From Outsider to Insider

VineWords Devotions and More

Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. ~Ephesians 2:11 NLT Sometimes, we must live without others’ acceptance. We can’t move from outsider to insider.     My family and I were always outsiders. Not because we were weird, unsociable, or had bad habits but because we hadn’t been born and raised in the town where my father pastored. Most others in the church were lifelong residents and related. Oh, we were loved and appreciated, but if it came … Continue reading →

Peace

VineWords Devotions and More

ANXIETY WITHIN And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” ~ Mark 10:51 ESV I could hear the low rumble of my car’s motor as the cool air from the air conditioner blew strands of hair into my face. Peace eluded me. The summer heat in the South pushed a band of perspiration across my forehead, and with one swipe of my hand, I pushed … Continue reading →

Inside the Fist

VineWords Devotions and More

I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. look crazy as I make a fist. John 10:28 ESV Imagine being inside the fist.  I drove to Rhode Island from New Hampshire to speak at a ladies’ retreat. As normal, I practiced the teaching as I drove. God gives me deeper insight and great analogies while driving. The teaching for that weekend was entitled, “Shining for Jesus in This Dark … Continue reading →

The Best Day of My Life

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Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.  ~James 1:17   The year was 1967. The nurse handed my firstborn son to me, and I quickly peeled the blanket back to see if all fingers and toes were there. They were. That was the best day of my life. After more than thirty hours of labor and a forceps-assisted birth, … Continue reading →

According to the Need

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That he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God and that there is no other.   1 Kings 8:59b, 60 NIV This morning, my heart felt heavy, and the day had only begun. After breakfast, my husband and I prayed about a family member struggling in their marriage and another who faced logistical … Continue reading →

Gift of Thorns

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Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:19b-20 NIV When I was young, I remember watching my cousins’ excitement as they watched a football game on television. But not everything in life is exciting. Sometimes, God gives us a gift of thorns.  With every successful play, they shouted, high-fived, and danced around as if they were the ones on … Continue reading →

Watch, Wait, and Pray

VineWords Devotions and More

But for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. Micah 7:7 ESV All we could do was watch, wait, and pray. My wife and I became empty nesters when our last two children moved out and shared an apartment. Doing so was a huge step for them and us. Thirty-one years had passed since we’d been on our own. I now notice things I once didn’t: … Continue reading →