Perspective

By Donna McCrary –

The crackling voice over the intercom said, “Look to your left and experience a rare privilege—the best view of the Grand Canyon.” I quickly grabbed my camera and snapped some pictures. The different shades of brown, rust, and black helped my eyes distinguish the depth of the ever expanding crack in the earth’s crust. The layers of brown tones in the landscape created beautiful contrast against the deep blue hue of Lake Mead. The view from the plane was breathtaking!

I sat in awe—but the beauty didn’t stop there. Traveling from Las Vegas, Nevada to Atlanta, Georgia, I found the landscape continually changing below. As the sun descended, the plane flew over pillows of clouds. The fuchsia shades seemed to sparkle and dance on the white cotton balls below. Then a dark sky settled in as we neared Atlanta. The twinkling city below glowed like a shimmering sea of lights. My husband leaned over and said, “Mind boggling!” After a thoughtful pause he whispered, “Makes you feel small in this giant world.” I chuckled because small is not exactly the best word to describe just how insignificant and tiny you feel at 35,000 feet.

As the wheels of the plane touched, I stopped to thank God for such a wonderful trip with my husband. This quick prayer moved me into a surreal moment of worship. This cross-country trip captured a glimpse of God’s handiwork, from the Grand Canyon to the manmade city lights of Atlanta. It is hard to put into words the picturesque views from my day; even harder to grasp the phenomenal concept that my God is in control of it all. He created the landscapes. He gave man the ability and the material to build the city of lights. He controlled the sun traveling across the sky. Not only is God in control of all this but He chose to love small, insignificant me! He knows every hair on my head. Just as He controls the sun and clouds He orchestrates the events in my life. He is in control of every aspect, every situation and every minor detail. From His viewpoint, everything in life is designed for the single purpose to draw us near to Him. Now that is perspective!

PRAYER: Father, today, I want to pause for a moment to truly worship You. May I never forget   how much You love me and how You long for me to live with You one day in heaven.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 NIV).

Today’s devotion is by Donna McCrary, a co-founder of Walk of Purpose ministries. Read more of her inspirational devotions in DIVAS of the Divine: How to Live as a Designer Original in a Knock-Off World study or check out her blog at www.walkofpurpose.blogspot.com.

Skip the Wipe Warmers

By Hally Franz –

Recently Natalie Portman accepted the Oscar for Lead Actress in a Motion Picture for her performance in Black Swan. She looked gorgeous in her designer gown and jewelry—a stunning mother-to-be on the red carpet. Pregnancy is very stylish for women today, including those who aren’t celebrities. Maternity clothes are now available in a range of colors, rather than plain pastels with bows, and they have shape, unlike the old-fashioned smock.

Not only are future mommies donning trendy clothes, their infants are living in style upon arrival too. In my circle there has been a run on babies lately. Consequently, I’ve attended several baby showers in the last few months. These precious little ones have it made.

There was a time when baby shower gifts included basics like diapers, sleepers, pacifiers, lotions, baby blankets, rattles and bottles. Now, newborns are welcomed home to private baby-sized bathing spas, state-of-the-art music and security systems, nurseries decorated with the most soothing and, simultaneously, the most stimulating walls, mobiles, and playthings, and environmentally-friendly and organically-inspired diapers. My favorite of the modern baby necessities are the wipe warmers, designed specifically to prevent the little love morsels from experiencing the traumatizing chill of a straight-from-the-box wet wipe. Wow!

At the risk of sounding terribly old school, could we be taking things a little far when it comes to pampering (pardon the pun) our children? I remember my sister and me begging Dad to turn on the air conditioning by the time July rolled around, and wearing layers all winter. My children dwell in a temperature-controlled environment. When I was a child a Saturday evening treat meant a ride to town and an ice cream cone, but today meals at McDonald’s are standard operating procedure. My summers were long and boring; my children’s are busy with camp and pool visits, the county fair and family vacation.

Honestly, I would probably use the wipe warmers if I had a baby in my home too. The truth is most children are blessed and comfortable, more entertained and worldly-wise than they need to be. Parents naturally tend to do and give more where our children are concerned. So our real challenge is to instill in them a grateful and giving spirit, a sense of appreciation for the blessings they’ve been given and of responsibility to serve and give back to others.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, how You have blessed us in America! Please help me to always be grateful for those blessings, to be giving to others, and to raise children who are appreciative and generous Christians.

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:6-7 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.

Backward Thinking

By Cynthia Ruchti –

A woman with an often high stress job as a nurse in a small hospital gained a reputation as the town’s go-to person for all things medical that didn’t require a doctor. Decades before the advent of nurse hotlines, she created her own by default.

Before people began to refer to it as 24/7, she remained available night and day. Laboring women showed up at her door to ask if it was too early to go to the maternity ward and what they could do to ease the backache. Phone calls split the night with the question, “What can I try now? Jerry’s cough is worse,” or “The baby has this rash…”

The woman with the homemade hotline attended to every need with uncommon patience and compassion.

That came as a surprise to her children.

After long hours at the hospital and middle of the night ambulance runs and too little sleep, after tending to the needs of others, she was sometimes short and impatient with her own family. She ran out of patience because she’d spent it all on other people.

We know God is able to expand our capacity for patience to meet the breadth of our need for it. But fatigue too often wins out. And too many times the world outside our front door gets first pick of the patience.

It’s clear though that the Lord intended His life lessons to apply to the way we treat one another at home as well as how we treat people outside the walls of home. Not instead of, but in addition to. By His power.

That thought hit close to…home…this week. Am I only patient with my family members if I happen to have some left over after serving others? That can’t be what the Lord meant.

AUTHOR QUOTE: Home is a proving ground—not a scrap heap—for the kindness we show others.

“I will try to walk a blameless path, but how I need your help, especially in my own home, where I long to act as I should” (Psalm 101:2 LB).

Today’s devotional is by Cynthia Ruchti, whose debut novel—They Almost Always Come Home (Abingdon Press)—explores the “proving ground” of loving when it doesn’t make sense or seem fair. Cynthia writes and produces The Heartbeat of the Home radio broadcast. Read more about these and other projects at www.cynthiaruchti.com.

The Trumpet of the Lord is at Pizza Hut?

By Aubrey Spencer –

My family eats at the Pizza Hut in our small town at least once a week. We always sit in a booth. We know all the wait-staff. We even have the menu memorized. We’re regulars. Recently our local restaurant decided to add a paper towel roll to each table in order to cut down on the excessive use of napkins. Not a bad idea. Except these “napkin savers” sit on scrolly, black metal holders. Holders that completely fascinate my three-year-old son and his vivid imagination. He can’t keep his hands off of them. Before we have been there even five minutes, he has removed the paper towel roll and has transformed the holder into anything from a microphone to a gun to his favorite thing—a trumpet.

Not long ago, we were eating pizza and visiting with a friend who’d stopped by our booth when Oliver grabbed his “trumpet,” stood up in the booth and loudly started to sing “when the trumpet of the Lord shall sound and time shall be no more, when the roll is called up yonder I’ll be there.” I’ve got to be honest, I was half impressed and half worried that he was making a scene. It was funny. It was cute. It was loud. It got me thinking. Am I that bold? I mean, do I stand up—in front of others no less—and profess my faith? Or do I, at times, worry too much what others think of me and miss opportunities to be an instrument for Him? Honestly, I wish I was a little more like my three-year-old. He wasn’t concerned with what anyone thought. He was just excited to blow his trumpet for God. He taught me a lesson that day. And now every time we eat at our local Pizza Hut and I see one of those paper towel holders, I am reminded of my sweet little boy’s boldness and I’m inspired to grab my trumpet as well.

PRAYER: Father, please help me to be bolder in my faith. I oftentimes find myself timid and worried about what others think, and I know I miss opportunities to be used by You. Help me to stand strong and to be effective in Your kingdom.

“So don’t throw away your bold faith. It will bring you rich rewards. You need to be faithful. Then you will do what God wants. You will receive what he has promised” (Hebrews 10:35,36 NIRV).

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.

DNA and Other Bonds

By Hally Franz –

It’s the reason we share the two greatest sorrows of our lives. I know without asking her that, aside from our individual challenges and heartbreaks, my sister and I would both identify our parents’ divorce and our father’s sudden passing at 61 as the saddest times we’ve known. It explains why our husbands still can’t tell us apart on the telephone and why we look more alike all the time. When we come up with the same word or thought in a situation, we know it is all about nurture and nature, our shared histories and DNA.

Sisterhood is a special relationship. While I am fortunate to have a biological sister, I also find great joy in my pseudo-sister connections. Isn’t it interesting how many ways there are for women to relate to one another?

Sometimes we feel close to others simply because we’ve known them so long. I live in a small town and attended the same public school system for 13 years. Those of us who entered kindergarten together have a common bond, and, even if we’re not in one another’s lives, there is something meaningful about our shared experiences.

Kids have a way of bringing together like-minded moms. I appreciate the fellowship that I have with other mothers whom I sit with on the bench, work with on school parties, and telephone when there is a sleepover in the works. We’re all in the parenting trenches together, and their company encourages me.

Our interests help us cultivate friendships as well. Some connect over dice at bunko parties, some while on the gym’s treadmills, and others with pictures, stickers and scrapbooks. I have been blessed to meet a group of ladies in my book club. We have a great time reading and ranting each month. We share opinions and confidences, and sometimes, a lively 80s karaoke session.

The women in my church have what we call “The Three D’s Gathering” each month: dinner, devotion and dessert. I love these evenings. They are a chance to become closer to my sisters in Christ. We learn and laugh and grow in faith. We plan to be sisters now and in heaven.

Whether they’ve come through science or circumstance, I love my sisters! And I love the Lord for bringing them into my life.

PRAYER: Father, thank You for the wonderful sister relationships You have brought into my life. May we encourage and uplift one another in Christian love.

“At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her” (Ruth 1:14 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.

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