The Nearer We Are to Daddy...

"I fall asleep in peace the moment I lie down because You alone, O Lord, enable me to live securely" Psalms 4:8.

Greetings in the mighty name of Jesus,

My precious Hershey Pie has been with my husband and me five months now, and we feel blessed!  He's so sweet and smart, and honestly, we could all learn a lot from him.

He has established a night time routine where I'll say, "Hershey, outside." And he will trot once around the entire yard, bark at imaginary monsters, relieve himself in the back corner near the gate where he exchanges pleasantries with the pit bull who lives on the other side of the fence, and then he trots inside.  That's when I say, "Hershey, go to bed!" And he races down the hallway, leaps onto my bed as though he were jumping a hurdle, and settles in right between Jorge's knees.

I suspect he has chosen this special place to rest because the nearer he is to his daddy, the better he sleeps.  Hershey Pie will not move for eight hours after he's lodged himself there, and Jorge, more than happy to accommodate his baby, won't move either.  More than once I have laughed myself to sleep at the site of these two all snuggled up, and I forgive Jorge for all the countless times he has stolen my covers to make sure Hershey Pie is warm.

What is true for my puppy is true for all of us as well: The nearer we are to Daddy, the better we will sleep.

When we draw close through prayer, when we snuggle up in praise, when we cuddle in gratitude, we sleep, and we sleep well because we know that God and God alone enables us to live securely.  He has settled us in hope, and faith rocks us to sleep.

It's a beautiful thing, and here's a shout out to Hershey Pie for providing such a powerful image!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that we can sleep and sleep well when we draw close to You.  You and You alone protect us, provide for us, and bless us with everything we need for this life.  We look forward to enjoying a restful night's sleep because of the hope we have in You.  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~