DAILY DEVO...we all need friends

When I look over my life, I can recall different people who have come and gone. I'm not necessarily talking about those who have passed away. I'm talking about friendships that once were, but have disappeared.


We all need friends in our life. I don't mean friends that make us laugh or make us feel good. I'm talking about the kind of friends that love us enough to share Christ with us and share correction in love when it is needed.

It is difficult to find a friend like that. I was reminded of this when I was chatting with an old friend of mine. Seems like time can slip away and we don't get to talk like we use to, but when we do, it's so refreshing to hear of how God is working in her life. Every time I hang up the phone, I feel refreshed and wanting more of God in my own life.


You see, a friend with zeal for Christ, will become contagious to you and you will want more of what they have.


It is true what is said, "we become like those we hang around" or "bad company corrupts good morals". I suppose this is what the writer of Hebrews is referring to:

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near." -Hebrews 10:25

Be the kind of friend that stirs up Christ in others and more importantly, choose friends who do the same. We all need friends, but we also need the right ones; godly ones!

LACED WITH GRACE...sleeping thru the winds

Today, I have shared the following devotion with the readers of Laced With Grace. Everyday, you can find inspiring devotions written by spirit led ladies. I'm proud to be associated with such a great team. Be sure to check out our devo site... www.lacedwithgrace.com

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There are two things that are guaranteed to happen during a storm in the night. Number one, my dogs and my husband will be up, sitting on the porch watching the storm approach. And secondly, I will be found in the bed, asleep, unaware.

Have you ever slept thru a nasty storm in the night?

So many times I have. I wake up the next morning and look out the window and see not branches from the trees, but limbs from the tree, slewn all over the yard. To my amazement, my husband will say to me, "Didn't you hear it storm last night?"

Duh...No, because I WAS asleep!

Time after time, as I serve with my husband in fulltime ministry, we have seen people come in our offices that have been caught asleep during a storm.

Fierce storms have come into thier lives such as grief and death, divorce, sickness, addictions, difficult relationships, financial distress and so many more. And over and over again we hear the same thing, "I didn't see it coming".

I am reminded today of the story I read about the farmhand that could sleep thru the storm...

"Years ago, a farmer was looking for a hired hand to work on his farm in the Atlantic. It was difficult for him to find anyone who would be willing to work along the Atlantic where storms raged, causing havouc on farms and crops.

After many applicants turned down his offer for employment, finally a short, thin, older man approached the farmer about the job. "Are you a good farmhand?" the farmer asked him. "Well, I can sleep thru the winds", the little old man replied.

The farmer didn't quite understand what that meant but he hired him anyway. Soon after, a nasty storm swept over the Atlantic one night. The farmer jumped out of bed, grabbed his lantern and rushed to the farmhand's quarters and yelled, "Get up! A storm is coming!"

The little man, who was agitated to be awoken at such a late hour, rolled over and said, "I told you, I sleep thru the winds."

His response infuriated the farmer, he wanted to just fire him but first he needed to get out and save his crops from the storm. To his amazement, he found that all of the haystacks had been covered, the cows were put up in the barn, the chickens were in the coop safely and all of the doors were barred closed. Everything was tied down and secure, nothing could blow away.

Finally, the farmer understood what the farmhand meant. So the farmer returned to his bed and slept thru the winds."

I wanted to share that story today with you because often I think you and I are like that farmer, but all the while, God intends for us to be more like the farmhand. He wants us to be prepared for the storms brewing and coming our way. God never wants us to be fearful or live life restlessly.

"In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety." - Psalm 4:8

 

I don't know what keeps you awake at night, but God wants you to rest in Him. When we learn to do that, it is then that we can sleep thru the winds. Trust God and sleep well, my friend!

TODAY'S DAILY...everyone wants to be first!

When I was still in school, as a young child, everyone wanted to be picked "first" for the team. I seldom was. But everyone wants to be picked first for something! First to reach the top of the mountain during a climb, first one across the finish line, first one in line at a concert. 

So many firsts, but yet, the one "first" that I don't think I would have wanted was to be the first mother. I'm glad Eve took that spot for all of us girls.

With Mothers Day coming up, I was thinking about Eve and all of the things she went without. She didn't have a Lamaze coach, no pregnancy books, she didn't have a mother or mother in law to help with laundry after delivery, she had no midwife, no other mothers to have mommy days out with, no childcare facility to apply to. She didn't even have a Babies-R-Us to register at.

Poor Eve!

"And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living." -Genesis 3:20

But even without all of that, the first mother set the tone for all mothers to come. She loved her children. She laughed with them, grew up with them and even cried with them and for them. The first mother had to bury one of her sons, a death that came at the hands of another son.

I don't envy the first mother at all, but yet, I see that our own mothers and I, as a mother, have become a lot like her. Feeling the emotions that she felt, from giving birth to living as a Grandmother, and all of the in-between.

Being "first" isn't really something we should crave, after all, it isn't always the best thing for us to be first. Instead, the best thing is concentrating on Who is first in our lives. Make sure Christ is the center of your world, living a life that is Christ-centered will ensure that you are number one (first) in the eyes and hearts of those watching you.

Whether you are a mother or if you call someone mother...put God first in all that you do!