Corona Devotionals

I worked a 16 hour shift the other day...my son worked 17 hours, and it was a blast!  We each did our  own special work, we  help ed  the other parts grow, so that the whole body was healthy and growing and full of love.    His show choir group hosted eleven other show choirs for a competition at our high school.  Our students were the greeters, stage-help (think risers and sets up-and-down for eleven groups), and room hosts (making sure guest schools have what they need and get to stage and rehearsal on time, while (men) dressed in a suit or (women) in a dress and heels).  They worked their tails off, with a smile all the while, all the live l-o-n-g day...and they each did their   own special work, they   help ed  the other parts grow, so that the whole body  was  healthy and growing and full of love.    Family volunteers did everything from pound parking signs into frozen ground prior to the event, to sell adm...

It is impossible for the Lord to forget us.   He never will.  If we feel abandoned today or alone, His word reminds us of how very close in proximity and in spirit He truly is to us today.  Lets paint a picture: Have you ever seen a mother with her newborn child?  Have we ever held our own newborn baby? Could we forget that baby?  That dependent-on-us, defenseless-without-us baby?  It's just about impossible that a mother will forget her child.  That child is a part of her.  That child is her joy.  That child's suffering brings her pain.  In that child are her hopes and dreams. No, a (normal/functioning) mother cannot forget her baby or choose not to have compassion on it.  It is how God designed parents, and families. We get the picture: a mother with her baby...it's intimate and she won't forget him or her. Beloved... To those of us who feel desolate, abandoned, or alone today... To those of us who feel unworthy, ashamed or...

Limes are so.... sour .  Face-contorting, and our tongues revolt at even a drop of lime juice on our palette.  It's a harsh taste.  Unforgiving and unyielding.  And regardless of whether we pucker or yelp, a lime will not relent on it's strength and sourness.   But...add a little sugar and some water, and now we have a treat.  Homemade lime-ade takes something quite unpleasant and changes it, metamorphosizes it, and reinvents it into something new and something we can actually enjoy. ~~~ What "limes" are touching our tongue today?   What hardship , illness, thorn, physical-limitation, depresser, challenge, trial or discipline  is causing our f ace to contort or our spirit to revolt?   Are we experiencing something harsh?  Unforgiving and unyielding?  And regardless of whether we pucker or yelp, or pray , it appears to not relent on it's strength and sourness?   Keep praying , and don't give up today....

Through wisdom a house is built, a nd by understanding it is established; (4)  By knowledge the rooms are filled w ith all precious and pleasant riches.   ~Proverbs 24:3-4 God's blueprints for our home (and lives) have nothing to do with brick and wood, or marble countertops and three-car garages.   The Lord's instructions to us for building, establishing, and filling our house with (emotional, physical, intellectual, personal, spiritual, and human)  precious and pleasant riches are centered around three materials: wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. Way too often we get caught up (much to our society and culture's delight) in the superficial materials and decisions of building a home and life, but if we seek to serve God and live under His blessing, we must build our " house " on wisdom. And, where to find wisdom ?  God's glad we asked.  He has given us the Bible (His Word), and He has dedicated an entire Book of the Bible ( Proverbs ) ...

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.  ~Ephesians 4:1   Paul is in a prison cell  ( a prisoner for serving the Lord )  when he is telling us, begging us  to lead a life worthy of our calling . Although he is currently  a prisoner for serving the Lord , Paul is not at all warning us NOT  to follow God: the opposite is his charge for us: Even though  he was in prison for serving the Lord...DO IT!  It is our calling. That's bold.  But that's God's call for us.   ...lead a life worthy of your calling...    Ephesians 4:1 Has anyone ever told us this before?  That we  have been called by God ?   Have we been begged to respond to this calling ? Did we (even)  know  that we have  a calling ?   We absolutely do.  If we read the Bible...if we believe that it is God's Word, and if w...

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not  good at math.  But I do know that the general rule of addition is that the higher the count of items being joined...the higher the total sum will be. If you are joining many, then the total will be many. But I learned some new math today:  God's. Did you know that God's math contradicts our school books? He  teaches us that although there are many  of us (His children)....  And although we have many gifts that we serve Him with... There is only ONE God, and we are all ONE in Him, so be nice to one another.   Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.  ( 2)  Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.  ( 3)  Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.  ( 4)  For ther...

I was in a daze driving home today...  Tired.  Ho-hum.  Cold.    Winter in Ohio can be numbing, and I don't just mean in temperature.     But then I saw something that softened my heart and forced me to realize that I have a choice  in my perspective today.    It was 27 degrees out, and yet I drove past a (smiling) dog with his head out the window of a car, and he was having the time of his life. The temperature was the same for both that dog and me.  The month and time of day were too.  But he was living life and living his best life, right here and right now.   What's my  problem? The realities surrounding our days and lives are what they are .  What are we waiting for, in terms of deciding to  enjoy  them? What do workers gain from their toil?  ( 10)  I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race.  ( 11)  He has made everything beautiful in its time. ...