Good morning ladies. I hope you all had a great weekend and are ready to start a new week. We had a good one; plans didn't go completely as scheduled, but good just the same. On Friday morning after I sent out the devotion, I got ready for our lunch date, and as I was putting on my mascara, I accidentally poked the wand into my eye. It hurt so much that I had to call the nurse to see what to do. She had me put my head into the sink and run luke-warm water into it for 5-10 minutes. This actually felt good, but after, the pain was still there. I laid down and put in some eye-drops and put a cool washcloth over it. This turned into a headache and nausea. I missed our lunch date and was in bed resting all day. It was much better by Saturday, just feeling a bit bruised. Anybody else do this before? Ugh. On Saturday morning PK did the Walk for Life. He thought it started at 9 am because that's what the website said, so he left here at 8:15. I decided not to go because they predicted the hottest, steamiest day of the year so far. When he got there, hardly anyone else was there. He asked at the registration table about it and they told him the race didn't start until 10. He was already dripping from the heat and this news didn't help. It was literally too hot to wait an hour and a half outside; he'd have to sit in the air-conditioned car. He did that for a little while, but finally asked if he could just go ahead and do the walk on his own. They agreed, so he did and actually did his personal best! I think it got up to 97 degrees later that day, and with the humidity, had a heat index over 100. Yep--MN sure knows how to do extreme weather! Isn't it still Spring?! On Sunday, we woke up to dark skies and threatening clouds. Before long, the house was dark as night and a violent storm came in. There was hail so bad that Casey had to pull under a bridge on the way to church, and PK had to wait in our garage until it slowed down. I actually thought the window in our bedroom where the storm was blowing the hardest might break through. It was awful. Molly was beside herself, of course. We arrived at church, after seeing debris all over the roads, to find out that several people had lost electricity. What a way to start the morning! It was, however, good to be back at church again after being gone. We had a great service, with many people coming forward to making a commitment to be disciples for Christ. Awesome! After church we met Casey's new girlfriend Maria. What a beautiful, sweet young lady! I love her already! It was a great afternoon. And finally, last night we had our church bonfire, inside, because the sky still looked questionable. It was such a good time, and with great attendance! Feeling blessed!
Devotion
Are you struggling with a trial today? Does it make you feel like you're trapped and "in chains?" Today's devotion gives comfort to know that God uses our trials for good and to draw us nearer to Him. I will never tire of the story of Ruth. It's such a beautiful example of how God provides for these sweet women. Have a Marvelous Monday ladies!
“When Your Circumstances Feel Like Chains”
“But Naomi said, ‘Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands?’ … Then they lifted up their voices and wept again.”
Ruth 1:11, 14a (ESV)
I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. The nurse’s words rang in my ears, “The doctor wants you in the bed.”
My doctor ordered me to park myself in bed for the sake of my unborn child. His life and mine depended on it. But as I gazed at the four smiling little faces in the chairs next to me I panicked, Who will take care of them, God?
In an out-of-body type moment, I looked at the nurse and declared, “God will provide,” although I’m not positive I believed it.
We pulled into the driveway, and I settled my energetic bunch for a moment before I crawled into bed and broke down. I argued with God: How can this possibly honor You more, God? How can I possibly serve You better from this bed than on my feet?
I felt chained to that bed, unable to participate in God’s plans and purposes. But it was from that bed that God showed me, sometimes what we call imprisoned, God calls positioned.
In today’s key verse we meet three widows on a road lined with the chains of death and poverty. After several years in a foreign land, Naomi embarks for her home in Israel and pleads with her two daughters-in-law to stay. Orpah and Ruth, both Moabites, had married Naomi’s sons yet were widows, just as Naomi was. “But Naomi said, ‘Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands?’ … Then they lifted up their voices and wept again” (Ruth 1:11, 14a).
Naomi knew she could not provide husbands for Orpah and Ruth, and she knew the reality of a widow with no sons. Her future looked bleak, so she begged her daughters-in-law not to come with her.
Orpah listened and eventually yielded to Naomi’s push. Ruth, however, did not. “But Ruth said, ‘Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God’” (Ruth 1:16, ESV).
No matter how hopeless the situation seemed, Ruth made a decision to trust God on that road … and she didn’t stop there. Chapters 2 and 3 in the book of Ruth detail her determination to be faithful with each day.
We see her set out to glean in the fields behind the harvesters — a provision God made in the Law to care for the poor people of Israel. We read of how Ruth cared for Naomi and supported her, not thinking of herself or her own needs.
And as we watch her story of faithfulness unfold, we see God do something only God Himself could orchestrate, “So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife” (Ruth 4:13a, ESV).
In her faithfulness to serve God and others, Ruth landed in a field belonging to Boaz. And Boaz happened to be legally able to marry her, which he did. Ruth gave birth to a son they named Obed — a man God included in the lineage of His own Son — Jesus.
When we dance to the rhythm of daily faithfulness, God can turn our situational prisons into supernatural positions.
After much resistance, God convinced me His plan for me included bed rest. Friends and family moved through like a revolving door to assist with my daily duties. My kids spent time every day playing in our room, and we even held a weekly women’s Bible study in the living room once my doctor cleared me to rest on the couch.
During those days, I learned a lot about myself, my shortcomings and God’s fullness.
After five months of bed rest, God resolved my condition and the pregnancy went on like normal. In the spring, I birthed our feisty fifth child — who still holds the title as our biggest baby at birth. And today, his smile reminds me God never wastes a challenge.
Dear God, sometimes I wish life weren’t so full of trials. But I know it’s the trials that draw me nearer to You. Help me be faithful today, no matter what I face. And as I live in the rhythm of daily faithfulness, do for me what only You can do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
Katy McCown
TRUTH FOR TODAY:
James 1:12, “A man who endures trials is blessed, because when he passes the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.” (HCSB)
Isaiah 30:15, “This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.’” (NIV)
Devotion
Are you struggling with a trial today? Does it make you feel like you're trapped and "in chains?" Today's devotion gives comfort to know that God uses our trials for good and to draw us nearer to Him. I will never tire of the story of Ruth. It's such a beautiful example of how God provides for these sweet women. Have a Marvelous Monday ladies!
“When Your Circumstances Feel Like Chains”
“But Naomi said, ‘Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands?’ … Then they lifted up their voices and wept again.”
Ruth 1:11, 14a (ESV)
I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. The nurse’s words rang in my ears, “The doctor wants you in the bed.”
My doctor ordered me to park myself in bed for the sake of my unborn child. His life and mine depended on it. But as I gazed at the four smiling little faces in the chairs next to me I panicked, Who will take care of them, God?
In an out-of-body type moment, I looked at the nurse and declared, “God will provide,” although I’m not positive I believed it.
We pulled into the driveway, and I settled my energetic bunch for a moment before I crawled into bed and broke down. I argued with God: How can this possibly honor You more, God? How can I possibly serve You better from this bed than on my feet?
I felt chained to that bed, unable to participate in God’s plans and purposes. But it was from that bed that God showed me, sometimes what we call imprisoned, God calls positioned.
In today’s key verse we meet three widows on a road lined with the chains of death and poverty. After several years in a foreign land, Naomi embarks for her home in Israel and pleads with her two daughters-in-law to stay. Orpah and Ruth, both Moabites, had married Naomi’s sons yet were widows, just as Naomi was. “But Naomi said, ‘Turn back, my daughters; why will you go with me? Have I yet sons in my womb that they may become your husbands?’ … Then they lifted up their voices and wept again” (Ruth 1:11, 14a).
Naomi knew she could not provide husbands for Orpah and Ruth, and she knew the reality of a widow with no sons. Her future looked bleak, so she begged her daughters-in-law not to come with her.
Orpah listened and eventually yielded to Naomi’s push. Ruth, however, did not. “But Ruth said, ‘Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God’” (Ruth 1:16, ESV).
No matter how hopeless the situation seemed, Ruth made a decision to trust God on that road … and she didn’t stop there. Chapters 2 and 3 in the book of Ruth detail her determination to be faithful with each day.
We see her set out to glean in the fields behind the harvesters — a provision God made in the Law to care for the poor people of Israel. We read of how Ruth cared for Naomi and supported her, not thinking of herself or her own needs.
And as we watch her story of faithfulness unfold, we see God do something only God Himself could orchestrate, “So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife” (Ruth 4:13a, ESV).
In her faithfulness to serve God and others, Ruth landed in a field belonging to Boaz. And Boaz happened to be legally able to marry her, which he did. Ruth gave birth to a son they named Obed — a man God included in the lineage of His own Son — Jesus.
When we dance to the rhythm of daily faithfulness, God can turn our situational prisons into supernatural positions.
After much resistance, God convinced me His plan for me included bed rest. Friends and family moved through like a revolving door to assist with my daily duties. My kids spent time every day playing in our room, and we even held a weekly women’s Bible study in the living room once my doctor cleared me to rest on the couch.
During those days, I learned a lot about myself, my shortcomings and God’s fullness.
After five months of bed rest, God resolved my condition and the pregnancy went on like normal. In the spring, I birthed our feisty fifth child — who still holds the title as our biggest baby at birth. And today, his smile reminds me God never wastes a challenge.
Dear God, sometimes I wish life weren’t so full of trials. But I know it’s the trials that draw me nearer to You. Help me be faithful today, no matter what I face. And as I live in the rhythm of daily faithfulness, do for me what only You can do. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
Katy McCown
TRUTH FOR TODAY:
James 1:12, “A man who endures trials is blessed, because when he passes the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.” (HCSB)
Isaiah 30:15, “This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.’” (NIV)
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