Corona Devotionals

Do you know your neighbors? Sure, you may know their names or what kind of dog they have (and when they walk it), but actually getting to know our neighbors takes time and intentionality...and heart. We have to care enough to step outside of ourselves (and our home) to get to know a neighbor. And too often we don't make the effort. Life is busy. Schedules are full. But do you ever wonder what is happening behind the front door that is right next door, or a few doors down? We should. Jesus told us to Love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31). Why do you think He said that? Well, any Sunday-school-attending child knows the "correct" answer is because we should treat others as we want to be treated. It is right to be kind, and Jesus loved His neighbors, even when they were unlovely. All of this is true and correct, and Biblically sound. And if you do not have a friendship (yet) with a neighbor, it can begin over a plate of brownies passed through the door, a h

Sinking my teeth into a delicious maple cream stick doughnut, my first thought was --could this day kick off any better?  And then I wondered how the baker could make something  so good?   I bake, but not  like this. And lately with in-school instruction for our kids, and then online-instruction for them, I have developed a deeper appreciation for teachers.  I've always had gratitude for all that teachers invest in our children, but the complications and challenges of Corona have amped that up, and they have risen to the challenge.  Teaching is a special gift that these men and women give to our kids and us, and the world.   As we played a family trivia game the other day, I was impressed by how bright our nephew is.  I knew he was fun-loving and patient, but as he rattled off math, science, and history facts I realized he has worked to achieve intellectual gifts that beautifully accompany his easy-going disposition.  Knowledge and attitude are gifts! We all have gifts.  It's o

Are we feeling low today?  Heavy?  Worn-down?  Worn out? Not that we want a pity-party, because we don't.  But it all adds up, it all wears us down, it all compounds, and once in a while we find ourselves sitting in it.  What is "it"?  Well, that is defined differently by me and by you (and from day to day).  But we all get bogged down by "it" once in a while.   This isolation wears on us (we weren't meant to be alone--we were made for community!).   Or the "community" within our homes or workplaces gets to us.  Relationships are hard, and when you don't have space from some of them, it can be draining (to say the least).  Or the news cycle/circus has either depressed or frightened us enough to make us question everything we thought we knew about normal life in the United States. It's enough already.  Some days, we just need protection from all of it.  I'd like to be hid away in a shelter .   We may  feel alone and panicked and cut off

Ahhhh, Family: Traditions, family history, memories, roles.  Recipes, "the good dishes" and gathering to say "grace".   That is the snapshot taken, but the running-film in the background has a few additional details. Ahhhh, Family: Differences in parenting/politics/faith, etc., enabling, sin-passed-down, entitlement, lack of appreciation and manners. "Family" is made up of both.  The good and the not-so-good.  The trick is not  to just survive: the trick is to thrive  in the mix of both. We are all a cocktail of both sides.   We have sweetness-- fondness and tradition from days past, and in-Christ we have love, patience and kindness in us.  But we also have the sour-side of the elixir in us.  We have sin and self-focus in us.  And so it is not  just "family" (them), it is also us  in relationship to our families that contains t he good and the not-so-good . What is the magic potion for "Family"?   Here's a hint--there is no magic in

Be thankful today that we do not live in the days of the Biblical Book of Exodus.  It's nice to worship and pray to God in clean, non-bloody ways. But for Moses'brother, Aaron, who took on pastor/priest duties for the Israelites, there were specific worship rituals ordained by God, and they were messy.  Don't get me wrong: the steps had Divine significance, as there must be a price/sacrifice paid for our sin.  But be grateful that our current sacrifices to God do not (still) look like this: 10  “Bring the young bull to the entrance of the Tabernacle...   11  Then slaughter the bull in the  Lord ’s presence at the entrance of the Tabernacle.   12  Put some of its blood on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour out the rest at the base of the altar.   13  Take all the fat around the internal organs, the long lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat around them, and burn it all on the altar...    ~Exodus 29:10-13 Okay, then.  A bit graphic isn't it?  N

34  “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.   35  For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.   36  I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’  ~Matthew 25:34-36 Heavenly Father, please open our eyes to see what You see in others, and in their situations.  Help us to SEE others, and to meet them where they are at, and to bring Your Light into their darkness.     For I was hungry, and you fed me. (Matthew 25:35) Lord, for those in our lives/workplaces/extended families/neighborhoods/homes that are hungry : let us seize the opportunity to feed them.  For those hungry-for-attention, let us build into them with time and love.  For those hungry-for-companionship, let us make the effort to comfort them: in person when possible,

Some people begin to nod off when reading the Old Testament in the Bible, however I find the details fascinating (and at-times perplexing), but always bringing me back for more.  Over and over, Old Testament happenings foretell, predict, and provide example of New Testament truths.  Both Testaments tell the same story , and Jesus both separates and connects the two.     In Exodus, as God sets apart Aaron (Moses' brother) and his sons to serve as priests for the people (connecting them to God).  God gets very  specific about the required apparel and adornments that Aaron will wear, and accordingly, God has purpose in every piece of it.  Purpose for Aaron back then, and purpose for us as  God's priests  today.  (Jesus overcame the Old Testament rule that we needed a priest or physical sacrifice to get to God.  Jesus became  that sacrifice for us, and if we choose to accept Him, then we become  "priests" in His service.)   So what did Aaron wear, and how do his priestly

Sometimes the scenarios in our lives can put us in a trance.  It's like we can't see or hear the Truth of God above the din because for whatever reason (or for many reasons), we have become separated from the reality that God has power over our situation and that He can break the "trance" that we might be in.   I don't know about you, but I am sick of being in the catatonic state (an immobile or unresponsive stupor) that many Americans are living in.  It started last year with the fear instituted in us about Corona, and the separation from friends, family, activities and everything "normal" that we had previously known in our lives. From there it seemed to spring-board into the election scenario that currently has much of our Nation at a standstill.  And in between, we each have "life" going on: kids in and out of "attending" school, elderly isolated in nursing homes, the day-to-day attempt to function normally and healthily in our m

I was feeling pretty good.   I had just dropped off birthday cupcakes to a neighbor girl, a sympathy card and banana bread to another neighbor, and a birthday bundt cake to my good friend who's favorite is white cake with coconut frosting.  And I still almost got to work on time! I was feeling pretty good.   But about what?  About bringing a blessing to others...or about myself?   God clarified that question and my pride by calling me on the phone.  Okay, so God didn't actually call my cell, the mom of the cupcake drop-off called me to say thank you and that she hoped I hadn't felt obligated to do something for her daughter.  " Oh no, of course not... I wanted to!",  I said. We chatted for a few more minutes, but as I hung up, I knew that God had called me on the carpet (and the phone).  I had wanted/purposed/thoughtfully intended  to drop off the bakery and gifts to their respective doors that morning, but there was an unhealthy pride about it that had somehow