As we prepare for the holiday season, consider adding a homemade decoration that also helps you focus on the Reason for the Season! Do you ever think to yourself, “Man, I have a lot of people to pray for lately”? Do you need a reminder to pray for those people you said you would lift up in prayer but actually forget to pray for? Or perhaps you want to spend some significant amount of time in prayer but are easily distracted. This craft may just help you. Using fabric and or ribbon, tie a knot around Christmas lights for a beautiful fabric garland.Check-out the details of how to make the Lighted Garland Craft.
Prayer Focus Options:
As you tie knots you can:
Designate each color for a different prayer focus.
Designate each set of knots to a prayer focus.
Designate each light to a different prayer focus.
As you tie the knots pray for the person you plan to give the garland to as a gift.
Color Example:
Red – Pray for the Salvation of those who don’t know Jesus.
Green – Pray for the spiritual growth of those who do know Him.
Gold – Pray for the corps.
White – Holiness within yourself, Your walk with God.
Patterned – Pray for your community.
Each time you look at the garland throughout the season, you will be reminded to say a quick prayer for those who you covered in prayer as you made the garland.
By Major Gaylene Yardley Divisional Women’s Ministries Secretary – Southwest Division
Begin by singing or listening to the song “He Knows My Name” by Paul Baloche
Scripture Passage: Psalm 139:13-14
This portion of scripture is a favorite of mine. It came into my life at a very important time as a corps officer in a very challenging corps. I often felt like I didn’t fit into this place or the appointment. I asked God what He was doing and why He put me in a place where I was the odd one out. Many things happened in this corps that I could write a book about. It was a place that I learned the power of God and His will for my life. It didn’t happen overnight. It took quite some time, but God is faithful, even when I am not.
Psalm 139 is so important as it tells us how important we are to God. He is our creator and the one who knows us best. We are fully known because of His love in creation. Genesis 1:27 tells us that “God created us in His image Male and female ~ He created us.” Because of this we can know that we are fully known.
Have you ever created something with your hands? If you are like me, it never seems to come out as I saw it in my mind’s eye, but it still is a creation that I made and therefore it is important to me as the creator of it. Creating something from nothing gives us a feeling of accomplishment and achievement. We did that and it may not look like we thought it would, but it is our creation.
Psalm 139:13-14 reads; “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mothers womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”
Look at all the ladies sitting around you today and the difference there is in each one of us, but even in those differences, we are created in His image. He knows us fully as He is the one who created us. Psalm 139 tells us so many wonderful things that God knows about us.
He knows when I sit and when I stand.
He knows my thoughts.
He knows when I go out and when I lay down.
He is familiar with all my ways.
He knows what we are going to say before we say it.
He knows where I try to hide.
He knows I cannot hide from Him.
He knows my frame or body because He was there when I was created.
His eyes saw my unformed body.
What a wonderful list this is and how almost unbelievable it is that He could love me so much that I was made by His own hands. I am fully known! Known, because He is the maker, creator of who I am.
I began by telling you that this chapter came to me during a very challenging time in my life as a mother, pastor, officer, daughter, granddaughter, sister, aunt, cousin, and friend. It was a time that a young woman of my corps became pregnant and told me first. Her mother didn’t speak English and she wanted me to talk to her mother and let her know that she was pregnant at the age of 14. I was so sad for her, and I was so nervous to try to talk to her mother as we had no common ground, no common language. I went into my office and asked God to help me be a messenger of truth and peace in this situation.
I went to see her mother and to talk to her about the uncomfortable situation. The mother was understandably upset. She yelled, she cried, she became angry, she had all the emotions a mother would have in this situation. She immediately told the young girl that she should go and have an abortion. I only know that because the young girl was translating for her mother and for me. The young woman cried and ran off. What was I to do? Lord, help me with this. I need you now.
I opened my bible to Psalm 139 and read it, in English, and asked God to speak to this mother as I read the words that said, “You knit me together in my mother’s womb, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” After I finished reading the chapter, I excused myself and left the house. The next day the young lady came into my office and told me that her mother had changed her mind and that she could have the child and give it up for adoption. I told her that I would help her anyway I could. After going home that night I told my husband and we agreed that we would take the baby and offer to adopt it.
The young lady gave birth to a beautiful little girl and decided to keep her. For the first two years of her life, my husband and I were able to help her and to see tis little one grow and to be nurtured. She was at the corps every program that she could be, and we were able to speak truth and Jesus into her life as well as her mother.
This scripture is so important for each of us as God has a plan for us. Something that He has ordained for us to do and to be. He is our creator and because of that, we are fully known!
Prayer: Father, we thank you for knowing us because you created us for your pleasure. We thank you for the differences we all have and for the things we share that are alike. We love you for your great love for us. Your sacrifice of Jesus shows us your perfect love. We thank you that we are fully known because your word tells us so. Thank you for all you are to each of us! Amen.
Download the printable version of this month’s Devotional, Craft & Bible Study:
By Major Angela Strickland Divisional Women’s Ministries Secretary – Golden State Division
Beauty is only skin deep…Beauty is in the eye of the beholder…common things we’ve heard said about beauty.
Our 18-year-old daughter is at that age where wearing make-up and styling her hair have become a bit more “needed” (job interviews, leading worship, youth group outings) than it was a few years ago. I am at that age where my hair is turning gray and the wrinkles that used to be in my clothing are now also on my face.
We are both acutely aware that with the emergence of social media websites such as Tik Tok and Instagram, things like lash lengthening mascara ads, plumped up lips and perfect eyebrows are given high status and warrant “likes” and comments from others.
It tends to make us look at ourselves in the mirror and measure our worth against what we presume society thinks is important. This can cause internal conflict resulting in low self-esteem or a lack of confidence.
Thankfully, we have a deeper sense of the value our Father places on us. What is on the inside is more valued than outward appearance.
Proverbs 31 is well known for its description of what a woman should consider about beauty. Specifically, verse 30, which tells us that “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” (NIV).
There is nothing wrong with outward beauty. Outward beauty is temporary, but inner beauty is described throughout Proverbs 31 about a woman who isn’t built solely on charm and beauty. There is a little more to this woman. She is wise, a provider, works hard, has a good sense of humor, helps others, she is strong and so much more. A woman who fears the Lord has characteristics of one who fears being separated from God. So, she lives her life worthy of His calling and commands.
His Word reinforces for us that true beauty is found on the inside. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 3:3-4 that “your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”
The next time you pass a mirror, don’t think only about what your physical image reflects, but consider who’s you are and how you can reflect the beauty of His holiness.
Let’s Pray…
Father, thank you for looking beyond our outward appearance and for seeing our internal beauty. Allow us to see ourselves as you do and reveal in us areas that need transformation so that we may reflect the true beauty that is found in our relationship with you. Help us to look beyond the surface in others, and to acknowledge the godly qualities you have blessed them with. May our lives exemplify your love and grace so that others might draw closer to you. In Jesus name, Amen.
https://usw-womensministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/peter-kalonji-LH74lRYvBY4-unsplash-scaled.jpg25601707Beth Desplanckehttps://usw-womensministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/uswLogo-300x75-300x75.pngBeth Desplancke2024-11-06 12:40:552024-11-06 12:41:18January 2025 Devotional: Beauty from the Inside Out
I was sixteen years old when I held my firstborn child. I was a child myself. And I remember looking at that little face and being completely in love. I knew, even then, that I would do absolutely anything for that child. My instincts to protect and care for him immediately kicked in and all I wanted to do was make sure that this little boy always knew that he was loved and wanted. He was my precious child.
When I was nineteen, I married a man who loved my son as I did. Though they did not share a biological connection or a last name, my husband raised that little boy as his own. He cared for him and provided for him as he grew up. He showed up to school plays, football games, and graduation ceremonies. He was there for every heartbreak and every celebration. As far as my husband was concerned, that boy was his precious son.
When my son turned nineteen, he found himself planning his own wedding. The now young man said to my husband, “As my wedding day approaches, and as I imagine what my life will look like starting a family of my own, I cannot imagine not having my dad’s last name. That’s the name I want my wife and my children to have. That’s the name I want.” He then asked my husband if he would adopt him and give him his last name. My husband’s response was that he had always been his son and with great joy, he adopted him just weeks before the wedding.
Friends, we have been given the opportunity to be adopted by God, to become His children. God’s Word tells us in John 1:12-13, “Yet to all who receive him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
We are all created by God. The Psalmist writes in Psalm 139:13, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” God sees us and loves us simply because we are His creation. And while it is true that we are all created by God, we must be adopted by Him to be called His children.
John reminds us of three truths in verse 13. The first truth is that being a child of God has nothing to do with our natural birth. Other biblical translations read “not of blood” meaning that this spiritual adoption has nothing to do with a physical blood relationship.
The second truth is that being a child of God does not depend on human will. Many of us have loved ones who are believers and who pray for us, but simply knowing someone who knows the Lord, and prays that we would know Him too, does not make us a child of God.
The third truth is that being a child of God is not dependent on human decision, meaning that we are not the source of this adoption. We cannot simply decide that we are His child and then live however we want to live. This adoption is only possible through God. His word tells us that He makes us His children only when we receive His Son, Jesus Christ, and believe in His name.
But once we make that choice, we bear a new name: His precious child. John 3:16 tells us, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
From the moment you and I choose to believe and accept Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives, God sees us through the lens of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and we are accepted and adopted. With our new name, we also receive the inheritance of our Heavenly Father – eternal life. God wants to make sure that you and I know that we are loved and wanted. We are His precious children.
The chorus of Hillsong Worship’s song, “Who You Say I Am” says this:
“Who the son sets free, oh is free indeed; I’m a child of God, yes I am. In my Father’s house, there’s a place for me; I’m a child of God, yes I am.”
My son wanted my husband’s last name because it said to the world that he was his son. As he lives his life and grows his family, it’s my husband’s name that will live on in generations to come. When we come to Jesus and we are adopted into God’s family, we are given God’s name. Our daily lives tell the world that we belong to Him, that we are His children. As we live in the full understanding that we have the inheritance of eternal life, we can love people into the Kingdom who are still looking to be loved and wanted. As more choose to receive Jesus and believe in Him, they are adopted into the family of God and the name of the Lord will live on for generations to come. What a blessing it is to be His precious children!
By Major Tina Bottjen Mat-Su Valley, AK Corps – Alaska Division
Growing up, I had always viewed hospitality as throwing elegant parties with the best foods that took all day to prepare. Hospitality, in my understanding, took valuable time, money, and effort. It was a gift for those that were extroverts that had lots of time and money on their hands. However, in the summer of 2005, my understanding of hospitality would be forever changed in a wonderful and powerful way.
Any officer in The Salvation Army can tell you, we move…. sometimes a lot, and almost always in the summer. In our officership here in the USA Western Territory, many of our moves have always happened around my youngest daughter’s birthday (Mid July). The timing of these moves often made it, so her birthdays were often a “family only” affair with no friends or even children her age there to celebrate with her.
We had just experienced such a move, one that took us from New Mexico to Alaska (thousands of miles away). Soon after moving, I was working alongside a volunteer, sorting items for the little thrift store attached to the back of the corps building. I shared how bad I felt for my daughter that so often her birthday was a small, family only event. She promptly told me, “Get me some invitations, I’ll give them out to some of the families I know with children her age. I can’t promise that anyone will show up, but I can promise to give out the invitations.” I went home and put the invitations together and gave them to her. I honestly didn’t expect anything to come from it though, who would want to come to a birthday party for someone they didn’t even know?
The day of my daughter’s birthday arrived, and we told her it was going to be a family birthday party (again, not much hope that anyone would show up.) We decorated for her party, as we always did. Just in case people did show up, I had hidden games, prizes, and goodie bags in my room. We took it slow that morning, wasting time with poor excuses for delaying the opening of gifts and eating goodies until the time I had put on the invitations arrived. It would be an understatement to say she was a little frustrated thinking we were just being ornery by making her wait.
As the time drew near, a car pulled up our driveway and out jumped a couple of girls her age, then another car pulled up, more kids, and then another! That day, 12 young girls came to celebrate the birthday of a young girl they had never met. As I took out the hidden games (including a piñata!), gift bags, and prizes, there were happy tears, laughter, and joy. They played games, ate too much food, and they gave her birthday gifts! We met several parents that day, people we would soon call friends. This gift of hospitality was so amazing, and soon we would call this place our hometown.
Scripture makes it very clear that hospitality is not only a gift and an expectation, but it is a requirement for believers. Romans 12:10-13 (NIV) tells us, “Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”
Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines hospitality as, “generous and friendly treatment of visitors and guests or hospitable treatment.” Hospitality is a way of living, a way of interacting with and sharing our life and time with those around us, all the time. Hospitality is letting people know they belong, not only in our homes, but also in our lives, and our community.
That day, my whole family felt welcomed and included in a community that we all still call home. Our lives were changed, because one woman shared her gift of hospitality by passing out birthday invitations, bringing twelve young girls and their families into our lives to celebrate our child and to welcome a new family to town.
By Major Gaylene Yardley Divisional Women’s Ministries Secretary – Southwest Division
Note: This devotional coordinates with this month’s craft,Soap Carving, and this month’s Bible Study.
Can you say that you have not sinned today? Listen to this prayer.
Dear Lord, So far I’ve done all right. I haven’t gossiped, haven’t lost my temper, haven’t been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or overindulgent. I’m really glad about that.
But in a few minutes, God, I’m going to get out of bed. And from then on, I’m going to need a lot more help.
I feel this way many times. I’m doing great God and then…My dinner burns, I drop the milk on the floor, someone almost hit me at the left turn, my boss told me I am getting extra work for my plate, my kids played hide and seek in the clean laundry, and on and on.
When things like this happen, I get mad, I say things in my head that I can’t say out loud, I resent people for their actions that I have no power over. Life happens and we must realize that we do sin daily in our actions or in our thoughts.
1 John 1:8 tells us, “If we say we have not sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” The passage goes on to say (v. 9), “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The soap we will use in our craft is a great reminder of this verse. We can be cleansed from our sins only through Jesus Christ, but we have to confess those sins to Him. Sometimes it is hard to admit our wrongs, our mistakes, our actions that we have done. I don’t like to admit when I am wrong. I want it just to all go away, but it doesn’t until I confess it to the Lord. Then it is all gone. What a great promise to us that he is faithful in forgiveness. I pray that you are grateful that Jesus loves you enough to wash your sins away and to do it anytime and anyplace you come to Him with your sins. It can be while you are working, vacuuming, eating dinner, going to bed, Jesus meets you where you are.
Maybe someone has been unkind to you. Maybe you have been hurt by someone close to you. Maybe you feel you can’t forgive them. C. S. Lewis said this, “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have something to forgive.” It’s a great concept until it’s you who must forgive someone you do not feel deserves it. In Matthew 18:21 and 22 we read some very difficult information. “Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times”? Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” NIV
So, do you deserve forgiveness? Perhaps you might think a bit differently after reading this verse. None of us deserve the forgiveness we have in Christ Jesus, but it is a gift from Him for the sins of the world that He took upon Himself. Jesus extended this forgiveness to you, so why don’t you extend it to another person who has wronged you? Remember Ephesians 4:32 NLT says, “Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God through Christ Jesus has forgiven you. “
The plan for our lives as followers of Jesus is to ask for forgiveness and to extend that to others as well.
May our prayer be:
Thank you Lord for helping me through the day and forgiving me for my sins and for helping me to forgive those who wronged or hurt me today. I am glad to receive your forgiveness and to extend it to others. Amen
Recently, while stopped at a stoplight I noticed the vehicle’s license plate in front of me. It was a personalized one – people pay extra to have a personalized plate that says something about them. Well, this one was kind of shocking. The license read: SNFUL (sinful).
Why would someone pay for that? And then to add to the sinful state of the person in the vehicle ahead of me, the tabs expired 2 1/2 years ago!
I chewed on the message of the license plate all the way to work that morning. I guess it is good that the person who owned that vehicle acknowledges the fact that he or she is sinful. But how many of us like to acknowledge the fact we sin. It isn’t a label we like to claim.
If we have received Christ as our Savior, we are saved from our sins. We love to wear the label that we have been saved by His grace, and we are. But we need to remember that we are still sinners, we are still sinful. The Apostle Paul wrote in his first letter to Timothy, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst” (1Timothy 1:15).
The Apostle Paul had an amazing encounter with Jesus on his way to Damascus (Acts 9), and he was forever changed. He knew that God’s grace saved him from the sin he committed (before his conversion with Christ he was helping to round up followers of Jesus and take them to prison).
Yes, Jesus does save us from our sins. We have gone from being dead to alive and become new creations in Him (see Ephesians 2:1-5, 2 Corinthians 5:17), but we are still sinners. We are still capable of and will continue to struggle with sin this side of heaven. We must never think that we are beyond the lure and grasp of sin. Yes, I am a sinner saved by grace – Hallelujah! Yes, I have been freed from the power of sin, but the struggle with sin is still there. I can never take for granted that I am still sinful. As I have grown in my walk with Jesus (for the past 46 years – yes, I am old), my desire to sin lessens. Those sinful things that I thought were fun when I was younger, no longer have an appeal or pull to me. I am not sinless, but I desire to sin less.
Seeing the license plate and the word “SINFUL” emblazed in front of me that morning was a great reminder to check myself and examine my own heart for where sin is present in my life. In her book Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, Adele Ahlberg Calhoun writes this about the discipline of confession and self-examination, “Self-examination is a process whereby the Holy Spirit opens my heart to what is true about me. This is not the same thing as a neurotic shame-inducing inventory. Instead it is a way of opening myself to God within the safety of divine love so I can authentically seek transformation. Confession embraces Christ’s gift of forgiveness and restoration while setting us on the path to renewal and change (p. 101).”
I need to not run away from that label. I am a sinner and I sin. 1 John 1:8 states, If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. I need to acknowledge that I sin. I need to admit my sin to God. Admission is not all that I must do. I need to then confess my sin to Him. In 1 John 1:9 we read of this beautiful promise that comes with our confessing our sins to the Lord: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. The confession isn’t just admitting the sin. True confession includes a sorrowfulness for sin, and a desire to not do it again.
I don’t know why a person chose that license plate, but it was a great reminder for me.
By Major Harryette Raihl Divisional Women’s Ministries Secretary Southern California Division
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Isaiah 53:3
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death. Philippians 3:10
Christ offers us comfort because He truly understands suffering. We can find support from friends, loved ones and others but only the Lord can truly comfort each one of us as someone who completely understands all of our suffering. The Scriptures tell us that Jesus came to strengthen and support us in our hour of need. One way to look at this is to realize that Chris, by His suffering on the cross, restored our relationship with our Creator.
All throughout the Bible we read how He understands that we are a people who often feel hurt, bruised, or broken. Jesus alone can bring the healing that we need…because Jesus understands our personal pain. We are completely known! What a Blessing!
Christ realizes that you will suffer—sometimes because we live on a broken planet filled with broken people, sometimes as a result of our own poor choices, and still other times simply because we are a follower of Christ. But amidst all of this we can hold onto some simple truths or promises:
Jesus understands pain.
Jesus won’t crush you in times of brokenness.
Jesus came to bring you freedom through His suffering.
We all can trust in God’s comfort because He sent Jesus on our behalf. Our suffering doesn’t mean the Lord doesn’t Love us. Instead of us trying to avoid suffering, we can look towards Jesus and then realize…He can use the good and the bad in our lives to draw us nearer to Him each and every day. Oh, what love He has for us!
The Lord told the people in Isaiah’s time that he would send someone (a Servant) to save them. We know that His name is Jesus and we can benefit from knowing that this Jesus understands what we are and will be going through. Jesus himself suffered more than we could ever imagine in our human minds and in this suffering we have such a good example. Christ never turned his back on God nor cursed the Lord for all of the things that he knew he would suffer at the hands of the people who condemned him and hung him on the cross. Christ simply trusted in His Father.
And so we now can worship the Holy One in EVERY season. WE can sing even on dark days because Jesus is the Servant of the Lord who will not crush us but He will free us. We can be comforted because we have such a tender and loving Christ. He is our hope when life is dark and difficult and our companion when things are going more smoothly.
We simply need to pray and ask Jesus to help us to have a biblical view of suffering so that we can understand when we feel broken, on the verge of burn-out, alone, discouraged, or hopeless, that our Lord Jesus Christ truly understands all of these feelings and can comfort us no matter what we are facing.
Charles Spurgeon (Known as the Prince of Preachers) explained it as this: “Jesus was a man not of sorrow only, but of sorrows. All the sufferings of the body and of the soul were know to him; the sorrows of the man who actively struggles to obey; the sorrows of the man who sits still, and passively endures. Affliction made Jesus heart the target for all conceivable woes.“
Sometimes we think that we have it so very bad, don’t we. We think that our struggles and problems…or sufferings….are unlike anything or what anybody else has ever been through. I think in our mind we know that this is simply not true, but at that point we are hurting so badly that our thoughts tend to think along that line.
Aren’t you so very grateful that Jesus understands and knows us through and through. We do not even need words. And the most important thing to remember is that…..because of this understanding—Christ Comforts us!
I am sure that we cannot fully understand all of the suffering of Christ that he had to endure here on earth, but it can ease our minds to know that Christ understands true suffering and thus is so compassionate with all of us who call upon His name.
By Captain Amelia Mott Olympia, WA Corps Northwest Division
“If my phone dies, I die.”
“I was lost this week without my phone, I am not sure how I survived.”
“I bet my phone has exploded with all the texts I missed while away at camp.”
“I wonder if my phone missed me?”
“The first thing I am going to do when I get home is turn on my phone and see what I missed.”
All of those quotes are from campers heading to and from camp this past year, as campers are not allowed to bring their phones to summer camp. The goal is to allow them to spend time with each other, in nature and have fun, and not be glued to their phones, texting, scrolling and watching videos 24/7. As we read those quotes, it might at first glance seem like these campers are being very dramatic and we might brush it off, as kids being kids. But if we paused to reflect, could we as women, as adults be away from our phones for a week? A day? An hour? Would we be able to unplug? Would we be able to relax our minds and enjoy a week without cell service or Wi-Fi? And the answer to this for many of us, that it might be difficult to truly unplug.
John Mark Comer, in his book the Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, states, “the average iPhone user touches his or her phone 2,617 times a day.” And from the Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, Adele Ahlberg Calhoun reminds us that we live “in a world where people use the Internet an average of thirty hours a week and keep the TV or radio on 7.9 hours a day, we need to get unplugged from virtual reality and address our addiction to technology and the toxins it brings into our lives.” And all these distractions can keep us from carving out time to spend with God, in quiet and in solitude with no distractions around us.
Again, in the Spiritual Disciplines Handbook helps us remember that “unplugging recognizes that personal beings are created for personal interaction by a personal God. We need to be touched. We need non verbal signals. We need uninterrupted spaces in our lives for the presence of God and the presence of others.” So where do we go from here? Well, we go back to the basics, as Psalm 46: 10a: “He says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
First, we are made to spend time with God, and when we are still he provides peace, comfort, love, wisdom and support. He supplies everything we could ever need. Technology can make us feel isolated at times, but we have access to God 24/7 and He will always be there for us.
And even Jesus, went away and spent time with God when he was here on earth to be refreshed and renewed. Jesus knew that time with the Father is priceless, and nothing can take its place. Sometimes we can be tricked into thinking a form of technology can provide that for us, but only God can.
This coming week, the challenge is to carve out more time with God and less time on our phones, tablets etc. Guaranteed, you will notice the difference.
Second, take time to spend time in fellowship with others. The Passion translation of Proverbs 27:9 states, “Sweet friendships refresh the soul and awaken our hearts with joy, for good friends are like anointing oil, that yields the fragrant incense of God’s presence.” We were built to be in community and friendship with others and when we do that our souls are refreshed and renewed. A hug from a friend can make a big difference. There is nothing like the sound of laughter filling a room that can turn our day around. And technology can’t replace that.
The second challenge for this week is to spend time in friendship and community with others, filling living rooms and coffee shops with joy and laughter. Spend time listening and praying with one another and leaning on each other for support.
Let’s carve out time carving out time for God and others, forgetting about our phones and tablets and be refreshed and renewed. Let’s unplug!
Growing up in a rather large family, 7 kids and two parents, we lived a life that was by today’s standards, “lower middle class.” We didn’t have a lot of material items, my 3 sisters and I shared one bedroom, and we had just one station wagon to get us places. I look back and the memories I have are good ones. We may not have had many worldly possessions, but what we had was enough.
When my parents were promoted to glory and it was time to clean out their small apartment, one of the items I desired the most was one or two of my mother’s journals. I enjoy from time to time, randomly picking up one of her journals and reading what she wrote on a specific day. Even to this day, my eyes tear up when I see her beautiful handwriting, making my heart ache for her. I love to read what she had to share, a special scripture on her heart, a hymn she was thinking about, commenting on one of her children or grandchildren. There was nothing philosophical or deep theological thoughts, just sweet musings of her blessed life and her gratitude for all she had.
I believe I have inherited her love of journaling. I journal almost every day and much of my journaling takes place in the early morning, with my cup of coffee, my favorite pen, my current journal, and my Bible. So much of what I journal has to do with Scripture verses that have spoken to me, what God is doing in my life, and just random thoughts. My journal is also where I keep my prayer lists. I love to put names, situations, that have been given to me to pray for, but also those things that come to mind. I love to refer to past prayer lists and see how God has been so faithful in his answering those requests according to His will and time.
Last year as Brian and I were planning for retirement, I was grieving over losing “my” flock. One morning in prayer and journaling, I asked God where my new flock in retirement would be? The answer I received so clearly was, “your grandchildren.” I have 7 amazing grandchildren ranging from 16 years to 3 months, and each one of them precious to me. God told me to get them their own journal and to begin journaling to them in their book. January 2022, I began to write in 6 of those journals, adding the newest one in February of this year. I do not write every day, but I do write in their journal on their birthday, when they have done well in school, or excelled on their sport team. I always write that I pray for them constantly, that I’m proud of them, and that I love them.
The legacy that was left to me by my mother has been the impetus behind this new endeavor for my new flock. My desire is that when my grandchildren read their personal journal, see my handwriting, they will treasure the words and sentiments I have given to them. I have not decided when or what age I will give it to them, or if it will go to them upon my promotion to glory. But for now, I will write to each of my flock, making sure they know how special they are to me and more importantly how special they are to Jesus. Spiritual writer Henri Nouwen said, “writing can untangle thoughts, express our emotions, and give artistic expression to life.” Writing is a spiritual habit: Writing can be a true spiritual discipline.
“Writing can untangle thoughts, express our emotions, and give artistic expression to life.”
Henri Nouwen
Journaling helps you declutter your mind, which leads to better thinking. Writing in a journal also sharpens your memory and improves your learning capability. There’s a reason why when you take the time to pen your thoughts, plans, and experiences, you remember them better, while also feeling more focused.
I love what Psalm 5:1-3 states, “Give ear to my words, O Lord, Consider my meditation. Give heed to the voice of my cry, My king and my God, for to you I pray. My voice You shall her in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up.”
Journaling is a way of slowing life down for even a few moments. Covered in prayer, and saturated with God’s Word, journaling can be a powerful way of hearing God’s voice in the Scriptures and making known to Him our requests.
I came across this anonymous quote which adds value to the idea of journaling. “One of the more effective acts of self-care is also, happily, one of the cheapest.”
Psalm 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”
https://usw-womensministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/aaron-burden-CKlHKtCJZKk-unsplash-scaled.jpg19222560Beth Desplanckehttps://usw-womensministries.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/uswLogo-300x75-300x75.pngBeth Desplancke2023-12-14 12:27:452023-12-14 12:27:49January 2024 Devotional: What's All This About Journaling
