Good morning lovely ladies! How are you on this Monday? I hope you all had a great weekend. Let me know what you did and the awesome adventures you had! I know that some of you must be on vacation or have traveled and made some great memories. That's what we did. We went to Iowa to see a friend. We had a very nice time catching up with her at a little family diner in Newton. I even got a little scoop of peppermint ice cream, something I usually only get at Christmas at my parent's house. We stayed the night at a hotel there, and the next morning we checked out the town. We took our dog, Molly, to a park that was named, "Historic Maytag Park," named after the Maytag man. Beautiful grounds! After that, we headed to South Dakota to surprise our son for his birthday. It was about a four hour drive. Our daughter-in-law did such a good job keeping the secret. We texted her when we were at their exit and she told us that they had walked to the Dairy Queen. No problem. We casually walked in and up to their table and said, "Happy Birthday!" He jumped a little and said, "What are you guys doing here?" We told him we wanted to surprise him for his birthday. He was happy about it! They got to go out for a nice birthday dinner while we played with our grandson. The next day we all went out for a birthday brunch and then we headed home. So fun!
Devotion
Do you ever stop to watch the sunset? I love to take pictures, and often make my husband drive somewhere so that I can capture the beauty, but nothing captured on that camera can equal the magnificence of the real thing. God has made such a spectacular world for us to enjoy! Take some time out to do that today and have a Marvelous Monday ladies!
“The Antidote for a Weary Soul”
“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”
Psalm 8:3-4 (ESV)
We are wrapping up our evening meal on the deck when his eyes shift from the sliver of pink watermelon in his hand to the streaks of salmon sunlight hovering above the horizon.
“It’s gonna be a great sunset tonight,” my youngest boy declares.
“Mm-hmm …” I murmur as I gather dirty plates and wrinkled napkins, empty milk glasses and sticky silverware.
“Can we chase it, Mom?” Joshua begs, “Can we?”
I’ve already spent the day chasing children across the yard and chasing the dog around the neighborhood. I’ve chased down missing keys, missing shoes and my own missing patience. And the only thing I really want to chase is a little peace and quiet.
My body is weary. My soul is sapped. But I let my gaze roam from the dirty dishes in my hands to the shimmer of sunset in the sky, and I think of the lesson God has been teaching me lately:
We who are created in the image of a marvelous God are made to marvel. And sometimes our quest for solace is really just an ache for awe.
So, I set those dirty dishes in the sink and return my giddy boy’s grin. “We’d better hurry. The sun is sinking fast.”
We hop in the car and drive to that place where the thick tree line gives way to sprawling sky. And for a brief moment, I’m not just a weary mom with dirty dishes piled high at home. I’m a wonder-seeker lifting my eyes above my daily grind to get a glimpse of the divine.
I breathe deeply and let heaven’s hush invade my haggard heart. My son sighs happily and wraps his slender fingers around mine. “I’m glad we chased the sunset, Mom,” he whispers. “‘Cause that’s just what we do.”
The sky is growing dark, but I can finally see it clearly — how wonder is an antidote to weariness. And awe revives a flagging soul like water fuels a drooping body.
I’m not the first to discover it, of course. King David knew it, too. He had a nation to rule and a family to tend, decisions to make and conflicts to mend; yet David lifted his eyes above the demands of his days to see the wonder of God’s ways.
He applauded God’s handiwork in his own life (Psalm 139) and relished God’s artistry in the world around him (Psalm 8). He celebrated the magnificence of God’s Word (Psalm 119) and the brilliance of His deeds (Psalm 145).
In Psalm 8:3-4, David writes: “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”
We don’t know what drove David into the dark on that night long ago, but we know what happened beneath those stars — wonder didn’t just fuel his soul, it flipped his perspective.
When David considered the wonder of God’s handiwork, he encountered the grandeur of God’s heart. And we do, too.
Wonder buoys our souls because it bends our knees. Wonder reminds us God is big, and we are small. And we don’t need to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders because He already carries the world in His hands.
So, let’s be wonder-seekers today, dear friends. Let’s look up and around. Let’s listen and give thanks.
And when we get a glimpse of God’s glory in our grit, let’s choose to stop and marvel. Because as children of a marvelous God, that’s just what we do.
Dear Jesus, sometimes my life just doesn’t feel amazing. It feels monotonous and wearisome, humdrum and hard. But You have created my soul to marvel. Help me see Your glory in the midst of my daily grind, and let me discover more of Your heart as I applaud Your handiwork. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
Alicia Bruxvoort
TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Isaiah 40:26, “Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.” (NLT)
Devotion
Do you ever stop to watch the sunset? I love to take pictures, and often make my husband drive somewhere so that I can capture the beauty, but nothing captured on that camera can equal the magnificence of the real thing. God has made such a spectacular world for us to enjoy! Take some time out to do that today and have a Marvelous Monday ladies!
“The Antidote for a Weary Soul”
“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”
Psalm 8:3-4 (ESV)
We are wrapping up our evening meal on the deck when his eyes shift from the sliver of pink watermelon in his hand to the streaks of salmon sunlight hovering above the horizon.
“It’s gonna be a great sunset tonight,” my youngest boy declares.
“Mm-hmm …” I murmur as I gather dirty plates and wrinkled napkins, empty milk glasses and sticky silverware.
“Can we chase it, Mom?” Joshua begs, “Can we?”
I’ve already spent the day chasing children across the yard and chasing the dog around the neighborhood. I’ve chased down missing keys, missing shoes and my own missing patience. And the only thing I really want to chase is a little peace and quiet.
My body is weary. My soul is sapped. But I let my gaze roam from the dirty dishes in my hands to the shimmer of sunset in the sky, and I think of the lesson God has been teaching me lately:
We who are created in the image of a marvelous God are made to marvel. And sometimes our quest for solace is really just an ache for awe.
So, I set those dirty dishes in the sink and return my giddy boy’s grin. “We’d better hurry. The sun is sinking fast.”
We hop in the car and drive to that place where the thick tree line gives way to sprawling sky. And for a brief moment, I’m not just a weary mom with dirty dishes piled high at home. I’m a wonder-seeker lifting my eyes above my daily grind to get a glimpse of the divine.
I breathe deeply and let heaven’s hush invade my haggard heart. My son sighs happily and wraps his slender fingers around mine. “I’m glad we chased the sunset, Mom,” he whispers. “‘Cause that’s just what we do.”
The sky is growing dark, but I can finally see it clearly — how wonder is an antidote to weariness. And awe revives a flagging soul like water fuels a drooping body.
I’m not the first to discover it, of course. King David knew it, too. He had a nation to rule and a family to tend, decisions to make and conflicts to mend; yet David lifted his eyes above the demands of his days to see the wonder of God’s ways.
He applauded God’s handiwork in his own life (Psalm 139) and relished God’s artistry in the world around him (Psalm 8). He celebrated the magnificence of God’s Word (Psalm 119) and the brilliance of His deeds (Psalm 145).
In Psalm 8:3-4, David writes: “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”
We don’t know what drove David into the dark on that night long ago, but we know what happened beneath those stars — wonder didn’t just fuel his soul, it flipped his perspective.
When David considered the wonder of God’s handiwork, he encountered the grandeur of God’s heart. And we do, too.
Wonder buoys our souls because it bends our knees. Wonder reminds us God is big, and we are small. And we don’t need to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders because He already carries the world in His hands.
So, let’s be wonder-seekers today, dear friends. Let’s look up and around. Let’s listen and give thanks.
And when we get a glimpse of God’s glory in our grit, let’s choose to stop and marvel. Because as children of a marvelous God, that’s just what we do.
Dear Jesus, sometimes my life just doesn’t feel amazing. It feels monotonous and wearisome, humdrum and hard. But You have created my soul to marvel. Help me see Your glory in the midst of my daily grind, and let me discover more of Your heart as I applaud Your handiwork. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
Alicia Bruxvoort
TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Isaiah 40:26, “Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing.” (NLT)
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