Whole Heart Devotion

"Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground."  Psalm 143:10 Are you the kind of person that can allow life's little annoyances to get on your nerves from time to time?  I'm talking about those insignificant things that will drive you absolutely nuts if you allow them.  Perhaps the ticking of a clock, or the incessant clicking of a pen, or someone's chewing sounds are enough to send you over the edge.  If you are like me, you have to force yourself to focus on something besides that annoyance. One of the other things that tends to bother me is the picture that is not hanging just right.  There's something about that slightest little imperfection that is magnified whenever you look at the straight line where the wall meets the ceiling and then realize that the beautiful family portrait is obviously higher on one side than the other! Well, God is seriously challenging my amount...

"O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.  You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.  You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways."  Psalm 139:1-3 Well, I finally did it.  I finally became a full fledged preacher's wife!  Yes, I've technically been one for thirteen years, but it wasn't completely official until last Sunday. It was a very normal Sunday morning.  Preacher-hubby was out the door bright and early to be at church for our early service.  I was at home in a somewhat state of shock because the devil hadn't reared his nasty head in our house that morning!  The kids were interacting peacefully with each other.  Breakfast was eaten, Sunday lunch was prepped and ready to be eaten when we got home, and everyone had gotten what we call "out the door ready" in a very timely fashion.  ( Don't even think about coveting our Sunday morning routine because...

"Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life."  Revelation 21:27 I had the privilege of visiting what is bound to be one of the oldest and most elaborate public libraries in our country.  It comes in second in size only to the United States Library of Congress.  I've never in my life described a library as being beautiful, but the New York Public Library in Manhattan is just that.  Such beauty and grandness comes with great expense.  The vast amount of money required to build such an establishment is unfathomable to my little mind.  The millions and millions of dollars that have been spent over the last hundred years to engineer, create, stock, and continually renovate this library could probably completely end poverty as we know it across the majority of the world. As I walked down the grand staircas...

"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.'"  Matt. 5:33 I've promised myself and God that I wouldn't become a slave to writing these devotional thoughts.  I don't want to manufacture a Word from the Lord out of a desire to produce quantity, rather than genuine quality renderings of my interaction with God . . . hence the past week of silence!  But leave it to God, in the quietness of my lonely little church pew, He used my hubby-preacher to reignite my thought processes. As I sat listening to a powerful sermon from Acts 5:1-11 about the pitfalls of breaking a promise to God, my mind wandered past the story of Ananias and Sapphira and their disobedience to give God a financial gift that they had promised to Him.  My mind ventured back over the course of my thirty-three years on this earth and the numerous amounts of promises or vows that I hav...

"So I find this law at work:  When I want to do good, evil is right there with me."  Romans 7:21 Have you ever been on a diet or trying to watch what you eat and felt as if there were thick slices of triple fudge chocolate cake and extra crispy French fries following you around all day long? Or maybe you've made a decision to rid yourself of something like gossiping, and before the sun can set, you're privy to information that just demands being passed on to your best pal. Whether it be deciding to quit such habits as nail biting or cursing, or maybe something a little more serious like smoking or drinking, the temptation to fall back into our old behavior seems to be front and center. Isn't that the way it goes?  You feel convicted to do something positive in your life, and anything and everything that could be negative keeps creeping around the corner!  It's as if those evils in our lives know exactly how to taunt and tease us . . . and ultimately...

Have you ever heard the expression, "I went there to be a blessing to them, but they blessed me more than I could have imagined!"?  That is typically the case whenever someone takes the time to visit or minister to someone who is a close follower of God.  That was the case for me yesterday. God has blessed me throughout my life with Godly women who have nurtured me and helped mold me in my relationship with Jesus.  The sweet lady I visited yesterday was one of the first glimpses of Kellum Baptist Church I got to see.  She was a member of the Pastor Search Committee that called my husband to be their pastor, nearly ten years ago.  I vividly remember sitting at a quaint restaurant in Hickory, North Carolina and hearing her speak of love for her family and her church.  She spoke as only a loving Nannie could about her then four grandchildren and the joy it brought her to be able to help care for them.  She spoke as o...

"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."  1 Corinthians 10:13 If you've ever driven through the mountains, more specifically down a mountain, then you've probably seen a runaway truck ramp.  The Department of Transportation sporadically locates these off ramps on mountainous interstate highways in the event that large trucks lose the ability to employ their brakes.  These escape lanes are typically located on a section of highway that has had a particularly steep grade. These runaway truck lanes are comprised of multiple mounds of sand or dirt with valleys separating each mound.  Should a truck need to utilize these ramps, their momentum will be quickly halted as they bounce over the dirt mounds and where the grade is now ascending, rather than descending. I've persona...

"And to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."  Ephes. 4:24 I've been known to be a proponent for change.  I enjoy seeing change within the walls of my home and I'm able to make that happen by very frequently rearranging the furniture!  I like the fact that our government allows for change and that we can see new faces in political offices every so many years.  I enjoy seeing our church try new things and implement change in an attempt to draw people to Christ. What I've realized lately, though, is that my fondness for change is contingent on the amount of change that takes place within a certain amount of time.  I like change, but I like to have the power to determine when enough is enough!  I guess when it boils down to it, I think change is good whenever it is on my terms. Isn't that the way most of us are whenever it comes to allowing God to enact change in our lives?  We are quick to give Him ou...

"Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."  Deut. 6:7 My husband is a great storyteller.  I believe that it's one of the reasons why he's such a great preacher because whenever he utilizes a historical or comical illustration in his sermons, he tells them with such accuracy and ease.  His capacity to retell it would make you think that he was actually an eye-witness to whatever occurred in the story. I, on the other hand, am not a good storyteller.  I never have been and doubt it's going to improve much as time goes by.  I have a feeling that whenever I begin telling a story or a joke, my husband and close friends secretly wonder if they'll ever get to hear the punch line or the conclusion of the story!  It really is that bad. I can even try to retell a story that just tugged at my heartstrings, or a joke that had me rolling on the floor...

"Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing.  My brothers and sisters, this should not be."  James 3:10 My kids were recently fascinated by the amazing feat that was conquered by tightrope walker, Nick Wallenda.  Having watched him complete the walk across Niagara Falls some time ago, they were thrilled to hear that he was going to attempt to cross a portion of the Grand Canyon that was 1500 feet from the rope to the bottom of the canyon. We sat with sweaty palms and frequent gasps as we watched him battle the gusty winds and seemingly never ending rope that was in front of him.  As he traversed his way over the canyon, his prayers spilled all over the tightrope.  He praised God for His creation, he prayed for Him to calm the winds, and he called on Him to give him patience and peace. The witness and testimony that he displayed before millions of people on live television that night was undoubtedly a breath of fresh air to cable TV.  His unashamed ...

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11 As we drive through the winding, rural mountain road, I find myself admiring the beautiful scenery out of my passenger side window.  I gaze at the old barns, the small white-sided country churches, and yes, I even see a fully functioning alpaca farm!  The scenery might be quite enjoyable, but there is another part of mountain cruising that I don't think I could ever grow accustomed to.  I have learned to handle the winding roads quite well, but it's when those same roads seem as if they are going to disappear right before your very eyes that tends to make me quite hysterical! I think I could drive the mountain roads everyday and I think that I would always thoroughly despise coming to the crest of a hill and not being able to see what is waiting on the other side.  It's as if y...

"Watch out for false prophets.  They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves."  Matt. 7:15 If you've ever been to the beach and stood at the shoreline and observed fins protruding out of the water in the distance, you probably very quickly questioned whether or not those were dolphin fins or shark fins.  Being a product of the 1980s, I can't help but always think that every fin I see is bound to be on the back of a great white shark who snacks on arms and legs and eats entire bodies for dinner.  If you're like me, the music from the movie,  Jaws, is always playing in the back of my mind whenever I'm at the beach! Thankfully, every time I've been to the beach and seen fins sticking out of the water, they have always belonged to a gentle and beautiful family of dolphins or porpoises.  At first sight, their fins always startle me and make me wonder, but I'm always delighted to realize that there is nothing to be fea...

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus."  Phil. 2:5 Last Friday I found myself with five very anxious children who were excited about going to swim in the pool in my mother-in-law's subdivision.  As we approached the pool, we all marveled at how nobody was there and that we would have the pool all to ourselves.  It wasn't until we got a little closer that we realized why nobody was there . . . there was a padlock on the gate and the pool was closed for maintenance! As we walked away and I very quickly realized that I had five children who were dressed and ready to go swimming, I said to them, "Well, looks like we're going to have to take our lemons and make lemonade!" My daughter had never heard that expression so she asked me what it meant.  I explained to her that it basically meant that you take something bad and turn it into something good.  Although the pool was closed, we could still make it a fun day by going to the beac...

"All mankind will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done."  Psalm 64:9 Last fall whenever the agony of loss was at its peak, I would lay on my bed and stare out my bedroom window.  I don't know exactly what it was about doing that that calmed me and gave me strength . . .  Perhaps it was seeing the way the gentle breeze ruffled the leaves on the soybean plants in the field beside our house . . .  Or maybe it was staring out into our neighbors old barn that allowed me to ponder of better days gone by and how the family unit used to be the very heartbeat of every person's life. I still catch myself peering out my window from time to time.  I'll watch the birds jump from the grass to the stalks of grain in the field and steal away some prize morsels of wheat for a midday snack.  As I think about how our loving God so graciously supplies every need for those little birds, I'm also re...

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me."  Phil. 3:12 This past Sunday, my daughter and two of her friends were given the very special task of singing the special music for our church on Father's Day.  Let's just say that there wasn't enough Kleenex to go around!  Not much has changed because whenever I was a child, our church loved nothing better than to see the two little preacher's kids stand up in front of everyone and sing a special song.  The song that seemed to be the most requested at that time was a sweet little song by Joel Hemphill entitled "He's Still Working on Me", or as I sang it in my fine southern accent, "He's Still Work in ' on Me"!  The chorus goes like this: "He's still working on me To make me what I ought to be It took him just a week to make the moon and stars The sun and the ea...

"For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."  1 Cor. 6:20 I have to admit that one of my weaknesses is shoe shopping.  Perhaps I should call it something besides "shopping" because I don't even have to buy a single pair in order to get excited.  I truly have all the shoes I could ever need in my closet, so now whenever I go to the shoe store, I'm perfectly content with trying on five or six pairs and walking out of the store empty handed.  This makes my hubby so happy! I have all different kinds of shoes.  I have some that are casual and comfy, and then there are those that are definitely more concerned with being fashionable than being comfortable.  I have house shoes, outside shoes, and pool shoes.  However, out of all of the shoes that I have, they all have one thing in common.  This is not a great piece of wisdom that I'm getting ready to share . . . but hold on . . . h...

My husband is the king of Matthew 18!  That might not mean anything to you, but we use the phrase "Matthew 18" so much in our house that it could probably be our family's catch phrase!  My husband has preached or taught on Matthew 18 multiple times each year in his thirteen years in pastoral ministry. So what's so special about Matthew 18?  You'll find a couple of wonderful parables there, as well as a beautiful conversation between Jesus and His disciples about what we can learn from a child.  But the part that our references to Matthew 18 comes from is found right smack dab in the middle of the chapter.  Matthew 18:15-17 gives believers very specific directions for how we are to handle our problems, disagreements, miscommunications, and anything else that causes strain to a relationship.  Jesus says in those verses:   "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.  If he listens to yo...

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come.  The old has gone, the new is here!"  2 Corinthians 5:17 I remember being in high school and taking field trips to various conferences for some of the clubs I participated in.  There were a few wise guys in my class that always took advantage of the "Hello, My Name Is" stickers that we would be asked to wear.  Rather than writing their own name on the name tag, they would choose the name of a professional wrestler or athlete and walk around all day gathering all kinds of attention from people noticing their farce of a name tag. Although those were juvenile, high school shenanigans, we all have a tendency to go through our lives believing that we are someone that we are not.  We let the devil constantly remind us of the sins we committed before our new life in Christ, and we allow those things to not only affect the way we properly view ourselves, but ultimately, they harm the ...

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or what you will wear.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?"  Matt. 6:25 Fashion has always confounded my brain.  It amazes me how trends come and go in the world of style and I've always wondered who grants fashion editors the authority to forecast what a specific trend will be for a season that might be six months or a year away.  What I'm seeing right now in the fashion world doesn't impress me.  The young, hip actors that my kids watch on television look like they got dressed in total darkness.  Nothing matches and it now appears to be totally fine to wear multiple contrasting patterns all at the same time, as well as colors that don't align on the color wheel.  Sometimes I look at people and think to myself, "Well, they definitely have a Matthew 6:25 approach to life because they obviously don't care one thing about what they ...

"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."  1 Peter 3:15b As the coastal areas prepare for another hurricane season, many people will begin storing up water and canned food.  They'll check to make sure their generators are functioning properly and they'll stock up on batteries and flashlights.  If and when a storm is approaching, many people will flood the local grocery stores to buy bread, milk, and eggs.  For some reason, people must like to eat French toast during a hurricane! The weather forecasters get all psyched up whenever there is even the smallest tropical storm that could possibly brush our coastline.  They have special weather commercials prepared that begin playing on the television that promote their expertise in tracking and forecasting prior storms. Preparing for the hurricane season is almost exciting.  It gives people something to talk about and the hy...

"Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you -- guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us."  2 Timothy 1:14 A few days ago, in an attempt to steal away for a few quiet moments, I snuck outside by myself and relaxingly swung on our porch swing.  My escape came to an quick and unfortunate halt after getting snuck up on by a sneaky little wasp who stung me right above my ankle.  It's called a sting, but it literally felt like a needle being jabbed directly into my ankle bone.  The stinging and burning sensation honestly didn't last too long, but it was long enough for me to read online that pressing a penny against such a sting for fifteen seconds is supposed to alleviate the stinging.  Well, that might work on everyone else's stings, but apparently it has the opposite effect on me.  The penny trick seemed to make the burning reignite with a vengeance.  Thankfully, within a relatively short time, the pain from the sting ...

"A time to be silent and a time to speak."  Ecclesiastes 3:7b Sometimes we all just need to be quiet.  Yes, there are those times whenever an argument will only be resolved if one party chooses to remain silent.  And yes, there are those times when the content or subject of a conversation is such that would be best if we didn't participate in it.  But the need for silence that I'm referring to is when our spirit is failing to hear the voice of God and silence might be the only way we can hear Him. Our world is so very loud and we all contribute in our own way to the noise of the world.  I tend to have the type of personality that will participate in just about any conversation that is taking place around me.  Unfortunately, the voices around me are so much louder than the unassuming, respectful, quiet voice of God.  I often tend to miss hearing God's voice because of the magnitude of noise that is filling my ears on a ...