Happy Thursday! We have reason to rejoice!
Rejoice!
Ordinary Beauty
Happy Wednesday. Here’s a devotion to enjoy today.
Ordinary Beauty
Today, heeding the words of Robert Frost, I took “the road less travelled.” As I walked the familiar gravel path, I noticed a trail to my left, and it beckoned. Venturing off the six-foot-wide, highly travelled walkway, I stepped through the trees onto the sandy dirt trail. Just wide enough for one, it wandered through sections of the woods where I’d never before ventured.
I savored the sights: bright green leaves, backlit by the bright sunlight, downed trees with their intricate roots pointing in all directions, and a steep drop to the creek meandering a dozen or more feet below. Typical sights in this area, yet specific ones I had never seen. I reveled in God’s creation and the beauty He created.
By venturing onto a new pathway, I was rewarded with unexpected beauty. Yet, I see similar beauty whenever I walk the wider, more familiar paths. I realized that I had allowed myself to become immune to the beauty around me, just because seeing it often had made it become ordinary.
It seems this is true of my life, too. Sometimes I allow myself to become immune to the ordinary beauty around me. Do I even stop to notice the roses, let alone inhale their perfume? Do I appreciate the deep green of summer’s grass? Or hear the whisper of the wind rustling in the trees? How often do I pause to appreciate a child’s laughter or notice the color in a friend’s eyes?
Creator God, help me to slow down, appreciate, and thank you for the beauty all around me every day. The birds’ cheerful song, the vibrant flowers’ colors, the love in my husband’s eyes. Don’t allow them to become mundane in my life but give me eyes to see Your amazing gifts surrounding me every day.
Happiness
Happy Tuesday! Don’t you just love Norman Vincent Peale’s positive attitude?
“The way to happiness: Keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry. Live simply, expect little, give much. Scatter sunshine, forget self, think of others. Try this for a week and you will be surprised.”
― Norman Vincent Peale
Glory to God
Happy Monday!
All glory to God!
Through the Psalms
Another taste of the Psalms today. Have a lovely Friday, my friends.
Psalm 17: 6-7
“I call on you, my God, for you will answer me;
Turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.
Show me the wonders of your great love,
You who save by your right hand
Those who take refuge in you from their foes.”
How wonderful to know, Lord, that you will listen to my pleas and answer my prayers.
Your love is boundless, Lord, I pray that you will reveal more of your love to your humble servant.
Healing What Ails Us
Earlier, I caught a nasty virus, the kind that plays havoc with your digestive system.
Of course, we were out of town when it hit. During our granddaughter’s dance competition, we sat in the balcony watching so many beautiful dancers. While waiting for her solos, it hit hard.
The closest bathroom was upstairs. I had to run up two flights of stairs to get there. Unfortunately, it hit every ten minutes for a couple of hours. I made many hurried flights up those stairs. Luckily, no one else was around, so I had some privacy.
Clearly, my body was trying to get rid of whatever was causing all these problems. Later, at the doctor’s office, I learned that norovirus was the culprit. After some prescribed pills, bowls of steaming hot soup, and a week of rest, I felt 100% again.
If only it were that simple with the soul. If only we could vomit out all the nasty thoughts and evil desires. If only that would happen without us even having to think about it.
Impure thoughts in? What if the soul would just automatically spit them out?
That would be easy, wouldn’t it?
Unfortunately, we can carry impure thoughts and evil intentions within us that poison our souls and harm those around us.
Unlike a virus, they don’t automatically purge themselves from our souls. But God, in His infinite wisdom, shows us how to purify our souls.
Prayer and self-reflection begin the process.
Asking God to forgive us cleanses our soul.
Opening the bible and reading God’s word continues the healing.
Just as our bodies get rid of the viruses and germs that cause illness, so our souls have ways of cleansing our sin and spiritual disease. God, our great physician, provides ways for us to draw closer to Him.
What are you doing to cleanse your soul of spiritual illness?
Thank you, healing God, for revealing our sin and spiritual disease. Thank You for providing healing for what ails our souls.
Who Do We Work For?
Happy Tuesday everyone! Some words of wisdom from A.W. Tozer for you today.
“We have become so engrossed in the work of the Lord that we have forgotten the Lord of the work.”― A.W. Tozer
Have you ever gotten so tied up in the work that you have forgotten the Lord of the work? It’s easy to do. Lord, keep our focus on you, whatever we do. May you always be more important than what we do for others, for your kingdom, or for our church.
God’s Word
Good Monday morning, my friends!
Have you noticed how you can read the same passage of scripture at different times in your life, and you’ve learned something different every time?
Lord, thank you for your living word that teaches us. May we have eyes to see and ears to hear your truth, and the willingness to act upon it.
Through the Psalms, 16
Happy Friday! Here’s some wisdom from the Psalms
Psalm 16: 5-8
“Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup;
You make my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;
Even at night my heart instructs me.
I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”
Thank you, Lord for providing us with safety and wisdom.
You are worthy of praise!
Hope in My Savior
An encouraging verse for a beautiful new day.
These encouraging words, and yet the soul does become downcast.
Lord, keep my hope in you always.
Growing Our Faith Together 