Corona Devotionals

What good things is our faith prompting us to do today? A bouquet of flowers left on a doorstep.  A warm fuzzy blanket, gifted to someone upon hearing the news that someone they love has passed.   A little money sent in the mail. An invitation to breakfast, lunch or dinner.  A hand-written note.  Cheering for someone from the sidelines. Baking or cooking for someone.  Sending that text or making that call. Supporting that cause or funding that missionary.  Thanking a volunteer.  Visiting a nursing home.  Taking a neighbor's empty garbage cans up from the road to their house.  Authentically listening to someone speaking to you. Loving someone who is broken.  Leading someone who is lost. ~~~ What  good things  is our  faith prompting  us  to do  today? Whatever it is, may God give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.   ~~~ Have we ever received love in some form at just  the right time?  When we needed reminded that someone cared about our exi

Our boys are two years apart in life, one grade apart in school, and their hearts seem (to me) to sometimes beat as one.  They love to joke together, listen to music together, toss the frisbee or to shoot the breeze...together.   So it should come as no surprise to me that they share friends.  Some from one grade, and some from the other's grade...they have formed an open posse.  I say "open" because unlike most friend groups, theirs always has availability, and they exhibit no exclusivity. Much the opposite, actually.  New people come and go weekly and everyone has a place when and if they want one.  They all have their quirks and their strengths, and as they all sat around the supper table the other night, I listened and loved the acceptance and authenticity of not just the conversation, but of the friendships that were laughing and deepening over sub sandwiches and tater tots.  A table full of different personalities, choosing to enjoy and encourage each other.  It'

A friend of mine's daughter was celebrating a spiritual milestone yesterday.  She has been studying the Bible and what God's Word says about living for Him, and yesterday she was making a public declaration of her faith at church, and afterwards family was coming over to celebrate.   That's big! I wanted to do something special for her.  Not over the top, but something to encourage her, to commend her, and to reassure her: this "following Jesus" thing is big, but God is bigger.  He welcomes us (all of us), He directs us, He helps us, He forgives us, and (more than we will ever fully grasp): He loves us . I thought of just the thing.  A cake in the shape of a cross.  Delicious and symbolic--what could be better on a big day-of-faith?   So, I whipped up a box-mix and popped it in the oven to bake.  I stirred some powdered sugar with a pinch of cocoa powder and a splash of milk to make an icing drizzle, and then I loosened the sides of the cooled cake so that I could

Everyone knows, (we can't escape it)--the election is coming.   Lord, I was looking to Scripture for direction and confirmation in casting my vote.  I was reading in the Bible about the days of yesterday, to get your direction for today.  And I found it.  As I read, it felt like Jeremiah  was journaling (between 630 and 580 B.C.)  the happenstances and mishaps of our Nation and our leaders in 2024.   “What sorrow awaits the leaders of my people—the shepherds of my sheep—for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,” says the  Lord .   ( 2)  Therefore this is what the  Lord , the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the  Lord .    ~Jeremiah 23:1-2 The Bible described today... as it was describing Israel yester day.   But, I kept reading...where were we? And I fou

When our children were young, I remember one Sunday morning before church when the outfit of our oldest (probably seven years old at the time) did not pass my "church attire" test. "Aw, Mom, don't you know it's what's on the inside that counts, not the outside?", he protested as he trooped back upstairs to change into a collared shirt.   But, he was right, and at seven years old, he "got" what many people never "get".   It's not what's on the outside that counts.  In this case, he was arguing that he could look casual for church but that it was okay because he had a formal understanding and relationship with Jesus in his heart.  And this is theologically true: Jesus doesn't  care what we wear when we walk into church. But mom does.   However, the flip-side of the argument that our son was making that Sunday morning is also true.  There are many people (including us sometimes), who look dapper and holy on Sunday mornings, o