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Posts Tagged ‘Where did you find God today?’

Unique but Not Alone

Posted in Christian, Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 12, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Recently, my church offered pet blessings in honor of St. Francis’ Day. Amongst 87 dogs, a horse, a parrot, and 14 cats, I showed up with my guinea pig in his tiny carrier. Needless to say, he was a bit freaked. Actually, the car ride wasn’t his favorite thing to do either. But his experience became a “God lesson” for me.

God can take me places I am not sure I want to go, and it may be a bit unsettling. But he is in control, and it is for my good. So, I need to trust Him and relax.

  1. I am in good hands and protected, like my guinea pig was in his carrier. My vision may be limited, but no harm will come to me as long as I rest in His grace and mercy.
  2. I may be unique, but I am not alone. My guinea pig was the only one of his kind that afternoon, and I am not quite sure some of the other pets didn’t view him as a possible lunch option, but… our masters had us all there for a good reason. God may have me encounter people different from me, some that may seem threatening or uncomfortable to be near, but as long as I stay in His will, within the boundaries He has set for me, I “shall fear no evil” but be comforted (Psalm 23).
  3. Just as I gripped my pet close to me during the blessing prayers, God holds me close when I pray.

Sure, in this life, I may experience harm. Like my pet, I am a prey animal, and at times being a Christian makes me vulnerable to attack. I am not sure GuinGuin has everlasting life, so while he has a heartbeat, I will provide for him and protect him to the best of my ability. But through Christ I have eternal life. This is not my home. As Paul stated so perfectly,  For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,  neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39). In the meantime, God will provide for me. I have total trust in that fact. I, too, have been blessed.

May you realize that if you have accepted Christ and the Holy Spirit now dwells in you, you are in a carrier called God’s grace, and will be carried through this life in His loving protection, no matter what happens.

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Growing-Up

Posted in Biblical, Christian, Devotional, Life Experiences, Nature, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 21, 2025| Leave a Comment »

I drove through a new neighborhood where a year ago nothing but a field stood. Now over fifty houses sat side by side, back to back. The developer had planted a tiny five- to six-foot tree in each front yard. Gardeners carefully packed dirt around each one, then drove stakes in the ground at angles and wired the trunks so they would withstand the North Texas winds and grow straight and tall one day… “Good luck, little trees,” I whispered. “I hope your new owners take care of you.”

That night in my women’s Bible study, one lady spoke about her mustard seed faith and how she had come to the group so we’d help her grow in Christ. My mind flashed back to those little trees in the subdivision. Then, it jumped to Jesus’ parable in the Gospel of Matthew.

He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches (13:31-32).

I thought of the times I have seen other neighborhoods with houses that were ten to twenty years old. Some of their trees were now as high as the roofs or higher. Other front yards lay barren. Why? Most likely, all of the newly planted trees the developer had included in the properties’ amenities came from the same nursery. Nursery workers surely nurtured each one for several years to make sure it would reach a sellable height. All seemed prepared to go out into the world. Yet not all survived.

It made me realize that we are like saplings…

We all need each other to bolster, water, protect, and feed us spiritually, so we can all grow. Christianity is a community thing. We are never meant to strive alone. We are a body, a holy people.

Though we may think we have been raised up in our faith, we have a long way to go before our beliefs, rooted in Christ’s love, have reached down far enough to support us. We all have a lot of growing to do. Few of us are large-trunked oaks yet.

Church families, service, and sermons, …these all should feed our faith. But for some, these winds are not warm and pleasant. Instead, downpours of negativity and criticism can drown our tender roots. Winds of change, harsh rules, and misinterpretations of Scripture can bend our small trunks to the breaking point. Some people sit in pews thirsting for love and acceptance, and yet leave parched week after week. Soon they wither. Church hurt is a real thing. I have personally experienced it several times in my life and have witnessed others being driven away or shoved out, often by leaders who should have nurtured them when they were on the verge of breaking.

Those gardeners I saw planting the new trees knew some truths all believers should realize…

During the storms and droughts of life, we can’t rely only on ourselves. No matter where we are in our growth, we need each other. We are called to lift each other up, to hold on to each other in tough times and trials, to provide the strength of mercy and prayer.

Each of us has had some of the same nurturing that led us to faith in Jesus as our Lord, but we may not all receive the same amount after we are planted into the dirt of this world. We need constant nutrition… through the Word, intercessory prayer, and the shared witnessing of the ways that God has blessed us.

We are all growing at a different rate. We might face some intensities of life that our fellow saplings across the street or down the block will not experience. Perhaps they have had loved ones to steadily water and feed their faith. Maybe the sun didn’t beat down on them as much, or the bitter north winds were slowed by the house built behind them. Our task is not to judge or compare but to find ways to help each of us grow.

When it comes to spreading roots deep and growing strong in our faith, we all have a lot at stake.

Who are you being called to bolster today? Where do you need another strong wire grounded in Christ to help you stand tall?

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P’s & C’s

Posted in Christian, Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , , , on May 17, 2025| Leave a Comment »

Two words with the same letters but totally different meanings:

Except and Expect

Except is an add-on to a thought. She could be pretty, except for her wiry hair. I could have gotten the job except for the boss’s prejudice against me. My life would be great except that I never had the opportunities my brothers did.

God would love me, except for the things I have done in the past.

Expect holds a sense of excitement and anticipation. I expect that package to come today. I expect that she will like me. I expect to get a good grade on today’s exam.

I expect God will turn this into something good…

It all depends on your point of view- how you use the letters to flip the meaning around.

What if we take this further… let’s say “C” represents your circumstances and “P” represents prayer. If we concentrate on our circumstances, then we assume we can control them…and most likely we can’t, so that causes stress.

But if we instead put prayer first, believing God is in control and will work it out if we yield to Him, then we can expect things to have meaning, purpose, and the outcome they were meant to have. And even if the result seems negative, we can trust that good can come out of it somehow.

So, when faced with a situation this week, what will you put first? The “C” or the “P”?

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The Eyes Have It

Posted in Christian, Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 6, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“God gave us two for a reason.” That has been my mantra the past few weeks. The left eye I had surgery on last fall developed a whopping cataract, a side effect that can happen, and of which I had been told very well might… in a year or so. However, it came to be in just a few months.

Because I was still “post-op” in that eye, I had to undergo laser surgery to have a corneal transplant. The doctor explained that my distant vision would no longer require me to wear glasses –for the first time since 2nd grade, some sixty-odd years ago– that part I heard clearly. But that it would be fixed in place so my close-up vision would not be clear anymore, evaded my ears. I’d never had to use readers, so why would I need them now? (I still don’t get that part by the way.)

Initially, I was ecstatic. I could see leaves, details, and colors! Shock, and the deja vu of not seeing out of the eye at all last fall, sent me into a tailspin when I tried to read my phone with just that eye. All fuzzy and out of focus. What was happening? The doctor on call coaxed me off the cliff.

After a long discussion, I decided I didn’t want the same plight to happen to my dominant right eye, the good eye, the eye I can still read with 20/20 clarity. So I canceled the second eye surgery for the tiny cataract that was developing, of which they initially insisted I would need, so my eyes would be “even.”

I decided to go mono-vision, meaning one eye would see 20/30 into the distance without corrective eyewear, and I’d train the other eye to compensate by focusing on things I needed to see close-up. So far, it is working, and I am enjoying not having glasses pressed onto the ridge of my nose.

WHERE HAVE I FOUND GOD IN ALL THIS? I think as Christians, perhaps we need mono-vision. We need to adjust the eyes we are used to viewing the world with and begin to make our dominant vision see what God wants us to see, so we can become what He wants us to be. He sees beyond the moment and beyond the exterior into the heart. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7)

We can, and should, retrain our vision. Paul said at the time he saw things dimly, as if in a smudged mirror, but soon he’d see things face to face, the way God sees. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

It will take time, patience, and diligence to shift how we view things. But fuzzing out the negative and bad so we can focus on the good may be the counter-cultural action we all need to practice. Let one eye clearly concentrate on what will happen in the distance when Christ returns, while the other peers into the heart of those we encounter. We might just see ourselves reflected in those God puts in our path–people who are not perfect but need a forgiving Savior.

God gave us two eyes to see for a reason…. perhaps He is also giving us two spiritual eyes, for a reason.

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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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Can You Hear Me?

Posted in Christian, tagged , , , , , on September 11, 2022| 1 Comment »

Be not silent, O God of my praise! Psalm 109:1

I could not hear it. Since I am housebound and cannot walk witout pain, every Sunday for the past ten months I have tuned into the live stream of my church’s worship service. I bring up the social media link on my phone and then cast it to my TV. Today I had the picture but no sound.

First world problem…modern technology is great…when it works.

Was it my phone? I fiddled with the settings. Nope. I disconnected the stream and tried the connection through my desktop computer. Um, that didn’t work either. My heart sank. My weekly link with the Body of Christ in my little church was broken. I couldn’t hear the hymns, the prayers, or the Bible readings. It was an eerie feeling to see lips move but not be able to understand. I have a renewed empathy for the hard of hearing.

I must admit there are times I feel that way with God. I know He is present, He always is… But I cannot hear Him speaking into my life. Though I call out, my situation remains the same. It is as if my prayers hit the ceiling and then disintegrate into a puff of dust. Have you experienced that?

David in the Bible did. Read Psalm 109. He most likely crouched in a cave, hiding from Saul’s soldiers who sought to kill him so he wouldn’t take the throne. God had anointed him, yet the time for him to reign had yet to happen. Instead of fanfare and celebration of the royal robe wrapping in his shoulders, he now only heard the drips of stalactites and shivered in the coldness of the dark stone. Though he had to remain silent, he begged God not to be so.

I get that.

The Psalm continues with him asking God to smite his enemies. I get that as well. I want action. I want God to swoop down like a superman daddy and fix everything. I want the constant pain to end and be able-bodied again. Wouldn’t I serve you better that way, LORD?

But then, at the end of the psalm, David turns his attitude around.

With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord;
     I will praise him in the midst of the throng.

For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,
     to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

Jesus, in the silent night of Gethsemane, knelt in the silent night as his disciples slept, ignorant of his angst. He wanted his Father to take away the fate that awaited him—dying on the cross so His death would defeat sin and again bridge the gap between humans and their Creator. (see Luke 22:41-43).

But like his ancestor David, Jesus relinquishes his will to God’s. And so must I. It is the best thing to do.

Okay, I realize I am not facing enemies trying to slaughter me or have the eternal fate of humanity resting on my actions. But my health has isolated me. At times the silence is loud. I am tired of reaching out to friends and family who rarely reach back out to me. After all these months, they are living their lives but because I cannot be a part of it, I am not on their radar screen.

Yet in my heart, I know that God never disconnects from me. I might not hear His footsteps across my path but I have the examples of David and Jesus to rely upon. And Paul, and thousands of others who have suffered and yet not lost hope.

I will not be silent in my faith. I will praise the LORD in the midst of my “cave” and the dark silence of the garden even though my friends and family go on with their lives and do not notice my suffering. I know He is listening even though I cannot hear Him. I know in my heart I do not travel this road in solitude, even though it often feels that way.

God is there, and He cares.

So, I bow to His mercy… again and again. And I pray for others who feel alone in silence. Be it in a nursing home, or locked in their bedroom, or seated in a crowded school cafeteria, or cubicled in a noisy workplace. May they feel the hand of God rest on their shoulder. For He is there, standing at the right hand of those who need Him, seeing them, seeking to comfort them through their pain. Even if they cannot hear Him at the moment.

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Get A Handle

Posted in Christian, Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , , on December 27, 2021| Leave a Comment »

I have often heard, “God never gives us more than we can handle.” But, once I learned I’ve got to battle some pretty tough times ahead, I grabbed onto my social media friend, Jo Ann Ruth Prevatt’s idea:

She wrote that God’s grace keeps pace with what we face. I like that. God gives us what we need to handle life. In other words, He provides just what we need when we need it.

I recall the monkey bars on my elementary school playground. I had to dangle several feet off the ground and grab the handle in front of me. Once I became sure I had a good grasp, I’d let go of the one behind and swing to grasp the next one. The goal was to make it all the way across to the ladder on the other side.

co wayfair

In life, I don’t always see the ladder at the other end, but I can see the next handle. God doesn’t ask me to “let go” before I grasp the next one. There is security each step of the way, and my faith tells me there will be an end to whatever I am to handle. And if I slip, my LORD is there to grab me, then hoist me up to the next handle. And can almost hear his encouraging whisper, “It’s okay. You’re doing great. Keep going.”

His grace keeps pace…

What do you need to grasp onto today to keep from giving up and falling hard? Whatever you need to handle, know that there is Someone who doesn’t want to leave you dangling in midair. He will give you the strength you need to move forward, and handle one “handle” at a time. Keep going. There is an end. You will be victorious.

You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory (Psalm 73:24).

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String the Lights

Posted in Biblical, Christian, Devotional, Life Experiences, tagged , , , , , , , on December 7, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Photo by Max Bender on Unsplash

I remember it all too well. Dad, grumbling, down on his hands and knees, moving along the wires of Christmas tree lights strewn across the floor. He had to test each one to see which one had burned out, causing the rest to not shine. Rarely did the culprit appear in the first ten or so bulbs. And once he found the burnt-out one, replacing it presented its own challenge. No two red ones next to each other. Heaven forbid! Mom had a strict pattern — red, blue, yellow, green, white. We used to hide the replacements in a small box behind the garland on the mantle just in case …

However, in a way, I think it describes the individualistic attitude that has become so prevalent in our society. We claim to not need each other. We want to do our own thing and if we don’t follow the norm, it’s okay. It is the way we are wired.

Today, the tree lights are individually wired so if one, or two, or ten go out, it doesn’t affect the rest of the strand. Modern technology at work. I am sure many folks appreciate the invention. I have to admit it is a time saver!

There is an old saying that states, “Christ unites, Satan divides.” From the Garden of Eden on down to today, it has been proven to be true. There is a reason believers are called the Body of Christ. We are not supposed to exist independently but are united in His love. It binds us together and flows through us so we can shine brightly into a dark and cold world.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ ... Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it (I Corinthians 12:12 & 27, ESV).

When life happens to one of us that makes our light dim, we need the energy of the others to help us shine again. We need that connection of the Holy Spirit flowing through us. Not everyone can be strong and positive all the time. We are not wired that way. We humans need each other, rely upon each other and naturally band together in groups. John Donne had it correct when he wrote over 400 years ago that no one is an island.

Photo by S&B Vonlanthen on Unsplash

 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world … (Philippians 2:14-15, ESV)

As long as we live on this broken planet, darkness will linger on the edges, slowly seeping in. This season, be the light of love that points to Jesus the same way the star over the manager pointed people to Him 2000 years ago. May this darkest time of the year (Winter solstice) be the brightest one in your heart and gleam into those around you, be it the widow next door, the frenzied store clerk, the moody teen, or the grouchiest person in the office.

Uphold those who believe, and encourage those who do not. Shine the love of Christ into others’ lives and you might find yourself shining a tad brighter as well.

Now everyone, join hands and sing, “This little light of mine…”

Have a bright, shiny, beautiful Christmas season.

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My Special Words

Posted in Christian, tagged , , , , on April 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »

As I have unpacked and hung pictures on the wall of my new apartment, I smile. Many are sayings that booster my faith, even when I just glance at them. I find God’s love adnpeace in them.

So, I thought I’d share some with you. Perhaps they’ll make you smile as well. We all need something to smile about.

I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know Who holds tomorrow.

The Bible is the only book whose author is always present when one reads it.

We cannot change the wind but we can direct our sails.

Anyone can count the seeds in an apple but only God can count the apples in a seed.

From ghouiles and ghosties and long-legged beasties and things that go bump in the night, good Lord deliver us. (From an ancient Scottish Litany.)

And the Scriptural ones – perhaps you have these as well:

Every good and perfect gift comes from above. James 1:17

The Lord will watch over your going out and your coming in forever more. Psalm 121:8

The Lord is our refuge and our strength, our very present help in times of trouble. Psalm 46:1

If my people, which are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray….I will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

And above all else may we never forget that….

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One Letter

Posted in Christian, Devotional, tagged , , , , , , , on March 25, 2021| Leave a Comment »

One letter can make a huge difference. Mean versus moan. Bad vs bed. Dog vs. dig.

Take the words son and sin. The letters that are different are the letter I and the letter O. But there is so much more to that observation. Hidden in it is a great truth.

 

 

No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. I Corinthians 10:24

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,  not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2:3-4

 

When “i” is in the middle of our thoughts, we are self-centered.   S.I.N. = See, I need.

Replace that with “o” and you have changed your focus to others’ needs.  S.O.N = See, others need.

Here’s why.

Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth not for Himself but for others. He died for us so we could have a bridge of reconciliation back to the Father in Heaven who loves us. We, in our sinful nature with our “me first” attitudes, separate ourselves from that love. Christ shows us a better way.

Christ calls us to act the way He lived on earth — to be other-focused. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you “– the Golden Rule from Matthew 7:12. Time again He rebuked His listeners for not caring for others first and foremost. John, Paul, and Peter reiterated this many times in their letters to the faithful. They understood what a servitude attitude was all about. They lived it.

By humbling ourselves and putting others as our priority, God sees our motive as an act of love for Him and what He created. Serving others, praying for others, and loving others takes our minds, actions, and hearts off ourselves. Then, we begin to realize we have something in common – we all need love. We need each other. We need God.

We are not an island floating in a vast sea alone. We are part of creation as a whole, dependent upon the Creator.

Yes, of course, we should love ourselves…as creations of God. But when that love of self becomes the main focus, then sin sets in and pushes out the Son from our hearts, minds, and soul.

Prayer can reverse the order. It can replace the “i” with the “o”. Ask God to help you be more other-centered. He will send His Holy Spirit to guide you away from self into selflessness. Peace and happiness will flow from you as a result.

 

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