody, and I certainly do not have His peace. My precious Savior does not want that for me. He wants me to be still, to breathe, the see Him, recognize His sovereignty in my life, trust His plan for me. He’s got me, always, regardless of what it might feel like.

Lord, Thank You for this day and this reminder. Help me to sit at Your feet each morning with open hands and open heart, trusting Your fierce love and presence with me, regardless of how frightening my path. You are making a way, even if I can’t yet perceive it. Keep my mind in Your perfect peace so that I may overflow with Your hope. Draw me closer. Amen.

Have a blessed day.

Many times, as I’m going through my own devotional time, God will lay the verses or message He wants me to share on my heart. It’s a difficult process to explain because I don’t really understand it, but I trust it. There’s just this little spark of recognition when I see His will. This morning, however, even in the middle of my prayer time, I still was unsure of His direction. One side of my brain was praying and the other side was stressing about what to write when all at once I felt Him call me to be still.

It shouldn’t surprise me. God is so faithful to meet me where I am. He saw my inner turmoil, the anxiety that was great within me, and He gave me what I most needed. Stillness. There were no astounding revelations in the stillness, no solutions to life troubles, but there was calm, peace, the space to remember that God’s got me in the palm of His hand, that He is in control.

Lord, Thank You for this day and for speaking to me out of the chaos I had allowed into my time with You. Thank You for the reminder that You are my refuge and strength, that You’ve got me, no matter what I’m facing. It is shockingly easy to feel like I go it alone in this life, Lord. Help me to never forget that You are always with me. Help me to be still, to know, to trust Your love. Draw me closer. Amen.

Have a blessed day.

This past Saturday marked my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. They have both gone on to our heavenly home, but the occasion had me thinking about the legacy of love they left behind.

They weren’t perfect—none of us are—but they loved each other and us through their imperfections, and they taught me how to begin to love through my imperfections as well. They taught me the importance of showing up and doing my best, the balance of working hard and having fun, the power of being present in a thousand little ways every day.

Lord, Thank You for this day and for the legacy of love that my parents left for us. Thank You for the transformative power of Your fierce love, a power that we can tap into when we show up and love each other through our imperfections and theirs. Thank You for the beauty of balance and the power of presence. Help me to never underestimate the power of Your great love. Help us to love one another as You love us. Draw us closer. Amen.

Have a blessed day.

Many, many years ago, I claimed Romans 12:12 as my life-verse. I still contend that it is an excellent example of how to live. First, be joyful in hope, not in circumstances. My hope is in my Creator and in the fact that this world is not my home. My life doesn’t have to be a bed of roses for me to be joyful that I have my Savior and He is in control.

Second, be patient in affliction. This one is tied to the first. I can be patient in affliction because I have hope in my Savior. This world, with its troubles, loss, and sorrow, does not have a say in where I spend eternity; therefore, I can endure the hard knocks of life because with God, the battle has already been won and I am more than victorious. Finally, be faithful in prayer. One version says to be persistent in prayer. Prayers changes things, even if it’s only my attitude, because prayer draws me closer to God, which helps me exchange my limited, earthly perspective for His eternal one.

Lord, Thank You for this day and for the reminder of the wisdom in Romans 12:12. Help me always to be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer. Regardless of what life throws at me, draw me closer to You. Amen.

Have a blessed day.

I often get caught in the trap of thinking I’m too flawed for God to use me. And while there are examples of God using incredibly godly people in the Bible, there are many more examples—like this repeated argument among the disciples—of God using flawed and reluctant people just like me, people who don’t see themselves as worthy or capable of doing God’s will.

But God shows us again and again that He doesn’t need perfection in order to work through us. In fact, His strength is perfected and showcased best when allowed to shine through our weaknesses. All He needs from us is a willing heart and the strength to step out in faith.

Lord, Thank You for this day and for Your willingness and ability to use me, even with all my faults and flaws. You created me exactly as I am for a purpose, Lord. Help me to always say yes to Your will. Help me to always be willing to step out in faith when You call me to move. Let Your strength be perfected in my weakness, Lord, and use me in Your service. Draw me closer. Amen.

Have a blessed day.

I am an incredibly emotional person. When I’m happy, I fairly burst with happiness. When I’m excited about trying something new, I share with every one, so that others can experience it, too. I’m thankful God wired me with such intense emotions. But the negative emotions are just as strong, and when I’m sad, scared, or anxious, I am nothing but dry, lifeless bones.

My morning prayer and devotional time serves as a daily reminder that the Lord is my rock and my anchor. Each morning He renews, recharges, and refocuses me. But always by mid-morning, by lunchtime, by early afternoon, sometimes all three, my bones are drying out again. Somehow, in the busyness of life, I move too far from my Savior, my source of strength and hope. Gently He nudges me back to His life-giving presence. Thank You, Lord.

Lord, Thank You for this day and for this reminder that You are my source of life. Thank You for the intense emotions You endowed me with and the ability You gave me to point others to You. Help me walk with You throughout my day and to never forget that You are the only one who can put life into these dry bones. Draw me closer. Always. Amen.

Have a blessed day.