Little Wins
God gave me this devotion several years ago. I dug it out of the archives, because I really needed the reminder. Perhaps you do too. Let’s celebrate the small wins. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Storms have a way of bringing life to a complete halt….but they also have a way of making us see hope in even the slightest ray of sunshine. In simple everyday things we would normally take for granted. It’s been almost 5 years since my family endured one of the biggest storms of our lives. On September 19, 2016 my husband received a call from a care flight nurse. His
Okay, Google
It was 8:15 pm. We sat down for family prayer. We read the designated portion and exchanged our prayer requests for the night. As my daughter prepared to pray, she reviewed the requests out loud. Once she recalled them confidently, she closed her eyes to pray. But instead of "Our heavenly father..." she said "Okay, Google." I'm not gonna lie- ALL of our heads jerked up and we opened our eyes. We immediately started cracking up. My daughter was astounded at her own words- "Did I just say okay, GOOGLE?" It was pretty funny, but after I had tucked them
Live!
Impossible. Unlikely. Not looking good. Have you heard those words? It's scary. You know what, though? Impossible has never stopped my God. "But since when has impossibleEver stopped You..." Are you walking through something scary today? Do you need healing? Do you need dry bones to be restored? "My God is able to save and deliver and healAnd restore anything that He wants to" Whatever you are facing today, may this be our prayer, "Lord, bring dry bones back to life through Your resurrection power!" "He will not run out of miracles anytime soon..." Lyrics from "RATTLE!" by Elevation Worship
Everything Will Be Alright
The world feels like such a mess right now. A global pandemic is still lingering. Parents are fearful as they send their children back to school. Afghanistan is in the process of falling to the Taliban. And overall, chaos and confusion seems to be reigning. And if I’m being completely honest, it feels like evil is winning. Today I was reminded of the story of Elisha and his servant during the time when Aram was at war with Israel. Elisha prophesied and counseled the king of Israel in such a way that the king of Aram was not able to
She Would Have Kept Going…
I couldn’t wait to talk to her…but what would I say? What exactly do you say to someone who saved your mom's life? “Thank you” just doesn’t seem like enough. It all began a few weeks ago. My parents attended a funeral in Houston. At the burial site, my mom passed out. Actually, she did more than pass out. She had no pulse. An ICU Nurse practitioner ‘just happened’ to be standing a couple of feet away from my mom. The nurse assessed the situation and immediately began CPR. Meanwhile, the pastors and other attendees also took charge and began
Back to School
I don’t know what going back to school looks like with your family. When my kids were young, there were squeals of excitement. They loved shopping for new school supplies and anticipating the wonderful world of letters, numbers, and colors. What fun to learn to cut and to use glue! Eventually, as they grew older, the subject matter became increasingly challenging and they had lots more to do from writing papers to solving complex problems. Not to mention, they found themselves spending a lot more hours working versus playing. So these days, let's just say while my kids look forward
Instead of Worrying …
The song says, "Don't worry, be happy." The Bible tells how to do that. ~Anu https://youtu.be/6smke7tS-jg
Anxiety
There are seasons of my life when I struggle with anxiety. Fear just comes over me because I am overwhelmed by my situation. Not only do I begin to wonder if God hears my prayers, but I also question if He understands that my prayer needs an answer … like yesterday! As I reflect on my experiences, I have seen myself respond to these feelings of anxiety in two different ways. The first response is deciding that God doesn’t understand the urgency of the matter so I take charge of the situation myself. We read in 1 Samuel 13:7b-9 how
Declare It
As my children are getting ready to go back to school, I know there’s anxiety in this Mama’s heart regarding my children and the coming school year. So many thoughts and concerns swirl in my head. But the one thing that always grounds me is the word of God. No matter how crazy the thoughts in my mind, I always find peace and calm in scripture. So this past Sunday when our pastor prayed over the students returning to school in the fall, his declaration of the following powerful scriptures over them helped calm my fears and reassure me that
Out of the mouths of Babes
When my boys were young, disciplining them was easy. Hmm…maybe I should rephrase that. It was easier than it is now. I remember when my oldest was about 5 years old. He and his little brother had done something mischievous. I don’t remember the details of their mischief, but I do remember the conversation that followed. I told them that I needed some time to think of a proper punishment. Then, as we got into the car, headed for Walmart, my 5 year old said something I’ll never forget. “Mama, I want you to punish us. I don’t want what
