Good morning ladies! And Happy New Year!!! Wow, it's been a long time since I've sent a devotion to you. I definitely wasn't planning it that way. In fact, about a week ago I started to write a note to you and it's actually still in my 'drafts' box. Who would've thought that we'd be even busier this holiday season?! It turned out that way for us because all the celebrating had to be much more individual. I really can't even remember where we left off, but that's okay. I hope you ladies had a great Christmas! Even if it looked different this year, there were still many blessings. We met up with our son, daughter-in-law, and grandson in Sioux Falls, SD a few weeks ago for lunch and exchanging gifts. They have restaurants open at a limited capacity so we had to cross the state line to be able to do that. It was a lot of fun! And just last weekend we drove out to Chicago to see our other son and his girlfriend. We checked into an Embassy Suites hotel so we could have the extra room to eat and visit with them. They are on a very restricted Covid plan there. We enjoyed some Puerto Rican food that we love to get while we're there. They introduced us to Jibaritos a while ago. Yum!! We also had some special get-togethers at church, one which was a "family chat-time" and white elephant gift exchange. A lot of laughing was involved with that!! And a very special Zoom call took place a few nights ago with my side of the family. Wonderful!
The beginning of this year will not slow down for us, because this is probably going to be new grandbaby week!! Our daughter-in-law's due date was pushed up by almost a week, and her new due date is January 8th, this Friday! If she hasn't gone into labor by then, they will induce her. SO EXCITING!!! We have our bags packed (mostly) and are ready to go whenever we need to. We can't go to the hospital, of course, but the plan is for us to drive out as soon as we get the call to watch our grandson until they come home from the hospital. Our son will be there with our daughter-in-law the whole time. They have another couple from their church family coming to be with our grandson until we get there. And if that isn't enough, my husband and I are leaving for Arizona in about two weeks to visit two churches that we will consider for our next ministry. They are small churches that are close to each other and both of them need a pastor. Yep, that would certainly be a NEW one for us! We will wait and see what God has in store and I will keep you posted. If you feel that you want to share about what's been going on in your life or something special you did for the holidays, I (we) would love to hear about it!
Devotion
What a comforting devotion as we begin a new year! Are you feeling alone, in a desert place, or even a place of confusion? God is with us no matter where we are. We need to look up and follow Him, even in the detours. Have a MAGNIFICENT MONDAY ladies!
"Life Is Full of Detours"
CBN Ministries, Shadia Hrichi
If there is one Bible verse that really bugs me, it is Genesis 12:1 when God says to Abraham, “Go ... to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1 ESV). Not only does it poke at my need for control, but I get lost … a lot. The Bible teaches that God determines the time and place that each of us is born (Acts 17:26); I sometimes wonder if God waited until the invention of GPS before sending me into the world.
Nevertheless, there are times when a detour is actually a part of God’s plan. Take Abraham and Sarah, for example. When God asked Abraham to leave his homeland, Abraham and Sarah packed up their little family and began the journey. However, just as they were starting to make some headway, a famine struck and the couple suddenly found themselves detouring into Egypt. But the curious thing is that when they left, Scripture says that they traveled right back to where they started.
“...to the place where his tent had been at the beginning...” (Genesis 13:3 ESV).
Abraham did not gain a single inch of ground. So what was this detour all about? Well, a few chapters later, we are introduced to Sarah’s Egyptian slave named Hagar. Could it be that God was watching over Hagar and that He decided to remove her from Egypt and its pagan gods? Did God Himself have His eye on Hagar, desiring to bring her out and introduce her to Himself?
What if God orchestrated this little detour into Egypt, not because He needed to send Abraham and Sarah in, but because He desired to bring Hagar out? After all, God could have prevented the famine; He could have rained down manna from Heaven. But with God, everything has a purpose – even the detours. Even the difficulties. Even the desert roads.
Later, when Abraham and Sarah’s misguided schemes to conceive a child distress Hagar to the point that she flees into the wilderness, it is God Who pursues her; it is God Who meets her there.
Ever been in a wilderness? I have. At the time, we may only see dust and despair beneath our feet. To our right, we see a wasteland …to the left, only emptiness. But if we look up, we will find God has been there all along, watching, waiting.
Why? Because only in the wilderness can we come to recognize our complete dependence on Him. Maybe that’s why God allows us to go there. To reach the point where our hearts cry out to Heaven, “God, do You see me?”
Oh yes, dear one. He sees you.
Hagar may have felt completely alone, but she was never alone. She may have felt unseen, but she was never out of God’s sight. She may never have felt more unknown and unloved than in that moment, but it was right then - right there in the barren wasteland - where she heard a voice, “Hagar.”
And it is there – on the desert road – where we get our first glimpse into the amazing plan God has for her life.
How about you? What if God wants to use the desert roads—the detours, the struggles, the heartaches and tears—to form and fashion you for His great purposes? Will you trust Him? Even in the detours?
“Go ... to the land I will show you …” (Genesis 12:1 ESV) But don’t be surprised if you encounter some detours along the way.
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19 ESV)
The beginning of this year will not slow down for us, because this is probably going to be new grandbaby week!! Our daughter-in-law's due date was pushed up by almost a week, and her new due date is January 8th, this Friday! If she hasn't gone into labor by then, they will induce her. SO EXCITING!!! We have our bags packed (mostly) and are ready to go whenever we need to. We can't go to the hospital, of course, but the plan is for us to drive out as soon as we get the call to watch our grandson until they come home from the hospital. Our son will be there with our daughter-in-law the whole time. They have another couple from their church family coming to be with our grandson until we get there. And if that isn't enough, my husband and I are leaving for Arizona in about two weeks to visit two churches that we will consider for our next ministry. They are small churches that are close to each other and both of them need a pastor. Yep, that would certainly be a NEW one for us! We will wait and see what God has in store and I will keep you posted. If you feel that you want to share about what's been going on in your life or something special you did for the holidays, I (we) would love to hear about it!
Devotion
What a comforting devotion as we begin a new year! Are you feeling alone, in a desert place, or even a place of confusion? God is with us no matter where we are. We need to look up and follow Him, even in the detours. Have a MAGNIFICENT MONDAY ladies!
"Life Is Full of Detours"
CBN Ministries, Shadia Hrichi
If there is one Bible verse that really bugs me, it is Genesis 12:1 when God says to Abraham, “Go ... to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1 ESV). Not only does it poke at my need for control, but I get lost … a lot. The Bible teaches that God determines the time and place that each of us is born (Acts 17:26); I sometimes wonder if God waited until the invention of GPS before sending me into the world.
Nevertheless, there are times when a detour is actually a part of God’s plan. Take Abraham and Sarah, for example. When God asked Abraham to leave his homeland, Abraham and Sarah packed up their little family and began the journey. However, just as they were starting to make some headway, a famine struck and the couple suddenly found themselves detouring into Egypt. But the curious thing is that when they left, Scripture says that they traveled right back to where they started.
“...to the place where his tent had been at the beginning...” (Genesis 13:3 ESV).
Abraham did not gain a single inch of ground. So what was this detour all about? Well, a few chapters later, we are introduced to Sarah’s Egyptian slave named Hagar. Could it be that God was watching over Hagar and that He decided to remove her from Egypt and its pagan gods? Did God Himself have His eye on Hagar, desiring to bring her out and introduce her to Himself?
What if God orchestrated this little detour into Egypt, not because He needed to send Abraham and Sarah in, but because He desired to bring Hagar out? After all, God could have prevented the famine; He could have rained down manna from Heaven. But with God, everything has a purpose – even the detours. Even the difficulties. Even the desert roads.
Later, when Abraham and Sarah’s misguided schemes to conceive a child distress Hagar to the point that she flees into the wilderness, it is God Who pursues her; it is God Who meets her there.
Ever been in a wilderness? I have. At the time, we may only see dust and despair beneath our feet. To our right, we see a wasteland …to the left, only emptiness. But if we look up, we will find God has been there all along, watching, waiting.
Why? Because only in the wilderness can we come to recognize our complete dependence on Him. Maybe that’s why God allows us to go there. To reach the point where our hearts cry out to Heaven, “God, do You see me?”
Oh yes, dear one. He sees you.
Hagar may have felt completely alone, but she was never alone. She may have felt unseen, but she was never out of God’s sight. She may never have felt more unknown and unloved than in that moment, but it was right then - right there in the barren wasteland - where she heard a voice, “Hagar.”
And it is there – on the desert road – where we get our first glimpse into the amazing plan God has for her life.
How about you? What if God wants to use the desert roads—the detours, the struggles, the heartaches and tears—to form and fashion you for His great purposes? Will you trust Him? Even in the detours?
“Go ... to the land I will show you …” (Genesis 12:1 ESV) But don’t be surprised if you encounter some detours along the way.
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19 ESV)
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