You’ll Miss Your flight
January 21, 2020 by Peter Lundell
Filed under Daily Devotions, Humorous
By Peter Lundell –
“You’ll miss your flight,” the agent said. If she were comatose, she would have been just as helpful. Because of airlines buying other airlines, I was at the wrong terminal. I got mad at the airline, mad at the unhelpful personnel, mad that every shuttle was going to Car Rental, instead of the terminal where I needed to be.
So I selfishly asked God to delay the flight. A sympathetic driver took me to the other terminal, after a quick stop at Car Rental. I clenched my teeth through the Transportation Safety Administration lines, where of course they had only one screening line open.
The flight was delayed.
As I calmed down before boarding, the Holy Spirit prompted me. I had been tested. And I had failed the test. Still, God had been gracious to me by delaying the flight until I could arrive, but I had not lived up to my character as a follower of Jesus.
Then my connecting flight was canceled. “You’ll have to stay here overnight,” another not-so helpful agent said. I made up my mind not to fail this second test.
I smiled. “You can do better than that.” At Customer Service, another agent put me on standby for the next flight and said, “You still won’t get on. It’s a small regional jet, and we have too many people waiting. Come back afterwards.” So I selfishly asked God to let me on the flight. But this time calmly, with faith, and the added request that no one else suffer because of me.
One passenger had not shown up, but I was impossibly low—eleventh—on the standby list. I calmly waited. Even if I didn’t get on, it was okay because I was passing this character test, which had become more important to me than the flight.
Problems are temporary; character is lifelong. And little victories add up to big differences.
And as it turned out, I got on the plane, filling the one remaining spot created just for me.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You are always with me. And my being with you is more important than anything I do or that happens to me. Lead me to always trust you put my character first.
BIBLE VERSE: “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3 NIV).
The Battle Belongs to the Lord
January 15, 2020 by Aubrey Spencer
Filed under Daily Devotions, Humorous
By Aubrey Spencer –
It seems I spend a great amount of time each day involved in battle. A heated battle. Often a losing battle. I honestly feel as if I’m up against an opponent that never retreats. It’s frustrating and oh so tiring.
You may be wondering what this fight is. Who knows? You might even struggle with the same enemy.
It is toys! Mounds and mounds of toys. That’s right, I’m battling toys. They are overtaking my house and they seem to multiply. I fight hard to keep things picked up, to put the toys where they go, but the reality is, I am losing the war. With a three and a half year old and a one year old at home, it’s a wonder why I even engage in this battle. It’s inevitable that the moment I can actually see the floor, one of my little darlings is right behind me, dumping out yet another basket of toys. I can’t count the number of times each day I crawl on the floor, bend over, or crouch down to retrieve one that has tried to escape. Seriously, do these toys clone themselves?
Just the other day, as I was on my knees picking up toys for the tenth time that morning, I thought to myself, “look at all this time I’m wasting.” And then it hit me. “Look at all this time I’m wasting!”
Instead of using all that time on my hands and knees griping, consumed in the task of clean up, I could be on my knees, picking up toys, praying for my children. I could take advantage of being on my knees. I could see it as a blessing instead of a battle. What a perfect opportunity. What a different perspective. It’s as if God reached down and smacked me with a fresh outlook. I now look forward to cleaning up the toys. I like knowing that I will have many, many, times throughout the day to cover my children in prayer.
Though it took me a while to realize it, but the battle really does belong to Lord.
PRAYER: Lord, it is so easy to see obstacles instead of opportunities. Help me to have a fresh perspective. Allow me to use my everyday to draw closer to You, to glorify You, and to make a difference for You. Remind me that every battle is an opportunity in waiting.
BIBLE VERSE: “…Do not be …discouraged…For the battle is not yours, but God’s” (2 Chronicles 20:15 NIV).
Invaluable
January 6, 2020 by Janet Morris Grimes
Filed under Daily Devotions, Humorous
By Janet Morris Grimes –
I realized the other day the year is more than half-way over, and I have made about $200 this year through my writing. Ironically, I have worked harder for that amount than I ever have for any amount in my entire life.
One odd venture was to transcribe old video tapes from The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Not just word for word transcriptions, but sound for sound, even when they talk over each other, all within perfect grammar and spacing.
Those comedians defined humor, but I struggled to spell Tim Allen’s grunting noises or Johnny Carson’s expressions. After hours and hours of reviewing those tapes, my hands were numb and my brain cells echoed each episode after scrutinizing the same show all day long. It is like an extended movie marathon, but with only one episode showing for eight hours at a time, and you can never turn it off.
In my past life, I was never one to make much money, but I could rest in the fact that the harder I worked, the more money I brought in. I knew how to be a good employee. I made a practice of going above and beyond the call of duty, and trusted that they paycheck would just take care of itself.
Life is very different now. In some ways, I feel as if I have been promoted, but without a pay plan.
But I know that God has a plan, and it involves me writing.
But it goes even deeper. His plan requires me to trust in him. His plan knocks me over with unexpected success on some days, while making sure I am prepared to be ignored and overlooked for long periods at a time on most of the others. His plan humbles me daily, causing me to question whether or not I am doing this right. His plan calls for me to show up every day and give Him my best effort, even when it feels like I am accomplishing nothing at all.
More than anything, His plan forces me to find my value in Him.
Because I have made about $200 so far this year, and I am exhausted.
The truth is that I am no longer worth what I was before.
Or, perhaps, I am more valuable than ever before.
I guess it depends on where I find my value.
BIBLE VERSE: “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come” (I Timothy 4:8 NIV).
Push Present, Really?
December 27, 2019 by Hally Franz
Filed under Daily Devotions, Humorous
By Hally Franz –
There is a new trend in gift-giving I recently learned about. Or, maybe it’s not so recent, but I’m just behind the trends. It is called the “push present.”
The push present is a gift given by a husband (or significant other) to the mother of his child upon the birth of said child. It is a basically a prize or reward for the mother’s completion of the birthing task. Typically, it is a piece of jewelry, perhaps a ring or diamond bracelet. I’m not sure if the difficulty of the process determines the expense of the gift. It may be that a 5-hour labor merits a moderately-priced bobble, while a 20-hour labor dictates a gift of significant bling. As I said, this is new to me.
No doubt, I will really come across as an old fuddy-duddy because of my position on this particular new custom—and, of course, my use of the expression “fuddy-duddy.” However, I have to say that I find the push present a bit much.
I did not give birth at home, nor did I return to the field for planting the following day. I had four full days in the hospital after the birth of our son via caesarean, and my husband did bring me a modest necklace after Ivan’s arrival. It was a thin gold chain with a heart charm encircling a mother and child. Tim’s gift was unsolicited, unexpected, romantic and meaningful.
Isn’t the journey of making, caring for and raising a child a shared effort? Parenting works best when both mother and father are present and participating, and children benefit when parents share in the process. That doesn’t mean we track and itemize each discussion, act of discipline, and school-related commute on a daily basis to ensure equal work along the way.
Perhaps new mothers should buy new fathers a “tolerated-hormonal-moods token” or a “ran-out-for-cravings reward” to show their gratitude for support offered during pregnancy. I’ve always believed the birth of a beautiful, healthy child is plenty reward for any father or mother.
Parenting is about giving without expecting anything in return, loving unconditionally. While the push present is not wrong, it does seem to imply that every part of life needs to be rewarded, even the most natural and blessed of events.
PRAYER: Father God, bless the new parents of the world. Guide and direct them through this precious and sometimes exhausting journey. Uplift and encourage them, and help them to raise Christian men and women who seek to serve You.
BIBLE VERSE: “For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him” (Genesis 18:19 NIV).
Experience
December 14, 2019 by Donna McCrary
Filed under Daily Devotions, Humorous
By Donna McCrary –
“One. Two. Three.”
“Shhhh! Don’t talk to me!”
“One. Two. Three.”
“Ouch!”
“One. Two. Three.”
These words dominated the conversation on my last date with my husband. Not our typical conversation to say the least. The awkward tension radiating through our limbs was not typical of our dates either. On this particular date night, we agreed to go ball room dancing with some friends.
This is so not like us! To bluntly clarify the drastic difference in our dance abilities, our friends share talent, training, and time. We share four left feet, no rhythm, and trained only in ‘college day’ party moves.
In between songs, our friends would graciously stop and teach us the basic dance steps called out by the DJ. By the end of the night we could add the Waltz and Swing to our “party moves”. Well, that may be an overstatement. We could complete the steps as long as we continually counted them out and limited all other movement in our bodies to allow our brain to be fully focused on our left feet.
Throughout the night, I watched our friends effortlessly float across the dance floor. They would talk, laugh, and joke with each other as they transitioned from the Swing to the Cha-Cha to the Foxtrot like pros. My husband jokingly said, “We could do that if we shared twenty plus years of experience.” They didn’t have to count their steps. They didn’t have to slow down or check their dance posture. They didn’t have to follow the “rules.” They just danced!
Our friends at one point in time were the awkward couple on the dance floor. They both had a moment, however brief, when they had to count their steps, twirl awkwardly, and follow the “rules”. Their dancing abilities stemmed from commitment, time, practice, and even a few falls once in a while.
Experience, commitment, time, practice, and even a few falls once in a while is the distinctive difference in those who effortlessly spin, twirl, laugh, and immensely enjoy their relationship with Jesus. Most of us start out awkward, rigid, and counting steps when we first declare Jesus as our Lord and Savior. However, if we make the commitment, take the time, practice, and get back up when we fall, our relationship will start to flow effortlessly with experience.
Are you dancing or counting steps in your relationship? Does your experience set you apart?
PRAYER: Father, give me a burning desire to spend time with You. Help me learn how to dance daily in Your presence.
BIBLE VERSE: “Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil” (Hebrews 5:13-14 NIV).