Corona Devotionals

Thud!....   Silence.   Thud!....   Silence.  What was  that, I wondered?   Thunder?  But the skies were clear.   The factory that backs up to our backyard?  ...Not this time. Thud!....   Silence.   There it was again and it was  coming from our backyard.   Wait a minute...I know that sound,  and I know that distance-interval in between those thuds. The  thud  was our middle child, Silas...kicking his soccer ball from about twenty yards out from our backyard goal.  The silence was Silas running to retrieve the kick from the back of the goal net or the side yard, and the next  thud was his next shot on goal.   Thud!....   Silence.   Thud!....   Silence.   Thud!....   Silence.     He stays out there shooting for hours.  He loves shooting a soccer ball.   He always has.  He is seventeen years old, and if...

I did really well today...almost all day.  I've been trying to eat a little healthier, and to cut out a few more sweets and to focus more on meals than (unhealthy) snacking.  And I was doing really well.   But then, for the low, low price of two dollars and twenty nine cents, I fell to temptation. Sweet, salty, vanilla-drizzled temptation in the form of flavored kettle corn. When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone...  ~James 1:13  If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.  ~James 4:17 You would think that if I was going to fall, it would be for a higher dollar-value item, but the sweet vanilla flavored kettle corn for $2.29 is what tempted me out of responsible eating, and what got me into gluttony. Okay, so "gluttony" may be a bit forceful, because I haven't eaten the whole bag... yet .  But I still have a lot of night left, an...

Seventeen years ago, my husband felt led by the Lord to step away from his current job (and corrupted boss) and to start his own company.  I was staying at home to raise our children, (ages three and one), and our third child was on the way. The realities of groceries, insurance, home, and life were as real and blatant to us as to any young family, but heard the Lord's call and we obeyed it.  My husband left a position of stability, security, and even surplus--to walk away and to walk in the ways of the Lord. Blessed is the one  who does not walk in step with the wicked  or stand in the way that sinners take  or sit in the company of mockers, (2)  but whose delight is in the law of the Lord ,  and who meditates on his law day and night. (3)  That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,  which yields its fruit in season  and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.  ~ Psalm 1:1-3   It was God's idea to...

Keep praying to the Lord today.    Have we any idea how very precious our prayers are to our Lord?   So precious. What have we been praying about lately?  Keep it up.   Keep asking earnestly and praying with reckless abandon and submitting our requests to God.   He hears them. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. (7) And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  ~Philippians 4:6-7 Our God is blessed by our prayer submissions to Him.  Did we know that He considers our prayers a form of worship to Him?...  An honoring  of His Name and of Him.   It's true.  Brothers and Sisters in Christ: keep praying .  Keep getting quiet before the Lord--in our prayer closet, in our car, knelt at night by our beds, over a morning mug of coffee or tea, at ...

There is much that I do not understand in the Bible.  I do not and have never professed to be a Biblical scholar or more well-versed in Bible verses than you. But I do love God's Word, the Bible.  And the way I approach and wake-up-for, and happily and hopefully anticipate the Bible each day is to read it, and to see what God says that I do understand.  And t hat I can figure out.  And that for that day and moment , God has written and given for me to receive and apply to my life and my heart. Not that we shouldn't study the historical context of the Bible, or what Bible scholars and authorities say and explain to us.  This academic studying of the Bible helps us to understand even more about what was going on when it was written...and aids in our understanding. But as we read the Bible day today, watch for what verse(s) stick out to us.  What strikes our heart as we read?  What penetrates our soul in the verse?  And something will.  ...

Bread has always been a staple for me.  I can't remember not enjoying bread and having it as a part of our daily and holiday meals. Rye bread with corned beef and swiss sandwiches. White bread for packed-lunch sandwiches. Refrigerated French bread (Pillsbury) dough,...baked into a loaf of crispy-crust and hot, soft bread inside. Italian fruit stollen bread (Panettone) for Christmas-time. Pumpernickel bread cut into dipping cubes and paired with spinach dip. Ciabatta bread with pasta dinners. Cornbread with chili. Sourdough bread sliced and toasted with butter and jam. Yep...it's official, I love bread, and I eat some form of it daily.   And (I'm guessing)...I am not alone.  Most of us enjoy bread.  And God knows that.  Most (all?) cultures have always enjoyed bread products (of some sort) as daily sustenance and substance.  Bread is something that people can all understand/relate-to/identify with. Perhaps that's why the Lord compares and associates His...