Soul Sister Time

              Every person reading this devotion has personally experienced anxiety.  Anxiety is a common result of living in a sinful world.  God knows that all people face anxiety.  He assumes anxiety is a part of our human condition.  There is a lot of anxiety in America this week regarding our 2016 election.               I love how Peter addresses anxiety.  We see his vocation as a fisherman displayed in the way he describes what to do with the emotion of anxiety with which we all find ourselves constricted.  He uses an old fisherman’s term—casting.  He tells us: Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).  This statement is made at the conclusion of some other advice he gives to all Christians about submitting to others, being humble, trusting God’s mighty hand—basically the selfless...

              How can you control your fears in the crazy world in which we live?   The key is self-control and sober-mindedness.  Why?  So you can pray.  Peter tells us this is in 1 Peter 4:7:    The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers .               I find living as if the end of all things is at hand is the very opposite of my natural instincts.  Rather than looking at that dress I admire and thinking through how long that will be in style, how many years I can wear it, why I might need a new dress when my closet is full of dresses (some I haven’t worn this year). I just want it.  I want it now.  I am a good enough steward, though, to forgo the purchase if it can’t be accounted for in my budget.  But does God have a better way f...

Thirty-two years ago on July 5, I received the shocking call from my now husband that his mother had been killed.  Her death was tragic enough for someone like me who knew and loved her.  I was devastated but not as devastated as her six children.  How would they make it after such a soul crushing loss? Thirty-two years later, I am married to her son and continue to be grateful for the love that laid such a great foundation or the man he is and the husband he is for me.  He often quotes his mom :  It’s the tone that makes the music .   It’s so freeing to be loved by someone who gets me. He knows when I’m teasing winks at my comments in an understanding way.  For this reason, I am very grateful for his mom.  She gave me a wonderful husband who learned from her that faith, love, acceptance, persistence and family are the most valued qualities to focus on in this life. She would claim that her faith in Jesus Christ is was made her the woma...

            One day can change everything about your life.   I know that full well.   The first time this happened to me, it was a happy day.   It was the day that my daughter Rachel caught me by surprise by showing up three weeks early.   It had been my day off from work and it was perfect timing because I had just cleaned the house and Brian had mowed the lawn.   We went out for our nightly walk at the end of a long day and I started feeling funny.   No one would believe me when I was sure I was in labor, but I insisted that he take me to the hospital anyway.   That was a day I did not expect even though I knew it was coming.   If you could have seen me then, you too would know to expect that a baby would be entering the world soon.   I really was very great with child.   We all knew it would happen; we were all surprised that it happened on the day that it happened.   ...

  New Year’s Eve is a perfect time to reflect on what the past year has taught, challenged, inspired, and changed you forever.  Examen has long been a spiritual tool of the church.  It is so easy to simply live out a year without learning from the year.  Although God is so infinite I imagine He could pack 1,000 lessons into every twenty-four hour day, it is important for us to learn at least one or two.  What difference did this year make in your life?  Today is a perfect time to do a one year Examen.  Think about the past twelve months and consider what was the most important lesson or experience you received in each month.  List them and consider how you will bring all the lessons of the last year into the New Year.  Last January, I led a quiet retreat for women to do just this.  We started the year together listening for God to lead us to ways that we could draw closer to Him in the coming year.  It was a great spiritual e...