God

Devotional – Parking Lot Walking

~ Tonya ~ 1 Comment

Psalm 73:23-24

Yet I am always with you;
you hold me by my right hand.

You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will take me into glory.

In my walk with God, I tend to leave Him in the dust as I jump ahead to my next big plan. The picture in this Psalm this morning reminded me of when I walk in a parking lot with my three-year old, Madison. I’m trying to get from the car to whatever building we’re heading for, she wants to jump over bumps on the ground, talk about the parking stripes and stop to look at a leaf. It’s very difficult to hold her hand (my other, occupied by her little brother) as she leaps off the ground suddenly over an invisible “bump”, quickens her pace to see something amazing just ahead or suddenly stops completely mid-stride to examine the ground. In the midst of all her little activities however, she never lets go of my hand. Even as the world around completely distracts her from the task we’re accomplishing, she understands the safety represented in keeping her little fingers entwined with mine. Continue reading →

Devotional – Not Cookies?

~ Tonya ~ 1 Comment

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
And lean not on your own understanding:
In all your ways acknowledge Him.
And He shall direct your paths.

First – sorry for the break from my devotional blog yesterday. I woke up late, so had to squeeze my Bible time in to the kids nap time…you mom’s need no further explanation.  Suffice it to say, I wasn’t so much waiting on the Lord yesterday as just trying to get thru it before the munchkins were back awake.

Today is a different story. I saw the impact my lack of quiet time had on my day yesterday. Let’s not do that again, ok Tonya?
This morning, I’m back to an exhortation to trust God. Again. Fitting, since my trust is so easily placed in other things. Like cookies. Let me elaborate.
Continue reading →

Devotional – Looking in All the Wrong Places

~ Tonya ~ 3 Comments

1 Kings 19:11-12 The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

Let this be a lesson to you. When your pastor reads a scripture that touches your heart, be sure to write down the address. I just spent about 25 minutes trying to locate the above verse in Isaiah. Silly me. This verse isn’t about Isaiah – it’s about Elijah. Duh. Oh well. Continue reading →

Devotional – Selah

~ Tonya ~ Leave a comment

God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear,
Even though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling.  Selah
Psalm 46:1-3

My reading focused on being in God’s will requiring that we wait for His timing in life. Sometimes we feel like we’ve been given a huge “ah-ha!” in our lives when we finally see clearly the dream/goal/vision from the Lord. We get all excited at this great plan in our lives and forget that we need to wait for God to walk us down the path to get there. We rush ahead trying to accomplish things on our own and only remember to pause when we hit a rough patch. As I was reading the accompanying scriptures this morning, one word stuck out. Selah. Continue reading →

Devotional – A Responsible Relationship

~ Tonya ~ 1 Comment

Romans 12:9-18 (NKJ) Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord: rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as it depends on you, live peaceable with all men.

I know, long scripture today. I actually was only “supposed” to read the part about rejoicing in hope, being patient and praying – but this entire passage was so specific about how we should act with each other, I just had to include it all. Continue reading →

Devotional – Thanks For Nothing

~ Tonya ~ 2 Comments

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. (The Message)

I say “thank-you” all the time. When I drop my daughter off at child care, if someone lets me in front of them in line, picks up a toy Donovan has thrown from the cart, or hands me a sugar packet I couldn’t reach across the tea-table. The niceties in life are always met with a swift “thanks”. But how often do I thank God for the blessings in my life? Not often enough. Even less do I thank Him in the midst of trouble. My devotional book is written as if it’s Jesus talking, a line from today read – “When you thank Me for the many pleasures I provide, you affirm that I am God, from whom all blessings flow. When adversity strikes and you thank Me anyway, your trust in My sovereignty is a showpiece in invisible realms.”

I recognize God’s overt blessings in my life. I’m grateful for my (mostly) well-behaved children, caring husband, comfortable home, for the career Zack has been successful in and that God allows me the freedom to be home raising my family. I cherish my childhood, the advantage I have as a mother because I had godly, loving examples for parents. My grandmother is taking my husband and I (and siblings, parents, cousins etc.) on a week-long Mexican cruise – I’m REALLY grateful for that! I’m supremely thankful for my good health and ability to use all my limbs. Which brings me to the concept of thanking God in adversity. I don’t know that I’ve ever done that. I certainly have never overflowed with thanksgiving for the struggles in my marriage. When Madison is being an ornery three-year old I’m not praising God for her presence in my life. When my dad started having heart problems, I don’t remember emoting gratitude. When I was told just after Christmas that my legs still needed another month to heal, I didn’t walk out of the clinic worshiping the Lord for His goodness in my life.

Griping and complaining rather than being thankful is a demonstration of distrust. As hard as it is for me to grasp, no matter what happens, God know what He’s doing. The application of knowing that is gratitude. For the good and bad in life, cheerfulness. I need to take a deep breath and be disciplined in displaying joy.

Spiritually Speaking, Are You Obese?

~ Tonya ~ Leave a comment

I love my mom. I think it is fantastic that I want to talk to her on a daily basis. What’s even better, is that I always come away with some amazing insight from our chats. I recently have really enjoyed talking to my mom about God. She is the most spiritually mature person I know. She’d probably laugh at me if she read that, but it is totally true. My mother has had an hour or more quiet time every day since I was very young. I cannot remember a time that I didn’t wake up to Mom’s Bible, journal and her concordance strewn near the big chair in the living room. She loves hanging out with God. During one of our recent conversations, my mother said something that showed such discernment, I was blown away. First, a bit of background on our talk. Continue reading →

Devotional – Success Through Failure

~ Tonya ~ 1 Comment

2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJ) For we walk by faith, not by sight.

People associate success with victories in life. We strive for a bigger house, nice job title or well-behaved children, but what we should really be looking for is problems, failures and weakness. When by my own strength, intelligence or resourcefulness I’m achieving great things, I feel like I don’t need God’s help. In the times when I stumble and fall – my dependence on His grace and mercy in my life becomes an intimate need, not just a casual fall back plan. The closest I have ever felt to my Lord was in the lowest of lows in my life. The times when I had peace resonating through my being were in choosing to turn my problems over to God, knowing that there was no earthly way to fix them. The growth that results from just letting go, from really depending on the Father to manage the details cannot be developed any other way. Unless I rely on Him, how can I tell others He is reliable? If I’m always “making it” without any real submission to God’s will, how am I a follower of Him?

2 Corinthians also says “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” (verse 9) While it’s all good to be driven to the Lord’s feet in times of struggle, if we can come to a place of dependence on Him always, our lives would be so much more fulfilling. Sometimes I think we limit God’s ability to work in our lives in amazing ways, because we think we’re not good enough, strong enough or smart enough to go after big dreams. But that’s the whole point right? WE aren’t. But God is! There is no aspiration that’s too big for Him. No unattainable goal. When I’m in God’s perfect will and am striving for the seemingly impossible, I have the ultimate partner to turn my failure into His success.

Devotional: Trusting Like an Infant

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Isaiah 40:11 (NASB) – Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs, And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

How hard is it to trust God? Not just when things get out of hand, but in the daily troubles of life? Today I’m focusing on God’s depth and breadth of love for me. I think that will help with the trust thing. Just like when my children were newly born, they could do nothing on their own. Nothing. But they inherently trusted me to care for them. There was no question that I would do anything in my power to protect and nurture their lives, because of my deep and unwavering love for them. God views me just like that. I’m His child. His precious creation. He loves me (as hard as it is to imagine) far and away more than I adore my kids. So, how much more, with all the power He has, will He care for and protect me? Intellectually, I know this doesn’t mean my life will be free of hurt or sorrow. In the moments of pain in life, I quickly forget to trust God completely. Because during those times, I don’t feel like He loves me. Perhaps if I make a habit of saying “I trust you Lord” during the ho-hum times, when I think I could handle it on my own, the pattern of consistent trust will become so intrenched in my relationship with Him, that nothing will shake it. When I view life’s circumstances thru the filter of Christ’s love for me, my heart is at peace. I can completely trust Him and rest in His love just like a newborn in her mother’s arms.

Resolving Resolutions

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New Year’s Resolutions. Ahhh. The chance to make a bunch of promises to yourself that (generally) get forgotten once the calendar says February. The world as a whole resolves to be richer, nicer, skinnier, smoke/drink/drug less, and on and on. Then somehow, we always end up right back where we started. Or worse. I’m sure just about everyone with a blog is talking about the close of the old year and the fresh start of a 2010. Oh, and this year we get the new decade too. Lucky us.

Some of the most often used resolutions in the United States are:

  • Improve health: lose weight, exercise more, eat better, drink less alcohol, quit smoking
  • Improve finances: get out of debt, save money
  • Improve career: get a better job
  • Improve education: improve grades, get a better education, learn something new (such as a foreign language or music)
  • Improve self: become more organized, reduce stress, be less grumpy, manage time, be more independent Continue reading →