I watched as a little bird nipped at the table feathers of a huge hawk…chasing it…forcing it to flee. The large bird could have easily taken on the small bird, but instead it allowed this small, tiny creature to determine its path. It reminded me of how we allow our fears and worries to nip at us.  They can control us…making us run. Flee. Isn’t it also similar to the rudder of a ship? It is small, but determines the ship’s direction. What am I allowing to determine my directi

Let me say that I have trouble remembering things these days. Call it age. Call it a distracted mind. Either way, reminders are important for me to have around. Here are a few very special reminders that are sitting around my house right now… The tiny perfume bottle turned vase. It was my granny’s. Oh, how I loved my granny. I have used it so many times for small blooms. It reminds me of her. She never had a lot. Raised a family in a two-room cabin before moving up to the

Days are made of the small moments.  Sure the big gifts, events, awards, promotions, successes are to be celebrated.  But, if my eyes are always looking ahead to the next big thing…if I am so focused on the future, I will miss all that God has given me in this ordinary day. Days are made of hours.  Hours of minutes.  If I begin to enjoy the minutes, the moments, the small things, it would change my ordinary life into an extraordinary life! I have to stop rushing through my da

During the month of January, our church is having an emphasis on prayer. I was asked to lead the prayer time prior to the service for our worship team a few weeks ago. This is the devotional that I shared…Like me, you all may have some specific things that you are praying for during this time. As I was writing those requests in my journal, God reminded me that an important part of an emphasis on prayer is that we remember what He has done in the past and all the ways He has

Antonio happened to be in front of me on my way to work. Antonio (only known by his personalized license plate) was a white-haired older man with a ball cap driving a big Buick Lasabre. And, going 10 miles under the speed limit. “Come on now! Speed up!” Just when I felt my frustration kick in I remembered a blog that I read recently about “hurry sickness”. Our culture suffers from hurry sickness. Rushing to and fro. Multi-tasking at every turn…or stop light. The blog sai

First Corinthians 1:8-10 says this: “We were crushed and overwhelmed beyond our ability to endure, we thought we would never live through it. In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And, he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.” Some days in the middle of our messy lives, we feel utter

The cherries of life are sweet! Enjoyable. Delightful. The moments when we wish that time could stand still. Our heart dances with joy. Our mind races with excitement. Mountain top experiences. Good days. Fun days. Easy days. Do we relish those moments? Drinking in all that is good. Savoring the delights. Our hearts should sing songs of thanksgiving for all the cherry-on-top blessings in our lives. On the other hand, the pits of life are hard! Choking. Unwanted. The moments w

Recently, my husband, Jimi, asked me to lead the devotional for our Sunday morning leaders’ team. As I prayed about it, the first thought that came to mind was “a glass half empty”. I thought to myself that is a random thought. But, as I prayed about what the Lord would have me share, it seemed that was to be my message. As usual, when I thought someone else needed to hear it, the Lord reminded me that I needed it as much as anyone. Because sometimes I struggle…some of you, l