Showing posts with label Monday Devotion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Monday Devotion. Show all posts

Like A GPS but WAY Better!
PrayerNotes

A friend and her husband recently "got away" for a week.
They have a young family and it is rare that they can get more than 
a quick weekend away nearby but this trip involved traveling
hours to an area that was unfamiliar to both of them.

It was very cool when she mentioned that using a GPS is kind of like the 
Christian Walk where you don't necessarily see the distant
future or the next steps but you follow that voice from the box,
in the case of the GPS, or that Still Small Voice in the case of 
the Holy Spirit, moment by moment.

There is a huge element of trust.
We discussed how it is that it never seems to work to 
plan out our lives of service years ahead.
When we think we have it all planned out
 we always find out that it is much 
more efficient to follow His voice
in real time.

Detours to OUR plans happen all of the time.

As we continued talking about it she commented on the fact that she loves
having a GPS because she feels that anywhere she is it can guide 
her well to the destination.

She mentioned a large city and said that she would feel safe 
even there because the GPS would lead her.
Well, having been in that city this year and having our GPS signal blocked 
at a very, very important time I had to give her the voice of 
experience that she shouldn't become overconfident in this 
handy, dandy gadget.
She was relieved to have this bit of information
before trying it out for herself.

While the GPS devices are pretty cool and make our lives 
a lot easier in many cases they are not infallible.
That can only be the case in one situation.
Our Heavenly Father.
He is the only one who can lead us through every 
step we take and it will be perfect.
No large buildings or radio signals will ever jam 
His transmission.

Don't forget to consult 
His voice...
today and every day.

You won't be sorry.

Show me your ways, Lord.
Teach me your Paths.
Psalm 25:4
7:52 AM | Category: , , , , , , , | 8 comments

A Christian Woman's Role in Business
Let me begin by saying that I am in full understanding that 
not all who will read this Monday Devotion are ladies.  
We are so happy to have several men in our midst on this Etsy Team. 
However, I am interested in looking 
at some of the issues that face women
as they try to balance a cottage business, family, homes 
and friendships.

One of the most encouraging chapters 
in the Bible to me is Proverbs 31.
It is there where we find the "perfect" woman.
When one reads this chapter thinking that this lady 
was all of these things at 
one time it could be a bit intimidating.
O.k.  maybe more than a bit.

Perhaps this reflects the sum total of her life's work.

We find her to be:
- A good wife
- A hard worker
- A shopper (Yay!)
-An early riser
- Chief Chef for her home
-A gardener
- A generous person
- A seamstress
- A salesperson who makes income 
     selling the work of her own hands....
- A mother whose children respect her

Don't you think it is most excellent that 
God gives us this direct confirmation
that selling our creative works is a good thing?

I do.
Indeed.

However, I would encourage us to make sure, 
as this woman did, 
that our lives are in balance.

Let's strive to be the best wives, moms, grandma's,
 homemakers, cooks and gardeners we
can be as well as managing our businesses.

It is easy for someone like me to focus hard on one area and 
let the others go.
However, we will be much happier and serve ourselves and our 
families best when we keep things in their proper place.

If you are a mother of young children
I would encourage you to schedule regular breaks from your work
to enjoy those kiddos.
Include them in the work processes where you can.
They will learn valuable skills and will remember that you trusted
them with something that is so very important to you.
I love reading when my Etsy friends with young children give 
their youngsters their paper scraps or other such leftovers and allow
them to "work" alongside them.

If you are a wife who's husband works a stressful job, 
I would encourage you to do your best to schedule your 
work times around his coming and going.
He will be blessed if you are able to greet him 
and focus on him when he comes 
through the door.

If your division of responsibilities in your home make you the 
inventory control do your best to keep up with the necessary things
on our ongoing lists....
There will be so much less frustration for you and your family 
when you are not running out of things all of the time.

Serve your customers well by being aware of your 
real turnaround time and being up front with them 
if you see your work stacking up.
You'll breathe and sleep easier if you aren't worried that 
someone might leave bad feedback because you are too busy.
Communication is a wonderful thing.

We are so blessed to have the ability to set our own schedules.
We are highly self motivated people or we would 
not likely be here in the first place.

Let us strive to keep it in balance and watch our businesses grow, 
our families flourish and our homes become our havens.

From a work in progress:
Becky at GoodNeighborsCandle

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs+31




10:11 AM | Category: , , , , , | 7 comments

Monday Devotion - Peace In the Midst
As I write this post on Sunday evening the television is 
broadcasting horrible images of tornado damage in the heartland
of the United States.

I've never actually seen a tornado in person.
I hope that I never do.
But, with technology today we can get a closer look
than ever before.

The Bible refers to many storms.

There was poor Jonah...
on his way to escape a direct command from God
when a huge storm got in the way.
Oops!
Wrong move, Jonah.
That cost him three days in the belly of a fish
AND he still had to complete the mission.

(Perhaps we should learn from this lesson)

Paul was shipwrecked in a storm
that probably should have taken his life.
But he survived to minister some more.

Jesus calmed a storm with a very simple 
instruction.....He spoke, it obeyed.

Storms.
They are a part of our reality.
Both the kind with wind and rain
and the kind that happens in our hearts 
when our marriages struggle, 
our children wander or 
we suffer a job loss.

But here is another reality.
Something we observe in the storm "stories"
we read in the Word of God.

As powerful as these storms are,
HE is more powerful.

As alone as we may feel in the midst of the storm, 
we are not alone.
He is there with us.

Storms tend to cleanse the atmosphere.
They leave behind brilliant sunshine and often times 
stunning rainbows.
One of the best known storms of our world history
occurred pretty early on.
Only Noah and his family survived that one to see
the rainbow promise.

Storms in our lives may make us doubt our ability to go on.
We may be panicked like the disciples in the boat before Jesus miraculously
appeared to them as He walked on the waves.
However, Since we know that God is unchanging we must
believe that just as He walked to the disciples in that storm
He will walk with us in our troubled times.

I'm sure we will all be in prayer for those who have lost 
so much in the tornadoes referenced at the beginning
of this post.
Also, we continue to pray that the people of the Philippines 
will be able to get the help they need both physically 
and spiritually after the typhoon that was so 
decimating. 

Even so, let us pray for those around us who are 
enduring storms of emotion or life events.

May we always remember that none of this catches our 
Heavenly Father by surprise.
And He is way more powerful than the strongest 
of those storms.
He is at work in every situation.

Hugs,









6:09 AM | Category: , , , , , , , , | 2 comments
God’s Whisper


The salty mist blew through my hair from the ocean waves crashing on the sandy beach.
The mist tasted sweet upon my lips and smelled of mussels and kelp which nestled into the crevices of the rocks lining the shore.
On this particular morning the beach was dotted with people and as I sat quietly in prayer, it felt as if I was alone with the Lord.
The roaring of the crashing waves drowned out every sound and seemed to become the gentle soft voice of God whispering to me the question “How well do you know Me, my Daughter?”
The tears rolled down my face as I confessed “Not well enough, my Father!”
Then I opened my Bible and began to feverishly devour His word and immediately the burdens I carried became weightless and my heart began to calm and His peace washed over me.
I gently wiped my tear stained face, gathered my belongings and just as I began to rise a hand helped me to my feet.
When I looked up to thank the person, I was all alone and couldn’t help but feel as if the Lord himself gave me a gentle touch.
My steps were lighter as I returned home that day and though the clouds covered the sky it seemed as if the sun was shining.
 I wrote this as I sat on the beach watching the waves as I spent time in prayer. Then I opened my bible to this scripture in John 21:15-17 (NKJV)
Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Feed My lambs."16 He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Tend My sheep."17 He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You."

How interesting that it was the Lord questioning Peter's loyalty and love for Him, just as He questioned the depth of my knowledge of His word. The grief that Peter felt as Jesus asked him the third time the depth of his love, was equal to the grief I felt when the Lord questioned how well I knew Him. 
I had been going through a transitional season, moving from one failed church to another and it left me feeling a little dry. It was a time of waiting on Him, and sitting at His feet, there were no deep commitments, no purpose, just quiet, like I was wandering in the wilderness.
We all have those seasons, and the Lord always has a purpose for them, 
For Peter, he went on to do even greater things, he found his true purpose in loving the Lord...For me, I continue on the path that He sets before me, I seize every opportunity to know Him more and I wait to once again hear God's Whisper.
How has God Whispered to you? Leave a Comment and share your story.
Julia
JT Designs
www.jtellier.etsy.com
4:00 AM | Category: , , | 4 comments

Revealing Our Hearts


“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:”

Psalm 139:23

If you were to come to my house unannounced, you would likely find dirty dishes in the sink or unfolded laundry.  Perhaps the floors need to be swept and I am certain there would be furniture undusted. I am not the best house cleaner in the world.  But I can make the place presentable when I know someone’s on the way, especially if I have enough time.   It might involve hiding things in closets and shoving items in a drawer but at least the house looks decent.  No one knows but me.
We recently moved and I got a close look at my house keeping skills – or lack thereof.  The crumbs and lost objects that showed up under the couch exposed my neglect.  There were a few too many dust bunnies behind the dresser where the broom had failed to reach.  And the grime beneath the washer and dryer was humiliating.  I had no idea that those monstrous machines, impossible to move, were hiding so much.
As I was cleaning up the mess, it made me think of our hearts.  Sure, we can put on a smiling face.  We can go to church each week, serve God, love our families, and be helpful to others.  But what is in our hearts - deep down - the part that only God sees.  Strip away the clutter of our lives: the busy days, the masks, the bandages covering old wounds – and what do we find? Are we harboring bitterness, anger, regret, doubt, or fear?  Many times we neglect dealing with these things.  Sometimes we think we have swept them out but do not realize we have only touched the surface.  Occasionally, we have deceived ourselves into believing they are gone or never existed. The Word of God tells us in Jeremiah 17:9 that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” 
Perhaps we think that the bitterness, anger or doubts are too big and cannot be moved.  But we serve the Almighty God.  He knows and He cares. And nothing is impossible for Him.  Ask your Heavenly Father today to search your heart and to clean out the clutter and the cobwebs; the deeply buried bitterness, fears and doubts.  Ask Him to replace those with love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”  Psalm 51:10

8:32 AM | Category: , , , | 6 comments

Rejoice in the Lord

A former pastor introduced us to an answer
to that oft asked question....
"How are you?"

His response was always,
"Better than I deserve."

He said it was true and covered those days 
that he didn't want to get into the downers of life.
You see, this man and his wife knew about troubles.
They had lost two daughters to a mysterious
virus that took them one at a time
a couple of years apart.

Yet Pastor Keith had a spirit of calm and 
joy which was contagious.
Sure, he could be reflective and moody at times.
It happens to the best of us.
But the underlying and steady impression
you got from this man was one of genuine
gratitude and joy in the Lord.

He rejoiced daily in the Lord.
The work of the Lord in his life.
The strong upholding love of his Heavenly Father.

Sometimes the joy is right there bubbling over.
I'm so often caught off guard by unexpected joy
when the beauty of His creation catches my eye.

Other times we have to make a decision
to rejoice.
In those times we can access some 
of these ideas.....

We can always remember what He has saved us from.
The cost involved in our salvation.

We can purposefully
look at the beauty around us that is His creation.

We can enjoy the harmonies of the music around us.
Better yet, we can make the music!

We can spend time with Him in His word.
Being reminded of just how much He loves us.

We can find our joy through working with the colors
He created.
Painting....photographing...working our favorites
 into the decor in our homes.

All of these and more intentional activities
bring our Joy in Him
into focus.

Without Him 
we are nothing.
We have nothing.

So, my challenge to all of us today 
is to purpose in our hearts to 
REJOICE IN THE LORD.

We are all 
"Better than we deserve!"

Blessings,
Becky at Good Neighbors Candle Co.


8:30 AM | Category: , , , , , , , , | 7 comments