This blog is designed to create community for believers and provide support for seekers. I encourage all readers to share their faith in an effort to lift and encourage one another.
“We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something.”
― Mother Teresa
Lord, it is so easy to just sit back and let someone else do it. But I know that you have prepared me for tasks to help others. Show me how it diligently and gratefully supply my one drop in the ocean.
God, some days I just feel wasted and tired. I see my wrinkles and feel my pain. But when I turn to You, when I read your word, when I thank you for your endless blessings, then my heart takes wing. My spirit becomes young and rejuvenated, and I praise you with all my heart, soul, and strength. Thank you for renewing me every day.
When my parents died, they left my brothers and me all their worldly treasures. Fortunately for us, they had planned well. They left a will, named an executor, and had their investments and savings earmarked as payable on death to us.
Even though they planned carefully, we have waded through rivers of red tape to receive their treasures. Fill out this form, email the lawyer, call the federal government, wait on hold…. on hold…on hold to speak to a real person. After eight months the river of red tape has dried to a trickle and the estate is nearly settled; their worldly treasures will soon be equally divided among the four of us.
No forms are necessary to receive God’s infinite treasures. One merely needs to say, “Yes, I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior.”That’s basically it. No need to wait on hold, no need to contact a lawyer, no need to wade through red tape. Just believe. Just accept. What treasures will believers receive? An eternity in heaven, free of tears and pain, and an abundant life serving God here on earth.
Father God, thank you for making us your sons and daughters and for bequeathing us your spiritual treasures. Revelation 21:7 “He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”
Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.
― C.S. Lewis
Why, oh Lord, do I cry and complain when I am hurting, not recognizing that You may be shouting to get my attention. You may be trying to teach me something important. Forgive my complaining, Lord, and open my ears to hear what You long to teach me.
Lord, You have gited each of us with talents and abilities. It is so easy to forget how we received those abilities and to work to accomplish things on our own. Forgive us for our arrogance and humble us Lord. Help us to yield to our Creator, to recognize that all we accomplish is through You. May You receive all the glory!
“Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do; He reveals to you Who He is.”
― Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest: Selections for the Year
Forgive me, Lord, for wanting to know your plans, for not being willing to place the future in your more-than-capable hands. Instead, reveal yourself to me, that I may trust you and honor you.
This verse makes me think. Do I eat and drink for the glory of God? What about ordinary, everyday activities like cooking dinner, doing laundry, or driving to the grocery store? How do I do these things to glorify God? I know when I used to iron clothes, I would spend that time in prayer. When I drove a special ed. bus, I’d pray and sing praise songs when the bus was empty. What about you? In what ways do you glorify God in the ordinary activities of life?
Father, teach me the ways you’d like me to glorify You in my every day, ordinary activities.
I love springtime! Overnight the world changes from dull, dry, and dead to colorful, vibrant, and alive. The trees, which stretched their bare arms heavenward all winter, are blessed with a pale green blush. The Bradford pear tree in the front yard nods its white, blooming head gently in the spring breezes.
Yesterday, the grass was brittle and brown. Today it is soft and green. Even the dandelions (which Scott so diligently tried to exterminate last summer) look beautiful nestled in their greenery.
How exciting it is to examine new growth in the gardens! The phlox, low to the ground, carpets the yard with purple. The huge forsythia bushes glow a vivid yellow beside our gray house. Everywhere signs of new life abound. The greenery of snapdragons, daisies, hostas, bee balm, and yarrow all promise future blooms.
The clematis vines, recently just dead sticks, sprout new growth at every intersection; some are already three feet long, loaded with buds. Dozens of purple cone flower plants already climb several inches high, assuring a future of beautiful flowers for us and nectar for bees and butterflies to enjoy.
Spring is such an exciting time as the perennials burst forth with new life and a promise for beautiful, fragrant summertime blooms.
Do you feel that sense of new growth and springtime revival in your heart? In your church?
Deep within our hearts we recognize a spirit of growth, its green tendrils growing ever closer to God, seeking His face. The palest green blush of revival is evident in us as we stretch our arms heavenward. While we work, pray, and seek God’s guidance, we can almost feel the buds of future flowers forming on the green plants of our spirits. We eagerly anticipate the new blooms, filling our lives with God’s beautiful purpose and the fragrance of His sweet spirit.
Oh God, our master gardener, nurture the garden of our souls. Eradicate the weeds of doubt, dissention, and fatigue. Enable our garden to bring forth lovely blooms infused with heavenly fragrance. May you receive all the praise and glory for the sweet beauty of the heavenly garden of our souls.
“We are surrounded by relationships, but driven by accomplishment. God is the opposite. Though surrounded by His accomplishments, He has given Himself in relationship. Though not in need of interaction, He has chosen to pursue it. For God, relationship is the goal.”
—Victoria Brooks
Father, help me to see beyond checking off the boxes and following the rules. Show me how to have a relationship with you. I long to know you better and to appreciate all you do for me, and to love you with all my heart.
Thank you, Lord, for providing a shield from the evil one. Thank you for providing your word. Keep my heart and mind focused on you and your word so that I may follow your will.
Growing Our Faith Together 