The Mom in the Mirror

By Karen Ehman

“However, … the wife must respect her husband.” Ephesians 5:33 (NIV)         

Devotion:

I’ll never forget the day I saw myself in that mirror. Even though over a decade of time has passed since I caught the glimpse, the image is still vivid. And I’m sorry to say that it wasn’t a pretty one. My then six-year-old daughter and her three-year-old brother were playing together in their room. I strolled down the hall to check on the baby who was due up from his nap soon. It was then that I saw it.

As I approached the room where my kids were playing, I heard Mackenzie’s voice pipe up as she expressed to Mitchell her immense displeasure. You see, he was not stacking the colorful, snap-together, plastic blocks in a manner that suited her. As I neared the door I heard her sharply declare “No, Mitchell. Not that way! Oh, just give it to me! Anybody with a brain knows they go like this, not like that. Can’t you ever do anything right?” Her words, though unkind, weren’t the real issue. What bothered me most was that they were spoken with a caustic, condescending tone. I was not going to let her get away with it.

I stepped into the room and with classic mom form - hand on hip, finger pointed, throwing the child’s middle name in for emphasis???I gave it to her. “Mackenzie Leith Ehman! Young lady, I don’t ever want to hear you talk like that to your brother again!” Without even looking up from her pile of blocks, she quickly and calmly retorted. “Why not, Mama? You talk like that to Daddy all the time.”

Ouch! My kids often serve as a painstakingly honest mirror when it comes to my attitudes and actions. The offense my daughter had committed that day paled in comparison to what I feared my kids were witnessing in our home as they saw their mom interact with their dad in a disrespectful manner. I cried and prayed and cried some more. I told my husband what had transpired. I then told my moms’ Bible study group. Turns out I wasn’t the only mom who had a little mirror in their house. Many of us had seen ourselves vividly reflected through the voices and actions of our offspring. We vowed together to keep our words and tones in check. Of course, we found out this is often easier said than done.

The word “respect” in today’s verse can be one we wives assume we are obeying because we have a limited view of its true meaning. A quick reading of this verse in the Amplified Version of the Bible sheds a deeper light. Its parenthetical description of the word “respect” reads, “that she notices him, regards him, honors him, prefers him, venerates, and esteems him; and that she defers to him, praises him, and loves and admires him exceedingly.” Whew! No wonder God wants marriage to last a lifetime. It might take us women a lifetime to learn to exhibit all those qualities!

It’s been a long time since I spied my ugly self in that mirror that day. I still struggle at times with a sharp tongue, often saying things in jest that in reality are unkind. And my kids now reserve the right to call me on the carpet for such behavior. We moms need to remind ourselves that there are little and not so little eyes watching, and in many cases imitating what they see. What’s in your mirror?

Warning: Danger Ahead!

By Melanie Chitwood

Proverbs 3:5 & 6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.” (NLT)

Devotion:

One morning I was feeling a sense of urgency to finish writing a talk for a retreat, as the retreat weekend was only about two weeks away. As I sat at my laptop computer the words were flowing and I was feeling a sense of accomplishment.

After about ten minutes of writing, however, I was jolted by an alarm going off in the house. Thinking it had to be the smoke alarm, I raced upstairs ready with a plan of action: I would press the reset button, stop the alarm, and get back to writing.

When I got upstairs, I discovered it wasn’t the smoke alarm. Instead, it was the carbon monoxide detector blaring loudly.

I had forgotten we even had this type of warning device in our house. I only gave thought to the danger of carbon monoxide being in our house for about 30 seconds. To be honest, I was mostly concerned with getting this noise to stop so I could continue my work.

All I could think was I don’t have time to deal with this right now and that thing needs to stop! I climbed on a chair, reached up and fiddled with some buttons but had no luck in stopping the alarm. I didn’t think there was a true carbon monoxide threat, so I did what made perfect sense to me at the moment – I yanked that carbon monoxide detector right out of the ceiling. And sure enough; the alarm stopped, and I went back to my writing.

Later, as I told my husband what I’d done, he reminded me that there really could have been carbon monoxide in the house, and wasn’t I at all concerned about that? Well, no… but later when I thought about this whole event, I realized that ignoring the alarm paints a picture of our spiritual lives.

One of the benefits of being a child of God is that He will warn us when we’re entering dangerous territory. Just like the carbon monoxide detector warned me of possible danger in my house, God will warn us of danger in our lives.

God’s warnings come in various forms: a challenging word from a friend; a story from a pastor’s sermon; a still, small voice inside letting you know it’s not right; and the unavoidable truth of God’s Word.

We have a choice to listen to God’s warning or to ignore the warning, just like I did when I yanked the carbon monoxide detector out of the ceiling.

God’s warnings – like the carbon monoxide alarm – are for our good and protection. Despite this, we don’t always want to hear what God says, do we? What are some reasons we might choose to ignore God’s warning? First, we might be set on our own agenda. We have a plan and we’re sticking with it, even if it’s not necessarily God’s plan. Second, the situation might appear to be good. In our own understanding we can’t possibly see how anything bad could result. Third, we might just want to do what we want to do, not what God wants us to do, especially if deep down inside we know what we’re doing is sinful.

Is God warning you of a danger in your life? Are you listening? I’ve heard a saying, “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” Let’s not be foolish. Let’s listen to God’s warnings. Let’s trust Him and not ourselves.

Dear Lord, I want to be in step with You. I don’t want to be behind Your will or ahead; just right in the center of Your plans. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, give me ears to hear Your warnings and then give me the desire and the power to obey You. Thank You, Lord, that I can count on Your love and protection. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

The Talking Mummy !

By Sharon Glasgow 

I Corinthians 2:9-10, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. But God has revealed it to us by His Spirit.” (NIV)     

Devotion:

One morning I went to start my car, but it wouldn’t start. I called the mechanic to pick it up.The day got worse. After missing my dentist appointment, I got a call from the bank telling me I had overdrawn my account, then the mechanic called to say it would cost $900 to fix the car! He said I could pay later and pick up the car right away. Time was short because I had an appointment at 6:00 pm.

I was running late when, out of the blue, I remembered a lady I’d met at a Christmas party months ago. She’d mentioned she lived in my old neighborhood and that she had a swimming pool. I felt compelled to find her and drove to my old neighborhood five miles away. Once there I found hundreds of houses and many had pools.

I took a left, then another left, and drove into the driveway of a house with a pool. I knocked on the door and then started to reason with myself: Why do I think this is the lady’s house? I don’t even know her name! What will I say to explain why I’m here? About that time, a man opened the door. Quickly I said, “Hi! I’ve come to see your wife. I think I met her at a Christmas party. My name is Sharon,” He scowled and said, “My wife doesn’t want visitors!” before slamming the door.

Embarrassed, I ran to my car. As I started to leave, the man knocked on my window. “My wife wants to see you,” he said, “She’s downstairs.” I made my way inside and noticed there were no noises and no lights. It was a bit scary. I rounded the bottom stair and saw his wife lying on a recliner wrapped like a mummy from head to toe. Only her eyes and mouth showed between the gauze. I froze. “Why are you here?” she asked. “I don’t know,” I replied. She repeated herself and I explained that I was on my way to an appointment when I remembered her, and that I didn’t recall her name and wasn’t sure how I landed at her house. Tears started spewing from her gauze as she said, “I’m the woman you met.”

I walked closer as she continued, “Three hours ago I was in so much pain my husband wrapped me tightly to ease my discomfort. I have lupus and asked God to show me that He still loved me. I needed a miracle or I couldn’t keep on living. I told Him, “If You don’t show me by 6:00 p.m., then I am taking pills to end this misery forever. Turn around and look at the clock.” It read 5:57. Then she said, “On my mantle I have a bottle of oil. I want you to anoint my head with oil.”

Oh, I can’t anoint your head. I’m not worthy???I’ve bounced checks today!”

“Sharon, get the oil!” she insisted. I rubbed a drop on her head and we prayed.

When we finished she said, “I feel better, not completely, but that’s not what I asked God for today. I asked Him to show me He loved me and He answered. Thank you for following the Holy Spirit’s nudging even though your day was busy.”

What an honor to be used by the Holy Spirit. Jesus told believers that the Holy Spirit would dwell in us and never leave us or forsake us even to the end of the world. (Hebrews 13:5). God’s Spirit leads us. We have access to His supernatural leading, power, comfort, peace that passes all understanding, and divine illumination of the inspired Word.

He will lead you, too, just as He leads me. He speaks and leads through the living Word of God, a life of obedience, and through your thoughts when you surrender your whole being to Him..

Addicted to Self

By Wendy Pope

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God???this is your spiritual act of worship."
Romans 12:1(NIV)         

Devotion:

As I stared at the bags of children's clothes in the hall, I heard His voice say, "Give them to Stacey." I began to challenge the Voice and gave my justifications for why His suggestion was ludicrous. "I have my own children to clothe, Lord. I sell these clothes, to make money to buy new clothes for my children. The clothes in these bags can make a lot of money." Once again, I heard the Voice repeat the command, "Give them to Stacey."

With all my heart I wish I could say I obeyed promptly and with joy. The bags sat at the end of the hall for several days. I thought by doing this, I would feel better about disobeying, and the Voice would go away. However, the Voice became louder and my spirit could not allow me to give-in to direct disobedience. I made the call and arranged to take the clothes to Stacey's house. This is now a regular practice for me. I buy the clothes and take care of them during the time my children use them. As the clothes are outgrown, I fill the bag for Stacey's children.

This experience was one in a long line of lessons revealing to me a sickness I was not aware that I was plagued with. I am a recovering Self-a-holic. I had always considered myself a giving person. I took food to the sick, bought Christmas gifts for the needy, and our family has an adopted daughter in a third world country. I thought that was kind enough. After all, I must take care of my family and my needs.

Through my recovery I have come to realize that my life is to be sacrificed, not just my money, clothes, or food. Another lesson that has been made very clear to me is the following: if the giving doesn't cost, it doesn't count. The “cost” is not necessarily monetary but is to be a sacrifice for the giver. Sacrifices are relevant to the giver. God's Word reminds us that to whom much is given, much is required.

Before recovery, I read the word “sacrifice” in today's key verse and thought of dead animals lying on an altar in the desert of the Old Testament. Sacrifice is my act of worship to a living God. Living sacrifices are for the here and now. Let me challenge you to climb on the altar and be blessed. The sacrifice is worth the cost. Don't trust me; trust God!

Im not really sure who wrote this...I stumbled across and it kinda went along with a story that my pastor told while preaching this past Sundays..I 'm not even sure if this is the correct title ...

I asked for Strength...
And God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.

All of the flowers of tomorrow are the seeds of today…