Could This Be The Year?

By Cynthia Ruchti –

Fresh calendars are like an unquilted stretch of new snow begging for footprints. They tease with their crisp, unmarked pages, claiming that life won’t be messy and scribbled on before the year is over.

I’m old enough to know better, to realize that somewhere within those relatively blank pages are marks already—notes about an upcoming doctor appointment made months ago, reminders about tax form due dates, speaking engagements, deadlines…

The thirty-one open boxes under the stunning photograph of a lighthouse will start to fill before I take a step back to admire it. Church meetings. A family get-together. Worship practice (what an odd phrase! Practice for worship is…worship!). Birthdays I won’t remember soon enough to send a card. Garbage night. Phone numbers. Things that don’t fit on the to-do list.

When I take down this calendar to put up a new one next January, what story will these pages tell?

Will this be the year that I conquer my battle with—? It’s a multiple choice question.

Is this the year I stick to the discipline of—? Again, multiple choice.

Will this year be marked by lightning-fast obedience, divinely-appointed risk-taking, books read and written, regret-free living in relationships?

How many squares on the calendar will be filled with surprises, unexpected challenges, things I’d rather forget than remember?

Is this the year I won’t flinch when they come?

Although I regularly commit my day to the Lord, I don’t remember laying a whole calendar before Him. But it seems like a good idea, doesn’t it?

How can I move from block to block, three hundred and sixty five times, without His help? How can I hope to navigate that maze, dodging distractions and things circled four times and accented with exclamation marks if I’m not letting Him lead the way?

PRAYER: Father God, Lord of my life, early in the morning (and the year) will I rise up and seek You. I need You every hour, every block, every page.

“O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee… Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me,” (Psalm 63:1a, 7-8 KJV).

Today’s devotional is by Cynthia Ruchti, writer/producer of THE HEARTBEAT OF THE HOME radio ministry and past president of American Christian Fiction Writers. Cynthia’s debut novel—They Almost Always Come Home—and novella—“The Heart’s Harbor” in A Door County Christmas—released in 2010. Cynthia writes stories of hope that glows in the dark. www.cynthiaruchti.com.

Upside Down and Squirrelly

By Hally Franz –

A pesky squirrel raided the bird feeder with amazing fervor and no shame. The squirrel in question was literally hanging upside down, tail wrapped around the branch above, imitating a flying trapeze act. She hung for several moments while hiding feed in her cheeks, and then after a frantic concealing of all the feed possible, turned right side up, took a breath and went back for more.

While hanging upside down may not be a feat for a squirrel, even a squirrel tires eventually. A full breeze kept the poor gal swaying during the whole hanging, grabbing, eating, flipping and breathing cycle. I’m going out on a limb to say this was a female squirrel. After all, don’t we women get ourselves in precarious positions when we’re trying to do too many things?

We try to manage schedules for the family, jobs, the household, volunteer commitments, and needs of children and spouses. We’re often turned around and a little crazy in our mad efforts to get it all done. Sometimes, there’s hardly time for a breath at day’s end before doing it all over again. I challenge you ambitious and conscientious women to step back and consider a healthier, saner way to manage in today’s world. By examining our situations and asking a few questions, we can slow life down, so we don’t feel like we’re barely hanging on.

Make a list of all your big and small activities and must dos. Examine your list and decide which items are important, based on a couple of criteria. Determine which chores give you the greatest bang for the buck in terms of your family’s welfare. Which tasks improve the lives of your family? Which cost you money, and which improve your finances? Secondly, and more importantly, ask yourselves which jobs serve the purposes of Almighty God. At the center of our lives should be the goal of preparing for a heavenly home for ourselves and those we love.

If you’re wondering whether a task is something worthy of your precious time or talent, consider if it’s meaningful to God. If you list “prepare for eternity” as number one on the weekly “to do” list, it should be a lot easier to make and complete the rest of your list, without having to stand on your head and go nuts!

PRAYER: Lord, grant me the discernment and wisdom to make good choices about how to spend my time and talent. Lead me to devote myself to those endeavors that You deem worthy to Your service and praise.

^“But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:40-42 KJV).

Today’s devotion is by Hally Franz. Hally is a former teacher and high school guidance counselor, turned homemaker. She enjoys volunteering at her children’s school, teaching Bible classes at her church, leading projects in 4-H, writing, reading, scrapbooking, and rousing (though, sometimes, not pretty) Zumba classes.

Let’s Eat In!

By Robin J. Steinweg –

As a bride, my entire culinary repertoire was a trio: Campbell’s chicken noodle soup, pancakes, and “Let’s eat out.” The latter sang the lead.

I had once been proud of not being domestic. But as a Christian, I developed a desire to honor God by providing good meals for my family. I could write an anti-cookbook about failed attempts. Did I mention we were all in the lower 5^th percentile on the doctor’s weight charts?

I attended a marriage seminar about speaking in faith. The principle taught that our words have the power of life and death (Pr. 18:21). And since we have a God who created everything with His Word alone, we can affect change with our words too.

I made a list to practice reading aloud: “I am a good cook.” I snorted. “I plan creative meals.” Right. “Baking is a passion of mine.” I looked in the mirror. “You are a miserable fraud, and these are bald-faced lies!”

For lack of a better idea, I kept up the farce. In weeks I quit laughing. In months, I’d had a few small successes and sported a more positive attitude. My repertoire expanded. A new friend came alongside, taught me professional cooking techniques and gave me new recipes. I think she prayed, too. In a few years, I could truthfully look in the mirror and say, “You are a good cook. You can plan creative meals. Cooking is at times a passion of yours.”

There is a difference between speaking in faith and speaking lies. Lies deceive, steal and harm. Speaking in faith flies in the face of Satan’s lies, and brings life and abundance.

Let’s eat in!

AUTHOR QUOTE: In what other areas might this principle work? Psalm 37:4 says if I delight in the Lord, He’ll give me the desires of my heart. Once I desire what He wants me to desire, I should speak in faith. As I cooperate with Him, He’ll make it happen.

“I am the Lord…who carries out the words of His servants and fulfills the predictions of His messengers…” (Isaiah 44: 24b, 26a 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!

Dousing Anger

By Rosemary Flaaten –

“I can’t believe what she did to me. She swooped in and sweet-talked the boss into letting her have the big project—the one that was slated for me, and then she went on to brag about it. When I confronted her, she started ranting and slashing my character right in front of our coworkers.  I felt so humiliated.  I am never going to forgive her for what she did to me. You know what, she better watch her back because I’m not letting go of this.”

Does anything in this story sound familiar? Someone upsets us and we hold onto the anger that surfaces, perhaps even choosing to retaliate. And as we coddle this anger, its tentacles go deeper and deeper into our soul, strangling any chance of moving past the injustice, let alone having good come of it. Anger, when nursed, becomes a roaring fire within us.

So what do we need to do to douse the fire and stop the destructive nature of anger? Choosing to step away from any opportunity with which we are presented or may pursue to even the score, is always the first step.

The second step is to let go of the hurt by choosing to forgive. We may think that if we have to forgive the same person over and over again, then at some point it will be understandable for our goodwill to expire. This was the Apostle Peter’s mentality when he asked Jesus to affirm that forgiving seven times was more than sufficient (Matthew 18:21). The Jewish law considered it presumptuous and unnecessary to forgive more than three times. Jesus’ response to Peter’s self-congratulatory statement was to forgive as He would: seventy times seven.

Most often, this is as far as we take the topic of forgiveness. Don’t retaliate, forgive and let go. But I believe the biblical story of Joseph adds one final piece to the picture. Joseph chose to show kindness and goodness to the very brothers who had wronged him (Genesis 50:19-21). When we choose to do good to someone, even if it is just kind thoughts toward them, the stranglehold of anger loses its power within us.

Forgiveness diffuses anger.  Kindness douses it completely.

PRAYER: As this new year begins, may I choose a new path that enables me to pursue ways to show kindness to those who have wronged me.

“Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life” (Ephesians 4:26-27 The Message).

Today’s Devotional is by Rosemary Flaaten. Her successful book, A Woman and Her Relationships helps women process their outside-of-work relationships, so now she’s delving into these 9-5 relationships in A Woman and Her Workplace. Her Relationships book won The Word Guild Award, which is Canada’s top Christian literary honor. A dynamic speaker—Rosemary challenges women of all professions to view their work as a calling and their workplaces as opportunities to live out Christ’s love. Rosemary lives with her husband and three children in Calgary, Canada.

Rethinking New Year’s Resolutions

By James H. Pence –

New Year’s resolutions. Most of us make them. Or at least we think about making them. Maybe we need to lose weight, exercise more, get out of debt, or read the Bible through. The New Year often gets us in evaluation mode. We examine our lives with a view to being better people.

Unfortunately, more often than not we break our resolutions before January ends. We sink back into long-established habit patterns, and in the end our resolutions are forgotten until the next year. Then we begin the process all over again. This has led some people to think about abandoning the idea of New Year’s resolutions altogether. It’s not that resolutions are bad, but if we repeatedly make them only to break them, they become discouraging and self-defeating.

I’d like to suggest a different approach to resolutions. It was exemplified over 200 years ago by the great pastor-theologian Jonathan Edwards. Early in his life and ministry Edwards made seventy lifelong resolutions. His resolutions are inspiring and challenging, even if some of them are a bit daunting.

Here are a few:

• Resolution #5: Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.
• Resolution #7: Resolved, never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.
• Resolution #69: Resolved, always to do that, which I shall wish I had done when I see others do it.

What is it about Edwards’ resolutions that make them significant? Most New Year’s resolutions tend to be “me-centered.” Jonathan Edwards’ resolutions were God-centered. Personal commitments—made one time—with God’s glory in view. How did he manage to keep them and especially to keep from forgetting them? The answer is found just before the first resolution:

“Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ’s sake. Remember to read over these Resolutions once a week.” (Emphasis added.)

Whether or not you make New Year’s resolutions, take Edwards’ example to heart. We should all regularly resolve to live to the glory of God; however that plays out in our daily life. May all the resolutions in our lives be God-centered.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, grant that I might not make meaningless resolutions this year. By the power of Your Holy Spirit please enable me to resolve daily to live for Your glory.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (I Corinthians 10:31 NIV).

Today’s devotion is by James H. Pence. James is an author, speaker, singer, and gospel chalk artist, but prefers to be known as a storyteller. To learn more about James and how he draws the stories of your heart, visit his Web site at: www.jamespence.com.

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