Month: December 2020

4 minute read

“She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.” (Proverbs 31:25 NIV)

A woman whose trust is in God laughs at the days to come.

Placing our hopes and dreams in God’s hands is the safest place for them.  As we move from one year into the next, we know uncertainty lies before us.  A year like 2020 proves we aren’t in control; God is.  No one could have predicted the events that occurred in the past 365 days.   And we have no idea what the next ones will bring either.  But if we have faith in God, we can move into the new year without fear.

A woman of noble character knows where her strength comes from each day.  She understands the delicate balance of truth and grace we find in Jesus.  Her attire begins by cloaking herself in God’s goodness.  Her intimate relationship with her Creator is the foundation of her life.  As a result, she can laugh at the days to come.

Let laughter lead.

Give up trying to control life; instead, embrace the life God gave you.  This time of year is an excellent time to review what to take with you into the new year, what you want to leave behind.  If you have a habit that is causing division for you in your relationship with God, leave it behind.  Instead, develop a new mindset that will give you joy.

Rick Warren is pastor of Saddleback Church in California.  In April of 2013, his son committed suicide over Easter weekend.  When Rick and his wife, Kay, went to their son’s home, they waited in the driveway for the police to arrive.  As Kay stood in her husband’s arms, she held the necklace Rick gave her in her hand.   A year earlier, her book titled “Choose Joy: Because Happiness isn’t Enough became available. As a token of her accomplishment, Rick gave her a  necklace with “Choose Joy” as its pendant. Now, in what I can only imagine is one of the most challenging ordeals a mother can face, she follows her advice, clinging to those words.  As she waited for the police to confirm what she already knew in her heart, she chose joy.

You can choose joy too.  You can lead with laughter in the year to come because you chose God.  Clothe yourself in Christ.  Instead of focusing on your fears and apprehensions, focus on God’s sovereignty.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” (Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV)

2020 is over; 2021 is a new adventure.  Let go of what was, embrace what is.  Choose joy in the moment.  Laugh at the days to come.

Question of the Day:

How can you choose joy in 2021?

Further Reading: Malachi 3:1-4:6 NIV, Revelation 22 NIV, Psalm 150:1-6 NIV, Proverbs 31:25-31 NIV

4 minute read

“She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants.” (Provers 31:15 NIV)

Get up early to provide.

Proverbs 31:10-31 are in the top ten of my favorite scriptures.  The woman described in these verses is every hard-working Mom I’ve ever met. They are women who rise early for their children.  Before the sun is up, they begin taking care of their family: preparing breakfast, packing lunches, making sure everyone else wakes up on time for their day.  Mom’s are noble women, every one of them.

We live in a world where schedules vary.  Now with COVID, Mom’s roles are changing.  No matter what is happening in life, one morning practice will help everything.  Spend a few minutes talking to God in the morning.  Ask Him for His help through your day.  The easiest way, thank Him for waking you up early, then ask Him what He has for you today.  As your day unfolds, so will His plan for it.

Create a reminder.

On the back of my toilet is an embroidered little picture.  Years ago, when I cross-stitched, I made a simple design.  A rainbow sits behind these words:

Someone, years ago, sent me the above saying as a memo.  What I love about the words, they’re true.  God is in control.  All the worrying I do isn’t going to change one thing.  Praying is always positive.  In our prayers, God’s answer is the same, “I got this!”  Now, the way He answers is up to Him.  We don’t have control of what God does.  So we might as well not spend time trying to control Him.  Instead, we can trust that whatever problem we’re facing, He indeed does “got it,” He doesn’t need our help to come up with a solution.

I forget God doesn’t need my help.  I have an opinion about how He should answer.   God is the Creator; He knows what He is doing.  Nowhere in the Bible does it say we are supposed to understand everything He does.  Nor does the good book say He needs our help, which is why, years ago, I cross-stiched a reminder to myself that I see first thing every morning.  Nature calls every morning.  I need reminded every day.

Time with God is the most productive thing you can do, no matter how long your “To Do” list.  Moments with the Creator set the tone for the day.  You can lay down yesterday’s troubles at His feet.  As you do, He’ll renew your strength for the day ahead.

Question of the Day:

What can you do to remind yourself, God’s “got this” in your life?

Further Reading: Malachi 1:1-2:17 NIV, Revelation 21 NIV, Psalm 149:1-9 NIV, Proverbs 31:10-24 NIV

4 minute read

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.” (Proverbs 31:8 NIV)

Speak for those who can’t.

In this year of mayhem, plenty of people had a lot to say.  Those are not the people who need help speaking up for themselves.  People we need to speak for are those who genuinely need help.  Kind-hearted people are taken advantage of because they cannot say no.  Uneducated people are taken advantage of because they don’t know any better.  Desperate people will do anything for love, not realizing, love isn’t what they are receiving.

One place I worked had a motto, “Don’t say no for them.”   In other words, when asking someone to volunteer, don’t assume they will say no.  I agree you shouldn’t think people will say no, but sometimes you shouldn’t ask.  Not asking someone to do something is a way to speak up for them.  People that have boundary issues and can’t say no need help saying no.

If you care about the people around you, you will know those who can’t speak up for themselves.

Pay attention.

Notice the people around you.  Look at how they react in certain situations.  Watch for their facial expressions.  Typically, people do not tell you they need you to speak up for them.  Why?  Because they are afraid to speak up. 

When I was a young store manager, I was training a new assistant.  She was younger than me, barely twenty years old.  Trying to prepare her for rude customers, we were role-playing scenarios.  In this particular situation, I was acting out a customer grumpy about a return, really cranky.  My acting skills are better than I realized because, at the end of our training session, I had the poor girl in tears.  She couldn’t verbalize that I was pushing too hard.  I wasn’t paying attention to her body language to realize I needed to back off. 

Each of us is fragile.  For Christmas this year, I gave away crystal angels.  The delicate bodies break easily.   A few of them, I mailed to their recipients.  As I wrapped the tiny glass figures in bubble wrap and tissue, I prayed they would arrive safely to their destination, not a wing broken. The delicate figurine’s fragility reminded me how quickly life could shatter.  One moment in time can devastate the lives we have forever.  When someone’s world shatters, they need protection. 

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2 NIV)

Speaking up for others in love is helping them carry their burdens.  Jesus spoke for all of us on the cross.  When we protect those who can’t speak for themselves, we’re like Jesus.

Stand in the gap for people.  Protect them with your words.

Question of the Day:

Who can you protect today by speaking up for them?

Further Reading:Zechariah 14:1-21 NIV, Revelation 20:1-15 NIV, Psalm 148:1-14 NIV, Proverbs 31:8-9 NIV

4 minute read

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3 NIV)

God binds your wounds.

People operate from their pain.  Every person you interact with today is in pain of some sort.  They are doing the best they can to live despite the suffering.  To live life to the fullest, you have to give your pain to God.  When you hand Him your broken heart, with love, He binds it.  

The problem is, we don’t want to give God our pain, not really.  We prefer hanging on to the suffering because we know it, we understand it.  Whatever our pain is, it becomes comfortable to us.  Handing the misery to God means stepping out of what you know into the unknown.  

When I started working on my Masters’s degree, it was unknown to me.  I was operating out of the pain I felt from the situation that led me back to school.  Hitting the books was not something I had ever considered doing.  In no way, shape, or form did I ever think I would receive a graduate degree.  However, as of Dec. 16th, 2020, I am an official graduate from Regent University with a Masters of Arts in Strategic Communication.  Why?  Because I gave God my pain.

Process pain with God.

The first step a Christ-follower should take when processing pain is seeking God.  Whatever the feelings and emotions, give them to Him.  Yell, scream, tell everything to God. As you release the anger, you begin to gain perspective.  Just the act of turning your thoughts to God changes your focus.  When you give your emotions to God instead of a person, you don’t cause more harm. Confiding in someone who isn’t trustworthy only causes more problems.  God won’t share your secrets; people will.  Human nature is challenging for any of us to overcome without God’s intervention.

Instead of focusing on the hurt, place your focus on God.  Whatever the situation you’re experiencing, God allowed it into your life—understanding why isn’t a necessity.  God is clear; His ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8 NIV).  God is sovereign; we’re not.  If God allowed a circumstance in your life, then He has a plan for it.  The only way we can find the script He has for us is if we seek Him.

In my pain, I sought God through His word.  I dove into the Scriptures, expectantly waiting for God to move.  He did move, not at all the way I expected.  The more I seek Him, the more His plan reveals itself in my life.  Each day is a new adventure. 

Lay your pain at God’s feet.  Allow Him to heal your broken heart in His time and way. Get comfortable living in the uncomfortable.

Question of the Day:

What hurt do you need to give God today?

Further Reading: Zechariah 12:1-13:9 NIV, Revelation 19 NIV, Psalm 147:1-20 NIV, Proverbs 31:1-7 NIV

4 minute read

“For as churning cream produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife.” (Proverbs 30:33 NIV)

Stirring up anger produces strife.

Whatever side of the political spectrum you reside, this year has proven the effectiveness of stirring up anger.  Social media posts poking and prodding at the other party are intentionally trying to anger people.  The negative emotion becomes a drug.  People wait expectantly for the next day’s news, feeding their anger further.  But the only thing anger produces is strife.  If you want less battle in your life, divorce yourself from anger.

Each morning, my husband turns on the news.  After I’ve spent time reading my Bible, journaling my thoughts and prayers to God, I sit with my husband as he begins his day.  Typically, I can only tolerate about 10 minutes of the news before I feel the anger begin to rise.  Men trying to control something only God can control, irritates me.  People’s lack of faith is annoying to me.  To stop the rise of my emotions, I divorce myself from the situation by turning off the television.  You have a choice.  You don’t have to do what everyone else does.

Divorce yourself from the anger.

One night, while having friends over for dinner, we were talking.  Honestly, I can’t remember the topic, either politics or COVID, maybe both.  Because she didn’t like what we were talking about, she simply said, “I’m divorcing myself from this conversation.”  I had never heard anyone say that phrase before that moment.  What I appreciated was her self-awareness to her emotions.  Recognizing the conversation was stirring up negative feelings inside of her, she made a choice.  She divorced herself from the conversation and didn’t feed into the negativity rising within her.  We all can learn from her actions.

When you are in a situation that is stirring up anger within you, make a choice.  Divorce yourself from the situation.  Choose what emotions you feed.  If a friend’s posts on Facebook are bringing up negative emotions, don’t follow them.  Hiding posts is easy.  Divorce yourself from their negativity.  People are making those posts intentionally to insight anger.  When they do, strife follows.  We have all seen the innocent post that turns into a political arguement.  My husband loves to read the comments, I don’t.  The words infuriate me, not him.  People losing friendships over politics breaks my heart.

Before the internet, people had political discussions face-to-face.  When you discuss politics personally, people don’t say the nasty things they say from behind a screen.  If you can’t say something to someone’s face, don’t post it on Facebook.  Remember, behind every screen name is a person with feelings and emotions.

Stirring up anger causes strife.  Divorce yourself from the anger to avoid strife.

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Question of the Day:

What anger do you need to divorce yourself from today?

Further Reading: Zechariah 10:1-11:17 NIV, Revelation 18:1-24 NIV, Psalm 146:1-10 NIV,  Proverbs 30:33 NIV

4 minute read

“The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.” (Psalm 145:8 NIV)

God is rich in love.

In a year like 2020, one filled with strife, people may question God’s love for them.  If God loves the world, why would He send a pandemic?  Viruses are a part of life.  Man didn’t create them; God did.  They balance nature:

“Viruses keep Earth’s bacterial population in check. They break up and kill bacteria at the just-right rates and in the just-right locations to maintain a population and diversity of bacteria that is optimal for both the bacteria and for all the other life-forms.” Hugh Ross

In farming terms, viruses “thin the herd,” meaning weaker animals don’t survive while stronger ones do.  In conversation, you will hear the phrase “herd immunity,” which means the virus has run its course through the flock.  Gratefully, we are close to that point with COVID-19.  The introduction of a vaccine makes the virus’s life span that much shorter.  

Love isn’t contingent on circumstance.

COVID devastates people’s lives.  One of my dear friends lost her husband in September to the illness.  Many have lost loved ones this year, but not all from the virus.  Suicide rates and domestic abuse are rising.  Two friends lost their children to suicide because of the stress of quarantine.  The darkness that surrounds the world is heavy.  Hurting hearts exist in every part of the earth.  But God’s love is still rich.

God’s love is evident in the health care workers who nurture the sick.  We see His love in the actions of neighbors who help those around them.  Jesus’s love brightens the world through His followers as they serve others.  Currently, my church is supporting a family of six through the Angel Tree network.  Together, as a community, we are meeting the family’s needs helping them through this difficult time.

When I enter into conversations about COVID, I think of the Titanic.  On the date of the ship’s launch, May 31, 1911, an employee made this statement:

“Not even God himself could sink this ship.”

He was, in fact, wrong.  The Titanic hit an iceberg on its maiden voyage, more than 1500 people died.  Because the shipbuilders were so confident in their creation, they didn’t add enough lifeboats.  Of the 2,228 passengers on board, lifeboats could only accommodate about half of them.  Man thought he was smarter than God; he wasn’t.

God has a plan.  What is going on in the world is part of His divine purpose. Understanding isn’t necessary for us to live life fully. COVID will end, but God’s love never will.

Trust God’s word. He is compassionate.  He is slow to anger and rich in love.  No one loves you more than Jesus.

Question of the Day:

Who can you share God’s love with today?

Further Reading: Zechariah 9:1-17 NIV, Revelation 17:1-18 NIV, Psalm 145:1-21NIV, Proverbs 30:32 NIV

4 minute read

“Blessed is the people of whom this is true; blessed is the people whose God is the Lord” (Psalm 144:15 NIV )

Jesus gives us hope.

On this day, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, enjoy the blessing.  Relish in the hope of who you are becoming as you follow Jesus.  He forgave your sins; you have life anew.  Each morning, fresh mercy awaits for the day ahead.

“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 NIV)

Believe in the power of Jesus to transform your life.  Whatever you can’t forgive yourself for this year, Jesus can help you.  His grace flows to you the minute you confess whatever to Him.  Embrace His grace; let go of the past.  Charge boldly into the day, knowing you are a child of God.  Because you have given Him your heart, He’s given you His peace.  Whatever trial you face, He has the answer.  In Him, find hope for your future.

Christmas is about Christ.

The day Jesus was born, the calendar changed forever.  Before His birth, B.C. or “Before Christ,” marked years.  After his birth, the calendar changed to A.D. or “Anno Domini,” which is Latin for “Year of the Lord.”  However, a movement is underway to change these abbreviations to BCE, “Before Common Era,”  and CE, “Common Era.”  Changing terminology doesn’t change events.  Jesus still lived, died, and was resurrected.  Today’s world is trying to take Christ out of Christmas.  People may ignore history, but that doesn’t change its existence.

Take time today to celebrate Jesus’s entrance into the world.  Spend a few moments thinking about your life with Him.  Recall times over the past months you’ve felt His presence.  Talk to Him today about whatever is on your heart.  Ask Him to give you an extra measure of love to share with the world.  Manifest the hope you have in Jesus through your actions.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD.” (Jeremiah 17:7 NIV)

As you deal with difficult family members or grumpy friends, remember they’re suffering too.  Each of us is carrying pain.  Just because you can’t see the hurt doesn’t mean it isn’t there.  People need hope today.  They need to know their pain, God will use it for the good if they trust and believe in Him.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NIV)

You have hope in Jesus.  Because your faith is in Him, His light is in you.  Shine brightly today for Him.  Let the hope you have flow through to all those you encounter today.

Question of the Day:

Who can you share the hope you have in Jesus with today?

Further Reading: Zechariah 8 NIV, Revelation 16:1-21NIV, Psalm 144 NIV, Proverbs 30:29-31 NIV

4 minute read

“Answer me quickly, Lord; my spirit fails.  Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit.” (Psalm 143:7 NIV)

Ask God to answer quickly.

Christmas Eve comes with a level of stress felt no other day of the year.  For some, the day emphasizes feelings of loneliness and despair.  Others deal with quarreling families and tense filled moments.  And for some, the financial burden of gift-giving steals any remnants of joy left. Whatever the distress, ask God to answer your pleas for help quickly.  If you feel like you’re sliding into a pit, pray God swiftly pulls you out.

Whatever situation in your life is causing you the most distress, develop a prayer to address it.  Make the phrase into your mantra for the day, counting on God’s quick answer.  By thinking ahead, you can create a strategy to win the battle.  

Battle with belief.

Creating a prayer mantra for the day ahead is battling with belief.  For instance, when dealing with someone who makes my blood boil, I pray the same prayer—grace, not anger. Then trust, when my anger begins to rise, God replaces it with grace. So far, He hasn’t failed me yet.  If feelings of envy arise, pray, joy, not jealousy, knowing God will give you what you need.  Other prayer mantras I use in the moment that help me battle believing God will answer quickly are:

• Love not hate.
• Faith, not fear.
• Forgiveness, not justice.
• Peace not anxiety
• Self-control, not greed.
• Margin, not excess.
• Good, not evil.

When you develop a prayer mantra to tackle the day ahead, God will answer quickly.  He will give you what you need to move through your circumstances.  Control your thoughts with words you choose to focus on that will uplift and encourage you.  If we don’t tap into the source of our greatest strength, we’ll never receive it.  

The beauty of developing a prayer mantra, they are easy to remember and always accessible.  Some days, I use every one of the prayers listed above.  Other times, I only use one.  Different days require different prayers.  Once we travel through one situation, we move into the next.  Having go-to prayers make the transitions easier.

Every prayer mantra is something God wants for us.  He wants us to love, not hate.  When we pray that simple prayer, He will always answer quickly.  God pours His love into us when we open ourselves up to receive it.  But if we never ask God for His love, we can’t accept it.  Instead, we’ll respond in hatred, something God never wants.  Short and sweet doesn’t mean weak .  The length of a prayer isn’t what determines its strength.

Pick your mantra for the day.  Pray, believing God will quickly answer.

Question of the Day:

What is your prayer mantra for this day?

Further Reading: Zechariah 6:1-7:14 NIV, Revelation 15:1-8 NIV, Psalm 143:1-12 NIV, Proverbs 30:24-28 NIV

4 minute read

“So he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” (Zechariah 4:6 NIV)

God’s Spirit will get you through Christmas.

Even though Christmas is the celebration of Jesus’s birth, for many, celebrating is hard.  Especially in this year of loss.  As I write, a young friend, only 22 years old, is battling for her life in the Cleveland Clinic.  Unforeseen complications turned a routine surgery into something far different than anyone expected.  Why my young friend suffers, I do not know.  Her faith remains constant in the face of adversity.  God is the source of all her strength; He has power for you too.

On Christmas day, many years ago, a child was born in a manger.  During that period in history, political upheaval and unrest similar to ours today existed.  Everything our world is enduring, the same as in the days of old.  What is different today than on the day Christ was born? We have His hope.  Jesus’s birth was the beginning of the hope we have today.  His life and ministry yet to come that blessed morning in Bethlehem.

Joy: Jesus, Others, You.

This year, look to Jesus for your joy, no one else.  Spend time reading Luke chapter two,  relive His birth.  Bake a birthday cake and sing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus.  Celebrate Him like you would a beloved family member because Jesus is family.  He is with you on your tough days as well as your good days.  No one is closer to you than Jesus; no one knows you better than Him.  And He adores everything about you.  He is your hope.  In Him, you can find joy.

A teacher friend years ago introduced me to JOY.  Each Christmas, she finds ornaments spelling out the word.  Then she teaches them the principle of loving God, loving others, themselves last.  I’ve never forgotten the lesson.  Now, when I need JOY, I know how to find it. Remembering this simple acronym can help you find JOY!  

Each Christmas, I find a little “give-to-friends” gift.  Sometimes the item is something I make, other times not.  This year I’m giving away angels.  Some of the angels are crystal, some metal. Most of them are hand-delivered, a few mailed.  Praying over the winged ladies as I prepared them for their recipients brought joy to my heart.  The first one I gave away was to a sales associate working at the Dollar Tree.  Her smile as she peered at the ornament is forever in my mind, bringing me joy for years to come.

Enjoy the next two days.  Find strength in Jesus. Find JOY: Jesus, Others, You.

Question of the Day:

Whose strength are you relying on to get through the holidays?

Further Reading: Zechariah 4:1-5:11 NIV, Revelation 14:1-20 NIV, Psalm 142:1-7 NIV, Proverbs 30:21-23 NIV

4 minute read

“May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.” (Psalm 141:2 NIV)

Praying pleases God.

When you pray, God listens.  He just wants you to talk to Him.  As you begin to converse with Him more, your prayers begin to change.  Each conversation leads to a deeper relationship with God, which, in turn, changes your heart.  Lifting your desires ends with wanting God’s instead.  His will becomes more important than yours.

“Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4 NIV) 

Our relationship with God is a heart bond. Placing your trust in God is an internal transaction.  Your heart connects with God’s heart.  When you pray, the language used is not verbal.  Yes, we say words, but God listens to the emotion of the heart.  When I am down on my knees in despair because of a circumstance in life, God hears the feeling I can’t verbalize.  Releasing the heartache to God gives it to Him.  He then replaces it with His peace.

Prayers don’t require words.

Think of a moment when something great happens to someone.  As a coach, I gratefully get to see this look often.  A student who is struggling to hit the ball finally hits it.  Or when a weaker student becomes “Champion of the Court” for the day, the look in their eyes is indescribable.  No words are necessary for me to know what their heart is saying.  On the other side of the spectrum, pain is visible as well.  If a child falls, the level of pain is seen quickly in their reaction.  Not hitting the ball ten times in a row brings a look easily interpreted.  And when a student loses, they all share the same momentary expression.  Heart language is different from verbal language.

Everyone has a heart language only understood by God.  Since He is your Creator, He wrote the speech.  Communication requires two things: sending and receiving.  In other words, God can’t interpret what you don’t send.  Relationships require both parties to act.  God is sending you messages of love; whether you receive them or not is up to you. If you aren’t talking to Him, you won’t receive the memo. Conversely, if you’re not sending anything to God, He’s not getting it.  He can’t answer what He doesn’t receive.

Talking to God will deepen your understanding of God’s love for you. As you begin to receive His love letters, your desires start to change.  Instead of doing all the talking, begin to listen. Don’t just send information; accept it as well. Let His desires for you become your desire for others. 

Question of the Day:

Are you doing all the talking when you’re praying?

Further Reading: Zechariah 2:1-3:10 NIV, Revelation 13:1-13:18 NIV, Psalm 141:1-10 NIV, Proverbs 30:18-20 NIV