Devotions   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26  Next Page 8/20/2008 - Staying Current Events change so frequently, I believe it is impossible to stay on top of every current issue of the day. One would have to monitor current events 24/7 - and there are still happenings that will slip through the cracks. But remaining current is important. I certainly expect it of my broker. I demand it of my accountant and legal counsel. Our public servants fall into this same standard of performance. So, said another way - we expect the impossible from each other. No wonder so many relationships end up in disappointment. There is only one being I know who can fit and fill this job description with success and promise a repeat performance of perfection every time; God. The nature of God which is so amazing is this matter of time and timing. Our Lord can line up the cosmic tumblers and over and over again - things happen as He wills. That's not to say that satan does everything he can to rain on a sunny day - but that's a reactive posture. God creates everything for good. Satan steps in and attempts to confound and confuse. And he's quite adept. However; God proactively continues to lob sunshine, rainbows, love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, joy, truth, integrity, honor and every other good thing our way. All we have to do is stand and open our arms and grab hold. Our Lord is, was and will be forever and ever. He's current. He's past. He's future. And He can be trusted with the deepest parts of our hearts and souls. Stay current. Each day give your present moments to God. Entrust Him with your future, and lay down your past at His feet. Praise be to God for loving us in such a wonderful way. ©2008 Waters of Life™ Ministry for Women, Inc. 8/19/2008 - I Can't Breathe I speak to, sing for and offer a willing ear to hundreds, perhaps a thousand women in the course of a year. I cannot believe the agendas these gals are trying to keep. Now granted I'm not a flop in a chair person myself and too often I, too find myself over extended and exhausted. But in all seriousness - riding my bike I passed a local golf course and witnessed this woman juggling her cell phone, hand bag and golf shoes while trying to set up her pull cart. This is nuts! I am "technologied" to death! For one thing, just keeping this website up and running and somewhat current is enough to have me breaking out in hives. Were it not for my exercise, bike and horse riding (no cell phones allowed) I'd be a lump in the corner weeping! Enough I declare. Enough! Shut off the TV. Turn off the movies. Set the cell phones aside. Go for a walk. Sit under a shady tree. Take you spouse by the hand and snuggle on the couch. Hug your children. Make ice cream. Go for an old fashioned picnic.... and just breathe. Breathe in the Spirit of God. Deeply inhale the fragrance of God's grace. Fill your lungs with the joy of just being a child of God. Smell the fragrance in sweet green grass, a barn filled with hay, a field of wild flowers or those you worked so hard to plant in your own yard. Breathe in the goodness of life and exhale your troubles. Breathe and say "Thank you God, thank you for saving my life. Thank you for loving me back to life. Thank you for dying and paying the price for my sins. Glory be to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Thank you, thank you God." Breathe. Live. Instead of starting the world spinning every morning, take a seat on God's train and enjoy the ride for a while. ©2008 Waters of Life™ Ministry for Women, Inc. 7/21/2008 - Fresh Air & Sunshine Several years ago I attended worship at a church in Chicago. Pastor Maxine Washington declared, "God is good!" and the congregation joyfully responded, "All the time." I believe that's true. I don't believe it's obvious or easy. For so often in my life His goodness has been revealed to me through hardship, sorrow and pain. Yet on the other side, joy was found. A reason for what happened became clear. The window needed to see the light at the end of a dark tunnel is patience. In God's time, God's will is made plain. The Greek word is kairos. Our timing and our schedule in greek is chronos. The Greek translation is enlightening for more often than not there is a different word used, with a different meaning. In English, time is time. Americans own more devices to tell time than any country in the world. Yet Americans complain the most about never having enough time. This summer I got back into horseback riding. I hadn't been astride since the mid seventies. It taken quite a bit of time to get back in the saddle... and the time wasn't without a bump or two. But in time the motion of rider and horse are no longer at odds, but in harmony. I anticipate her... she responds in kind. It took time. I feel like a kid when I on her back... I'm taken back in time. Fresh air, sunshine and a good four footed friend willing to spend some time teaching me how to be patient. It's been worth every minute. ©2008 Waters of Life™ Ministry for Women, Inc. 7/18/2008 - Miracle Man May 11th, Mother's Day I was startled by all of our bedroom lights coming on and a very sick husband standing in the doorway who said, "we need to go to the emergency room". "We do?" My mind began to race, as I could see that something was very, very wrong. Now I'm not going to accuse my love of 32 years of being reluctant to visit the doctor, but it had been 17 years since his last visit. We had both been in the dark about the seriousness of a growing problem, complicated by type two diabetes, which was also unknown at the time. After running several red lights we learned in the ER that my husband, Bruce was suffering from congestive heart failure. A heart rate of over 225 and his lungs filling with fluid, he could hardly breathe. After several hours he was considered stable enough to move to a room next to ICU. Minutes later a cardiologist came in. "We'll need to do a catheterization and an angioplasty. Bruce propped himself on his elbow and calmly said, "I can free up my day tomorrow." "I don't think you understand how serious this is," the doctor replied, "we have two people on the table now, one's almost done. You're next." Well now this is quite the start to what was supposed to be a slow paced Mother's Day - the only big activity planned was our regular weekly worship. Turns out 4 of Bruce's major arteries were over 90% clogged. His diabetes which we were unaware of only made things worse. Within 36 hours Bruce underwent open heart surgery and a quintuple bypass. Symptoms? There were none. Pain Bruce did have was nowhere near his heart. Apparently diabetics don't have 'normal' heart attack symptoms. Who knew? God was overseeing this entire process. I have no doubt about it. After all he'd been through, the doctors reported that "miraculously" there was no heart damage. Today, several months later - he's walking, jogging, bike riding and has already lost over 20 pounds on 'Mary's salt free, sugar free, fat free diet'. I've been a jock for years, I bike, ride horses, run and work out daily. Bruce is now eating the same healthy foods I've been eating for years... and he's loving it! I emailed everybody who's ever heard of Waters of Life... and asked for prayer. Friends there has been a blanket of peace over our home that is palpable. It's remarkable. We've never felt so worry free. In spite of all that's happened. The prayers of the faithful have been heard by our merciful Lord. My heart is so filled with joy and thanksgiving it is overflowing with praise. Another oddity - I had no bookings for these few months this summer. I couldn't figure out why. Then came Mother's Day. "Most of the people who come in like you did," one doctor said, "don't leave as you did... this was God. Yes, this was God." And all God's people shouted AMEN! ©2008 Waters of Life Ministry for Women, Inc. 5/8/2008 - God Set the Pace In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, He set this beautiful globe in motion. It rotates on an axis which is perfect for the changing of seasons, each coming and going as they have when our heavenly architect "said" let it be so. We drift about the sun in perfect harmony with other celestial bodies. Planets and stars twinkle in the night sky and the warm morning sun greets us at daybreak. Who then decided that things weren't happening fast enough? Seriously, it wasn't me, was it you? Where did this mentality of efficiency, time management, productivity become our Lord? It's no exaggeration to say that some people and companies run at a pace that leads me to believe that they are trying to outrun the rotation of the earth itself. This is crazy. Our days are spent in a life-less race to I'm not sure where, for I'm not sure what. Agreed if we are employed it is valuable to have the approval of those for whom we work. But in the end, isn't it more important to have the approval of God? Isn't it God who is really in charge? Don't we work for Him? In Colossians 3:23 we're told to "work heartily as to the Lord and not men". God is the final judge of our job performance, the quality of our work and our motivation for going to work in the first place. Do you see your work as your daily gift to God? Is your desk or workplace the altar on which you offer yourself to God, daily as a living sacrifice? Do you consider your work your ministry? Is your job what you are called by God to do? If you've answered "yes" to these questions, then chances are you're not one of the marathon managers or super sonic salespeople I see every day. If you didn't answer "yes" or if the pace of your life seems to be getting out of control, step back and re-evaluate your living. We're human beings, not human doings. If your job doesn't even allow you to enjoy the drive from place to place something's out of wack. I live in Wisconsin and spring is so welcome. The trees are budding, colorful beds of sunny tulips fill gardens and the grass is so green and the sky so blue. The Master Painter did a beautiful job with today. I was alive to see it and give God thanks for it. We are to live in harmony with creation. If you have a choir and one person decides that the tempo is too slow and sings at his own pace - trust me, the sound won't be pleasing. Let the earth spin, listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and slow down - what's five minutes in the scheme of eternity? I don't know if my advice will extend your life, but I will tell you from personal experience, you'll enjoy your life so much more... because you'll be living in harmony with God and have the time to thank Him once in a while for His beautiful creation. ©2008 Waters of Life™ Ministry for Women

 

 

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