He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

By Elaine James –

Do you remember when you were younger and used to pick a flower and pull the petals off saying “he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not—?” When you got to the last petal, you either stopped on he loves me or he loves me not. I always loved it of course when I had a boy in mind. Especially Donny Osmond and it landed on “he loves me.”  LOL!

Recently I was in the mood for either a sunny easy breezy walk or a Calgon “take me away” in my, scented bubbly bath. Both would relax me. I opted for the sunny easy breezy peaceful walk. I passed a blossoming tree that smelled so beautiful. I picked a flower and playfully considered plucking each petal saying “he loves me, he loves me not.”

Memories swept over me, how my friend and I took turns with our flower hoping the last petal would stop at “he loves me.” Feeling younger again, I chuckled.

A soft whisper came into my thoughts “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.”

Tears filled my eyes. I don’t have to pluck my flower, He loves me. Those words soothe my soul forever.

When I was young I looked for true love, fulfilled in a person. As I know now, nothing can compare to Jesus’ love. Maybe you are still plucking your flowers and looking for true love. Are you?

Here in Chicago, spring is when you start to feel the warm weather, see the leaves growing back, the green grass fill in, and flowers emerge. May you see heaven and nature singing His glory.

AUTHOR QUOTE:  He loves you!

“The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness’” (Jeremiah 31:3 NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Elaine James, author of the tract JOURNEY, certified personality trainer and graduate of Christian Leaders Authors and Speakers Seminars. She is a prayer ministry counselor, accomplished actress, and certified Christian storyteller. Her dramatic performances have made many aware of their problem with Major Mind Overload, and their need to take every thought captive in obedience to Christ. Elaine is a recycler—nothing God teaches her is wasted. www.elainejames.com

The Evolution of the Hunt

By Hally Franz –

Soon it will be time for that perennial tradition known as the Easter egg hunt. There will be hunts in our communities and churches and at family gatherings. The White House will host one too. There will be children clad in their spring finery clutching straw or plastic baskets in a frantic mission to find eggs. Except, there really isn’t much finding involved in it.

If your experience is like mine, you have noticed that the word “hunt” doesn’t seem quite right these days; the event is more like an “Easter egg scatter.” Where it once required keen observation and time to fill one’s basket, today’s hunts are more like speed events. The ratio of eggs to child is about 24 to 1, and eggs are often tossed on the lawn in clumps as opposed to strategically disguised within the landscape. In our family, we give the littlest participants a head start. I plan to challenge that this year. Instead, we should gather the slow kids together and send them out first. However, that may not be the most sensitive approach to the festivities.

Like the fast-paced egg games themselves, the enjoyment of the haul is immediate as well. Historically, the eggs were refrigerated and later cracked, peeled and salt and peppered for enjoyment one at a time. Now, children can dump the plastic, pastel eggs onto the floor, sever the tape with a fingernail, split the egg at the seam, and retrieve the candy in a sugar-filled frenzy. This updated version comes with a mandate that kids must share 10% of the harvest with parents. Some changes are good.

Whether we hide, scatter or toss candy-coated super balls at our children is really not an issue. We know that customs will morph over the years, but they will continue to provide family fun and memories for a lifetime. What is important is that we recognize the one constant behind our Easter celebration, its unchanging nature and eternal truth.

There is no evolution when it comes to the story of Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection. God created His Son without sin to live as a man among His children. Jesus came to teach the Word of God, and He was crucified to save us from sin, allowing us to have eternal life. That’s the simplicity and the consistency of the story, no adjustments needed.

PRAYER: Almighty God, thank You for the enduring truth of Christ Jesus. We are saved from sin through His death and resurrection, given eternal life through Him.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4 NIV).

Today’s devotion is by Hally Franz. Hally is a former high school guidance counselor, turned homemaker. Hally sees each day as a new exercise, where routines change and weights vary. Her goal is to maintain all-around fitness for service, while training her children to be competitive, compassionate and Christ-like in the world in which we live.

Crazy Wasp Syndrome

By Aubrey Spencer –

I spent most of the day today being held captive in my own home. Afraid to enter various rooms. Worried about my children being attacked. Anxious. Nervous. Looking over my shoulder. Basically, just “bugged” out. I’m sure you are wondering what has ruthlessly held me prisoner. It was a WASP! A mean, angry, flying like a maniac, never landing, wasp! I spent hours creeping around, armed with my sturdy flyswatter, just waiting for him to land.

Like so many things, it got me thinking. Does God sometimes have a hard time getting me to “land”? Do I fly about my day in a frenzy forgetting to be still before Him? I have a feeling I’m a lot more like that crazy wasp than I’d like to admit. Chasing him around today made me realize an important fact. I need to spend less time bouncing off the walls of busyness and more time landing in the presence of my Savior. How about you? Anyone else struggle with “crazy wasp syndrome” from time to time?

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, I haven’t caught the wasp yet. He is, however, skillfully trapped behind the blinds in my living room window just waiting for my husband to come home!

PRAYER: Father, I confess that I so often let busyness get in the way of my relationship with You. Please help me to be still before You. Show me how to set aside the busyness of life in order to find rest in You.

“Be still, and know that I am God…” (Psalm 46:10 ESV).

Today’s devotional is by Aubrey Spencer. Aubrey is a minister’s wife and a stay-at-home mom to two little miracles, Oliver and Ava. She has a passion for writing and entertaining but realizes her greatest ministry at the moment is to raise her children to be people after God’s own heart. She loves to see how God shows up in everyday situations. Read more of her writings at http://ministrymama.blogspot.com.

Deal With the Bunnies!

By Robin J. Steinweg –

Bunnies. Furry, cute, comical—and the terrors of my flower garden.

They set up housekeeping under our aluminum shed and did what bunnies do: eat, sleep and multiply. They decimated my strawberries, devoured my moss roses and poppies, shredded the hostas and nibbled my clematis to the ground. The marigolds I planted to deter them? Eaten.

Natural repellants and even the dog didn’t stop them. We got a safe trap and caught a baby. I watched from the window as Little Peter bloodied his pink nose trying to get to his mama stationed outside the cage. Repentant, I ran out, opened the trap and said, “I give up! Live. Eat.”

I started feeding them along with the birds.

For the next years I experimented with flowers they might not eat, and enclosed my favorites with ugly chicken wire. I complained and ranted from the kitchen: “Nefarious bunnies! How I wish you’d be gone!” I watched them play, scratch their ears and stretch out in the shade.

A few weeks ago I realized I hadn’t seen a bunny in awhile. I went to look, and found telltale hunks of fur strewn about. A hawk? A few days later I saw feathers. That seemed to confirm the hawk theory. But no bunnies appeared. The next week I spotted the cause: two young feral cats skulked on our swing-set, eyeing my feeders. I opened the door and they vanished—under the shed—where my cute furry nefarious bunnies used to snuggle. Now we have a family of not cute, tricksy, sneaky cats living off the fat of my birdfeeders (I don’t dare put seed out now), protected from the weather and soiling our former sandbox. If only we had dealt with the bunnies and filled in the area under the shed in the first place.

It occurs to me that sin can be like this. I have my pet “faults”; not too bad, possibly even pleasant. I may complain about them. But if the Holy Spirit convicts me and I tolerate or even nurture them—don’t allow Him to deal with them—those “innocent” sins are swallowed up and replaced by sneakier, faster, more predatory sins. Deal with the bunnies!

PRAYER: Lord, examine my heart for sins I’ve tolerated as cute, acceptable, or even comical. Help me to deal with them before worse ones move in. Thank You for revealing them, helping and forgiving me.

“Say a quiet yes to God and He’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field” (James 4:8 MSG).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

Fixed

By Robin J. Steinweg –

I’ll fix you! This is beyond fixing. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Daddy, can you fix my remote-control car? I’ll go fix lunch. That election was fixed. We fixed the date for our wedding.

Ple-e-e-e-ase fix my printer! Fix these grades or else. Got the dog fixed. Don’t fix blame on everybody else. I’m fixin’ to head south. No worries, it’ll be a quick fix. It’s easier to toss it than to fix it.

Face it. We are folks with a fixation for fixing things.

Parents fix formula for babies and boo-boos for toddlers. Students fix mistakes. Teachers fix students’ mistakes. Medical personnel fix broken bones or worn-out parts. Computer technicians and programmers fix the world for computer users. Government leaders try to fix the world.

Everything and everyone needs fixing. It’s the oldest problem we have. Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden and introduced entropy—the measure of disorder in a system—the tendency of everything toward chaos, breakdown and decay.

In case anyone doubts that I’ve fixed upon a truth here, let me suggest we imagine how my kitchen looks if I neglect it even for a day. Or the bathroom sink. Or the kids’ bedrooms. Picture the house siding in a month’s time. It’s as sure a law as gravity—left to follow the natural course of things, our very lives are headed for destruction.

Is there a fix for the human condition? Of course there is! God has shown His love for us in this: Jesus Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Like the dirty dishes in the sink, we can’t clean ourselves. We must look to Him to do it for us. And then He makes plans for us, plans to give us a future and a hope. A permanent fix!

AUTHOR QUOTE: As we fix our eyes on Jesus in faith, He doesn’t only repair us; He makes us new.

“But my eyes are fixed on You, Sovereign Lord” (Psalm 141:8a NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

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