Comfort Others~

Greetings,

I have a buddy who went through a rough patch recently, and the journey to health and wholeness for her and her family has been hard. It has also been one of experiencing the blessings and direction of God.

Both she and I have lost track of how many times desperate prayers were offered to God for help. But as a result of storming heaven’s gates, a seasoned and trusting faith emerged. And a few days ago, this young woman did something completely extraordinary: She put her hands on someone else having difficulty and prayed for them.

I take that back.  She put her hands on someone else and BOLDLY prayed for healing and peace.

Put yourself in her place.  What would your friend or family member say if suddenly you jumped up, declared you had faith in the living God, and put your hands on their shoulders and asked God for a miracle?

It took guts on her part.  But then again, if she herself has been comforted through her struggles, it only makes sense that she would want others to be comforted.  

Wait, where have I heard that before? 

“Praise be to the God of all comfort who comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

Let’s be bold and generous with our comforting of others.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You for reminding us that You expect us to share the goodness we receive from You.  Make us sensitive to others in need and help us be bold.  In Jesus' name, AMEN~

The Good Life

“Follow only God, your God, hold Him in deep reverence, keep His commandments, listen obediently to what He says, serve Him—hold on to Him for dear life” (Deuteronomy 13:4 The MESSAGE Version)!

Greetings,

My precious grandbaby is crawling up a storm, and she enjoys traveling all around the house.  This has forced me to keep my floors squeaky clean, but it is worth it.  The greatest thing about her new-found freedom is that she follows me where ever I go.  If I am in the kitchen, she’s right behind me.  If I am folding towels, she’s jiggles and wiggles to the linen closet.  If I am making the bed, voilà, there she is.  I take her desire to be near me as the highest compliment, and somehow I think she knows, even in her limited baby understanding, that I love her, want what’s best for her, will make sure she has everything she needs, and of course, will drop everything I am doing to tickle her and play peek-a-boo.

God tells us to follow only Him and hold onto Him for dear life because He also loves us, wants what is best for us, will make sure we have everything we need, and will always tune in to our prayers.  The Bible says it best: “God is your life - your good life, your abundant life, your fulfillment, and the length of your days” (Deuteronomy 30:20 The Amplified Bible).

Praise Him!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, we follow You today.  Help us to revere you and keep Your commandments. Help us to hear what You are saying to us.  We hold onto  You today because we want the good the life. In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

A Thanksgiving Psalm

A Thanksgiving Psalm~

I give You thanks, O Lord, with all my heart.  I praise Your name for Your unfailing love and faithfulness; Your promises are backed by all the honor of Your name. As soon as I pray, You answer me; You encourage me by giving me strength. You reach out Your hand and save me. You will work out Your plans for my life—for Your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. (Psalm 138)

    

Happy Thanksgiving and God bless you~

Magnify The Lord With Me~

Greetings,

Last Thursday was my anniversary, and we celebrated by staying in, for a change.  And right when Jorge and I had settled in to digest the carb-laden pasta feast from our favorite Italian restaurant, our dog, Hershey, started going bonkers.  He was outside, and his barking was more animated than usual.  More than when he spots a squirrel running along the electricity lines.  More than when pigeons pick at the ants in between the pavers.  And more than when a cat dares enter his territory.

I begrudgingly got up to see what was going on. That’s when I saw a blob on the rug outside on the terrace.  Initially, I wasn’t sure what it was.  But as I got closer and closer, it came more and more into focus.  IT WAS AN OPOSSUM!!!

It was either playing dead or actually dead; I couldn’t tell at first.    I immediately started screaming my head off, like the house was on fire, and Jorge sprang into action and managed to get Hershey inside where he cleaned his mouth with baby wipes.  It was a maddening scene. 

I finally composed myself.  Perhaps Jorge saying, “Compose yourself, woman,” was what brought me back to my senses.  I grabbed my phone, took a picture, and suggested we turn off the lights to see if it would leave before risking touching it and getting rabies.  And not even five minutes later when I turned the lights back on, it was gone.  Thank the Lord!

Getting close and drawing near helps bring focus to what might be otherwise blurry or obscured.  This is a good thing.  Because once you know what or Who you’re dealing with, you can make wise decisions. In the case of Hershey, now that I know he is a vicious rodent attacker, I will be extra cautious before I ever open the door when he barks.  But as for the Lord, I know that as I take steps to magnify Him, to enlarge Him, to draw close to Him, to worship Him for His goodness, power, and willingness to intervene in my life, everything else, my fear and my worries will dwindle. As He gets bigger and bigger, my problems will get smaller and smaller. 

“Magnify the Lord with me! Let’s praise His name together! I sought the Lord’s help, He and answered me; He delivered me from all my fears” (Psalm 34:3-4).

Let’s magnify.

Dear Lord, we draw close to You and praise Your name.  Thank You that when we seek Your help, when we approach You, when we focus on You and Your greatness, You answer us and take away our fears.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Open Our Eyes!

The DEVO below was originally sent one year ago.  It's still relevant! Still important! And this year, Jorge opened his eyes! AMEN!

Greetings,

Last night Jorge and I went out to dinner to celebrate our 31st wedding anniversary; I cannot believe how quickly the years have flown by!  As always, I take a few pictures, and I asked Jorge to really make an effort and open his eyes wide before snapping a couple shots because I read somewhere it makes you photogenic. I WAS WRONG.  No matter how much he tried, his eyes were either completely closed or just plain weird looking.  I couldn't stop laughing, and we both gave up.  But it got me to thinking: Having opened eyes is actually a big deal.

"Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in Your instructions" (Psalm 119:18).

There are so many necessary, helpful, life-blessing truths in God's Word, but sometimes we can't see them.  Sometimes we can't understand why forgiving someone is the better option.  Why being a peacemaker is a wiser choice. Why praying changes our circumstances.  Why patience will ultimately lower our stress. Why choosing our friends wisely will avoid us a lot of trouble, and on and on and on and on and on...

The good news is that God opens our eyes when we ask Him.  That takes the pressure off of us trying to do it on our own. We don't want to be hit or miss in this important area of our lives; there's too much at stake.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Open our eyes!  We need to see You clearly. We need to know Your truths and Your principles.  The gospel is a powerful and right guide for living. We don't want to miss it. We don't want our kids to miss it either; open their eyes as well!  In Jesus' name, AMEN.

                              2017                                                           2018

GROW UP!

1 Peter 2:1-3 So get rid of every kind of evil, every kind of deception, hypocrisy, jealousy, and every kind of slander.  Desire God’s pure word as newborn babies desire milk. Then you will grow in your salvation.  Certainly you have tasted that the Lord is good" (1 Peter 2:1-3)!

Greetings, 

This passage is all about making a clean sweep of your life, and it’s a powerful one-two punch.  Reading the Bible goes hand-in-hand with getting rid of bad behavior. Doing both will bring growth. 

Is growth really that important?  Think about where you were in your faith journey this time last year.  Is your faith stronger now?  Does your hope run deeper?  Do you have more peace? Do you love better? Do you find it easier to trust the Lord? 

The answer to all those questions above is hopefully a hearty yes.  Growth brings blessings.  Growth helps us avoid stupid decisions and helps us make wise ones.  Growth helps us stay calm in the storm because we know that if He brought us out before, He will bring us out again.  

Who among us wants to work at the same job without ever getting a raise or promotion? And not one of us who has kids wants them to stay stuck at the age they are now.  We want them to grow.  Can you imagine if my 10-month old granddaughter never learned to walk or clap her hands? How sad would my day be if we never played peek-a-boo?  Or what if she all those precious baby shark teeth never appeared? And what about if she were never potty-trained? 

There's nothing cute about being stunted in one's growth, and actually, every new milestone brings joy!

The same can be said about growing in our salvation.  As we purge the bad, read the Word and pray through this life, we are blessed with joy, peace, faith, hope, love, and health! 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You that as we pray, right at this moment, we are growing.   Every moment spent in prayer builds our muscles and strengthens us for life.  YOU ARE GOOD! In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

YOU ARE MY SAFE PLACE

Greetings,

The number eight is front and center today because it's 11/8/2018. So I went looking for a Psalm with number eight in it and came across Psalm 118.  Today's DEVO is a prayer based on this powerful and uplifting Psalm.  Given the news this morning out of California, it's perfect for our troubled souls.

Dear Lord,

I give thanks to You today because You are good and Your love endures forever. I cry out to You because sometimes things are happening that cause me worry.  Thank You that You answer me and set me free from anguish. You are on my side, and I will not fear.  You are my Helper, and You are for me.  Mortal man has no power over me.  I trust in You and take refuge in You.  YOU ARE MY SAFE PLACE.

Sometimes there is trouble all around, and so many things are going wrong.  But in Your mighty name, that trouble is cut off of my life.  That trouble is extinguished by Your mighty living waters!  You are my Strength and my Song. You are my Salvation.

There is rejoicing and joyful shouting in my house.  I  shout for joy and I praise Your name.  BECAUSE I ABIDE WITH YOU AND SEEK SHELTER WITH YOU, NONE IN MY FAMILY SHALL DIE, BUT WE WILL ALL LIVE AND DECLARE YOUR GOODNESS!

I give thanks to You because You have answered me. This is the day You have made.  I rejoice in it and am glad.

Send showers and showers of blessings. Thank You for Your guiding light that illuminates my life with grace, freedom, and joy.

YOU ARE MY GOD, and I PRAISE YOU! You are good,  and Your mercy and loving-kindness endure forever.  In Jesus' name, AMEN.