Christian Devotionals and Scripture Applied to Everyday Life

You just can’t outgive God. A sure test of a person’s verbal commitment to the Lord is how she uses her money. When we honor Him by giving sacrificially, we put our wallet where our mouth is. Not only is it an act of obedience, but it is also a step of faith showing that we trust God to provide for our needs. When we give to Him first, God has a way of giving back more. As an old country song said, “When we hand it out the front door, He hauls it in the back door." The benefits we receive from obedient giving may not come in a financial form, but God will bless us when we demonstrate our trust and devotion.

Yesterday was a happy day! After a long summer, our family was together again. John-Keith and Nathan made the long road trip from camp in New York State to Ohio. After being cramped in a loaded hatchback for over ten hours, the boys pulled into the school parking lot where all seven of us were reunited at Abigail’s volleyball game. It felt fantastic! My heart swells when I think of everyone’s work ethic this summer. I have seen each of you work hard. I have heard positive comments from others regarding your willingness to complete even menial tasks in a timely manner and with a pleasant attitude (waitressing, cleaning, yard work, and food delivery to a bunch of hungry girls, to name a few). This pleases me!

Some songs have been sung for years and years. We can rattle out the words by heart and the melody just slips from our tongue. These songs are like an old pair of jeans that fit just right. They are go-to comfort! But sometimes the jeans get put at the bottom of the drawer and we forget about them until one day we find them and remember how good they feel. Jesus Loves Me was that song when you were small. We sang it when you went to bed, when you were awake, when we were in the car, when you were in Sunday School and anywhere in between. The words were comforting and told simple but important truths about God.

There is SOMETHING in our house! Of course, there is furniture, appliances, decorations, and people, but I mean SOMETHING else that shouldn’t be here. No one would know about it because it hides itself very well during the day, but at night this SOMETHING does its dirty work. The past few mornings I have come down to the kitchen to be greeted by a mess. Over in the plant corner, potting soil and leaves are scattered all over the floor and the plants have holes exposing their roots like the SOMETHING has been digging around.

Tonight was the last night before the big day – school starts again tomorrow! Summer vacation is over in our little ville and all the kids are getting ready for a bright and early morning. New clothes and shoes are laid out, bookbags are ready, lunches are packed, butterflies are fluttering. It’s the beginning of a new year and lots of learning. We only have one heading to high school this year. The rest of you are in college or entering the working world. But no matter how old you get, there is always room for learning. Make it your goal to continue to stretch your mind and develop new areas of expertise.

All ingredients are important if you want to prepare a tasty and healthy recipe. Recently I have gotten more into cooking. In the past few years our busy schedules and complicated lives have pushed me to rely more on packaged food and restaurant runs then real home cooked meals. (Please don’t remind me of the time sweet Abigail told our neighbor that our family’s main staple was Hungry Man)  But as things have slowed down this summer, I have focused on buying healthy ingredients and following healthful recipes. I’ve noticed that leaving out an important ingredient can change the taste and/or ruin the whole thing.