Corona Devotionals

The other day we got to enjoy the visual happiness of visiting one of those huge sunflower fields.   Perhaps you've driven by one of these fields, and had all of the brown faces with golden manes smile at you as you whizzed by, their heads nodding slightly in the breeze. We got up close and were able to walk through the carefully planted rows of thick green stems, which held these gorgeous sunflowers.  You could almost feel a sunny power pulsing through the field, radiating from these bright and beautifully dressed flowers.  At that moment, I couldn't think of anything more pretty. And then there is us--we wake up in the morning and begin a necessary routine of making ourselves "beautiful" for the day.  It might be as simple as brushing your teeth and grabbing a shower, but often there are many more steps in the beautification process, and in the end, I never come close to comparing to the simple beauty of a sunflower.   But we worry about it, don't we?  We worry

Some days we just need a buddy.   It feels like everyone and everything is against us, and we are no longer staying afloat on our own.  The waters keep rising and we need a friend to pull us in to safety. Or...scan the "waters" around you: is one of our buddies getting dangerously close to drowning in the waves of life?  If the Lord has put someone on your heart or right in front of you , please consider it a privilege and a duty to reach out to them and encourage them in Christ. God designed us to live in community with others, and when we sense someone in our "community" struggling, we can make a difference  by connecting with them, and reminding them of God's love and purpose for them.   It might be you that needs a friend and a word of encouragement.  Or it might be the name of the friend that God has flashed across your mind as you are reading right now.   I'm not sure what your or your buddy's situation is, but God knows it.  He knows what we are

Are you feeling the Lord grasp your hand to pull you to safety?  Or to a better situation, or to a new job, school, or home?  Is God leading us into something new, but we are reluctant to go? Why do we become entrenched (or paralyzed) in our routines of life--even when they are negative, stale, or (possibly) detrimental to our well-being?  Change is hard.  I think that we can all agree to that.  But if God is initiating the change in our lives, it will bring life.  When God "grasps our hand" in leading us somewhere, it is never a dead-end. But it takes faith to leave, doesn't it?  It takes trust in God to walk away from what is comfortable, even if we have become comfortable with negative things.  It seems illogical to think that we would purposely stay in an unfavorable relationship or situation, but haven't we all been there?  Are you currently there?  It is hard to walk away, because even a dysfunctional situation can somehow become "normal" if you are in

 " I have singled him out so that he will direct his sons and their families to keep the way of the  Lord  by doing what is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have promised.”  ~Genesis 18:19 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Can we be accused of " doing what is right and just "?   For real: if your best friend, neighbor or sibling were to comment on our life, would they say, could they say  that we do what is right and just ?   Deep down inside (and sometimes not  so deep), we all have seeds of sin which encourage us to do what is right for us  and to serve just us , not others.  But the Lord is the One that shifts our focus and motivation OFF of ourselves and our immediate needs, and ON to His plans for us and others.  And so, let's take " right and just " one step further and let's  keep the way of the  Lord  by doing what is right and just. Afterall, God is the One who gives us our sense o

22  “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light.   23  But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!  ~Matthew 6:22-23 Have you ever (chose to) realize that whether we think a situation/person/idea is right or wrong: we are right.  (For example--If we view it as negative, then we (feel) we are right, but if we view it as positive,  then we (feel) we are right .)  Well, maybe not  right , but depending on our mood, our opinion and how we are allowing Jesus to process things through us (Holy Spirit), we can decide VERY differently about how we feel about something. If we "see" things unhealthily (negatively, self-focused, clique-y, condescendingly, one-sidedly), then the situation, and all of our reactions to it are dark (negative).  We can also see things "darkly" as a result of

Sometimes something can become so familiar and comfortable that we can forget the power that lies behind it.  We all know The Lord's Prayer.  Many of us memorized it long before we could absorb it or understand it.   What if we absorbed and understood it's power for us today ?  It's power to connect us to the Lord.  It's power to humble us before the Lord and to bring His sovereignty over our lives.   Did you know that in the Book of Matthew we are instructed to use this prayer as an example of how to pray?   Let's do it. 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come.  Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread.   12 And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. 13 And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from the evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.  ~Matthew 6:9-13 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The other day we had guests over for lunch.  We ate outdoors which is only an option for about 4 months a year in Ohio, so it is a blessing.  The only hard part was that it was about 90 degrees and HOT.   After the guests had left, my daughter was excited and proud to tell me her story that as everyone sat down during lunch, she got up and traded her seat in the shade with one of the guests who was sitting in full sun.  She went on to describe to me how swelteringly hot her (new) seat in the broad-day sun was.  But she was fiercely proud of her act of hospitality and wanted me to know all about it and how she did it to be nice to our company.   I definitely was proud of her.  I know many people that would have quietly kept the comfortable seat in the shade. But when I read the Bible today, I felt her story was a perfect example of how not  to handle "our righteousness", if you will.  (However, in my Mom- opinion, she deserves a slight exemption because she is 9 years old, an

Remember the old commercial that would say, "Membership has its privileges?" I may catch a little (or A LOT) of flack for this, but the Lord continues to remind me that in marriage, Submission has its privileges.   Ouch, I know that hurts some of you to read, but I mean it in the Biblical understanding: Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. ~Ephesians 5:25 ,   and when the husband takes care of the wife and protects her, and makes good decisions for her well-being, as he is directed by the Lord... then following those decisions makes (Biblical) sense and feels right. Well...it should feel right.   But then why do I still struggle for control?  Even though my husband lives out Godly principals for me and our family, it is somehow  still  difficult for me to allow him to lead sometimes.  And so, the Lord lovingly reminds me of His plan for marriage and for me in Scripture today.  I pray that you can glean some wisdom from it as

Have you ever tried to help someone "see the light"?   Maybe the "instructional" light, like a child that is being taught to tie shoelaces, or navigate a new phone or their first driver's license.  Sometimes we try to instruct and explain to help others. Or maybe you have tried to shine the Jesus "light" on someone.  God has touched your life and you want to share that, explain that, spread that to others.  If I die tomorrow but I have taught and lived in a way that my children understand the love and purpose that God has for them, and they catch a glimpse/realize/GET IT about living for Him, then my job here is done.  And if anyone  is drawn a tiny bit closer to the light of Christ because of how we have lived our lives, then we have accomplished much.   Daily, I want to draw nearer to God.  I love His knowledge and I have a (healthy/obedient/awe-filled) fear of the Lord.  I love the "advice" that He gives me (through his Word), even when it

Have you ever felt too unworthy for the Lord to use you? Tainted.   Blemished by sin or blemished because of our doubt in Him?  Like we have let God down one too many times, and His door of opportunity has closed for Him to work in us and through us because of our track record in messing up.     The description of us is accurate.  We are blemished by sin and disobedience to Him.  We are not  worthy of Him. But our projection of God's response to us is inaccurate.  The entire Bible is a love story written with us in mind, and the underlying theme pulsing through the people and chapters is undeserved forgiveness: grace and mercy for us from God. I get in God's way all of the time.  I overstep boundaries, push-the-envelope and force issues that are not mine to meddle in.  Pride, impatience and entitlement seep into us and then ooze or explode out of us, and we dishonor God when that is what we exude. But the Good Lord sees good in us (He has put it there!), and offers us new opp

Some of us are tired of waiting.  Others of us are becoming irate  with the wait.   The interesting thing is that although most of us are waiting for the same general things to occur in our lives (normal school/work/news reports), we each also have unique waiting-situations and people that threaten our day-to-day peace of mind as well. We want to grip the steering wheel of life and stomp our foot on the gas.  The wait is weighing on us, and it is really heavy on some of our families. I have no personal words of wisdom, but God does.  It's no coincidence that today's verses remind us of others who pushed-the-envelope/Who took-the-bull-by-the-horns/Who forced-things...and then they regretted it.  God has a plan for our lives.  The excruciating thing is that He takes His own sweet (Sovereign/All-Knowing) time in rolling it out.  God's timing is different than ours, but it is also better  than ours.  He is doing things  in us, in our families, in our hearts and in our faith as

Have you ever shucked elderberries? Most people haven't.   They are tiny (think peppercorn) sized berries, with a tart taste and deep purple juice.  Locating an elderberry bush is hard to do, but finding someone that knows how to shuck, or has the patience   to do it , is rare.   My Papa did.  In his khaki workpants and white undershirt, every year he would pick berries and then sit for hours and thumb them off the stems into a shallow pan.  Then my Gramma would perform her end of the bargain, and work those elderberries into a delicious pie.  There is nothing more delicious than elderberry pie, especially if your childhood drips with the memories of it. One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.   ~Luke 16:10 As I sat and shucked elderberries last night for over an hour and half (I only yielded 3 cups of berries!), I had time to think.  They are such  teensy berries, and yet the time allotte

Have you conquered anything lately?  Perhaps a game level or a new recipe or maybe you kept your opinion to yourself when someone shared an opposing view (that is a victory for me!). It feels good to come out on top, and our knee-jerk reaction is to own the win and to feel entitled to any reward.  We earned it. But, did we?  No, God did.  He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.  Colossians 1:17 Abram (soon to be renamed “Abraham” by God) had a special place in his heart for his nephew, Lot.  And so he got protective when he heard that: 11 The victorious invaders then plundered Sodom and Gomorrah and headed for home, taking with them all the spoils of war and the food supplies. 12 They also captured Lot—Abram’s nephew who lived in Sodom—and carried off everything he owned. 13 But one of Lot’s men escaped and reported everything to Abram the Hebrew, who was living near the oak grove belonging to Mamre the Amorite. Mamre and his relatives, Eshcol and Aner, were Abram