Tag Archives: blessing

Three Times Blessed – Cheri Swalwell
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More than food

More than food

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew 6: 25-27 NIV

Our family is among those who have felt the sting of finances in recent months. We were in a pinch and I wasn’t sure how we’d handle the expenses we were facing. Dipping into our savings account would have to be a last resort, and charging the costs to our credit card … a big no-no.

My option was prayer, so I went to my knees and prayed. God, I trust in your provisions. Thank you for never failing us. Still, I wondered how we would handle the expenses that quickly approached.

Two days later, we received our first unexpected blessing. Two days after that, another blessing arrived in the exact same form, addressing the same need. If that wasn’t enough to help my faith soar, God decided to drive the point home by providing again one week later. Three blessings, all needed, all appreciated, each personal and exactly what our family lacked. That was not a coincidence.

God, with unending patience, reassures us in His Word He will provide our needs. My favorite verse refers to this promise and it brings such peace whenever finances or the state of the economy try to steal the faith I have in my Heavenly Father’s provisions: Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.

I challenge you to rest in God’s peace. Take your financial burden to Him. Lay it at Jesus’ feet. If God is willing to bless our family three separate times for one specific need, reassuring us of His power, I know He is waiting to do the same for you.

Be specific in your requests when you pray. Trust in the promises God offers, then sit back and watch how He will provide.

Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net and Grant Cochrane.

Cheri Swalwell describes herself as a Christ-follower first and foremost, wife, mother, and avid reader. If you want to hear more about the heart she has for marriage, parenting, and relationships from a Christian perspective, feel free to visit her blog: http://journeysfromtheheartofawifeandmother.wordpress.com or like her at Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/cheri-Swalwell/220762911373306.

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Use Your Gifts – Tynea Lewis
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Gifts to use

A variety of gifts
Each has been given:
All for a different purpose.
Without these gifts
We could not accomplish His will.
While frustration sets in
When looking at other’s gifts
And comparing them to our own,
None can do what we were created for.
Even the simplest of gifts
Could make the biggest impact,
But it won’t be known until it’s used.

 

 

Tynea Lewis is an elementary teacher in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She writes book reviews for Bethany House Publishers. In addition to writing reviews, she works with Flamingnet.com as an evaluator of student reviews. Tynea also enjoys writing short stories, novels, and poetry.

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One Nation, Under God – He Said
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One Nation, Under God

One Nation, Under God

The LORD will command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. And he will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. - Deuteronomy 28:8, English Standard Version (ESV)

Listen to One Nation, Under God – He Said

“When I was your age we had dirt in our grits and we were happy to have it.” Mom likes to tell the story of how, as a child, the wind blew through the slats of their tobacco-barn-home, leaving a layer of dust on her breakfast. “Times were hard—not like they are now.”

Apparently I’m living in the golden age of civilization and maybe Mom is right. We Baby Boomers have enjoyed the best music, prosperity, peace and freedom of any generation before us. My boys played “organized” sports, wore bike helmets, listened to hip-hop-rap, and now find themselves highly educated but marginally employed in a country fighting three wars. And still we’re considered the greatest country on earth.

But will it last? God’s promise to bless His people was dependent upon their obedience. IF you FULLY OBEY the Lord your God and CAREFULLY follow ALL his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will…bless you in the land God is giving you. I cannot prove God blessed America but the evidence suggests He has. And still we remain an arrogant, prideful, and selfish nation that wants to kick God out of our schools, government and military. We may not have been founded as a purely Christian nation, but Christians founded this country. Sorry, I swerved into preaching.

Wait! Strike that. I’m not sorry. I’m honored God would lend His name to our currency, pledge of allegiance and legal system. Give me liberty or give me death, but give me God.

Last week the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in a 2-1 decision ruled that Forsyth County’s policy of prayer before county commission meetings violated the Establishment Clause of seperation of church and state. Perhaps it did. I’m not a judge, just a citizen living in the golden age of civilization. But I fear one day I may have to say to my grandkids, “When I was your age times were great, not like they are now.”

I pray I do not. I pray God will continue to bless this nation and move to turn our hearts back toward Him and His commands.

Father, our barns are barren and our working-hands idle. Forgive us for failing to give you the glory. May we be obedient to your word and live as a sovereign people blessed by your hand.

Stuck In Motion – He Said
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Stuck In Motion

Stuck In Motion

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. – 2 Chronicles 7:14

The sloop angled northward toward British Columbia, its gossamer sails billowing white with the same stark brightness of the distant Cascade Mountains. To the south, a clot of powerboats, ferries, and sailboats carried summer cruisers and tourists toward the Seattle waterfront. I relaxed on my friend’s porch, Bible in my lap, eyes scanning the promises of God and wondering when He would heal my family’s tiny plot of land. Though we clipped coupons, spent frugally, and sold off assets, our budget remained in a drought. Was it pride that had led us to this place? My sin? Though I prayed daily for provision, perhaps God had whispered from afar and I’d missed his calling.

When I looked up from my Bible, I found the small sloop stuck near the same channel marker. Though its sails bulged and rails dipped toward the water, the vessel hovered on the water moving neither north or south. The sailboat struggled to move forward, its shiny blue hull caught in the tidal current sweeping in from the Pacific.

Too often we are like that skipper – “stuck” in motion. Too often we set our sails and journey forth, convinced our way is right. Life happens, sure. Fortunes turn and diseases spread. But sometimes, it’s we who need to tack, turn, and alter course.

Had the writer of Chronicles authored a cruising guide for the Puget Sound he might have advised the skipper of that sloop to, “Admit your mistake, ask for advice, and tack away from troubled water.” This is our remedy for tough times too. God has promised when we humble ourselves, pray, and seek to place His hand on our tiller, he will hear, forgive, and heal.

I silently celebrated when the skipper finally altered course. Slowly the sloop nosed into the wind, its sails luffing. Instantly the vessel crabbed backwards, carried away by the current. As it drifted southward and away from its destination, I wondered if the tiny sloop would reach safe harbor by nightfall. Within a few minutes, however, the vessel had escaped the power of the current and began to move northward. An hour later it slipped around a headland and sailed out of sight.

There are forces around us we cannot see. Stealth currents carry us along, sometimes toward trouble, but often toward distraction. God’s invisible hand is at work too. He has promised to hear, forgive, and heal when we turn toward Him.

When we feel trapped in the downward spiral of life’s vortex, seek Him. Make a course adjustment. Then, sail on brother. Sail on.

Upgraded by Grace – Cokiesha Robinson
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But grow in grace… 2 Peter 3:18

For while the Law was given through Moses, grace (unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17

Traveling is a great passion of ours. The problem used to be that my taste often exceeded our budget. My husband reminded me about the old saying, “You can’t have champagne taste on a beer budget.”

We laugh as we recall an incident that bonded us as a young couple. Looking for a place to enjoy a nice weekend getaway, we visited an online site that would allow you to name your own price. How exciting! A 5-star hotel could be purchased for half the price. We couldn’t resist.

So we began to bid. After several attempts bidding for 5… then 4… then 3 star hotels at a price that we could afford, we found no success.
                                                                                                                                                                                                   “We’ll have to change our plan…two star hotel, here we come!”said my husband.

“Oh no!” I cringed. We were exhausted and still in the newlywed season. I wanted to stay in a hotel that would be perfectly filled with pampering and relaxation.

He clicked the button to choose the two star hotel the site recommended based upon our desired price. I held my breath wondering where in the world it would be. To our surprise, the site sent us a message that said, “You have been upgraded. We found a room at a 5-star hotel at the price that you bid for.” We were astonished. We had the opportunity to enjoy an elegant room, exquisite food, and rare amenities at a beautiful hotel that was more expensive than our budget would allow.

This was a grace gift. We’d been bumped up — able to experience what we desired but could not attain. Have you ever been upgraded by grace? On the cross, Christ upgraded each of us by dying the death we should have died. He could have denied us entrance into His family, but He blessed us with unmerited favor and pardoned our sins. It doesn’t matter what your pedigree, past, or plans are made of. Jesus came to bump us up so that we may gain what we could never attain without Him. Embrace the grace today. You’ve been upgraded!

Cokiesha Bailey Robinson is a graduate of Fisk University where she earned a B.A. degree and a graduate of Samford University, where she obtained a M.Div. degree. She worked in the field of radio before becoming involved in full-time ministry work. She has served as a missionary to a number of countries and studied in Izmir, Turkey. Her greatest passions are encouraging others through oral and written expressions. She writes for several devotional sites and has contributed to 3 books one of which she co-authored: Farther In and Deeper Down (written by the Bailey family), This is My Story (written by Dr. Cleo Larue), and Planting Trust, Knowing Peace (written by Mrs. Denise George). A native of Dallas, Texas, she and her husband Timothy enjoy being students of the Word and of the world. They serve together on the leadership committee for laity at Princeton Theological Seminary and serve in ministry in NY, NY.

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Small Wonder — Ariel Allison
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“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139: 13-14

Ten little fingers and ten little toes. Big blue eyes. Dimples. He’s a miracle, really. One that almost didn’t happen. I had no idea during those final, long days of pregnancy that each heartbeat was a gift. My body was failing him, the placenta slowly dying and robbing him of life giving oxygen and nutrients. Yet God knew. And God continued the work of creating my son – knitting, growing, sustaining.

He lies next to me now, cooing and flashing toothless grins. Each of my sons has reached this stage of alertness and yet I marvel most with him. He is perfect, and healthy – not a remnant of his troubled start. Things could have gone terribly wrong but my God – the giver and taker of life – mercifully chose to deliver him into my arms.

My soul is full tonight as I gaze at a living miracle. I know the works of God are wonderful. I look at this child, so fearfully and wonderfully made, and I can not restrain the praise. Thank You God for knitting this child together in my womb and thank You for the privilege of being his mommy.

I am a fearful woman by nature – often doubting the goodness of God. I’ve seen enough in this life to cause me to question, to wonder, whether He will come through for me. And yet I look at the face of my tiny son and I see the faithfulness of God. He knew I needed a tangible sign. And yet I remember that He knows what it feels like to lose a son. And I know that had He chosen to take mine, He would still be good. He would still be God. But thank you Lord for your mercy. Thank you for life.


Ariel Allison writes, reads, and lives in a small Texas town with her husband and four young sons. She is the co-author of Daddy Do You Love Me: a Daughter’s Journey of Faith and Restoration (New Leaf Press, 2006). Her days are filled with toothless grins, muddy hands, and a never ending stream of words that try to find their way to her laptop. She ponders life as a mother of all boys at www.themoabclub.blogspot.com and her thoughts as a redeemed dreamer at www.arielallison.blogspot.com. She will release her first novel, Eye of the God, in October, 2009.

Publisher: New Leaf Press
ISBN-10: 0892216581

One Minute Meditations for the culturally challenged and spiritually stuck. Daily devotions from the perspective of one man and one woman, delivered online and by email that inspire you to move beyond the “busy-ness” of life into an intimate relationship with God through an interactive friendship with the Father. Christian Devotions takes Christ from the heavens and places him in your heart.

God’s Protection – Andrea Merrell
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“For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways.” Psalm 91:11 NKJV

Decorating can be hazardous to your health! I discovered this fact recently as I climbed down a ladder after hanging something on the window in our church sanctuary. Thinking I was closer to the floor than I actually was, I literally fell off the ten-foot ladder, almost pulling it over of top of me, then landed very hard across the back of a pew. Sounds like a clip from America’s Funniest Videos (AFV), but I can assure you there was nothing funny about it. It felt like someone had whacked me across the back with a baseball bat!

As I struggled to recover my breath, deal with the excruciating pain, and decide if anything was broken, I began to think how much worse the outcome could have been. Then, I remembered many other times God’s hand of protection was on me; like the time I fell five feet off a stairway and did a belly buster on the floor below, or the time I stepped backwards into an uncovered vent while cleaning the floor. There was also an incident when my van hydroplaned and spun several times on the highway before it slammed into an embankment, just a few feet from a steep drop-off. I even stepped on some loose dirt and came close to falling off the side of a mountain while hiking one summer.

Psalm 91 is a Psalm of protection, provision and deliverance. From it we learn that God is our refuge and our fortress and He will not only be with us in trouble, He will deliver us. He has given His angels “charge” over us and instructed them to “keep us” (preserve, protect, watch over and defend). They continually surround us and respond to the voice of our Heavenly Father and His Word.

In all reality, we have no idea how many times God has protected and saved us from dangerous situations when we were totally unaware. Even when we’re caught off guard, God is not. He knows the end from the beginning and everything in between. He lights the path before us and promises to always be there to guide us.

Trust Him with all your heart and thank Him for His protection each and every day.

You can count on it!


Andrea Merrell is a part-time writer and a full-time Executive Assistant, with a passion for God’s Word. She has written her own lessons for Sunday school and Bible Studies, and served as both columnist and editor for Pan Am Bank Notes in Tampa, Florida. She has written material for ladies’ groups, marriage retreats, skits, websites, and brochures. Andrea is a staff writer and copy editor for ChristianDevotions.us.
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Powdered Sugar Snow — Sue Payne
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“Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” Psalm 51:7

Lying in bed with my eyes still closed, I could already tell it had snowed. The insulated silence permeated my room as if some protective covering blanketed my soul. Peering through the curtains, I was awed by the beauty that had accumulated as I was sleeping. Every tree branch, every blade of grass, every leaf was individually coated with pure, white snow as if powdered sugar had been sprinkled upon the countryside. The stark grays and browns of bare branches and dead grass had been transformed into a winter wonderland. Since it was very cold, I could actually see detail in individual snowflakes stacked up on top of each other. I hurried through breakfast so I could get outside and be a part of God’s handiwork.

As I walked in awe of the blessed hush of the woods, the air was crisp and clean and the sun reflected its light on the snow creating sparkles. I noticed that even though the branches and grasses were laden with snow, it was not a burden for them. The snow was light and fluffy and seemed custom fit to each barer.

Hyssop branches coated with a lamb’s blood were used by the Israelites on the frames of their doors to protect their families. Death passed over each household that bore the symbol. Passover is celebrated in remembrance of that day when each individual, covered by the blood of a lamb, was protected and then redeemed.

As I look out my window today at the bleak mid-winter I am reminded of my life before I was redeemed through Christ. I was bare and frozen in the winter of my sins, but God saw the promise of new life.

He came into my life ever so gently, laying down truths and blessings upon me. It wasn’t long until I started to notice the individual detail and beauty that fell, accumulating in and around my days. My heart and soul, once barren, now filled with His promises and grace, were protected and covered in the blood of Jesus. Instead of being burdened, I was light; transformed into a reflection of His wonderful character.

Are you weary with winter blues? Be clothed and blanketed in the warmth and protection of Jesus’ s gift of redemption. He will sprinkle you with the beauty of His sacrifice, custom fit to cover the bleakest of souls and make you sparkle!

Sue Payne is a freelance writer whose articles have appeared in home schooling newsletters and church news bulletins. She is experienced in curriculum planning and design and uses her writing skills to encourage and teach others. Sue lives in Delaware, is married, and has two boys whom she home schooled for a total of fourteen years.
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Drawing the Line — Ann Tatlock
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“Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14

Some years ago, I surprised myself by joining a bowling league. I rarely bowled, and when I did my average hovered around 120. I was not exactly bowling league material. But I enjoyed the game and when someone invited me to the league, I decided to give it a shot.

One day while my partner was taking her turn, I glanced over at the score sheet of the team bowling beside us. I noticed the scorekeeper drawing a thick dark line with her pencil between the third and fourth frames. Curious, I asked, “What’s the line for?”

She tapped to the left of the line with the point of the pencil. “See these first three frames?” she asked. I nodded. “Sue was bowling really bad. Even got a gutter ball.” I looked at the numbers she’d recorded and nodded again. “So when that happens, we draw a heavy line between the frames to mark a new beginning. We don’t want the bad throws of those early frames to affect the rest of the game.”

Since that time, the image of the heavy line on the score sheet has stayed with me. There have been many days when I needed it as a reminder that I too can draw a line across my life and start fresh, not because of anything I can do, but because of what Christ as done for me.

We all have moments in our lives that come back to haunt us. Sins we’ve committed that still leave a residue of shame, even though we’ve asked God for forgiveness. Wounds brought on by other people, even though we’ve said we forgive them. It’s easy to relive the difficult times and to let the memories fester. But when we do, we become locked in the past, unable to move forward and mature in the faith.

Ours is a God who says, “Behold, I make all things new”. We can lay His promise as a line across our life, knowing that no matter what we may think or feel, we are gifted with a new beginning each time we ask God for a fresh start. With our past in God’s hands, we have only to look forward, and to press on to the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Ann Tatlock is the author of the Christy Award-winning novel All the Way Home. She has also won the Midwest Independent Publishers Association “Book of the Year” in fiction for both All the Way Home and I’ll Watch the Moon. Her novel Things We Once Held Dear received a starred review from Library Journal and Publishers Weekly calls her “one of Christian fiction’s better wordsmiths, and her lovely prose reminds readers why it is a joy to savor her stories.” Ann lives with her husband and daughter in Ashville, North Carolina. Visit www.anntatlock.com.

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Andrea knew when she married John Sheldon that her love was not returned, but they both stayed in the marriage for their own reasons. Now John is returning home from a five-year stint in prison, and while Andrea wants him home, she knows his return will upset the life she and the children have adjusted to in his absence. But she hopes his homecoming will offer them a second chance at marriage.

John is apprehensive about how he will be received, but he is returning a different man. While incarcerated, he committed his life to Christ and wants to hold fast to his newfound faith. Andrea is wary of his conversion, son Billy is delighted, and daughter Rebekah is skeptical. Six-year-old Phoebe doesn’t remember her father and is withdrawn. Can John and Andrea mend the rifts that have torn their family apart?

One Minute Meditations for the culturally challenged and spiritually stuck. Daily devotions from the perspective of one man and one woman, delivered online and by email that inspire you to move beyond the “busy-ness” of life into an intimate relationship with God through an interactive friendship with the Father. Christian Devotions takes Christ from the heavens and places him in your heart.

Remember When…. Cindy Rooy
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“I will proclaim what the Lord has done.” Psalm 118:17

50 First Dates is a movie in which Drew Barrymore plays a girl who, after an accident, lives with amnesia. Every morning she believes it’s her father’s birthday. To help her move on and catch up to the present day, her eventual husband videotaped important events in her life while she wrote in a journal.

As my memory gradually fades, I become more optimistic about this idea of journaling. Recently, I was challenged to write down all the times the Lord has intervened in my life – including answers to prayers or help that was unmistakably from Him. I spent days recollecting my past and God’s involvement in my life. Stunned by my spiritual amnesia, I realized how much I had forgotten. I was no better than the Israelites who failed to remember that the Lord parted the Red Sea for them.

I questioned myself with: What events in my life had to be more than a coincidence? What accidents did I narrowly escape? When did God answer my prayer? As I reviewed my growing list and realized how God has been active throughout my life, I felt awed and humbled.

Have you written your list? If your memory is as bad as mine, ask God to help you recall all of His interventions. By keeping the list handy, events can be added when they are remembered and as they occur.

However, God wants us to do more than remember. He wants us to share our stories with other people. When we are alert for occasions to testify, it is amazing how often the opportunity presents itself. Talking about the Lord’s help, healing, and peace remind us how loving and powerful He is. It encourages others and glorifies God when we make known what He has done for us. That’s why God will help us remember His activity in our lives. It also makes us more mindful of and thankful for our blessings. As the song lyrics suggest, “Count your many blessings, name them one by one, count your many blessings, see what God has done.”

So what has God done for you lately?

Cindy Rooy is the author of a six-week Bible study, Trusting God Through Trouble & Tears, and a contributing author in several devotional books, including Faith & FINANCES and The Upper Room. A wife and mother of three grown children, Cindy is a religion columnist for three newspapers and an inspirational speaker. For more information visit Cindy’s website at www.cindyrooy.com. Read Cindy’s devotions