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"Room to Grow"

5/22/2019

Good morning ladies! How are you? I'm doing well. Just a little tired after a wonderful time with our kids and grandson! We got to have him to ourselves for one full day and two nights at a hotel while our kids worked on packing their apartment. They were able to get a LOT done, so that's good. And we sure had a great time with our sweet boy! He is such a good boy and a joy to be around. Of course, he kept us moving for sure! Haha, we pretty much collapsed both nights at the hotel and slept right through until morning. The weather was similar there, maybe even a bit colder, so we decided to spend our time inside and go to Chick Fil' A to eat and play in the play area.

This week involves the making of lists for the upcoming two weeks. On Saturday we leave for Council in Orlando, Florida. We will be driving out with our Associate Pastor, his wife, and their two children. From Council, on Sunday, I will be taking a flight to Michigan to visit with my family for another week and then I'll fly home on June 11th. So, there's all that! How about you ladies? What's going on to start your summer? How about Memorial Day plans? Besides, of course, the recognition of those who've given their lives in service for our country. That IS the main point of this 'holiday,' isn't it? I'm not sure if I will do the devotions for those weeks, especially while traveling. I will try to keep in touch as I can, and you can always let me know if I can pray for you.

Devotion

I think we can all agree that we have room to grow, no matter what age we are. I appreciate the words of this devotion today and am encouraged to still seek wisdom, healthy choices, and a closer relationship to God and others. Have a WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY ladies!

“Room to Grow”

“And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” Luke 2:52 (NIV)

I love watching the natural world come to life each
year.

Sometimes it seems like everything turns green overnight. But when I see a rose bush burst with red blooms or an apple tree heavy with fruit, I remember growth in nature takes time and requires ongoing nourishment: water, sun and nutrients from the soil.

Our spiritual growth works the same way. We require several key ingredients in order to mature in our faith.

This process is exemplified by the ways that Jesus grew: in wisdom, in stature, in favor with God and others. Luke 2:52 says, “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”

While we don’t know the specific details about His growth in these three areas, it’s clear He didn’t just wait around for it to happen.

In order to grow in wisdom, Jesus likely studied His culture and faith on a regular basis, just like most other Jewish boys growing up. While children and teens often enjoy learning, as adults we need to sustain the same hunger for knowledge and intellectual curiosity. Too often, we’re satisfied with what we already know. We become complacent and stunt our own growth.

Wisdom is one of the fruits of growing in our faith. One of the easiest ways to stimulate growth toward wisdom is to learn from the wisdom of others. Being curious about people, observing them, respecting their different ways of doing things and their different perspectives — all of these help us stretch ourselves. Spending time reading and studying God’s Word is also crucial to cultivating wisdom.

We notice that Jesus also grew in stature, becoming taller and stronger as He passed from childhood into adolescence and adulthood. While physical growth may seem natural, it also requires practicing habits that keep us healthy. Our bodies require nutritious food, clean water, regular exercise, fresh air and plenty of sleep.

Once we reach adulthood, we may be tempted at times to ignore our body’s needs, especially for proper nutrition and adequate rest. We eat fast food on-the-go and push through our exhaustion. But over time, our bodies always remind us of our physical limitations. While they’re resilient and amazing, they’re also fragile and temporary. If I want to grow in all areas of my life, then I have to take care of my body.

Healthy physical growth requires taking control of my schedule. Not everything that’s doable is sustainable. We have to learn to discern between what’s truly important and what’s merely urgent. Physical health also requires obeying God’s command to take a sabbath, a designated day of sacred rest. While the sabbath doesn’t have to be the seventh day of the week, or even always on a Sunday, setting aside this time weekly allows me to recharge my soul and do things that refuel my tank.

Finally, Jesus grew in favor with God and man. This kind of growth implies that we’re designed to change and mature through our relationships. Growing “in favor with God” requires spending time with Him — through prayer, praise and worship, time in His Word and serving others.

To grow in favor with others, I must be intentional and invest in key relationships. It’s so easy for busyness to skate on the surface, even with people I love and want to enjoy. Healthy growth requires putting down roots and doing life together with others. If we’re not deliberate about nurturing close relationships, we can accidentally insulate ourselves and miss a crucial component of our personal growth.

If we’re not growing, then we’re resigning ourselves to stagnation and settling for less. But this is not God’s intention for His children! Jesus told us He came to bring us life to the full (John 10:10), overflowing with joy, peace, passion and purpose. No matter where we are in our spiritual journey, God always provides room for us to grow!

Dear Lord, I want to keep growing and becoming more like Jesus. Help me to pursue wisdom, healthy habits, and deeper relationships with You and others, so that I may blossom into the fullness of who You created me to be and produce good fruit. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Proverbs 31 Ministries
Chris Hodges

TRUTH FOR TODAY

John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (NIV)

1 Peter 2:2-3, “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” (NIV)

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"You Were Created for Influence"

5/8/2019

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Good morning! I hope you're doing well today. It's already been busy around here this morning. This weekend we have many things going on, so we need to get the house ready and set up for some special events! Trying to pace myself. It's Mother's Day on Sunday. Happy Mother's Day to my Mom and to all the Moms out there! I'm not sure if I will get out a worship devotion on Friday. We'll just see how things go. If not, have a lovely time with your family! And, of course, have a Wonderfully, Wild Wednesday!

Devotion

Love this devotion today! It's always awesome when my Bible reading and personal devotion have a similar theme to the Proverbs 31 devotion. Have a great day ladies!

“You Were Created for Influence”

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 (NIV)

It was 1992, and our family had just acquired a home and acreage at a government auction a few days earlier. Even before we unpacked our boxes, our three little boys begged to explore the property.

I wasn’t surprised when my little guys’ first priority while exploring our new domain was to pick up rocks and throw them in the lake. Observing the boys’ delight from the resulting ripples as they threw one rock after another into the water, I took advantage of a perfect teachable moment.

“Just think,” I explained, “if ripples spread out across our lake when you throw your rocks into the water, how do the words you say and the things you do affect the people around you? And then, how do those people affect the people around them?”

As the boys continued to toss whatever they could find into the water, we talked about simple examples they could understand. “If you say something unkind to your brother, he will feel badly and might be unkind, too. The unkindness spreads. We want to spread good things that honor God rather than bad things that don’t.”

As kids, all my children loved the story of Daniel and the lions’ den (as seen in Daniel 6). Although Daniel lived in a godless culture, he impacted nations, kings, wise men and his friends by living a life that pleased the Lord. His ripples of influence expanded incrementally, leading to an impact he never could have predicted — one that extends to my family and yours almost 3,000 years later.

When we reflect God’s character through the gifts and opportunities He gives us, we’re like rocks tossed into a pond, producing ripple effects that inspire those in our sphere and beyond to think and act differently.

You don’t have to be famous, rich or successful. You don’t need an impressive degree or lots of followers on social media. A specific age, nationality or personality is not a requirement, and you’re not limited by your job, location or marital status. You, my friend, have the power to positively influence others.

I believe within the heart of every woman is the desire to be influential. Whether we’re submerged in endless diaper changes, climbing the corporate ladder in stilettos, or serving the “least of these” here or abroad, we can engage our God-given opportunities for positive influence. I believe we women have the unparalleled opportunity to influence this generation and those to come.

God uses ordinary people like you and me to star in extraordinary “God stories” — real-life narratives of purpose and influence. Although we’re all imperfect and inconsistent, we can still be influential because of God’s grace and power in and through us. As Jesus said: “If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5b).

Lord, I may be an ordinary woman, but with Your help, I can accomplish extraordinary things. Help me to clearly see the places where I can have the greatest influence. Give me the courage, wisdom and grace to speak into others’ lives and reflect Your goodness — so through You, I might make an eternal impact. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Proverbs 31 Ministries
Pam Tebow

TRUTH FOR TODAY

Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (NIV)

Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”(ESV)

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"Choosing the Meaningful Over the Urgent"

5/6/2019

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Good morning ladies. How was your weekend? I hope you were able to get outside for awhile. The weather was lovely here, especially on Saturday. We took Molly out for a long walk and did a few other things. And Sunday was cooler and rainy at first, and then it turned out pretty nice in the end. We had a family time in the afternoon after church and went out to eat, stopped at a garden/feed store to buy some seeds for our garden plot, and then went to look at campers. Not to buy, just to look. Which is never easy, of course. It just reminds me of days past and happy family camping memories. It was fun to reminisce. Sorry that I missed the devotion on Friday. Things got a little bit busy. PK was off work so he was home and that changed things up a bit, and I guess that I was also having a Forgetful Friday! What kind of things were you up to this past weekend?

Devotion

How do you spend your time? Is there a healthy balance in your life when it comes to this topic? What drives us to do the things we choose to do? Oh boy. When we begin to reflect on the answers to these questions, we might just see that we are choosing things that aren't of eternal value. Tough things to think about, but so important. Have a Meaningful and Magnificent Monday ladies!

“Choosing the Meaningful Over the Urgent”

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16 (ESV)

I stumbled across a statistic I found awfully difficult to believe. It said that those of us living today have more free time than any generation before ours. I thought it must be a mistake, so I began researching.

But each study confirmed the statistic, despite it being the opposite of what most of us feel these days — that we never have enough time, and things are getting busier. So why do we feel we have less free time when, in fact, we have more?

The truth is, we’re technology rich and time poor. With all the advances over the last several decades, we’ve saved an enormous amount of time. Housework is faster. Communication is almost instant. Information is at our fingertips. But with all of this technology comes the belief that we can do more, do it faster and that we should.

Even worse, technology can be a distraction. Text messages, notifications, emails, social media, games and digital ads of the shoes you looked at last week that you can buy with the click of a button.

Unbeknownst to most of us, there’s an army of programmers engaged in a battle for our time. The longer they hold our attention, the more they can charge advertisers for the privilege of targeting us. So while you might beat yourself up because you feel addicted to your phone, the truth is, the digital world is designed to win more and more of your time.

And unless we choose wisely, it will steal time that would be more meaningfully spent connecting with the people in our lives and the purposes God uniquely created us to accomplish. Scripture addresses this in Ephesians 5:15-16: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”

Digital distractions aren’t the only problem creating a greater feeling of busyness. Many of us are wired in ways that make us more vulnerable to misusing our time. I call them “Core Vulnerabilities.” Do any of these describe your habits?

Optimism (you usually underestimate how much time you need to do things).

Perfectionism (you make things harder than they have to be and take longer “perfecting” — because it’s never quite good enough).
Over-responsibility (you spend time doing for others what they could — and should — do for themselves).
Over-achieving (doing more than necessary in order to gain acceptance or accolades).

Approval addiction (saying “yes” to requests to avoid disappointing others).

Excessive Guilt (you over-commit and overcompensate out of guilt).

These vulnerabilities can have tremendous influence on the choices we make with our time. They can sabotage God’s best plans for us and cause unnecessary time stress. Our Core Vulnerabilities can open the door to a spiritual battle in our mind, swaying our choices from wise to unwise.

God calls us to be wise. He wants us to choose the meaningful over mundane or even false urgencies which lead to continual stress and hurry, rather than purpose and contentment. If we don’t, we risk spending our time on things that seem important — only to look back and realize we missed out on the things that actually are.

When you’re making a decision about time, ask yourself: Is it meaningful … or just mundane? Tune into God’s voice guiding you toward the meaningful. Then heed His voice.

Lord, thank You for the precious gift of time. Help me daily see the eternal value of my finite time, so I can spend it in ways that glorify You and enable me to focus on what matters most in Your eyes. Free me of insecurities and emotional bad habits such as perfectionism, misplaced guilt and over-responsibility that cause me to be unwise in how I spend my time. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Proverbs 31 Ministries
Valorie Burton

TRUTH FOR TODAY

Jeremiah 29:11, “‘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.’” (NIV)

Ecclesiastes 3:11a, 12-13, “He has made everything beautiful in its time … I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil — this is the gift of God.” (NIV)

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"Hope When You're Hanging by a Thread"

5/1/2019

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Good morning pretty ladies! How are you doing today? It's May!! One of my two favorite months here in Minnesota, the other being October. I'm looking forward to our annual trip to Bachman's (around Mother's Day), buying flowers, and planting our pots. New this year, my son and I have a garden plot at the church to manage. This will have all sorts of veggies. I've been promised help from several people, so hopefully we'll be able to enjoy some fresh from the garden veggies in a few months!

Devotion

Although I'm not in the phase of motherhood where I'm holding little ones through the night, I still understand what it's like to have a weary, struggling soul. How about you? Are you in a spot today that you're feeling like you're hanging by a last thread? God's Word is full of promises and hope! Sometimes we only need a single word to cling to. His promises are there. Be encouraged! Have a Warm and Wonderful Wednesday ladies!

“Hope When You’re Hanging by a Thread”

“For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective] …” Hebrews 4:12a (AMP)

I never should have done the math.

After all, what good does it do a desperate mama to tally her exhaustion?

Blame it on a mind numbed by years of inconsolable infants or on the sheer monotony of motherhood’s daily grind, but for whatever reason, on that starless night long ago, I tried to calculate the number of times I’d foregone a full night's sleep.

Without a doubt, our children are a gift. But each one had come wrapped in colic and wired with wails. And by the time our fourth-born arrived, I was weary beyond words.

We’d read parenting books and consulted doctors, established healthy habits and rhythmic routines, yet nothing changed the fact that our offspring resisted sleep like alley cats skirt puddles.

2,920 days. That’s how long it had been since I’d slept through the night. And once I’d quantified my lack, I wanted to cry along with the wee one in my arms.

Deep down, I knew that my discouragement wasn’t the result of sleepless nights alone. My body was exhausted, but my heart was depleted as well.

I'd been hanging by a thread for so long I couldn't even pray. I knew God was with me, but I couldn’t find the words to tell Him what I needed.

Perhaps you’ve been there, too — worn out and worn down, wordless and weary. Maybe you’re there right now. Sleep-deprived moms aren’t the only ones who know the ache of a sapped soul.

Anyone who is stretched thin or poured out, distressed or discouraged, is likely to taste its anguish too.

“God, I know You're here," I whispered into the dark. “But I don’t know what to say …”

That’s when I noticed the Bible within reach of the rocking chair where I sat. Careful not to jostle the baby on my lap, I grabbed God’s Word and flipped through the pages.

Eventually, my tired eyes fell on Hebrews 4:12a — "For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective] …"

As that verse sank deep, a hushed hope began to rise. Perhaps I was holding God’s answer to my weary cries.

My soul felt sapped, but God’s Word was alive and active.

My body felt weak, but God’s Word was full of power.

My mind felt fatigued, but God’s Word was energizing.

My efforts felt fruitless, but God’s Word was operative and effective.

So, 2,920 days after my last full night of sleep, I began a new midnight routine. When the house grew quiet and the baby whimpered loud, I opened my Bible and declared its timeless truth.

Sometimes I chose one verse and spoke it aloud until my sagging spirit echoed, “Yes!” Sometimes I proclaimed the promises of Jesus until my haggard heart was buoyed with hope. Sometimes I sang a psalm until my mind’s downcast rap was replaced by a refrain of praise.

I didn’t have the strength to reach out for my Savior, but I let the truth of His Word reach the depths of my weary soul. I didn’t have the energy to create powerful prayers, but I turned God’s Word into personal pleas. And slowly, surely, my desperation turned to peace. My circumstances hadn’t changed, but something within me had.

I was still stretched, but I was no longer sinking.

I was still poured out, but I was no longer empty.

I was still fatigued, but I was no longer frazzled.

One night as I sat in that rocking chair and murmured God’s Word above my baby's bellows, I realized this — I was no longer holding on to God's promises; God’s promises were holding on to me.

That’s the wonder of God’s Word, dear friends. It sustains us and supports us. It restores us and remakes us. And when we take hold of its truth, the Truth holds us, too.

Even when we’re hanging by a thread. Especially when we're hanging by a thread.

Dear Jesus, when I’m too tired to talk to You, show me how to let Your promises speak to me. Quiet my heart’s howl of discouragement with Your Word’s hymn of hope. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Proverbs 31 Ministries
Alicia Bruxvoort

TRUTH FOR TODAY

Psalm 119:25, “I am completely discouraged — I lie in the dust. Revive me by your Word.” (TLB)

Proverbs 2:6, “For the Lord grants wisdom! His every word is a treasure of knowledge and understanding.” (TLB)

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