Devotions Archive

He Has Risen!

Today’s Truth
He is not here; he has risen! (Luke 24:6, NIV).

Friend to Friend
The boys and girls in Mrs. Stephens’ fourth grade Sunday school class entered the room and quickly found their seats. The girls were dressed in frills and lace and chatting excitedly about the candy-filled baskets they had received that morning. The boys pulled at the unfamiliar ties around their necks and quickly discarded the sports coats they had obviously been forced to wear. The room was filled with excitement – for good reason. It was Easter Sunday.

Mrs. Stephens wanted to help her students understand …

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God’s Great Plans For You!

Today’s Truth
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him,” (1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV).

Friend to Friend
Last week I shared about the broken dream of infertility and miscarriage. As you recall, I have one incredible blessing in my son Steven, but my dream to have a house full of children did not materialize as I had hoped. During one of my times with the Lord, I was studying in the Song of Solomon about being the bride of Christ. This is a very romantic book of …

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Is Fatigue a Spiritual Gift?

Today’s Truth
Then he went on alone into the desert, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree (Juniper tree) and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, LORD,’ he said. ‘Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, ‘Get up and eat!’ He looked around and saw some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the …

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Yes and Amen!

Today’s Truth
“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 1:20, NIV).

Friend to Friend
When my son, Preston, was in sixth grade he chose to plant spinach for his science fair project. He planted seeds in four plastic cups and watered each batch with a fixed daily amount of four different liquids: water, orange juice, cola, and milk. (Yes, you are correct! By day three of his fourteen-day project, the milk cup reeked to high heavens …

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A New Kind of Fruitful

Today’s Truth
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthews 28:19).

Friend to Friend
Those years of infertility were a stormy time in my life, but then, a few years later, a tidal wave hit.

“Steve can you meet me for lunch? I have a little surprise for you.”

I was so excited to meet Steve and tell him this unexpected news that I called him at the office and asked him to meet me for lunch. After several years of infertility treatment, we had become content with our family of three, but now it seemed Steven was going …

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When God Says “No”

Today’s Truth
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV).

Friend to Friend
Most of us have broken dreams, but they just happen to be different ones. Yesterday I brought you along on one of mine … the dream to be a mommy to a houseful of children.  Thank you for joining me again as we continue. While this may not have been your particular struggle, the pain of broken dreams and the hope that God …

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I Want To Be A Mommy

Today’s Truth
“The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made” (Psalm 145:13b NIV).

Friend to Friend
I can still remember cuddling, rocking and singing to my favorite baby dolls when I was a little girl. I’d love them until their nylon hair was matted, their single outfits were tattered, and their painted cheeks were marred. I’d bandage their knees, kiss their heads, and teach them important life lessons.

Most little girls dream of one day being a mommy. In the hundreds of surveys I collected for the book, 5 Dreams of Every Woman…and …

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When You Praise Him

Today’s Truth
Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Cast up a highway for Him who rides through the deserts; whose name is the Lord, and exult before Him (Psalm 68:4).

Friend to Friend
I love the story of the woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. “Well,” she said, “I think I’ll braid my hair today. She did and she had a wonderful day. The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. …

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Trusting God With Tomorrow

Today’s Truth

“The LORD said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say” (Exodus 4:11-12, NIV).

Friend to Friend

On the far side of a desert, high upon the Mountain of God, a voice called out to Moses from within a curious, fiery bush. He had been tending the sheep of his father-in-law’s flock – minding his own business – going about his normal day-in-day-out tasks on …

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Smiley

Today’s Truth

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18, NIV).

Friend to Friend

I don’t know her real name, but Smiley is one of about 200 men and women who live in a leper colony near one of our church sponsored orphanages in a rural village of India. Dan and I had been asked to lead a worship service for the leper colony and I have to admit that I was both curious and terrified by the …

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