When my daughter decided to decorate her new baby’s room in Hyland cows, my sister-in-law sent me a pattern to do an appliqué of one on the sewing machine. She thought using the leftover scraps from the baby quilt I had done made a great idea. She even supplied me with a YouTube video about how to do it.
My oldest daughter loves her drama class. She enjoys the spotlight, developing her character, and entertaining the audience. One of the most important lessons she has learned in drama class is to pay careful attention to the vision the director is trying to achieve from the cast. If one fails to pay attention then the whole production could go wrong. In essence, many are affected, cues for lines are missed, timing is all wrong and the mood the director is trying to achieve is blurred. Paying attention is critical to the overall success of the play.
The story of the Samaritan woman has popped up many times in my life lately. Whether in a sermon, study, or on the radio—The Woman at the Well has continued to knock on the door to my heart.
Amid the feverish unpacking of boxes I heard the chime of the doorbell. When I opened the front door I discovered our teenage neighbor standing there with cookies, flowers, and a card in her hands.
It is hard to read these words of Jesus without a Halloween-like movie scene coming to mind. And since most of us fret over the occasional splinter, we can’t imagine that submitting to a voluntary amputation as much of a solution to anything.
Nestled in the middle of the Psalms are three verses that describe the blessed life of a believer. The psalmist begins by describing a believer’s heart. Blessed are those….who have set their hearts on pilgrimage (Psalm 84:5). In other words, blessed are those who have a longing in their souls and a determination in their minds to journey through life with Jesus.
While driving out of my neighborhood recently, a fire truck passed me in emergency mode--sirens and lights pulsing. I quickly realized a three alarm fire was occurring when two more trucks zoomed by me.
As I write this devotion, I am praying the words of our scripture fervently. Our family is facing a situation about which I have many questions, but I am trusting God to calm my fears.
I have a treasure, and so does every other person who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Paul addresses this treasure in 2 Corinthians. He calls it God’s light! He further explains that it’s the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
I can do the math! The Bible says that Enoch lived 65 years, then became a father and walked with God 300 years. Altogether Enoch lived 365 years (Genesis 5:21-23). Like Enoch, raising wee ones certainly drove me to my knees and necessitated a daily walk with Him. The Bible has so little to say about Enoch, but we can see from his place in history that he lacked many faith-building benefits that we enjoy.
I awoke from my nap in a panic. I was going to be late to rehearsal. I ran to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. My mascara was smeared, my lipstick was gone, and one earring was apparently left on my pillow. What did I do? I started making these things right! I began a repair project!
I am a very sentimental person. One item that is very dear to me is a Raggedy Ann doll. It was a birthday present from my dad when I turned four. I loved Raggedy Ann as a child. My room even had Raggedy Ann drapes, until I got too cool for the drapes. But not the doll.
I didn’t recognize the number, so I let the call go to voicemail. I listened as my cousin’s friend told me to call her as soon as possible. Hands shaking, I pressed the number on the phone. She said, “It is about John.” Her voice cracked as she held back tears. “He had emergency surgery this morning, and he passed away shortly after.” I burst into tears; my only living cousin on my dad’s side of the family had passed.
My mom loved to sew, and she made my clothes when I was growing up. She took such great care in making them that I would often get asked, “Where did your mom buy that dress?” I would proudly say, “She made it for me.” She would do alterations for friends and family. Her work was so well done that she could have opened her own clothing store. But she charged nothing. She said it was a gift that God gave her that she enjoyed sharing.
Staring at the lab reports, the doctor said, “I just don’t know what to do to help you. Nothing makes sense to me.” He had been studying my condition and found there are several forms of Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS). The first step is to determine which one I have. “You are stable now,” he added, “but time is of the essence.”
I love to watch the birds eat on the bird feeder. One day a momma bird was feeding her little one from the feeder. As the baby sat perched on the fence, the mom would fly a few inches from the feeder to feed the little one. Its little wings flapped as if it was trying to fly to the feeder to join mom, but fear was holding it back. Then mom began to eat at the feeder. Seeing this, the little one squawked as if saying, “What about me?”
Jesus told a short story to a group of grumbling religious leaders to illustrate a poignant point—God will intensely search for those who need His love and salvation. He used a desperate woman, of all things, for his story. She’d lost a coin worth a day’s wage. She had only ten and one was lost. She lit a small oil lamp, the only source of light in her small windowless home, and searched carefully until she found it. She then invited her women friends and neighbors to rejoice with her. Jesus adds in verse 10, “I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God over one sinner who repents.”
We talk about having our “buttons” pushed when someone says or does something that ignites powerful emotions. An array of ugly feelings burst forth when a sensitive spot in our souls is suddenly triggered. We all know at least one difficult person who provides opportunities for us to do the things we don’t want to do (Romans 7:15).
Trying to find a home in a large metropolis proved to be much more difficult than I expected. The market was very different from our small East Texas town.
Real kindness isn’t born by pushing harder. Or by squeezing it out like lemon juice. Kindness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. God’s kindness is powerful and generous towards us. Even so, He asks us to bear His fruit. When we bear spiritual produce, we become like Him for His sake.
