A Little Goes a Long Way~

Wednesday greetings~

 

A few of you lovely birds were a little startled to read that Jesus was asleep in the middle of the storm.  I prefer to look at it like this: If Jesus is in the boat, there's never any real danger to begin with. Amen~ 

 

Matthew 8:26 He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then He got up and gave an order to the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

 

When the disciples screamed for His help, Jesus' priority was to remind them that they needed to have a little more faith. 

 

Sometimes I feel like I could use more faith.

 

However, and let's really let this absorb into our souls, their little faith was enough because Jesus calmed the waters.

 

Jesus never said, "You of no faith."  So He took what little they had and worked with it, people.

 

Jesus works with us--always.  He may encourage us to strengthen our faith and bolster it up by praying and reading the Bible, but He never ever rejects the faith we do have.  Do not fret or worry that you are somehow missing the mark. 

 

Faith-building point of the day: A little goes a long way with God.

 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that when we call on Christ He accepts all the faith we can muster and uses it to do mighty things.  Strengthen us and protect us.  In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Don't Ask For His Presence~

Good afternoon~

One of the very first dates Jorge and I had was a fishing trip on his dad's boat. It didn't take long for me to get seasick, and yes, I hurled in front of the man whom I least wanted to ever see me like that.

I was mortified, and his dad had to turn the boat around and get me back to dry land. Luckily for them they still managed to catch a dolphin in the process.

Being seasick was an awful feeling, and I felt my body swaying for hours after I was ashore. But at least, I never feared for my life. In fact, I recall Jorge and his parents kind of making fun of me because I couldn't handle the one-foot waves. (Excuse me for never ever having been on a boat before!)

My experience was totally different than what happened to the disciples. They were caught in a furious storm and they were freaking out.

Matthew 8:25-26

"The disciples went and woke him, saying, 'Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!'"

As bad as being seasick was, I will agree that fear of drowning has to be way worse. And even though Jesus was asleep--sometimes we feel as though He is tuned out of our life as well--the reality is the disciples didn't have to go too far for help.

YOU NEVER HAVE TO GO FAR TO ASK FOR HELP.

Faith-building lesson of the day: If you feel like you're going to drown, shout for salvation! Make it loud enough that you need to use exclamation points. It's OK.

I find it immensely comforting that Jesus is always with me. Closer than close. And that He knows that sometimes I need to yell.

And He is with each of you--right now.

Sometimes I ask for His presence, and then I correct myself and thank Him that He is always with me.

Sometimes I ask Him to be with my children, then I take it back and thank Him that He is their tightly-knit Companion.

Do you see the difference? If we can accept by faith that Jesus is literally with us, it will change our entire perspective for the better.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Sometimes we are guilty of asking You to be with us, when You are already here. We want to be purposeful in our prayers, and that means we must pray with precision. Thank You for Your constant and abiding presence in our life. We need You every second of every minute of every hour of every day. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

 

Jesus is With You~

Monday greetings~

Matthew 8:24 "Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat..."

When I included that verse in Friday's DEVO, I purposely left out the rest of it because I wanted to write about it this week.

It says, "...but Jesus was sleeping."

Here the disciples are in danger of capsizing, and Jesus, can you believe it? is asleep.

Faith-building point of the day:

Jesus is right there with them in the middle of the crisis.

That about sums it all up: NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE OR WHAT YOU'RE DOING, JESUS IS WITH YOU!!!!

Everybody do a happy dance :)

And, by the way, His being asleep is all part of the lesson.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that Jesus is with me, and He is with my family. He has been given an open invitation to dwell in my heart, and by faith I receive His steadfast presence every second of my life. In Christ's name, AMEN!

Suddenly~

TGIF Greetings:)

For the past few days we've looked at this verse and discovered that God has good plans, and we need to get on board with His plans by telling Him we trust Him. We also need to live life as though we truly believe that He makes everything beautiful at the right time.

I will be the first to admit that it is easy to live this way when His plans and ours align. When love is in the air and money is in the bank. When the kids are first in their class and working the afternoon shift to learn responsibility. When everyone is healthy, and everyone is getting along. When the flowers are in bloom and there's not a rain cloud on the horizon.

What about when something unexpected happens?

Matthew 8:24 "Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat..."

My sudden and furious storm happened on July 8, 1990. I got a phone call from my mom that she didn't feel well, and one week later we learned she had pancreatic cancer. She passed away May 24, 1991, and for a long long time I struggled with how it could possibly be part of God's plan to prosper my mom by letting her die of cancer. I could not understand how His promise of no harm fit in with her chemo treatments. How her future was cut short--too short by dying so young.

For a long long time I thought I would drown in the grief. On a daily basis I bombarded God with "why?" questions.

I did not get all the answers, but I did get a few.

Prosperity, as defined by our friends at dictionary.com means "a successful, flourishing, or thriving condition."

The best place where we will all one day thrive and flourish is with Christ Himself in glory.

And, can any harm ever come to us again when we are in heaven? No! No chemo, no needles, no cancer, no pain.

Finally: If God's intention is to give us a hope and a future, is there anything better we could hope for then to spend our future in perfect peace, health, and happiness with Him?

God's timing was not mine--not by a long shot. But here is what He whispered in my heart after I questioned Him--even His very love for me. (I am ashamed to admit it.)

"Yenisita, every good Father calls His children home. Besides, You know what heaven is like. Would you really want me to send your mom back to earth?"

I can honestly answer no; I wouldn't want her to come back.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Let us feel Your presence now and when the sudden storms arise. Thank You that You can handle all our questions and that You have all the answers we will ever need. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

The Lord's Purpose Prevails~

Thursday Greetings~

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

God knows the plans He has for us, and He is also aware of the plans we have for ourselves.

Proverbs 19:21 "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails."

He knows what we want, why we want it, when we want it, and where we want to be when we get it. But when we seek Him and pray for guidance, this means that sometimes we will not get our way. Thank God!

I can think of a few things that if I would have had my way, my life would be considerably less enjoyable then it is right now. Maybe doing things his way worked for Sinatra, but it hasn't worked for me.

Nevertheless, His purpose for His children prevail. And what is His purpose? To prosper us in mind, body, and soul. To never harm us. To give us hope and a bright future.

We need to accept the above-statement as fact if we want to be content. We also need re-evaluate the definition of prosperity and what it means to have a bright furture because like I said yesterday, not all of us are in a great place right now. Many of us are questioning not only God's plans, but maybe even His love for us.

"If God loves me so much, why did He allow ____________?"

Yesterday we learned that the plans belong to God. Today we must nourish our faith and tell God that we trust Him. That He is trustworthy. That we want our plans to align with His. That He knows best. That He and He alone has the ability and the desire to bless us beyond belief and to overwhelm us with peace.

Once upon a time I did fill in the blank above and questioned why a loving God would allow my mom to die of cancer at 47.

Want to know what He said?

Tomorrow. Hahaha~

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Your Way is better than ours. We do trust You. We want Your best for us and our families, and if this means not getting our way, then as scary as it is to give up control, we do it. Oh wait, we have no control! Prosper us now in every area of our lives. Pour out Your peace on us that we may be content. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

God's Way~

Wednesday Greetings~

 

Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

This verse is such a comforting and beautiful promise for all God's children.  No matter what is going on in your life right now, you can boldly say that God is on your side.  He is all about setting you up to bless you, not harm you.  To give you hope, not despair. To give you the something to look forward to, not leave you perpetually crashing into one dead end after dead end.

Oooohhhh--I can hear some of you lamenting, "God's plan is not happening for me.  I am not prospering.  I am under a lot of stress. I am hopeless..."

Hit the brakes, people!  Let's break it down, yes? 

The very first thing we learn from this verse is that the plans belong to God.  

It doesn't say, "I know the plans I have for myself," declares Yenise, "plans to prosper myself..."

This does not mean I don't have plans.  I do--lots of them.  And right now I am quaking in my ankle socks just thinking about what would have happened if I could have somehow exerted control over Rayray's life and sent her to school last year.  And don't think I didn't try.  I called and cajoled and cried to them, but they wouldn't budge.  (I may have initially had a minor temper tantrum).

I was so smug--thinking to myself, "You won't budge?  Fine.  But you'll see; I know Someone Who will make you."

I turned to God and pleaded with Him to move the red-tape mountain.  I asked Him to unholster His heavenly guns and cause a ruckus.  I begged Him move the hearts of the inept ding dongs who messed up. 

Crikey! NOTHING HAPPENED.  

Except that all along God was busy behind the scenes setting us up to bless us.  When we couldn't see how it would work out, He could.  He always knew His plan was best.   And He also knew that we would eventually comes to our senses and thank Him for being in control.  (The older and wiser we get, the more quickly this happens).  He knew that we would re-embrace this life of faith and accept that our way of thinking must take a bow to His will for our life.  

Sometimes that can be difficult because we are just so sure that everything would be better if ________ (fill in the blank).

What did you fill in the blank with?  I am not saying to let it go completely.  After all, Rayray is in school this year.  I am saying, however, that God knows best, including the timing of things.  If you're still waiting for something or someone, or if your dreams are on hold or even non-existent, let's take a step of faith together and embrace God's plans.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 "It is beautiful how God has done everything at the right time."     

PRAYER: Dear Lord,  If we're being honest, sometimes it's hard to believe that Your plans are best.  There are things You have allowed that we would not have chosen for ourselves.  But today, as one big DEVO family, we take a step of faith straight toward You and thank You that You are in control.  Nothing and no one else has a say in our lives.  We open our arms wide to receive all the good You desire to do in us and in those we love, and we find comfort in knowing You have perfect timing.  In Jesus' name, AMEN~     

Detours~

Greetings~

I finally straightened out all the mess with my name at the Social Security office and was able to get my Driver’s License. For once, I came out semi-decent in my picture, and for that I rejoice!

But wait—there’s even better news: RAYRAY IS ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I waited a long time to write this DEVO, and now that the day has arrived, I am doing so with uncontrollable joy in my heart, and I pray these words will be an amazing encouragement for all you praying people out there.

Where to begin?

We parents carry such a burden for our children, and sometimes it is painful. Sometimes it is difficult. Sometimes it is agonizing. Sometimes we wonder whether God is even listening. Sometimes we throw our hands up and give in to despair. But then it all comes together, and we have a better understanding of what God was up to.

Rayray graduated college in May of 2012. At that point she had already applied for Grad School and was waiting for the answer. All her little ducks were in a row—her grades were there, her extra curriculars were there, and please, her mother was praying hard.

And then we get the news that a clerical error was responsible for her not getting into the program. It was discovered too late and Rayray was told she would have to wait a year.

THE HORROR! This did not line up with Rayray’s plan for her life, and frankly, nor with my plan for her.

But at this point in my journey with Jesus, I know enough to know that I am not God. That’s right. I do not always know best, nor am I capable of making all decisions on my own. And I don’t have it all figured out—not even close.

So I looked at my baby square in her disappointed face and promised her that there was no reason to freak out. God was in control—not some putz in the admissions office.

At least Rayray had a job. A friend of a friend of mine mentioned something about a Charter School that was looking for a volleyball coach, and Rayray wound up being hired on the spot. All this was in September of 2012.

I remember Rayray trudging off to practice those first few days—not totally hating it but feeling like it was a royal waste of time when she would rather continue in her studies.

At one point she said to me, “Mother, I know God has a plan, but this detour stinks!”

And I said, “Rayray, sometimes the greatest gifts are found where you least expect them. Trust Him.”

And wouldn’t you know that during her very first game the referee at the game invited her to a meeting for club volleyball. He thought she would be a great coach during the off season. Rayray, who was looking to keep busy, went to the meeting and then came home slightly disappointed because there weren’t enough kids for her to have her own team. There was, however, a spot as an assistant with some guy coach.

That “some guy,” is now her fiancé, and we are all praising God!

More tomorrow J

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Activate Your plans to prosper us and give us the future we have hoped for—for ourselves and our children. In Jesus’ name, AMEN~