Honest Reflections

One minute read.

Daily Reading: Ezekiel 16:42-17:24, Hebrews 8:1-13, Psalm 106:13-31, Proverbs 27:7-9

Daily Verse: “Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.” Prov. 27:9

Sweet counsel.

Close friends who give wise counsel bring a beautiful aroma to life like oil and perfume. Knowing someone speaks to you with a heart of love and wants the best for you helps to hear what they say, even if it’s not what you hoped.

Only a handful of people give me this type of counsel. Most people say what they think I want to hear or use flattery to try and win my graces. You don’t need an army of people giving advice; you need a few trusted friends who won’t steer you wrong.

Tomorrow, I’m having lunch with one of my wise counselors. I can’t wait to see her, catch up on life, and listen to her input. The epitome of sweetness, our time together always encourages and uplifts me.

Develop deep relationships with others. Lead with love, honesty, and grace. Become vulnerable and watch how others share with you.

Enjoy the sweetness of good counsel as you build friendships that will last a lifetime.

Lord, forgive us for taking friendships for granted. Please help us develop healthy relationships that bring sweet counsel into our lives. Let us enjoy the benefits of community as we follow You.  IJNIP. Amen

One minute read.

Daily Reading: Ezekiel 14:12-16:41, Hebrews 7:18-28, Psalm 106:1-12, Proverbs 27:4-6

Daily Verse: “Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?” Prov. 27:4

Consuming fire.

Jealousy outranks wrath and anger when it comes to raging emotions. If you’ve ever built a campfire and added lighter fluid to get it going, you know what the immediate blaze looks like. Flames flicker into life with a little incentive, immediately consuming the wood and bringing light to the night air.

Defying reason, jealousy roars its ugly head quickly. Scrolling through Facebook, I feel envy when I see another author whose book just hit the New York Times bestseller list. Pictures of my friends with their grandkids cause me to long for what they have.   Whatever the trigger, the emotion doesn’t take long to take hold.

To combat jealousy, I celebrate the other person’s blessing. “Joy not Jealousy,” from my book Three Word Prayers, reminds me to joyfully thank God for their wins, knowing His plan for me differs from theirs.

Don’t let jealousy consume you. Pray “Joy not Jealousy,” and allow God to soften your heart and help you celebrate their win.

Lord, forgive us for our jealous moments. Please help us contain the emotion, turn our thoughts to You, and celebrate other people’s victories. Don’t allow envy to ruin our relationships or control our thoughts. IJNIP. Amen

One minute read.

Daily Reading: Ezekiel 12:1-14:11, Hebrews 7:1-17, Psalm 105:37-45,Proverbs 27:3

Daily Verse: “A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty, but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both.” Prov. 27:3

Fool’s provocation.

Mental exhaustion feels different than physical tiredness. I never understood how tired thinking could make me feel until I became a writer. After sitting all day, studying, and writing, I feel physically and mentally drained. But physical tiredness doesn’t make me mentally tired; it usually renews my mind. I never thought mental work would tire me out more than physical exhaustion.

Unloading bricks from my dad’s cabbed truck as a child, I still remember the back ache from bending over for those few minutes carrying the cubes to the tailgate. But I also remember my pride for the work and my dad’s compliments for a job well done.

On the other hand, the mental tiredness I get from dealing with some people in my life never seems to lessen because fools never stop. I can’t look at a pile of thoughts moved from one place to another and feel like I’ve accomplished something. Just trying not to let the situation overtake my life uses enough energy.

Recognize the fools in your life and decide not to let them steal any more energy from you. Pray for them, and give them to God.

Lord, forgive us for letting fools get to us. Please give us the grace and love necessary to deal with foolish people. Energize us for the journey ahead. IJNIP. Amen

One minute read.

Daily Reading: Ezekiel 10:1-11:25, Hebrews 6:1-20, Psalm 105:16-36, Proverbs 27:1-2

Daily Verse: “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.” Prov. 27:1

Uncertain future.

Life quickly teaches us its uncertainty. When my brother called to tell me my nephew had died, I didn’t expect the words I heard. When I saw his name on my phone, golf came to mind since we planned to play later that day. Never did I think for a minute my day would end at his house gathering to support them through the loss of Cody.

Battling anxiety has become a daily struggle for me. Leaning into God helps me win the battle through counseling, which helps me process the event and teaches me skills to stay present in the moment and not let my mind go down rabbit trails.

No one knows what the day will bring. As much as we would like to control life, we don’t. Trusting in God’s sovereignty helps us accept our circumstances and find the strength to weather the storms.

When a day goes as planned for me, I praise God because it rarely happens. Something always changes. Trusting the Lord amid life’s interruptions helps maintain the peace that surpasses all understanding.

Trust God when things don’t go as planned, stop trying to control, and practice submitting.

Lord, forgive us for thinking we know what will happen next. Please help us align our hearts with Your will, trusting what comes next has a purpose we may not understand. IJNIP. Amen

One minute read.

Daily Reading: Ezekiel 7:1-9:11, Hebrews 5:1-14, Psalm 105:1-15, Proverbs 26:28

Daily Verse: “A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin.” Prov. 26:28

Lying Tongues

Mouth trouble comes from lying tongues, and flattering lips both cause problems. People don’t exemplify love when they lie to you. Solomon says liars hate the people they tell false tales, showing no respect for the receiver. And over complimentary lips bring ruin.

People who use excess flattery always raise my suspicions. I believe in complimenting others and highlighting their positive traits, not blowing smoke up their butt. The phrase refers to puffing people up with false flatteries to build their egos, make them more attractive, and manipulate them.

Whether lying or flattering, both bring ruin to the speaker and sometimes the receiver. We will follow the wrong path if we fall for the devil’s lies. But if we stay focused on Jesus and sensitive to the Holy Spirit, God will give us discernment when processing the words people use.

Always consider the source when dealing with other people. Process their words through prayer. Trust God to reveal the truth to you.

Lord, forgive us for lying tongues and flattering mouths. Please help us always speak the truth in love; give us the wisdom and discernment to tell lies from the truth. In all things, let us honor and glorify You. IJNIP. Amen

One minute read.

Daily Reading: Ezekiel 3:16-6:14, Hebrews 4:1-16, Psalm 104:24-35, Proverbs 26:27

Daily Verse: “Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling.” Prov. 26:27

Avoid pits.

“You made your bed; you lie in it,” Mom said, referring to today’s verse. Often, our pits in life come from holes we dug. Haman from the book of Esther exemplifies digging your pit.

Filled with self-esteem, Haman’s position as confident to the King bloated his ego. Convincing the King to issue a decree wiping out the Jews, Mordecai refused to bow to Haman’s authority. Esther’s uncle prioritized God over people and refused to worship any man. Long story short, Esther exposes Haman’s exploits, and his life ends on the pole he erected to kill Mordecai. Read Esther for the whole story.

Haman dug his pit with evil schemes. Consumed with self-worship, he didn’t think he could fall, the exact reason he failed. Ignoring wise counsel and following ego digs the pit one poor decision at a time. Each credit card swipe dug into my debt pit, which took years to climb the walls back to solid ground.

Don’t let bad decisions lead you to the bottom of the pit. Follow Jesus, and apply His teachings to your life—live in the shadow of the Savior.

Lord, forgive us for not following Your commands. Please protect us from our bad decisions. Give us the strength to apply Your teachings to our lives and experience the life change that comes from it. Help us become the people You created us to become. IJNIP. Amen

One minute read.

Daily Reading: Ezekiel 1:1-3:15, Hebrews 3:1-19, Psalm 104:1-23, Proverbs 26:24-26

Daily Verse: “Whoever hates disguises himself with his lips and harbors deceit in his heart;” Prov. 26:24

Charming words.

Slick talkers hide their emotions well. Watch a soap opera, and you will witness people concealing their hatred with flattering speech. Manipulators know how to use words to their advantage and easily deceive those they dislike into thinking they care.

Unfortunately, I have fallen for pretty words more times than I’d like to admit. People recognizing my naivete used it to their advantage, both men and women. Believing their manipulative words cost me much heartache and taught me lessons I’ve never forgotten.

When someone takes advantage of you with their words, learn the lesson and keep going. Don’t let them pull you down. One day, liars will stand before the Lord and answer for the lies they spread.

God exposes the truth. People who deceive with their lips will fall. Jesus came to give us life in abundance; the devil will do anything to keep us down. In Christ, we find victory and truth. Stick close to Christ, and He protects you from those who would deceive you.

Lord, protect us from those who would do us harm. Please help us identify lies when people tell them. Let us recognize the nudges from the Holy Spirit and not fall for false flattery and manipulative words. IJNIP. Amen

One minute read.

Daily Reading: Lamentations 4:1-5:22, Hebrews 2:1-18, Psalm 103:1-22, Proverbs 26:23

Daily Verse: “Like the glaze covering an earthen vessel are fervent lips with an evil heart.” Prov. 26:23

Hypocritical speech.

Covering a clay jar with beautiful glaze makes it look dazzling, but underneath, it remains clay. In the same way, saying the right things makes one look good to others but covers an evil heart.

Elizabeth Holmes, founder and CEO of Theranos, became a billionaire defrauding investors. Dropping out of Stanford during her sophomore year of college, she convinced wealthy friends to invest in her company, centered on developing a better and faster way to collect and test blood in the field. Now serving an eleven-year sentence in prison, having lost the company and money, you can watch Holmes’s story in the Hulu docuseries, “Drop Out.”

Holmes mastered the art of glazing a clay jar with her words. Young and ambitious, she did and said the right things to get what she wanted while knowing the product didn’t work. Smooth words covered an evil heart, and wise people fell for her ploys.

Following Jesus will help us find the path of truth. If the Holy Spirit nudges you when someone tells you something, take the time to find out why. Ask God for direction, and He will provide it.

Lord, forgive us for hypocritical speech. As we move through our days, let us become sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s direction, following the nudges and not falling for deceptive words. Protect us from those who would do us harm. IJNIP. Amen

One minute read.

Daily Reading: Lamentations 3:1-66, Hebrews 1:1-14, Psalm 102:1-28, Proverbs 26:21-22

Daily Verse: “The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.” Prov. 26:22

Delicious morsels.

When we hear a juicy gossip, it can take root within us and begin a flame that turns into a quarrel. Wise people know to look at the intent behind the words and not take everything at face value. People gossiping usually do it with malicious intent and because someone else’s misery makes them feel better about themselves.

Sharing prayer requests about someone differs from gossiping. Praying for someone, especially when they can’t pray for themselves, helps them out of the valley. Gossiping drives them further down into the pit.

Become an advocate for others by stopping gossip in its tracks. One of the most sinuous forms of deceit, malicious talk spreads like wildfire, destroying lives and sometimes causing irreparable damage. Throw water on the flames by not engaging, confronting the gossiper, and stopping the quarrel.

Let the Lord’s light shine through you with your actions and words. Encourage and uplift people instead of tearing them down.

Lord, forgive us for taking part in gossip. Please give us the wisdom and discernment to recognize and stop malicious talk. Let our lights shine brightly for You with our words and actions. IJNIP. Amen

One minute read.

Daily Reading: Lamentations 1:1-2:22, Philemon 1:1-25, Psalm 101:1-8, Proverbs 26:20

Daily Verse: “For lack of wood, the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases.” Prov. 26:20

Restrict gossip.

As a nature girl, I love campfires. When we spent two weeks in the Shenandoah Valley this summer, I woke early every morning and started a fire. Sitting beside the blaze, reading my Bible, and writing devotionals highlighted the trip for me. I burned a bundle of wood each morning, and when the last log became ashes, the fire died. In the same way, quarreling dies down when we stop talking about gossip.

Don’t engage in the conversation the next time you stand beside the office water cooler and someone begins gossiping about a co-worker. When moms start talking about another mother, change the conversation. And when the next prayer meeting becomes a dish session, start praying.

Ending gossip prevents quarreling and unnecessary pain. No one wants people talking about them. If we want to treat others as ourselves, we won’t chat about them behind their backs. If you can’t say the words to someone, don’t say it about them.

Stop gossip and prevent quarreling.

Lord, forgive us for adding fuel to the fire. Next time the temptation to gossip faces us, help us walk away. Protect us from our human nature to engage in malicious speech. Help us become known for our integrity, not our gossip. IJNIP. Amen