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Good Things Come in Small Packages

May 30, 2013

“The truth is, feeling small may not be so bad if in recognizing our smallness we come to realize the wonder of God—a God who is beyond our ability to fully describe or imagine, yet someone we are privileged to know, love, and embrace. Looking up from our tiny estate we are faced with the supremacy of a God who not only is fully capable of running the entire cosmos today—a task that doesn’t tax Him in the slightest—but of sustaining the affairs of our lives as well.”

Excerpted from I Am Not But I Know I Am by Louie Giglio

Daily Reflection: How can you be thankful for all He has created and given you today?

Femininity

May 29, 2013

We’ve come of age in revolutionary times when women are making more decisions than ever before. Unlike our mothers and grandmothers, we’re buying houses on our own, heading up corporations, and working on cures for cancer. We’re fixing dinner, soothing a crying baby, and teleconferencing a board meeting all at the same time. We’re wearing hard hats and work gloves so often that hardware companies are designing tools specifically for women. In many ways, this is a fabulous time to be female. But it’s also a complicated time. In fact, without God’s guidance, it can get downright confusing.
I was reminded of that a few years ago when I read the book Love Has a Price Tag by Elisabeth Elliot. In it, she shared how she once gave her college students the unusual assignment of defining femininity in [ … ]

Dream a Little

May 28, 2013

Sometimes we forget to dream. One of the greatest losses to come from worry and stress is the way it can strip our hearts of the ability to imagine anything better around the corner… Perhaps you’ve stepped away from wondering what you want to do, see, become. Can I just encourage you? As long as you have breath, you can dream. It doesn’t matter how old you are, what you’ve walked through, what might be going on right now. Dreaming of the future can bring new life to the present.

Excerpted from 99 Ways to Fight Worry and Stress by Elsa Kok Colopy

Daily Reflection: Do you have a dream that’s recently fizzled due to worry and stress?

Hearing God in What People Say to You

May 27, 2013

“Hearing clearly often requires waiting patiently.

Another temptation is to wait for God to write all of the answers on our wall one night while we are asleep. Which often keeps us from listening to things being said by the people God uses to say such things. Which is what really happens most of the time.

As often as not, someone else does the talking when God has some new thing for us to hear. It is one of God’s better tricks, if you ask me. This is true whether people are aware of it or not or are willing to admit it or not. Sometimes people hesitate to give God any credit for being able to work through the ordinary of our lives, through the very sentences we hear and say.”

Excerpted from The Echo Within: Finding [ … ]

The Distraction Diet

May 23, 2013

A friend of mine had a baby recently. When I visited the couple’s home, I had to admire their elaborate nursery.

They really did it up right! Big Bird nested in the corner, Snuffleupagus perched on the cribside table, and an assortment of wobbling Weebles, Smurfs, and My Little Ponies encircled the interior of the crib. Not to mention five teddy bears. And a busy box gizmo with umpteen handles, knobs, and twirly things. And two musical mobiles. And who knows how many rattles. This baby was decked out. There was no way this kid was going to get bored or cranky, right?

Well, not exactly. True, the child will be able to amuse himself, what with so many gaudy toys and wild, wonderful distractions. He should find himself positively absorbed at times by the ministrations of the musical mobiles.

[ … ]

Living with unction

May 22, 2013

Show me, O Lord, my life’s end
and the number of my days;
let me know how fleeting is my life.
You have made my days a mere handbreadth;
the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Each man’s life is but a breath. (niv)

I chewed on that. Ever breathed on a window during a cold winter’s day? Did you notice how it fogged up, and then the fog instantly disappeared? That is what the psalmist David is saying the life of man is like. Here for a brief moment, then gone. Why would David ask God to show him the shortness of his life? David knew that when a man grasps how short his life is, he begins to live with a new sense of what’s truly important.

Excerpted from The [ … ]

Giving

May 21, 2013

Joy toddled across the room and stood at the edge of my laptop-centered view. I was in task mode, typing away while sitting in the living-room recliner. With Shirley Temple curls bouncing around her face, my eighteen-month-old daughter looked up at me. I looked at her. Then she handed me a Plastic Donut from her kitchen play set.

I looked at the Donut and back at my daughter. She stood waiting for a response. So I put the Donut up to my mouth and said with great animation, “Yummm, yummm… Thank you, Autumn! This is soooo goood.”

Then something beautiful happened. Her big brown eyes widened, and her lips pushed a giant smile against her puffy cheeks. She stood up on her toes, shrugged her shoulders up to her ears, and let out a highpitched squeal…

I didn’t see it [ … ]

Soaking Prayer

May 20, 2013

Is your mind always whirling with thoughts? Not sure how to be still and lean against His chest? Try soaking! First, set aside a chunk of time. Find a comfortable, peaceful environment, preferably where you can lie down. Pull on your boots and crunch around in the autumn leaves. Crawl under your covers and get cozy. Or perhaps take a literal soak in a bubble bath! Once you’re nice and comfy, hit up your iTunes worship playlist or create one on Pandora and simply let His words wash over you. You might feel something, you might feel nothing. You might smile, you might cry, you might even fall asleep!

Regardless of what happens on the outside, the Spirit will be at work on your heart. There’s no wrong way to soak. Just enjoy being with Him!

Excerpted from Get Lost [ … ]

The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

May 17, 2013

“The Bible says, “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). What does God really mean by “all things”? Most likely He means all things—the good, the bad, and the ugly. I believe that in every dark circumstance of life, there is a nugget of gold or a hidden treasure just waiting to be discovered. However, for that to happen, we must look beyond the dirt, push it aside, and search beneath the surface.

Is it easy? No. Is it messy? Usually. Is it worth it? Always.”

Excerpted from Trusting God by Sharon Jaynes, Gwen Smith, and Mary Southerland

Daily Reflection: Even through the rough waters and hard times, God is working for us. What hidden treasure has [ … ]

The Focus of Your Life

May 16, 2013

When Jesus walked this earth, he worked to get the focus off “good” people doing what appeared to be “good things” and to get their focus back on God. Many people in first-century Israel were pointing to the rules; Jesus pointed to a God who wanted a relationship with his people. Religious professionals focused on the law; Jesus focused on the Lawgiver who knew our hearts and offered us grace in the midst of our failures.

A healthy, growing faith is always focused on the person of God himself, not on cheap substitutes. A healthy faith begins and ends in God, not in rules or regulations or sheer, raw duty. Jesus, not religion, is at the core of a robust Christian faith.

Today Jesus offers you and me the same opportunity he gave to those people in the early church. [ … ]