Your Daily Devotional Life

"Nothing can take the place of a daily devotional life with Christ. Your quiet time, your prayer time, the time you spend in the Word, is absolutely essential for a happy Christian life. You cannot possibly be a happy, dynamic, and powerful Christian apart from a daily walk with Christ. Christ is calling Christians today to cleansing, to dedication, to consecration, and to full surrender." —Billy Graham

Stop & Stare

"God....richly furnishes us with everything to enjoy!"
1 Timothy 6:17

It seems that when you're in a hurry and running late you hit nothing but red lights.  Although they are annoying when we're racing to an appointment, stop lights are there or our protection.

We need stop lights throughout our day too.  Overwork and busy schedules need to be "interrupted" with time for leisure and reflection. Without it we can become seriously sick with stress-induced illnesses.  Time set aside for recreation or relaxation can rejuvenate our spirits.  This poem by W. .H Davies tells us to take time to "stop and stare!"

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs

And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,

Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,

Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,

And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can

Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

PRAY

Lord, I Pray.......

"If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
2 Chronicles 7:14

Lord God, you, who makes all things possible, hear our cry. It may not be all of our nation, Lord calling out to you in prayer to change our ways, but father it is "many" of us. Lord, there are so many of us who love you, who are doing your will and want to make a better America.........grant us, oh Lord, victory on this day.

We pray for those who do not yet know you, Father. We humbly pray that "YOU" will be made first and foremost important in our great Nation once again and that the words "ONE NATION.....UNDER GOD" will once again mean something!

Father God, you know what is ahead for this country. We ask you to make all of us here and in America be obedient to Your will, Your ways, and Your moral values so that we may see this economy turn around, jobs be created and protected, and that we are safe from terrorism and attacks of any kind.

We praise YOU Father, Jesus Christ, King of Kings, LORD of lords, Prince of Peace, and we give YOU all honor and glory. And we ask this in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ.......... Amen!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAUGHTER

My dearest Bean~

 I look at you and I do not see the passage of time. I see my little girl playing dress up, running through the yard, playing on the swings, picking wildflowers, riding around in that red jeep through the house, playing with Moosie and drawing a big scary face with sharp teeth on the family room wall in crayon and then proceed to tell me, "GOD MADE ME DO IT!"  (I'm still not buying it!  lol)

I will try hard to accept the fact that you are older now and that the decisions you make are your own, but you must understand that to me, you will always be my little girl. It's hard to believe that as you celebrate your birthday, it is your first birthday as a new mom. You now know what it is to love unconditionally and with every fiber of your being. Then later on when he grows up and makes you breakfast for Mother's Day, I pray you will have the wonderful experience of eating a bed of lettuce covered with pretzels, sour cream and Jell-O. A sweet memory I will NEVER forget!

I may not be able to carry you in my arms anymore, my daughter, but I will ALWAYS CARRY YOU IN MY HEART!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BEAN! I LOVE YOU TO INFINITY......AND BEYOOOOOND!!  

I WIll

     
                                                                

I LOVE YOU BECAUSE. . . .

Dear Jesus,

I am sitting here writing this letter with a heart full of thanksgiving, and praise for You, and a desire to tell You and the rest of the world, just how much I LOVE YOU!!!

I LOVE YOU because You have been with me my entire life, through good times and bad.

I LOVE YOU because You have comforted me in times of great sorrow when I thought I would never be happy again.

I LOVE YOU because You have encouraged me in times when I have been down and felt that things couldn't possibly get any worse.

I LOVE YOU because You have filled my heart with joy by blessing me with a wonderful family.

I LOVE YOU because You have made me smile by sending me CRAZY friends into my life!

I LOVE YOU because You have given me a Godly husband who loves You, and his family with all of himself.

I LOVE YOU because You have shown Your trust in me by loaning us three beautiful angel babies.

I LOVE YOU because You loved me UNCONDITIONALLY even when I didn't love myself.

I LOVE YOU because You are a merciful and forgiving God and even though we may stray from our walk with You, You patiently wait for us to return. And when we do, You are there with Your loving arms outstretched, waiting to embrace us and welcome us back.

I LOVE YOU because YOU LOVED US so much, that you willingly gave your precious life on the cross for us!

Thank you, FATHER, for all that You have done for me!!

I LOVE YOU

Your Daughter,

I'm Not _____ Enough!

I'M NOT _____ ENOUGH!
Sharon Jaynes

"Today’s Truth Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you!"

1 Corinthians 3:16

I’m not _____________ enough. You can fill that blank in with “smart,” “ talented,” “gifted,” “spiritual,” or any number of positive attributes. But the root source of each one of those lies is “I’m not good enough.” It is one of the enemy’s favorite weapons and he uses it to keep God’s children in bondage to feelings of inferiority, insecurity, and inadequacy. The bottom line is, the enemy wants you to believe that you are “not enough.” Period. But you are enough. You are enough and have been equipped and empowered to do everything that God has called you to do.

It seems the message of “I’m not good enough to earn my way to heaven on my own,” has been transformed into I’m not good enough…period. God created man and woman and said, “It is good.” We are so valuable to God that He gave His only Son to restore our brokenness.

To be honest, I could have been the poster child for this lie. If feeling inadequate was an Olympic event, I would have been on the Corn Flakes box. It was the undercurrent of my entire existence until I finally realized who I was in Christ. Bible teacher Beth Moore said, “In the dead of the night when insecurities crawl on us like fleas, all of us have terrifying bouts of insecurity and panics of insignificance. Our human natures pitifully fall to the temptation to pull out the tape measure and gauge ourselves against people who seem more gifted and anointed by God.” That was me.

Many women are living in silent defeat, comparing themselves to other women who are living in secret defeat. I’m not a good mother. I’m not a good wife. I’m not a good Christian. I’m not a good witness. I’m not a good housekeeper. I’m not a good decorator. I’m not a good cook. I’m not a good…. Women are caught in a cycle of the “I’m not good enoughs.” One by one the petals fall from the beautiful flower God created us to be. Like ticker tape, our fragmented pieces of confidence litter the streets like the Macy’s parade passing by.

Unfortunately, I wasted many precious years held captive by the enemy’s lies before I held up my chained hands to God and said, “I’m ready for you to set me free.”

Consider this:

Jacob was a liar
Moses was a stutterer
Gideon was a coward
David was an adulterer
Rahab was a prostitute
Esther was an orphan
Balaam’s donkey was…well, a donkey.

And yet God used each one of them to impact His kingdom.

God doesn’t call us because we are particularly gifted or talented. He uses us because we are obedient and dependent on Him. He doesn’t call the qualified – He qualifies the called.

The truth is, if you have experienced new birth in Christ, you are deeply loved, completely forgiven, fully pleasing and totally accepted by God. Because of Jesus Christ in you, you are equipped and empowered to do all that God has called you to do. You are good enough!

Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You today. Because of Jesus Christ and His work of redemption in me, I am deeply loved, completely forgiven, fully pleasing and totally accepted by You. Because of Jesus Christ in me, I am equipped and empowered to do all that You have called me to do. Now, Lord, help me act like it. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
 

Self-Perception

We develop our sense of self-perception by noticing how the important people in our life see us. If we grew up in a dysfunctional family, their skewed view of us probably warped our ability to see ourself as we truly are in God's eyes. Understanding how God sees us and the value He has placed on us can help us overcome the negative self-perception that many of us have developed.

King David was amazed as he thought about how much God valued him. He said, "What are mortals that you should think of us, mere humans that you should care for us For You made us only a little lower than God, and you crowned us with glory and honor. You put us in charge of everything you made, giving us authority over all things." (Psalm 8:4-6). "How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up in the morning, you are still with me!" (Psalm 139:17-18). God demonstrated how precious we are in his sight by sending Jesus to give his life for us.

God wants us to realize how precious we are to hi and to see our self in the light of his love. Consider this: If God considered us worthy of giving up the most precious thing he had (his only son), what does that say about how valuable we are to him?

Side By Side

"If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another!"

~ 1 John 1:7 ~

WOW......I really can't believe I have not posted here since January. Where does the time go? Things here have been busy, as I am sure that goes for you all as well.  Life has a habit of getting in the way sometimes, doesn't it?   Some of those time are not what we have wanted nor what we had expected, but PRAISE THE LORD, good or bad, He gets us through them!

I have been trying to make going for a walk part of my daily routine, to get myself back into a healthy physical state, which I know will get my mind back to where it needs to be. I really would love My Skippy Man to go with me, but he gets up between 2:30 - 3:00 every morning for work and by the time he gets home he is just EXHAUSTED and will normally fall asleep on the couch after taking his shoes off.....poor guy.

Anyway, I was reading from a book that a precious friend gave me,  "Soul Retreats for Couples" and came upon this little meditation/devotional that I really feel I need to share with you.  Each entry has three sections to it:  A Moment to Pause, A Moment to Reflect, and A Moment to Refresh.  Today's is titled....

Side by Side

A Moment to Pause ~ Plan a walk today, perhaps in the early morning when the air is fresh and the sun is just beginning to make an appearance.  It's fun to be together first thing before the demands of the day start.  Evening is also a good time to walk, just before dusk, as the brilliant colors of the sunset decorate the sky.  Take the opportunity to set aside the busyness of the day and reestablish the special rhythm of your life together as you walk.

Purposefully strolling along a quiet street, a wooded trail, or even a sandy beach can provide an opportunity for relaxed conversation, renew you mentally and spiritually, and give you healthy exercise.

As you walk, make a game of it.  Notice your footsteps.  Who walks faster? Whose steps are longer?  Do your arms swing in unison?  Do you hold hands?  Listen to the rhythm of your breathing, separately and together.  Notice how each of you responds to obstacles in the path.  think about how God caused your steps to cross and how He brought you both together to pursue His purposes.

Most of all, enjoy the physical connectedness of walking side by side, being one unit, each of you complementing and fulfilling the other.

A Moment to Reflect ~ God sees you and loves each of you as individuals, and He loves you as a couple  Your walk with each other represents your commitment to love and support each other, your commitment to walk together through the ups and downs of life.  At a word from you, God walks alongside.

God will teach you to walk in harmony with each other by giving you an appreciation for your differences and similarities, and He will provide you with wisdom and counsel as you come across obstacles in life's path that threaten to cause you to stumble.

Walk quietly--

And know that He is God.

Let your life be governed by His guiding hand

E'en though it varies from the way you planned, 

Bow your head in sweet submission and

Walk quietly--

~~

Author Unknown

 A Moment to Refresh

"Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."  Isaiah 40:31 NIV

"He who walks with the wise grows wise."  Proverbs 13:20 NIV

"Give me understanding, and I will keep Your law and obey it with all my heart.  Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.  Turn my heart toward your statues and not toward selfish gain."  Psalm 119:34-36

"The Lord gies wisdon, and from His mouth come knowledge and undestanding."  Proverbs 2:6 NIV

"Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim You, who walk in the light of Your presence, 

O Lord."  Psalm 89:15 NIV

"Live in harmony with one another."  1 Peter 3:8 NIV

"Walk in all the way that the Lord your God hs commanded you."  Deuteronomy 5:33 NIV

"Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.  Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.  Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.'  Proverbs 4:25-27

GOD BLESS!!