Corona Devotionals

My husband and I watched a movie the other day about the life of John Newton.   Heard of him?  No, he wasn't the guy credited with discovering gravity because an apple fell on his head...that was Sir Isaac Newton. John Newton ( born July 24, 1725, London  England —died December 21, 1807) wrote the song, "Amazing Grace".   Now have we heard of him? We might figure that the man that wrote that famous hymn must have been raised in the church and grew-up steeped in Scripture.  But we would be figuring wrong.    John Newton had a fascinatingly hard life, but he always persevered.  He had so many difficult twists and turns that it was almost hard to believe them all.   His mom died when he was six.  He persevered.   He had a temper.  He got kicked out of schools, and his dad (a sailor) took him to sea with him.   He persevered.   He became distanced and bitter with God.  He still had a temper.  He got sold to another boat captain.  He got sold again and became a slave to a woma

All day long, God's Word rings true in our lives. All day long. I will tell of the kindnesses of the  Lord ,  the deeds for which he is to be praised,  according to all the  Lord  has done for us— yes, the many good things  he has done for Israel,  according to his compassion and many kindnesses.   ~Isaiah 63:7 I started my day with an exercise embodying these verses and I praised the Lord into my day.  A sister-in-Christ sent me a worship song and it woke up my spirit and my gratitude for God at 5:00 AM.  God invoked  these verses in me before I even read them.   I will tell of the kindnesses of the  Lord ,  the deeds for which he is to be praised,  according to all the  Lord  has done for us (!) ...   ~Isaiah 63:7 He has done  so much for us.     I will  tell.  I have to  tell.  I am blessed  to tell of the kindnesses of the  Lord .     If we were to list them ( the deeds for which he is to be praised ) , how long would we write?  Forever ?   Think, ponder, boil-it-down, and sto

Years ago, one morning as I began giving my daughter a bit of a back-rub in an attempt to rouse her for school, she rolled over and said matter-of-factly, "My tea cup's full.", and with that, she proceeded to step out-of-bed and into the bathroom. I had to laugh at her little-girl wit and wisdom, but her comment has stuck with me. What a great way to wake up to a new day--with our emotional and spiritual 'tea cup' full. That is my prayer for us today--that we might "wake up" to embrace God's word and promises today, and that we would allow Him to fill our "tea cup" with His light, His love, His joy and His Hope for today. Be filled! ~~~ The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.  ~Psalm 126:3 For the Mighty One is holy,   and he has done great things for me.  ~Luke 1:49 Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the

It's early Spring in Ohio, and so one of our activities is "open up" our camper.  We remove most everything from the inside of it over the winter, so as to avoid attracting bugs and mice, and ( Thank You, Lord ), we found no proof or remains of any winter-time vermin when we unlocked the door.  But what we did find (surprisingly) was four  living  wasps. Slow, and lethargic from winter hibernation, they were easy to scoop up and dispose of, and I did.  But, how did they get in there? I had been the one who had carefully cleaned up-and-out every crevice of that camper last Fall.  And yet, hanging on the cord of the window blinds...a living wasp.  In a side-cupboard...a slow-moving (living) wasp.  And---in an empty drawer...a slow-motion living wasp.   I thought everything was empty and clean when we locked up.  I didn't see any bugs and certainly not any wasps when I shut the door in October.  And yet...here they were. ~~~ It's not (at all) like we haven't had

Who said it would be easy? No one who has ever accomplished anything of value ever said that.  They worked hard to be where they are at.   I see little neighborhood kids shooting hoops in their driveway with their mom and dad, and I know that those kids will be good at basketball...if they keep practicing.  They will play on a city rec. team, and then on a travel team, and then they will play for their school or college too: if they keep working hard .    The results will show , but no one said it will be easy. ~~~ I heard a great story about my niece, who wants to go  to sewing camp this summer, but her parents challenged her to earn the money for it.  So, she worked hard  one recent Saturday to make and sell lemonade on her street.  It was work.  It was hot outside.  It was five hours in her driveway at age twelve.  And it earned her $113 for camp.   The results showed, but no one said it would be easy. ~~~ We understand (and have seen) that good grades come with studying, team (sp