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Archive for the ‘Devotional’ Category

News Worth Sharing

Posted in Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 23, 2024| 4 Comments »

An author friend of mine, Penelope Marzec, sent me this devotional about where she found God in her life one day:

As the daughter of a journalist, I grew up with current events as part of every dinner table discussion. I am still addicted to the news. With today’s constant bombardment of awful reports, it seems impossible not to worry.

As a Christian, I’m not supposed to be anxious, but with the steady stream of dreadful headlines, despair weighs on my heart. One morning, I didn’t have time to read the latest headlines since I needed to hurry
and get hubby to his physical therapy appointment, which was scheduled earlier than usual. But once hubby was going through his workout, I sat in the waiting room and pulled up a news site on my phone. I soon began to scan through the latest disasters worldwide.

Then a text message popped up from my daughter. She had borrowed my old Jeep, a
1998 Cherokee, since her car needed expensive repairs. I had just gotten the brake lines
on the old Jeep repaired and it had a full tank of gas, plus it’s built like a tank. My
daughter said one of her coworkers called that old Jeep a national treasure. That made
me smile. But I went right back to glancing at the headlines on my phone. Then another
physical therapy patient came in and sat beside me. “Any good news?”
“Not in the headlines.” I shrugged.
“How about your own good news?” he gazed at me waiting for my answer.
I had to think for a moment before I told him about my daughter and the old Jeep. He
responded by telling me about his first car. I shared my memory of my 1971 Nova.
Somehow, we were soon chatting about his grandfather who fought Pancho
Villa at the Mexican border, which surprised me because my grandfather had also served at the
Mexican border and kept an eye out for Pancho Villa back in the day.
“Maybe they knew each other,” he said.

Maybe our grandfathers did know each other. Even if they didn’t, they both survived tough times and lived long lives. Even so, that shared knowledge made me feel connected to him.

But then he was called by his therapist as my hubby wandered over, finished with his session.
Thinking over my conversation with this pleasant stranger, I drove home with a lighter heart as peace settled on me. Had it been a coincidence that he had come to sit beside me? Or had I just been given a life lesson Afterward, I thought of Proverbs 12:25, “Worry weighs down the heart, but a kind word gives it joy.”

We are all God’s children, members of the same family. The world will always be in turmoil, but that man was a light to me that day. It didn’t take much, only a few happy memories and shared experiences to turn my mood around.

I’ve decided to be more like that man. To engage others in conversation while waiting in doctor’s offices, grocery lines, or wherever instead of staring at my phone. Perhaps I can help lighten their day.
So, I encourage you to do the same. Hand over some joy to someone else today.

Penelope Marzec Bio:
Penelope Marzec grew up along the shore of Raritan Bay in New Jersey. Now a
retired teacher, she writes inspirational romances. Two of her inspirational works have won the EPPIE award and one finaled in that contest. One paranormal, Irons In The Fire, was a nominee for Romantic Times Reviewers Choice award. Her historical novel, Patriot’s Courage, won first place in the Central Region Oklahoma Writers, National Excellence in Story Telling for an Inspirational. She paints seascapes in oils when she isn’t writing.
You can find her online at http://www.penelopemarzec.com, read her blog at
http://penelopemarzec.blogspot.com, or become a fan at
https://www.facebook.com/penelopemarzecbooks

Check out her new, Christmas novella, now available on Amazon!

Celeste Greenfield’s life is a mess. As the whistleblower who uncovered her boss’s embezzlement, Celeste now has no job and a difficult future. Then her mother dies, and Celeste is shocked to discover a strange bequest in her mother’s will: The man renting
the basement is given two years to find another venue for his online antique business. Entangled in the fear of testifying, dealing with the man in the basement and his son who was born with Down Syndrome, coupled with old memories of her younger sister’s
death, Celeste must navigate where God wants her…or if she can maintain her faith.
Sawyer is devastated by Mrs. Greenfield’s death. She gave him a lifeline when his wife died and he was left as a clueless single father of a son with Down Syndrome. With his mentor’s grandmotherly help and resources, Sawyer has managed to build a life and is
finally comfortable with his ability to provide for his son. 
When Celeste returns home, Sawyer’s world is turned upside down. Attracted to the woman who has charmed his son, he feels compelled to keep her at a distance. Most women shy away from single fathers, especially when they have a child with an extra
chromosome. Still, Sawyer prays that she will become a part if their lives.
Snowstorms, threats from Celeste’s boss, the wake and funeral of her mother, and an impromptu Nativity play shows Celeste and Sawyer that even if life throws a curve ball, the restorative power of God’s love can make Christmas spectacular.

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Burst My Bubble

Posted in Christian, Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , , , on October 27, 2024| Leave a Comment »

Photo by Zdeněk Macháček on Unsplash

A routine eye check revealed something I had not envisioned…literally. I had felt something was wrong…eye strain maybe? A new prescription needed? Little did I know I could barely see out of my non-dominant, left eye. All was cloudy, skewed, and fuzzy. I had a hole in the macular at the back of my retina.

So I had surgery. The eye specialist inserted a gas bubble into my eye and I had to keep my head down for days while it positioned correctly to allow the hole at the back of my retina to knit back together. After the surgery was deemed a success, I had to endure the gas bubble clouding my vision for several weeks while it slowly diminished. The eye surgeon had said he couldn’t exactly predict when the bubble would evaporate. It depended on each individual. But it would happen. I had to be patient and follow his instructions.

At first, it was hard to see around this cloudy black thing. I had to really concentrate. But slowly it began to become less of a distraction and more of just an annoyance. Black floaters began to lift off, and I had the urge to swat them like gnats. By the second week, it reduced to a navy blue opaque dot with a blue veil in the center and it lowered in my vision field to somewhere around my lower eyelid, then my cheek, then mouth, then chin. It became the size of a quarter, then nickel, then dime, and then a bead. At last, this morning when I awoke, it was gone.

Where did I see God in all this, other than Him leading me to an excellent eye surgeon?

This bubble represented a sin in my life that I had not yet dealt with because I wasn’t quite sure I had to. Or maybe it was easier to just ignore it. My dominant faith covered it up and compensated…for a while. But deep down I knew something was not quite right. Once revealed by the Great Physician that I had a hole that distorted my perception of Kingdom living, I was in total dismay, and a tad frightened.

God inserted a “bubble” around that sin. At first, it was all I could see. It became so magnified in my life that it clouded everything else. But little by little, God’s mercy worked in my life. I had to be patient and follow His instructions. My attitude and actions began to slowly change. The hole healed, and the sin’s influence and tendency began to diminish. My thought pattern slowly altered and one day I realized it was no longer part of how I saw the world.

For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,  so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 5:19-21).

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Watch, Wait for It

Posted in Biblical, Christian, Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on September 20, 2024| Leave a Comment »

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
    and in his word I hope;
 my soul waits for the Lord
    more than watchmen for the morning,
    more than watchmen for the morning. Psalm 130:5-6 (ESV)

Simon and Garfunkel sang about darkness being their friend. It is true that in the middle of the night, there can be a special stillness that can bring peace. But for many, darkness is far from friendly, especially if their emotions hover in a dark place.

The psalmist relates to those who feel uneasy sitting in the darkness. He compares their waiting on God to act on their behalf to a watchman on a lookout tower peering into the blackness. He holds short, quick breaths to stay alert, hoping he doesn’t detect an enemy stealthily sneaking toward the gated community he is in charge of protecting. Come on morning… come on light. Illuminate the landscape so I can see all is well.

And so the watchman waits… so do the many crouched on their beds as tears drip down their cheeks. Or children who cringe at every creaky sound in the house, or the caregiver who is not sure he or she can watch their loved one suffer one more night. The parent waiting for their child to come home, fearing the worst.

Perhaps you are there right now. In the dark. Wait…

Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength… Isaiah said that. Believe it. Cling to it.

Lips whisper a prayer, “Shine, Jesus, shine on me–the way the dawn brightens the sky. Let me feel the warmth of Your love on my face and shoulders as Your loving strength penetrates every inch of my body. You will let the sun rise every morning, so I know You will lighten my darkness…”

No wonder many start their day praising the Lord. After all, the dawn does finally come, and with it, the promise that God is there and He cares. He was right there in the darkness all along.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

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Don’t You See?

Posted in Christian, Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , on September 7, 2024| Leave a Comment »


They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see. Psalm 115:5

That is what the optical tech asked me as she covered my right eye with a black spoon-like instrument.

I paused. I couldn’t believe what my left eye was NOT seeing! Even the top letters of the eye chart were nothing more than blurred, squiggly lines. My heart beat in my ears. I held my breath and tried to focus but it didn’t work. My EYE DIDN’T WORK!

The response hung on my tonsils. I swallowed and forced it out between my teeth. “No, I don’t see. I can’t see. What’s happening?”

She wrapped her arm around my shoulder. “Let’s go through the rest of the exam, then the ophthalmologist can see you. She’ll figure it out.”

I had come to get new glasses. For months my eyes felt tired and strained. I had ocular migraines. Floaters. I had been told that after major spinal fusion that was common and would most likely settle down. But it hadn’t so I went to the optometrist. It had, after all, been four years since I had my eyes checked. I prepared myself for the cost of new glasses. Little did I know my left eye wasn’t functioning so my dominant right eye had been doing all the work. Turns out I had a large hole in my macular (the back of the retina that captures what the eye lens projects) and I needed surgery to fix it. When I do, I will need to bow my head for days on end to help stimulate the healing process.

So, yes I found God in the midst of my shock and panic. Well, no pun intended, it actually came to me several days later in hindsight after my brain absorbed the news and my emotions settled.

How often do we think we see, yet our eyes have been skewed by the world? Our experiences cloud our vision, and things can get out of whack. So much so that it affects what we actually observe. It is well documented that if you ask five witnesses to describe a crime scene, they will vary in their responses.

God in His gracious mercy gave us two eyes, one dominant. It is the same with our faith eyes. One may have been damaged by the ways of the world, but our faith can give us dominance to see things the way God does…if we let it. As the contemporary hymn states, we need to pray for God to open the eyes of our hearts.

The amazing thing is that the faltered spiritual eye is fixable, just as my left eye is–all we need to do let the Great Physician work in our lives and bow our heads for a while. In time, we will see more clearly through the loving eyes of the eternal Father. The healing may take quite some time, but He is patient, and so must we agree to be as well.

Let’s see how it goes!

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Hazard Lights

Posted in Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , on June 11, 2024| Leave a Comment »

A friend of mine relayed her scary story of driving two hours home from her son’s house out in the country through a torrential rainstorm. Even with her windshield wipers on full blast, she had a hard time seeing the road ahead. She prayed as her hands kept a death grip on the steering wheel. She didn’t want to pull off because she couldn’t see if there was a flat shoulder or a bar ditch. Besides, she feared someone might slam into her.

Then, through the sheets of rain, my friend saw two small flashing red lights. She followed those and as she got closer she noticed it was an 18-wheeler with its hazard lights blinking. It traveled at a cautious speed in the righthand lane, a speed she felt comfortable going even though other vehicles whipped by her at highway speeds.

Photo by Valeriia Miller on Pexels.com

She followed that large truck until the rain stopped and the sun peered through the clouds, just a short distance from her hometown. When she pulled into her driveway, she slumped across the steering wheel almost out of breath. “I made it. Thank you, Lord for sending me that truck.”

As my friend told me this story, God whispered, “Always follow.”

Often times in our lives, storms come unexpectedly. We have no sense of direction. Our own attempts prove futile. We don’t know how we are going to navigate our way.

But Jesus is our hazard light. He shines just enough into our lives to catch our attention and show us the way. Our job is to stay close and follow. Let Him take the lead. Don’t worry about what others are doing. Let Him set the pace. Don’t veer off or stop. Keep going.

A few idioms come to mind. Slow and steady wins the race. Only fools rush in.

What is written in the Psalms:
Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me. (Psalm119:133)

And then what Paul said in his second letter to Timothy:
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (4:7)

If you are in a storm right now and it is difficult to see what lies ahead, look for Jesus’s light to guide you. Keep following it until the sun breaks through. Then, like my friend, and Paul, you can say you made it because you kept the faith. Praise God for His guidance.

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Steady, now

Posted in Biblical, Devotional, tagged , , , , , on July 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »

One of my friends repairs and then resells discarded furniture. She found a “Parlor table” that she loved but it wobbled. She purchased it anyway and took it home. She tried squirting wood putty into the place where the top screwed into the pedestal base. It still wobbled. Next, she inserted stints on either side to see if that would hold the tabletop in place. Nope. Finally, taking it to a professional woodworker who inserted two “L” shaped steel braces did the trick.

Photo by Mitchell Luo on Unsplash

Sometimes in life, our stance can get a bit wobbly, too. Not totally out of control but definitely off-kilter. A call from the doctor saying our lab results were not normal. Our car breaks down and the repairman says repairs will run about a thousand dollars The police phone in the middle of the night to say our child has been arrested for drunk driving. Our employer informs us that we are the victims of downsizing.

We can try to handle it ourselves. We can become anxious and toss and turn. Or escape reality through sugar highs, carb binging, drugs, or alcohol, but perhaps we need more — we need bracing. And that’s okay. Moses did, too.

The Hebrews were attacked unawares. As long as Moses held his hands high they were winning the battle, but when he became tired, his legs became unsteady and his arms drooped. The enemy suddenly had the advantage.


When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. Exodus 17:12

God could have supernaturally strengthened Moses’ arms. Instead, He allowed Moses to weaken so his family and friends had the opportunity to come to his rescue. Faith in action. But it was more than simply helping their tribes win. They saw what happened while Moses raised his hands, and they knew this was a divine intervention. They acted in faith and allowed God to use them.

Do we act in faith? When something comes suddenly upon us to off-center our world and after battling it on our own we grow tired and wobbly, do we seek to be braced by God? Do we lean on Him?

He may brace us in many ways – He may send faithful family and friends to pray for us and assist us. He may send an unexpected check in the mail, which happened to me when my car needed Megabucks service a few weeks ago. Perhaps seeking out a Christian counselor is the best solution.

God never allows tragedy or trials to come our way without a reason. He will be there if we call upon Him for divine intervention. And it may be in a way we had not anticipated. One thing is certain, there is always a lesson to be learned. For Moses, and perhaps for us, it is that we need God. We can’t walk this world alone, much less be His advocate, on our own strength.

So, steady on.

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What?

Posted in Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , on May 5, 2023| 1 Comment »

I had just paid rent and utilities, then I had an unexpected expense. There were ten days left until my widow’s check came in. If I was really frugal I could get by without dipping into my savings. But I needed ink and paper to print 100 funeral bulletins for the church (of which they would reimburse me later) and the guinea pig was almost out of hay. Hay is the main staple of their diet.

I stared into the fridge. Okay, I could still get by without going to the grocery store even if there was a slight echo inside it.

(Okay- it wasn’t this bad…yet!)

So, off I went on my mission … paper, printing ink, hay. I got to the office supply store. Paper was on sale – buy one get one free. Cool. I needed at least 800 sheets and a ream held 500 so that worked. I got the ink, grabbed two reams of paper, and headed to the cash register. The cashier let out a hmmph. She glared at me wide-eyed. “I see you have accumulated enough points to match your total. These are all free.” What?

Yep, all free.

Then I went to get the hay for my guinea pig. The cashier rang it up. “Good news. This is your twelfth bag, so it is free.” Okay. I didn’t even know about the twelfth bag-free offer.

On the way home I get a text asking if I would like a book booth at a women’s conference that weekend. Last minute, she knew but was hoping … YES!! A chance to make a bit of money.

Call it luck, call it whatever you wish, but I call it God’s love. The Bible says the Lord has a heart for widows and orphans. He is a father to the fatherless and an advocate for widows (Psalm 68:5). I can tell you that during these past twelve years of widowhood, He has come through time and again for me. This errand run is just one example.

But He will do the same for any believer, as any loving father would provide for his child. I love it when He quietly reminds me of that fact. It is like a warm hug.

Today I found God in two errand trips. Where will you find Him moving in your life today?

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Harden Hearts

Posted in Biblical, Christian, Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 2, 2023| 2 Comments »

The Bible makes several references to people hardening their hearts against believing in God’s ability to influence their lives. According to the Book of Exodus, Pharoah hardened his heart against the Israelite slaves. Eventually, after he ignored the five warnings, God left him to the consequences of his actions. Jesus asked his disciples if their hearts were hardened to His teachings. The psalms plead that we should not harden our hearts to God’s voice.

But did you know that hardening your heart, or as some folks say, having a cold heart, is more than just being stubborn or unwilling to listen? Negativity can actually affect us physically. In the HEALTHY HEART BOOK,  BY MORAG THOW, KERI GRAHAM & CHOI LEE, they state that science is learning how our attitudes can either thwart or enhance our bodies’ ability to heal.

“In years gone by, medicine focused on physical health only, but now scientists know that emotions, thoughts, and feelings affect how well the body functions. A positive mental attitude is now accepted as important in recovering from any health problem and living a healthy life… Therefore, for the health of your heart and for your general health, try to stop negative feelings from becoming overwhelming and regularly make time for the things that help you to relax.”*

They explain that feelings of anger, sadness, or frustration are normal, but if we do not deal with them and move on, our physical hearts can suffer.

So, I think we need to develop a holy CPR for our hearts-

C – confess. Knowing we have done wrong and not admitting it can cause stress. The longer we choose not to deal with it, the more it will eat at our conscience, eventually to the point that we either blame God for making us feel this way or we shut off our emotions to keep from feeling this way. Regular confession to God and to others humbles us. But it also opens our hearts to accept forgiveness and start fresh.

P – pray. There is an old saying that a life tied with prayer will not unravel. Handing our stress over to God reminds us that He is there and He cares. He is infinite, all-knowing, and all we can know is “now.” It helps us to get a better perspective on things. But it is also important to then listen for the Holy Spirit’s prompts because prayer should be a conversation.

R – read. Reading God’s Word regularly helps align our hearts, thoughts, and actions to His will. When you read through the psalms, will often see how a beginning negativity ends up in praise. You become aware in the stories and testimonies of how God worked in the lives of others and this opens your mind and heart to the assurance that He will do the same for you. Passages that never hit you before pierce you to your soul as if they were written just for you.

Doctors have discovered that people of faith live healthier lives and heal faster. Keep your heart, and your mind, and your soul healthy. Practice spiritual CPR often.

If you are angry or confused or upset, take that to God. Don’t shove it down. Ask God to turn your thoughts around to focus on Him, not the situation that is causing your blood pressure to rise and your head to toss and turn. Count your blessings. Go serve someone else so you get your mind off your problems and don’t brood.

We all need to jumpstart our attitudes now and then. Holy CPR is the key to health. Who knew?

Well, perhaps God. He made us after all.

*http://www.humankinetics.com/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/092/40se_Main.jpg

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Clouded View

Posted in Biblical, Devotional, tagged , , , , , , on March 19, 2023| 2 Comments »

I am certain this has happened to many of you. You read a passage in Scripture you have read or heard all your life…then wham! A new thought hits you. Well, that is what happened to me, so I had to share it.

On Wednesday evenings at church, we are studying a book about the Transfiguration of Jesus on the mount as witnessed by Peter, James, and John. It is recorded in all of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 17, Mark 9, and Luke 9.) Moses and Elijah appear on either side of Jesus, representing the Law and the Prophets. Peter, bless his impulsive heart, wants to build a tabernacle for them.

Here is where it jumped out at me: He [Peter] was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matthew 17:5-6).

Did you catch that? God covered Moses and Elijah with a cloud. Now I know this reflects back to Moses on Mt Sinai. God often appears in a cloud. But as I read this verse, it was as if I heard God say, “No Peter. Don’t look at them. You are missing the point. Look to Jesus. He has come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets” (See Matthew 5:17).

It gets better … “When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.”  And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only’ (Vs 7-8).

This thought made me recall the times God has clouded my vision so I was no longer distracted by what I thought I should think or do. He made the situation so nebulous that I could not see a way out on my own. He distracted me for a reason. To help me refocus on Him and not on my circumstances. He made it to where all I could do was lift my eyes to seek Jesus. As the familiar lyrics by Helen Howarth Lemmel states, “Turn your eyes to Jesus and look full in His wondrous face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”

If you feel as if you are in a pea-soup-thick fog right now and you can’t see the outcome, hang tight. Bow your head and pray. Ask God what He is distracting you from. What lesson is He trying to show you? What character is He developing in you? Then wait. At the perfect time, Jesus will call you out of the mist and tell you to have no fear. Concentrate on Him. Let Him lead you out into the clear to see things His way–the best, all-powerful, all-knowing way.

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Footnote

Posted in Christian, Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , on December 22, 2022| Leave a Comment »

In September, after a long nine-month trek through doctors’ offices and imaging facilities, I finally found a surgeon that would “try to fix” the broken hardware in my pelvis so I could walk again without dragging my right foot with excruciating nerve pain. Trouble was, the first opening in his schedule was Nov 30th. More waiting…

Two weeks later, the ball of my right foot went numb. Okay, probably the nerve, right? But it persisted and a lump developed. I saw a podiatrist and he immediately booked me for surgery. He told me I would not be able to put any weight on that foot for two weeks. I have to admit I lost it when I got home. All my faith and strength swirled through my head and out my eyes in tears. Why??? Haven’t I been through enough during this trial?

No booming voice from heaven. No suddenly meaningful Scripture verse or lyric in a Christian song on the radio. But I felt a renewed nearness to God as if He rubbed my shoulder and whispered, I am here.

Now I know why. For eleven years I have blogged about where I found God today. I found God working out my situation in a rare vascular, and praise Him, benign tumor that threatened to cut off circulation to my toes. Let me explain…

When it came time to have the big surgery on Nov 30th, I was prepared. I knew how to offload my weight, get around with a walker, And navigate through my apartment. And, when the surgeon said all went well and I could put partial weight on my right foot, I had an amazing template … the healing scar on the ball of that foot. Still being tender, I immediately knew if I put too much weight on it.

Had it been my left foot, it would that have made my life difficult because I have had to bear most of my weight on it.

I have heard it said that hindsight is 20/20. In my case, it is. Now, I can humbly thank my Lord and ask forgiveness for not trusting Him more with my life’s circumstances.

Christmas is the time for gift-giving. God gave me an amazing gift even though it was wrapped in something different than I would have imagined … an unexpected surgery. A serendipity.

My gift to you is the moral of my testimony, as written long ago in Proverbs:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

Amen.

May it be your testimony as well in the year to come. Whatever life presents, you have the presence of God if you believe. He is there, and He cares. That is why He came to earth to be born in a stable.

Emanuel, God with Us.

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