Overflow~

Greetings!

Christmas has come and gone this year, but there is still one present I want to give you:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

I love that God wants us to have not just enough joy, peace or hope.  But rather, He wants us to OVERFLOW.  He desires for us to have a flood, a Niagara Falls deluge, and an over-the-top, exaggeration and surplus of joy, peace, and hope.

Now all you have to say is, “I RECEIVE IT!”

Until next year…

He Came For Me!

“For today in the city of David, there has been born for you a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord”

(Luke 2:11).



Greetings, 

Christmas is a few days away, and I am excited because even though it's about Jesus, it's also about me.

Who was Christ born for?  Was it for them, for those, for others, for him, or for her?  NOPE! He was born for me!  I love inserting my name in verses like these, and I invite you to do the same.

"For today in the city of David, there has been born for Yenise a Savior, Who is Christ the Lord."

Amen and glory.  Jesus came for me - and you!

He didn’t have to, but He did because He knew that we couldn't live without Him.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for coming for me.  You knew how much I would need You, and You did not hesitate to leave Your glorious Heaven to come and save me.  Happy Birthday! 

Make Room!

Luke 2:7 "And she gave birth to her firstborn son, Jesus; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn."

Greeitngs, 

Christmas is one week away, and if you're like me, you are already in the hustle and bustle of all the preparations.  There are gifts to wrap, cards to be sent, Christmas carols to be practiced, last-minute decorations to be put up, and food to order.  I get so busy that sometimes I have to remind myself to make room for Jesus.  How ironic given that He is the reason for the season!

In the verse above the innkeeper missed out on having the Savior of mankind being born at his establishment because there was no room.  Maybe he could have made an exception. Maybe he just didn’t realize the magnitude of the situation.  Maybe he didn’t care.  Regardless, there was no room and no room was made; Jesus was born somewhere else.

We all know better.  When we open our hearts and homes to Him, He shows up and the blessings flow.  

It all starts with prayer.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for answering prayer! Every time we gather here to pray, we are making room for Christ. We invite Him into every area of our lives and ask that He fill us up with the blessings of hope, faith, provision, peace, joy, and health. In His holy name we pray, AMEN!

Shut the Door Behind You!

Greetings,

Something special happened at my house for the first time in over 10 years: Jorge helped me decorate the Christmas tree!  At some point when the kids were in high school/college, they stopped helping me hang treasured ornaments, and Jorge just kind of dropped out with them.  To be fair, I never really asked for help because (a) I love putting on merry music and sifting through all the trimmings and (b) I cherish cherishing the memories and tend to linger a bit over each and every decoration.  

Nevertheless, something overcame Jorge this year – I suspect he wants to make our granddaughter’s first official Christmas as memorable as it can be – and he helped me from start to finish.    I was happy to have his help, and it was fun looking at ourselves as elves and at a reindeer frame with a picture of our kids before they were married. I was also impressed that Jorge made a grouping of red robins that looks so pretty as well as a festive woodland animal cluster near the top of the tree.

Then Jorge pulled out my favorite glass jewel of all time – a coral colored octopus that has graced my tree for several years.   And I kid you not, at the exact same time that he was saying, “I better be careful with this delicate…” HE DROPPED IT and shattered it into a million unglueable fragments. The only part that survived was the head. 

I laughed and said, “Oh well, it is what it is!”  Yes, I really did have the loveliest of reactions, and I surprised myself a bit.  I was so kind and gracious about it, and I didn’t even have to ask God for help.  I didn’t have to call on Jesus to restrain me.  I was actually nice of my own free will and felt nice in the process.

I am the first to admit that going regularly into my prayer closet has made all the difference.  More than anyone else on this planet, my kids knew what buttons to push, and I was determined to stay even-tempered.  This was not possible without some supernatural help, so I was motivated to get on my knees.  I held onto this verse for dear life:

“When you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6).

It’s time for us to go away, shut the door, and start praying; the rewards are worth it!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, we need to be kinder, more patient, more peaceful, and more joyous – especially toward those we love. Help us, Father.  Fill us with Your goodness so we can be good. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

     

A Gift From the Heart

Greetings,

Joni Tada, one of my faith heroes, was in an accident over 40 years ago left her paralyzed from the shoulders down.  God opened a door for her to minister to disabled people, and she has reached out to MILLIONS.  Therefore, when she speaks on the topics of suffering, contentment, faith, fear - you name it - it is credible and always stirs my soul.  

She writes:

"Every Christmas I think about what it was like to be on my feet during the holidays.  There were parties and plays, decorating, hitting the malls.  Then came my accident.  That Christmas I spent it at a rehab center.  Adding to the hurt I was already feeling was that I couldn't buy gifts for anyone.  The way I saw it, God was asking too much of me. The use of my body was taken away at Christmas time, but also the joy of giving.  On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, I felt like a martyr.

"But Christmas morning my heart softened...as I focused on Christmas's meaning, I realized the best gift I could give was myself.  My mom didn't want a new dress; she wanted to see me smile.  My dad didn't need a new bridle for his horse; he needed to see me laugh.  My sister didn't need another sweater; she needed to see my grab hold of hope."

Joni's very powerful point is that there are some gifts that don’t cost one cent, yet they are extremely valuable because they are "gifts from the heart."

Maybe you've been grumpy lately and everyone in your family knows it.  Maybe you've been self-absorbed, and your spouse feels it.  Maybe you're dealing with a big problem and haven't smiled a lot lately.  Joni is not saying we don't have good reasons to feel these ways sometimes, but she is saying that everyone can benefit from a gift from the heart - especially those closest to you.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, I already know who could benefit the most from a gift from my heart. I already know who would love to see me enjoy life, grab hold of hope, and smile.  Give me the strength to follow through.  In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Momma Didn't Raise No Fool!

Greetings,

Several years ago our pet cat, Shadow, who is now deceased and resting peacefully beneath our níspero tree, upchucked on the living room carpet.  It fell to Jorge to clean it up because, as you all know, I have a weak constitution.

I was in the kitchen when I suddenly heard Jorge gagging.  Every time he would scoop up a little of the "vittles," he would almost spew his own.

Of course, I reacted the only way any other reasonable person would have: I ran to him with alcohol-drenched cotton balls and thanked him profusely for being so brave.  After all, the cat's little present was a mix of hair, boogers, and slime.

NOT!

I made fun of Jorge instead and was heartily ungrateful and boisterous.  Do you think it was wise to pick on him while he was in the process of doing me a huge favor? 

It was not, but then there are so many foolish things we are capable of...

Proverbs 1:7 "Start with God—the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom and learning."

The number one foolish thing anyone can do is thumb their nose at God and all that He offers.   

What does He offer?  A quick review of Psalm 103 says He forgives all our sins, heals our diseases, saves our life, crowns us with love and mercy, wraps us in goodness, and renews our youth, and that's just three verses worth. Read that entire Psalm, and then thank God that your momma didn't raise no fool! 

Every time we pray, whether at the end of this DEVO, at church, in our car, with a friend, or by ourselves, every time, we are acknowledging that we need God in our lives; this makes us all very wise indeed!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We recognize our great need for You.  We purposely choose to start each and every day with You.  Thank You for all the amazing things You do for us.  We receive forgiveness, healing, salvation, love, mercy, and renewal today for ourselves and our families.  In Jesus' name, AMEN~

                                    

A Baby Changes Everything~

Greetings,

The Christmas season is upon us, and I love it.  I enjoy crowds, I don’t mind long lines (it gives me a chance to people watch), and the decorations put me in such a great mood!  Speaking of decorations, my tree is already up, and it’s fun to discover new ornaments that I bought last year at 90% off that I had totally forgotten.  And then there are all the ornaments I have collected for over 30 years.  One, in particular, is so sweet.  It’s a little clay creation featuring Joseph, Mary, and Baby Jesus.  The inscription is simple: “A Baby Changes Everything.”

Oh yes, it does!  Ask my grandbaby’s parents.  No more sleeping whenever.  No more getting ready without one thousand and one interruptions.  And let’s not get started on the never-ending cycle of feeding, diaper changes, and trying to keep baby entertained, and the money they spend to accomplish all the aforementioned.  The weight of the responsibility can be overwhelming. And yet, EVERYTHING changes for the better. 

The depth of love and patience one discovers when a child is born is miraculous.   The joy at the smallest of accomplishments (i.e. rolling over, crawling, babbling…) is incalculable.  And never have I seen more happiness than when mom, dad, and baby are together and making each other laugh.  Most importantly is that this new mommy and daddy are learning to cover every aspect of my granddaughter's life in prayer. Even so, there’s only one baby Whose birth has had the most profound effect on human history – Who changed everything for everyone: JESUS!

Only He is the Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, King of kings, Teacher, and The Truth. Only He is the Bread of Life, Light of the World, and our Savior. 

Because of His birth, we have peace, guidance, health, hope, light, faith, love, and joy. 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You for sending us Your Son.  His birth has changed our lives for the good, and it’s the Gift that keeps on giving.   Every day we need all the blessings Christ offers us.  In His sacred name, we pray, AMEN.