DAILY DEVO...When life feels like a potato

Last night I was peeling potatoes, as I reached in the bag for the last one, I saw how little it was. It was just a runt, hardly worth peeling. So I set it aside.

"Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? But now be strong, O Zerubbabel," declares the Lord. -Haggai 2:3-5


Some of us are like Zerubbabel, feeling too small to be used by God.


The Bible says that we should not despise the day of small things because God's work is not done in size, "not by might nor by power but by His Spirit, says the Lord!"


When we only see the small potatoes in life, we miss the chance for God to do something HUGE!


God has us where we are for a reason. No matter how small or despised that place may feel, God can bring a HUGE blessing out of it. We just have to see outside the box.


? for today...what makes you feel like a small potato?


Trust God with the small stuff and see your faith grow with the even bigger stuff!

DAILY DEVO...beep, beep, what is that sound?

I couldn't figure out where the beeping was coming from until someone pointed out to me that it was my phone. It was letting me know that my battery was low but I did not recognize the alarm.

Sounds like what happens when we allow ourselves to get run down physically and emotionally. Alarms go off but we do not recognize them.


Everyone around us seems crabby, insensitive and trying to pick a fight with us but truth is it isn't "them", it is us. Often times we look everywhere else for the problem instead of looking at ourselves.
We don't recognize the beeping that is coming from within. God is the beeping inside that whispers in our spirit "It's not them, it's you".

"We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, for fear that we drift away from it." -Hebrew 2:1

? for today...if people around you are on your nerves, have you checked your own battery? Perhaps it needs recharging.


Try recharging with God's peace and joy and see if you get better at recognizing the sounds of the beeps in your life!

Laced with Grace....Honey, I'm bald!

Today, I shared the following Devo with the readers of Laced with Grace. Check this great Christian devotional site out...www.lacedwithgrace.com.


I  heard a story about a man who loved his thick and wavy hair, but one day he noticed he was losing some of his hair. Day after day, his hair was thinning until one day he was left with just one hair on top of his head. One morning he awoke and found his one lone hair laying on his pillow. He jumped up and hollered to his wife, “honey, I’ve gone bald”!

The thing about this story that strikes me is that even though the man did not notice the change until it was all gone, God knew exactly how many strands of hair he had or didn’t have.

“Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” -Luke 12:7

As a child, I would get a visual in my head of God counting one strand at a time the hairs on my head. I wondered how He kept track of the ones I lost every single day as I combed my hair out. Did He count the strands every day or just subtract the strands left behind in my brush?

The man in the story couldn’t even keep count, how could God?

What you, me and the balding man from the story need to understand is that it is not about God counting hairs, it is about God knowing every single detail about us. There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that He is not fully aware of.  He knows about our thoughts, our dreams, our heartache, and our insecurities. And He knows about our hair too.

Imagine that, if our hair count is important enough for God to keep track of, how much more does He care about everything else about us?

God cares about you. Every single strand and then some.

PRAYER: Thank You God for caring about me. From the top of my head to the bottom of my toes, You love me. Even when my hair falls out or when my life falls apart, You are there and You know exactly what I need, when I need it. Thank you! AMEN

TODAY'S DAILY...WHAT DID YOU HEAR?

We all can hear them talking, but what do we do with what we hear?


"Put your clothes away."
"Don't forget to be home at 6:00."
"I need your report by tomorrow."

Words spoken but fallen on deaf ears. We hear what we want and do what we want with what we hear.


Sounds a lot like what we do with the Word of God!

"Everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock." -Matthew 7:24

If you hear the instructions of where the dinner is and what time to be there but fail to follow the instructions, you will miss out on dinner.


Likewise, reading and reflecting on God's Word is totally useless unless you put it into action.
God doesn't want you to be late for supper, so listen AND obey.

DAILY DEVO...Why being a survivor isn't enough!

Do you feel like a survivor?


You have survived some test, a trial of some sort. Something or someone came along in your life that left you feeling unworthy, useless, unimportant or just defeated. But you survived it!

Going thru difficulties causes us to feel like survivors. But, I would like to point out the difference between a "survivor" and an "overcomer".


To survive is to "continue to exist" while a overcomer "is to defeat."


I don't know about you, but I would rather defeat life's battles than just continue to exist in spite of them!

"Greater is He Who is in you, than he who is in the world." -1 John 4:4b

Don't just be a survivor...become an overcomer!

DAILY DEVO...10,000 chances to speak life!

 On average, a person will speak between 10,000 to 25,000 words a day! That is alot of talking, tweeting, and facebooking!





With so many words coming out of our mouth, its no wonder God had so much to say about our "mouth" in the Bible.

"Those who love to talk will experience the consequences, for the tongue can kill or nourish life." -Prov. 18:32 NLT

 Words have so much impact, on us and on others. We hold the tool to either giving life or giving death, all in what we choose to say. And HOW we say it.

Today, you have at least 10,000 ways to speak life.

? for today...what have the words you have spoken today said -have you spoken life or death?

"Speak life" - Toby Mac




https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZeBv9r92VQ0

DAILY DEVO...have a bad attitude-change it!

I've been reading alot lately about attitudes. The good as well as the bad. We all have them.

Oh, the things that set us off a sleepless night, haven't had our morning coffee, disappointment in life, rudeness of others, etc.





I experienced the wrath of someone's bad attitude the other day and it didn't take long before everyone in the room had a bad attitude.





"A bad apple ruins the whole barrel" isn't that so true when there is a sour one in the room.

I've really become quite emotional since the recent death of my mom and I've really been working on my attitude lately, asking God to help me see how my attitude affects those around me.

I've come to realize that my "attitudes" don't affect me as much as it does others. Choosing to have a bad attitude is selfish it makes everything be about me with no regard to others or even God!

"...testing of your faith produces patience." -James 1:3

? for today...what trials are you facing that has soured your attitude?



Count it all joy and change your attitude!

DAILY DEVO...coincidence or not?

Have you ever turned on the radio and the very song that you needed to hear comes on?

Have you ever had a bad day and you wish you could talk to that special friend, and at that very moment they call you?

Coincidence or not?

Sometimes I think it's much deeper than a coincidence, sometimes things happen when they do for a reason, for a purpose.
...
When Esther became the Queen of Persia, it was no accident or merely a coincidence that everything happened the way it did for her.

"For such a time as this." - Esther 4:14

Esther was chosen to be where she was at that very moment for a purpose. You and I must never underestimate God's ability to provide us with exactly what we need, exactly when we need it.

? for today...what is it that you are waiting for?

Perhaps, today will be your "for such a time as this" moment. It's never a coincidence with God!

DAILY DEVO...go ahead, I'm listening

In the hustle and bustle of our busy lives, I have learned that we just don't listen. Seriously, when is the last time you put all distractions aside and just listened to someone?

I overheard a conversation a couple weeks ago that started out with someone asking one of their co-workers what was wrong.

The lady clearly was upset about something. As she began to pour out her hea...rtache about her kids, it didn't take long for the conversation to turn and become all about the other person, who was suppose to be listening!

(Oh...the things you overhear in the dressing room of JC Pennies!) Lol

Instead of lending a listening ear, the co-worker just went on and on about how her kids had done the same thing. The poor distraught co-worker who needed to vent couldn't get a word in! Frustrated, she just walked away.

" 'Love your neighbor as yourself,' but, instead of showing love among yourselves, you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another." -Galatians 5:13,14

We talk when we should listen. I do it. You do it. But isn't it an indication of what we value more, when we don't listen to people? Do you value them or you?

? for today...when is the last time you REALLY listened to someone?
Loving someone isn't just what we do for them but also how well we listen to them?

Got something on your mind? Go ahead...I'm listening!

DAILY DEVO...what are you wearing this fall?

It's fall time. That means only one thing. As the weather changes, so will our dress habits.

I love to wear light jackets and sweatshirts on a cool sunny day in the fall. But living in the south, getting dressed can be tricky. The day starts out cold but by noon, it's hot. This is where layer dressing comes in handy. One layer at a time.

Makes me think of the kind of layers we ...as Christians wear. When life gets heated, how many layers do we go thru before we find comfort or peace?

"Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." -Colossians 3:12

? for today...as a Christian, what kind of layers are you clothed in?

May we all wear "Christianity" well and when the heat gets turned up, may we reveal godly layers that never end.