Hover

Greetings,

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters” (Genesis 1:1-2).

The entire creation came into existence because God hovered.  Something amazing came out of nothing because God was close by. And He will create something new and beautiful in your life when You invite Him to hang out in your circumstances.  

PRAYER: Dear Lord, we invite You to hover over us right now with Your unparalleled magnificence. Invade our relationships and create new love, new understanding, and new trust.  Invade our bodies and create health and well-being.  Linger over our emotions and create new levels of peace, hope, and faith that will bless us in ways we never thought possible but desperately need.  We never have to be or feel empty when You, the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth are nearby.  In Jesus’ name, Amen~

He is a Hoverer

Greetings,

I think it’s safe to say that for any of us who have ever loved a child, raised a child, or lent a helping hand in caring for a child, it has not always been crystal clear in knowing when to let go.  I remember struggling to let Rachel go to church sleep-away camp when she was 13.  I finally relented but was in a state of semi-panic for three days.  I remember dropping Jorgie off at UofM when he was 17 thinking, “Will he eat enough and get enough rest?”  Mind you, his college was a 15-minute drive away, but I couldn’t help myself.  Here he was, an almost 18-year-old man who was more than capable of taking care of himself, and I tried not to obsess. About two weeks later we showed up with a care package, and Jorge, in the most loving way possible, without trying to insult me (I hope), said as we got down from the car, “Bibi, cut the cord already.” 

Well, the nerve! He had a point, however, and I guess we all learn as we go.  But when it comes to our Lord, there is no guessing game.  There is no trying to figure out if He will gently nudge us out into the big wide world to face life on our own because He is a hoverer!  He is the ultimate helicopter parent, and this is the best possible news!

“Protect me…; hide me in the shadow of Your wings as You hover over me” (Psalm 17:8 The Living Bible).

God is always with us, and I find such comfort in knowing that He hovers, lingers, poises, sticks around, and remains with me all day every day. There is protection, peace, guidance, joy, and hope when the Lord is near.  Thank Him that He will never cut the cord!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, we look forward to independence as we grow older, but never from You.  The longer we live, the more we realize how much we need You every moment of every day.  Thank You that You are always nearby.  Help us to find peace in the coolness and safety of Your shadow. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

God Works Overtime~

Happy Monday J

I hope you all had a lovely weekend. This past Friday I was headed back home on the Sawgrass Expressway when in the middle of my 70 mile an hour trip, my car started to die out—literally—right there on the road. “Jesus, take the wheel!” suddenly took on a whole new meaning.

Jorge and I, along with his parents had just left a party together, and Jorge suggested that he drive his parents’ car because it was late and suffice to say, his mom and I were in my car, and he was in the car in front with Chini—my father-in-law.

So here I am cruising along, and my mother-in-law and I are laughing our heads off at some nonsense or the other when I notice that my car has ceased to accelerate. “Say what?”

I think to myself, “Please, Matilda, not now.” My car’s name is Matilda, and she is usually very trustworthy.

Next, every single warning light that could turn on started flickering, and I automatically start honking the horn so Jorge could help. But the horn would not work. So I start blinking the lights, but they were gone as well.

Jorge, God bless his soul, noticed from the rear view mirror that the lights were slowly dimming, and he knew right away there was trouble. Thank God we were all able to make it safely to the side of the road just one exit away from home, and I am so glad that I didn’t engage in my usual “I am going to beat you home because you are a Sucker race.”

But it was what my mother-in-law said right there on the side of the road with cars whizzing by as Jorge pushed Matilda to safety that inspired today’s DEVO: “I have God working overtime to take care of this family!”

Amen and glory! I can totally relate to that statement! God can never take a break from watching over me or my kids because we’d be in big trouble if He did. The awesome news for us today is that He never does.

Psalm 121:3 “He will not let you stumble; the One who watches over you will not slumber.”

You sleep, I sleep, we all sleep, but God does not sleep. That is so comforting to me.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that You are wide awake watching over us. We invite You to hover right on top of us, our spouses, our children, and over all those we love so that none of us stumbles—ever. In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

Helicopter Parent~

Psalm 33:13-15The Lord looks down from heaven;
    He sees every human being.
From His dwelling place God observes    all who live on earth...God knows everything they do.

Happy Monday:)

This past weekend I was remembering a time when my granny said, 'Yenisita, I can't take my eyes off of you for one minute; you're always getting into trouble."

She said it in response to my changing the time on the kitchen clock a couple hours ahead.  When it hit 7 PM, which was really five, and grandpa still hadn't come home and cell phones didn't exist, my precious Mama nearly panicked.  

Why did I do it? I do not recall.  But thinking about that made me think of our sweet Lord.  For you see, He never takes His eyes off of us--not even for a second.  

Left to our own devices, who knows what kind of trouble we could get into.  And what about our kids?

Stormie Omartian, whom I love says, and I am paraphrasing here, that God's protection is like an umbrella.  It covers us when we go out in the storm.  But sometimes we purposely get out from under it.  We make unwise decisions that leave us exposed.  When our kids are tempted to do something silly or actually do something wrong, our prayers invite God to pursue them with the umbrella anyway.  Amen to that!

I have several friends whose kiddos are away at college, and sometimes thinking about the countless ways they could get into trouble can be overwhelming and worrisome.  But in reality, sometimes even those who live with us in the same house are up to mischief and we had no idea. The key is to pray.  Only God can be with any of us 24/7.  He is the ultimate helicopter parent, and we need to be grateful. 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that even when we are not physically near our families, You are there.  You are 100% aware of what is going on, so we come to You and ask to be fully covered with Your powerful umbrella of protection.  And even if we try to scoot out from underneath it by our choices, have mercy, and keep it firmly in place.  Thank You for Your willingness to always answer us. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Flutter~

Thursday Greetings:)

 

I love the verses we have looked at the last couple of days, so join me for round three.

 

But first, allow me to answer one of your questions.

 

"Yenise, I do not feel comfortable always bothering God and asking for help all the time."

 

Dear brother, READ THE BIBLE.

 

John 16:24 "Ask, and you shall receive."

 

James 4:2 "...You do not have because you do not ask God."

 

And those are just two of many many more. Feel free to take God at His Word and ask away. Besides, you really do not have the ability to take care of everything on your own.

 

Now then, just this morning I shared a "let there be" prayer with someone who's mom was going into surgery.

 

"'Let there be' healing and health and a complete recovery for so-and-so. Let there be peace in the patient and wisdom and skill in the surgeon..."

 

It just makes my day when we invite God to hover over us. And the word--hover--got me thinking, so I looked up other versions of the Bible to see what they say.

 

The Young's Literal Translation of the Bible says God was "fluttering."

 

That word inspired me so much that I spent the rest of the day yesterday till almost 1AM this morning sporadically asking God to flutter over each of us. To flutter over our businesses, health, emotions, bank accounts, relationships, and jobs.

And every time I thought about it, I was over joyed because there is a mighty precedent here, people. The entire creation came into existence because God fluttered.

 

He can make something out of nothing. He can create new beginnings in our lives. He can speak a word, and every thing changes--in a flash!

 

Join me today in asking God to flutter over us.

 

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, What a perfectly wonderful word--FLUTTER. We invite You to flutter over us right now with your unparalleled magnificence. Right before You did that in Genesis the earth was "void and empty." Then You showed up and awesome miracles took place. Sometimes we feel void and empty, but You have exactly what we need to feel alive. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Where the Spirit of God Hovers...

Wednesday greetings, dear people!

 

GO HEAT!  For all you fair-weather fans and scoffers, imagine me sticking my tongue out!

 

Yesterday's DEVO touched a nerve, and I love it when that happens.

 

Check out these responses:

 

I am asking God to let there be healing for my child.

 

I am asking God to let there be a secure job for my spouse.

 

I am asking God for a favorable outcome with a legal matter.

 

I am asking God to let there be a beautiful young woman to come into my life so I can settle down.

 

I am asking God to let there be courage in my life so I can be bold and take a step to a better financial future.

 

I am asking God to let there be more love between  my spouse and me because it's gotten cold.

 

I am asking God to let there be emotional stability for my spouse because there is a tendency for anger.

 

I am asking God to let there be an eye-opening realization in my spouse's life of the great need for God.

 

This list goes on and on...

 

I wonder what is more difficult: Creating light, creating the animals, creating the ocean, creating the universe and creating us lovely folks, or answering any of the petitions above?

 

I think it's pretty clear that God can handle anything and everything.

 

I also want to backpedal to the verse above yesterday's verse.

 

What is the precursor to God's power showing up and doing bigger and beautiful things?  What is the first step in making something out of nothing?

 

Genesis 1:2 "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters."

 

Where the Spirit of God hovers, amazing things follow.

 

Hallelujah!!!!

 

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, Hover over us right now!  We welcome Your presence and Your power.  Thank You that You have everything we need to realize the "let there be," we have been asking for.  In Jesus' name, Amen~