Corona Devotionals

Aaaahhhh, the year in review.   Are we looking back in gratitude?  We should. So many blessings over the past twelve months: count them.   So many good people, relations, memories: remember them .   A plethora of positive situations, circumstances and outcomes: Praise God for them .   I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;  I will glorify your name forever.  Psalm 86:12  Give thanks to the  Lord , for he is good;  his love endures forever.  ~I Chronicles 16:34 Heavenly Father... Good, good Father: we are humbled at Your great love and grand blessing over our lives and hearts.  We deserve...nothing, and yet life-in-You is EVERYTHING.  The fullness that you provide is life-changing and gratitude-inducing.  We praise You, Lord, and we thank you, Father.  Your hand has been upon us this year and we are so grateful to You for all of the blessing and bounty that You have provided to...

Although our children are practically adults now, we still deal with childish episodes now and then, and the source always seems to be pride.   The other day, one of our boys received a (less than $10) gift that the other son immediately wanted (coveted).  The son that didn't receive the gift proceeded to  take  (steal) the gift to his room, and put it away as his own.  More than three times the "taken" gift was acknowledged publicly within family conversations, and I asked the son who took it to return it to the son to whom it belonged.   While I was at the store today, I purchased a second one (of the same gift), because had I known that it would be so sought-after, I would have originally purchased two.  And (I decided) that after the thieving son had returned the gift to his brother, we would discuss the benefits of moral behavior and honoring God (and parents)...and I would give him the gift that he desired.  A lesson learned, ...

Around this time of year, I sometimes make "kugel", and yesterday was the day.  Have you tasted kugel?  It's a noodle dish, but not like you think: it's a sweet  noodle dish.   Cooked noodles are mixed with fresh cranberries, golden raisins, some cottage cheese and sour cream, a few eggs, and some brown sugar, and a dash of salt too.  Mix it all up, and then top with some corn flakes that have been tossed in melted butter with some   brown sugar, cinnamon .  Bake at 350 degrees for about a half hour or until golden brown, and then call me to tell me how much you love it--because you will. One of the reasons that I make and enjoy kugel is that I have German heritage, and kugel is German...at least that's what I always thought and have always told people.  It's a German dish , and so I enjoy making, eating, and sharing it around this time of year.   However--I (just!) found out that kugel is  NOT  a German dish--it's  a...

What do we do when God gives us a tough assignment?  When God "says" (or whispers to our heart through His Word or other means) that following Him looks like (for example) sticking with your spouse who cheated on you...  Would we obey the Lord in this?  ( Are we?) ~~~ What do we do when "ministry" isn't just ladling soup into bowls at a soup kitchen or city mission...but beyond that, God invites us to befriend someone who is in line at that soup kitchen, and to invest our time into them.  Our resources.  Ourselves into them? Would we obey the Lord in this?    ( Are  we?) ~~~ How about a difficult teammate or coworker?  Someone who always seems to have their hands raised and feet dancing around, seeming to shout, "Put your dukes up!" to us and the world.   We want to disengage.  Ignore them.  Forget them.   But Jesus never did that.  He pursued the difficult people because He knew that there was a reas...

If you have ever been to the main street (Las Vegas Boulevard) in downtown Las Vegas (Nevada), you might know that looks can be deceiving on many levels in that town, but also in relation to the distance between destinations. "The Strip", as it is called, is home to hotels, stores, and restaurants that are larger than life. Re-creations of the Eiffel Tower/the pyramids and Sphinx in Egypt/the streets of New York City/and even gondola rides in Italian canals-- all dot the main boulevard of Las Vegas. Standing on the sidewalk and taking it all in, one can see  many destinations, and deciding to walk to one ("Let's go to Paris"), or desiring to ride the "Big Apple Roller Coaster" housed within the New York-New York hotel...these places don't look far away. But they are! The Boulevard is actually over 4.2 miles long, and there is a deceiving amount of time and distance between properties.   The Las Vegas Strip is the best example I have experienced of ...

Turn around. When we look behind us, what do we see? Are there cracks or rips in the portraits of our past?  Tears?  Broken pieces and people? Were there past rifts or tifts or toxic words (or people) that burned hearts and bridges?   We may (or may not) have already realized: We can't change the past .  But good news (if we chose it): God can change today for us.    The  Lord  has done it this very day;  let us rejoice today and be glad.  ~Psalm 118:24 (NIV) He has done it (God has given us His Son, and His Holy Spirit to live within us).  With Christ in  us, we (still) can't change yesterday, but we sure can  enter today with the Lord and in the Spirit of the Lord, which means that today  can be different than our yesterday .   The  Lord  has done it this very day;  let us rejoice today and be glad.  ~Psalm 118:24 (NIV) When we look back, there may be memories that maim us, or hur...