How’s Your Heart?

I love to carefully take care of the condition of my home in order to keep it off the “disaster area” list. But, how much attention do I give to my heart?

When the Bible says that the heart is to be guarded because it is the wellspring of life (Proverbs 4:23), it means that it is from our hearts that the rest of our attitudes get their cue. Depressed? Check the contentment quotient of your heart. Feel like griping? Once again, review you heart and then you’ll know why.

Rather than cleaning up the outer edges of our lives, we’re wiser to pay attention to the deeper parts of ourselves. Running the vacuum cleaner through a few ventricles, we may discover a layer of dissatisfaction, of envy, or even of anger that we’ve stuffed out of sight.

There’s no use trying to paste on a happy face or a good attitude to show in public if our hearts are cluttered with hidden issues. What’s stuffed down in our hearts will sooner or later spill over into our days with our spouse and children, our neighbors, our co-workers, and God.

Hey, you look great and your house looks great. But How is Your Heart?

Mom’s Devotional Bible

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“Daniel” Women

Yesterday I turned on the tv to watch the news, you know, to stay “informed.” Then, I felt overwhelmed by so many weird and scary stories… The thing that stoked me the most was this obvious sins of all kinds all around us. Ok, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I’m perfect and never did something weird or stupid or may be horrible, but at least I have learned with God’s help (like most people) to listen when his Holy Ghost rebuked me and to do my best to change where it is needed. Also, I learn from my mistake or other’s and try hard to avoid it next time.

But, our world seems to just enjoy sin, harming others and themselves and never ever learn from its mistakes! Sins of all kind are around us and inside us. How can we break free from them and be distinctive people in Christ? Daniel, in the Bible (book of Daniel) is part of my favorites characters. Not surprising, our oldest boy is called after him!

Now, how as a woman can I be like Daniel? How to Be a “Daniel” woman? Well, my devotional book says this: “The “Daniel” woman doesn’t walk out on her husband (I add, except in particular circumstances mention in the Bible: 1 Corinthians 7 & Matthew 19:1-8 ), she doesn’t hang up on her mother (God have mercy, I did that sometimes to my mom when our arguments got out of hand, instead of just shutting up or calming down…there’s always another way right? Proverbs 15:1) She doesn’t ignore the needs of her neighbor (to be kept in mind every day, especially in that Christmas season.) She doesn’t insist on playing the game of life by her own rules (sigh…), but rather chooses to play consistently, obediently, sometimes even painfully, by God’s design. She recognizes and respects the bonds of a pledge.” The list can go on…

Dear friends, (Guys, this applies to you too!) a woman who listen to God, disregards the popular beliefs of her day and lives instead by God’s standards (as Daniel did in his day), stands by her commitment, fights for healthy relationships is a “Daniel” woman: a distinctive person of Christ Amen!

 

 

When Exhaustion Wins…

You’ve been up all night because, how can I explain it: “you have toys in your head” (according to one of my twin daughters, insomnia=toys in the head) or only God knows why.

You’ve been in the car for hours, juggling between doctors/specialists appointments, sitting in that waiting room in emergency for hours,  your bottom is numb, you feel so sore and your neck is tight and a migraine shows up for days from stress…

You’ve been juggling between so many: kids schedule, husband very demanding job, household, very demanding family and friends… phew!!! You’re tired. You feel like you’re neglecting the ones you love the most, and you cannot remember the last time you did anything for yourself or someone really did anything for you.

For most of us, these feelings arise daily. We assume that this stage will pass and the next one will be better, and then we discover in the next stage that the challenges are different but just as numerous. What do you do then?

When exhaustion wins, we must take time to refuel otherwise we are no longer able to be a blessing to others. Sometimes it’s ok to let others go ahead to fight the/their battles while we stay behind. We need to find some way to relax, choosing whatever method works best for us.

We benefit when we recognize our need for rest and respond to it. And those we love benefit as well. Take care!

Mom’s Devotional

 

Stuck!

Moses stands on the edge of the Red Sea with the Israelites bleating like scared sheep while the Egyptians bear down upon them. “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” NIV (Exodus 14:12).

Moses’ response to the Israelites is much like God’s response to us in the unbelievable moments of our lives when the Red Sea blocks our way and the Egyptians of our day are closing in. “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still” NIV (Exodus 14:13-14)

Who are the Egyptians bearing down on us today?  What is the Red Sea that threatens our hope? Where the tendency may be to worry, panic, and run, God tells us that we “need to be STILL.”

This day, this minute, STUCK between the Egyptians and the Red Sea, YOU can choose to LAY aside panic and instead BE STILL!

Blessings.

Mom’s Devotional Bible NIV

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