Corona Devotionals

I'm not always so good with names and numbers…especially numbers, which (for me) includes dates. For instance, I can't remember all the details--such as exactly what year it was, or which North Carolina beach-city we were staying in the Summer that our (extended) family rented a 30-plus person house to vacation-in, all together.   Together-in-one-house is a beautiful idea and memory for vacation...unless someone gets  really  sick with a contagious stomach-bug…which is what happened to us.  To  all  (thirty) of us.  And what I  do  remember is that it was  our child  that started the sickness-cycle.   The details are foggy for me, but there were people that fainted, an uncle that spent the night in a bathtub, cars that pulled over for people to exit and vomit, and lots (and lots) of bodily functions that went awry during that week of “vacation”. But I do remember the main point, because it is seared on my hear...

A fool vents all his   feelings,  b ut a wise   man   holds them back.  ~Proverbs 29:11 Does a fool come to mind? Are we thinking of someone who is always venting ?  Always opinion-ating.  Always commenting.  Always criticizing ? In  Proverbs 29:11, God's Word for us today,  God is speaking of someone who lets everyone know their feelings about what is not meeting their standards of approval: a fool .  Does  a fool  come to mind?    God is speaking today to  someone ( a fool ) who  vents all his   feelings .   I a m thinking of someone, are you?   (To me), This verse boldly highlights one person in my life who often vents their feelings and rarely wisely holds anything back ... ME(!) . A fool vents all his   feelings,  b ut a wise   man   holds them back.  ~Proverbs 29:11 Guilty as charged, Lord. When was the last time we quietly held our ...

A few weeks ago, it was getting dark, and it was  way below freezing outside...and our car wouldn't start.  My husband evaluated things, and it wasn't the battery.  But then--what was  it?   Three  separate (amazing!) neighbors proceeded to come out of their warm homes to help us evaluate why the car wouldn't start.   Neighbors came to help.  In the freezing cold.  In the dark.   They stood there with my husband and talked and evaluated and investigated, and they figured  out why the car wouldn't start.   It was the starter on the car, but it was the pure and kind and devoted hearts of our neighbors that allowed that issue to be diagnosed.   In the dark and in the (below) freezing cold.   And we were so grateful. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.  ( 10)  Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful...

One of my favorite experiences to enjoy is being in direct-line of the sun, and closing my eyes, and letting that red-bright-powerful-warm light hit my closed eyelids and my open spirit. For me --in my tiny mind and hopeful-heart for Jesus: I feel that He is with me in these direct-sun moments. (God is always with us, of course, and the Bible tells us that:  " surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.  ~Matthew 28:20 ).   But sometimes...some days...and in some special moments, when the sun shines through my window and I'm doing Bible study, or when I'm driving and the sun rises or sets in front of my windshield...or anytime that the sun shines bright over me: I also feel like God is shining into me. Thank you, Lord for the sun, and thank you, Lord for Your Son.  Amen. In these moments, I feel covered.  Safe.  Protected.  Loved.  Known.  Peace.   I feel God in those direct, bright sunlight experiences. Psalm 12...

Recently we stopped at a Florida State Park to spend some time and enjoy the area.   One of the first things that we noticed was not a native bird or a bush, but rather a big sign warning us about alligators.   Let me ask you: Did you know  that alligators are dangerous?   Yes, I did too--even before reading the sign. The posted sign proceeded to outline the perils of gators...in case we didn't know that they are dangerous.  For instance, "Alligators have been known to attack humans."    And just to be sure that the park-goers understood the dangers, the sign also reminded that "Alligators are dangerous."   The next warnings were:  " Do not swim with alligators ." " Do not approach, frighten or feed (alligators) by state law " Do we need posted warnings?  WHY  would anyone approach an alligator,  frighten this fiercesome beast, or feed  this flesh-eating carnivore?   Why do we need to be remi...

In a world where more and more people make up their own "truth" and glory in "living their (own) truth", it is encouraging and uplifting to meet and find  others that are walking with us in God's truth. If we know Jesus and read the Bible, then we know what I mean when I say, " truth ".  God's truth is told to us in His Word, the Bible.  But those that are far from God know not of His truth . Right before Jesus was sentenced to die on the cross, Pilate questioned what " truth " even was: Jesus answered,   “...In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth .  Everyone on the side of truth listens to me. ”  ( 38)  “What is truth?” retorted Pilate...  ~John 18:37-38 If you don't know, then you don't know.   But, if we DO  know the truth  (God's truth), then... we know, and it gives us unique (spiritual) encouragement to know others  that know the truth . Connecting with other Believers put...

We must pray.   Today.   ~~~ I can recall my Papa sitting in his La-Z-Boy recliner and watching the nightly news.  He would mutter, "Terrible, terrible, terrible" under his breath...and that was almost twenty years ago.  What would he think of our headlines today? People  kill and steal and commit adultery.  There is violence everywhere—one murder after another (Hosea 4:2). Is there anything  we can do?   To quote Franklin Graham this week, (the son of the world-evangelists Billy and Ruth Graham) "you bet there is":  Pray. We can pray today, Friends,...and we must. Our Nation and most nations across the world have strayed from God and His Word and His ways.  We (as a people) are living in active-sin.   There is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God in our land s, and just as erosion occurs on objects at the beach that are constantly pounded by the waves...erosion has occurred in nations acr...