Awaited Blessings

The following is a devotion I had the blessing of contributing for the November newsletter for the Christian website, Halas & Phos, Salt & Light, run my dear friends, Tim and Cindy Mrva.  Hop on over and take a look around. 

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There are so many things I’d like to teach my children to do: how to cook a meal other than hot dogs or pizza, how to clip a dog’s hair, how to plant a garden according to season and light, how to better prioritize their lives to reap the best benefits, how to save money and how to give it, how to study God’s Word. But they’re so busy running here and there and their vision for the future doesn’t see much past tomorrow.

I wonder how much the Lord wants to teach us, too--how to cook a meal for an ill neighbor, how to care for God’s creation, how to plant seeds of the gospel and how to water them, how to better prioritize our lives to reap godliness, how to give generously, how to love Him and how to better receive His love. But we’re so busy.

God’s creation begins to slow down in autumn and it calls to us to contemplate with it. Leaves gently change color and invite us to stand and look at their beauty. The crisp air slows our bustling to enjoy its fresh aroma. Even Thanksgiving beckons us to sit a while with loved ones and happily chatter all at once about the previous year’s events and reminisce about days gone by.

Yes, it’s been a difficult year, but we still have much to be thankful for. And if we will only slow down our mad running from this to that to the other and be still, we will be able to look around and see again all the ways God has blessed us and give Him thanks.

And as we’re still, giving thanks for blessings already bestowed, God invites us to call to Him that we might discover the blessed mysteries we have yet to know that He so longs to reveal to us.

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3)

Our Father’s love for us is terrifyingly wonderful. He desires to teach us all things crucial for a blessed and fruitful life and they are ours if we will only linger at His table, and listen, and be inspired with awe at our Father’s goodness.

Dying to Bring Glory

It's been my pleasure again to contribute a devotion to the monthly newsletter for my favorite online Christian store, Halas & Phos, Salt & Light.  I hope you'll check out their huge assortment of merchandise, from Bibles and skateboards to t-shirts and jewelry and much more.   You can sign up to receive their newsletter by email here, and be notified about new merchandise, the latest sales and other encouraging devotions and stories. 
Blessings.
Dorci

“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” (John 12:24 NKJV)

A brilliant field of flowers begins with a single flower, and that one flower begins with a seed. The seed must die before it can sprout into a seedling and mature into a beautiful blossom. The blossom then sends out many seeds, the wind carries them and they come to rest in the ground. The cycle repeats itself over and over until the field is ablaze with color and beauty.

Life is brought forth through death.

(read the rest at Halas & Phos here.)

Face to Face

“So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?’

He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’

He said to him, ‘Feed My lambs.’ He said to him again a second time, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?’

He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’

He said to him, ‘Tend My sheep.’

He said to him the third time, ‘Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?’ Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’

And he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.’

Jesus said to him, ‘Feed My sheep. Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish." This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, ‘Follow Me.’”

I read this portion of scripture a while back, looking to glean something new from it. I knew that this was the post-resurrection, pre-ascension Jesus revealing Himself to the apostles (for the third time) by the sea after they had fished all night. (Read the rest at Halas & Phos here.)

To receive news about Halas & Phos' sales and new products, sign up to receive their monthly email newsletter here.)

Tell somebody about Jesus this week!
God's blessings to you,
Dorci

Love Came Down At Christmas

Hi friends,
Still looking for some Christmas gifts?  Well, look no more!  Halas & Phos online Christian store has lots of great Christian apparel and gifts and you don't even have to trudge through the crowds or the snow!

They've also just put out their December newsletter which has wonderful words of hope for all of us during the Christmas season, and all year long.   You can read their archived newsletters here, and sign up to receive them by email here.  Included is always a devotion, and the great sales that are available and any product news. 

 

Also, check out their December press release, Don't just wear your Christian Apparel - LIVE IT!


“Love came down at Christmas.”

These words have made their way to the forefront of my mind more than a few times in the last couple of weeks

The eternal God, the great I Am, Who had no beginning and has no end, Who is all-sufficient unto Himself, Who created all things great and small, sent to us His only Son, Whom He loves with an inconceivable love, in the form of a tiny, soft, cuddly baby boy.

Love was encased in a manger that morning.

As his mother and step-father stared breathlessly into the face of their brand new, precious little gift as all parents do, they were privileged to look into eyes swimming with love. They held love, wrapped in a blanket, and waited for him to demonstrate to them, and to all of us, the true meaning of love.

(Read the rest on the Halas and Phos devotional page here.)

Blessings to you!
Dorci

Proof That God's Grace is Alive and Well

Heyyyy! I'm so excited and blessed to have been asked by my friends, Tim and Cindy Mrva, to be one of the devotional contributers for the monthly newsletter for their online Christian store, Halas & Phos, Salt & Light.

Please check out their virtual store, which has scads (scads is still a word, right?) of Christian merchandise, complete with cool t-shirts, homeschool curriculum, jewelry, Christian skateboards and even sunglasses with doves on the side and verses printed on the inside of the arm. Yep, gonna have to pick me up a pair of those. There's so much more I couldn't even list it all here.

They also have a ministry page with links to devotions, blogs, websites and stories that will surely bless you. And you can also sign up to receive their monthly newsletters by email, which will introduce you to new merchandise, let you know about sales that they're having and will also include a link to the monthly devotion.

Here's a little intro to the first devotion, hot off the press:

In the Driver's Seat? Scoot Over!

A while back I was driving with my 17-year-old son in the front passenger seat of the car when we came to an intersection. My goal was to turn right after a car or two had passed. Apparently, I was taking entirely too much time for my son’s taste as he thought it was safe to move into traffic, and he, in no uncertain terms, let me know of his wisdom on this subject. (Read the rest here.)