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January 25

“Bring Me the Sacrifice of your time, and watch to see how abundantly I bless you and your loved ones.”

Many times I tell myself “I don’t have time for this.” This can be referring to anything from doing a task all the way to something specific as doing devotional. Like I’ll think “I don’t have time to do devotional” or “I don’t have time to put on my make up.” But that part in devotional about if we sacrifice our time He will bless us and our loved ones. That was really interesting to me because yeah I make excuses as to why I don’t have time for things, yet God just wants my time. Time with Him, in His word, and in prayer. So that’s something I will definitely try to improve on. Just making time, sacrificing time, prioritizing my time, and spending time.

January 15

We’re half way through the new year and it feels like it’s moving in slow motion. The concept of time and all it dictates is so weird to think about. But anyways...

This devotional reminds us to look to Jesus when you’re facing problems. Call out to Him when you feel like the waves and worries of this world are overtaking you. This analogy of facing problems like waves in the ocean or waves in a storm reminds me of many relatable stories in the Bible. Peter walking on water, Jesus calming the storm, etc. But most recently I went surfing with my sister in Hawaii last October. In all honesty, I was pretty scared. I’m not the biggest fan of being out in the ocean just on a floating piece of foam. I get nervous just thinking what could be under the water or what if I totally ate it and didn’t have the board to hold on to so I drown because I’m not a strong swimmer. Crazy things like that.

But when I was out in the water literally feeling the waves crashing, the rain falling on me, then having to dive through waves all I could think about was the song Oceans by Hillsong. (lol don’t laugh at me. honestly at like almost any given hour of the day if I’m not focusing super hard on something and if I’m in a good mood I’ll most likely have a song playing in my head.) Look up the lyrics of the song and that was literally how I felt when my little body was bobbing up and down in those waves. I was scared. Worried that something might happen to me. I got hit by a bunch of waves. Some I ducked under/into, others were small that I could float on top of, then there were the ones that literally knocked me off the board and I felt like I wouldn’t recover. But the beauty of it was that exact experience of enduring all of that to get a couple good waves and one heck of an experience.

Just like our walk with God. He will lead us to places we never thought we could go. Where our faith is without boarders because we trust in Him and we trust in the places He has taken us before. He’ll lead us into deeper waters because we have the confidence in Him to take care of us.

Seriously after that surfing experience I couldn’t look at the ocean and hear the song Oceans the same way. It gave me new insight and a deeper experience with Christ.

Anyways...my random thoughts on the devotional reading from today. May we learn to trust Jesus and learn to put our unwavering faith in Him to allow Him to lead us into deeper waters. Deeper experiences with Him so that we can have a closer and more intimate relationship with Him.

I am leading you along a way that is uniquely right for you. The closer to Me you grow, the more fully you become your true self- the one I designed you to be.

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. December 30

To say that 2020 has thrown me for a loop is an understatement. I’m sure there are countless of others who have experienced worse than me, but 2020 really taught me to see the good in the little and simple things.

What 2020 taught me:

to be grateful for good health & strength

Corona virus is a sneaky little beeech and I’m so thankful my loved ones stayed safe thus far

to hold my loved ones tight (or in COVID times the appropriate term would probably be to cherish them and not hold them lol)

my grandma turned 90 this year and because of lock down→social distancing→working from home I was able to spend an extended amount of time with her

We have countless family members and friends who are front liners

to celebrate the little wins that lead to big wins

Failures eventually lead to successes

to humbly acknowledge my accomplishments

I finished fieldwork II during a pandemic

I graduated grad school (minus a graduation)

Passed my boards exam

Got my first job

to believe that I am worthy of good things happening to me

Considering my past, it has been hard for me to find the good in others and to accept that good things can actually happen to me

Kyle and I got engaged this year and he’s seriously a huge source of where I draw my happiness from. He makes me a better person and I am so blessed to be loved by him

The Lord has truly blessed me this year. Even in ways that I might not have known about or realized. Life is extremely fragile and we take so much for granted. I can not wait to see what He has in store for me in the future. Here’s to 2021, living in the moment, and receiving all the blessings the Lord can’t wait to bestow upon us.

December 10

Accept the value of problems in this life, considering them pure joy. James 1 talks about how we should view problems and difficulties we encounter in our lives. We should consider it pure joy and be thankful for our problems because they teach us how to overcome and they give us the knowledge on how to face other or similar problems in the future. We need to go through problems to gain that knowledge until we lack nothing because we’ve learned all we could from the problems we’ve faced.

This is an interesting way to look at problems especially because everyone hates having problems and wishes they would go away. Wishing for a problem free life can show how little we depend on Christ. Because by viewing our problems as joy and opportunities to overcome we can shift our mindset to Christ. We can ask Him for help and He has the ability to change our trials into triumphs.

December 7

To know that someone cares so deeply about us that they are concerned with every detail in our lives can either be scary or comforting, depending on how you look at it. That might sound a little stalker-ish if you’ve had bad experiences with people who misuse information you give them or who might be abusive and turn things against you to manipulate you. Buuuut that’s be side the point.... lol. It could also be seen as comforting if you think about it from Jesus’ perspective. He cares so much about us that He even notices the number of hairs on our head. He wants to be so involved in our lives to make us feel safe and complete. So why not come to Him and tell Him our cares and our worries. We already vent and rant to friends on a daily basis. Instead or in addition to, we can turn to Jesus and involve Him in our daily lives. Fix our gaze on Him even though we can’t physically see Him. He cares for you.

2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

December 2

Reading today’s devotional reminded me of this song.

December 1

“The ultimate protection against sinking during life’s storms is devoting time to develop your friendship with Me.”

This morning I could not find Lamentations. I was about to give up but then decided to give in and check the table of contents. The song I had learned in 4th grade to help me memorize the books of the Bible didn’t help me this time! It’s because I glossed over Lamentations and Ezekiel when singing the song in my head. But the verses in Lamentations were so wonderful to read:

Lamentations 3:22-26 NLT 22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. 23 Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. 24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” 25 The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. 26 So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.

November 30

“Problems are part of life. They are inescapable, woven into the very fabric of this fallen world. You tend to go into problem-solving mode all too readily, acting as if you have the capacity to fix everything. This is a habitual response, so automatic that it bypasses your conscious thinking. Not only does this habit frustrate you, it also distances you from Me. Some humbling words right there. I definitely find myself in situations like that where I try to fix the problem before consulting God. Then in my own weakness, I’m unable to find a solution and get frustrated. In our vespers on Friday, we talked about putting our faith and trust in God. That is something I definitely need to do more. I often rely on my own strength and knowledge when trying to solve the problems in my life. When instead I should be casting my cares on Him and trusting that all things will work together for good.

The most recent example of this was when one of my best friends tested positive for Covid-19. It was a harsh reality and it caught all of us off guard. My immediate thoughts were “but we’ve been so careful.” We all got tested and eventually all tested negative; including my best friend who initially tested positive. It was a hard pill to swallow and I can only imagine how she must have felt cooped up in her room all week. But God is good. He took care of us and helped us solve this problem and overcome this hurdle.

November 25

An attitude of gratitude makes it easier to communicate with God. I guess I never thought of it that way. When we are preoccupied with thanking God, we have no time to worry or complain. Then with a continued attitude of gratitude and constant thanksgiving, negative patterns eventually get weaker.

In this the COVID year of 2020, having a continuous attitude of gratitude has been difficult to say the least. Finding the silver lining when you’re faced with many struggles gets hard. I could sit here and list all the bad things that happened in our family this year, but I know someone somewhere would have had it worse. I could sit here and sulk instead of doing something productive about the situation. I could sit here and blame God for everything that’s happened. ORRRRR.... I could be thankful that

I’m alive

I’m healthy and breathing

my sister and parents are healthy & alive

my boyfriend and his family are healthy & alive

I can walk outside with my dog

I have a job to start soon

a car that gets me where I need to go

family & friends who support me

a warm blanket and bed to rest on

a roof over my head

food to eat

We are beyond blessed. And if we take the time to thank Him in all circumstances our situations seem less grim.

November 23

I loved the analogy of looking for tiny treasures throughout the day as if they were like little flowers. As we go about the day we can pluck the little treasures and by the end of the day we’d have a lovely bouquet.

Sometimes it’s hard for me to see the good in things and expect good to be given to me. I feel like I’ve been dealt some pretty nasty hands over the years and accepting that there will be good in someone/something really takes effort. So this was a good reminder that God continues to give us blessings- big and small- to brighten our days. Even something as simple as peace for when we sleep is a blessing (Psalm 4:8).

I legit remember when I was in that abusive relationship, there were times when to cope with the constant stress around me I would just sleep. I would sleep because in my sleep I couldn’t do wrong, he wouldn’t get mad, he couldn’t say mean things to me, he couldn’t blame me for what I did or didn’t do, and he couldn’t accuse me of doing things I wasn’t doing. So sleep was a way I coped and dealt with the stress. I even remember wanting to sleep and never wake up because I didn’t want to have to deal with him. A gift as simple as peace for when we sleep to rest and recuperate from the world around us is a huge blessing when someone is hurting and unable to find rest in being awake.

Your responsibility is to be receptive to this unconditional Love. Thankfulness and trust are your primary receptors. Thank Me for everything; trust Me at all times.

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. November 20

November 20

I was offered full time at the job! Even before my first day on the job the company said they’d like to have me full time. Logistics are still being worked out, but I’m so blessed. Yesterday I was really contemplating whether or not to accept the offer of full time. (I know. I know. Who wouldn’t want a full time job, right?) But I had some doubts and uncertainties. Today’s devotional was encouraging to read about being “receptive to His unconditional Love.” God is eager to give us blessings. It’s up to us on whether or not to receive them. No amount of effort (works) can get us the salvation He provides...it’s a gift from Him. I hope next time I won’t be as hesitant to receive the good gifts that He provides so that I can continually enjoy all the blessings He bestows on us.

November 18

Interesting that today’s devotional talked again about catering to others expectations-real or imagined expectations. It’s true that we can feel “enslaved” to pleasing them until we have almost nothing left. Hopefully we can cling to Jesus and His truths so that we aren’t as concerned about others’ expectations of us.

November 17

I’ve always been conscious of what others think of me and of certain things like their likes and dislikes. There was even a point when I was younger where I’d do my hair so that the boy I liked at that time would notice me because he liked my hair when it was done that specific way. Today’s devotional tells us that following the ways of the world will lead deeper and deeper into an abyss. Even voices of other Christians may make it harder for us to focus on what really matters. So I guess my take away today is to try to focus more no what Jesus thinks of me and how I can please Him. His opinion is the one that truly matters.

November 16

Had a good weekend with the boyfriend. We got to go off-roading with some of his coworkers and a couple others. Had some life analogy thoughts as I was sitting in the truck with him. We were going through some extremely bumpy roads, but literally the only way to get out of it was to go through it. Eventually the bumpy roads passed and we were on smooth gravel that was less turbulent. I guess life is sometimes like that too. We have to persevere through the bumpy and rough parts. Sometimes the only way to get out of tough situations is to go through them. And after a while everything will pass away and you’ll be smooth sailing once again. It helps to have a good navigator and driver who knows how to maneuver you through the tough spots. Just like Jesus does for us.

November 12

I accepted a part time job today!

I’ve been slacking on doing daily devotional and expressing my thoughts on the readings. But my bf and I haven’t been slacking on our daily prayers together. I’ve been praying about jobs pretty much since the day I started studying for my NBCOT exam. I put pressure on myself to pass so that I could get a job. I’ve been stressing and stress praying about it for what has felt like a long time now. I am so thankful to God for this opportunity to work and put my degree to use!

The devotional today kind of validated my feelings of accepting the job. I had a lot of doubts in my mind and I was slightly disappointed that it wasn’t the full time job that I was initially offered. But the devotional said that sometimes we hesitate to receive the good gifts that God gives. And honestly I felt like that after hearing from my recruiter. But I guess I’m just happy to be offered a job at all. This year has brought so many uncertainties and my mind spirals with uncertainties. So I’m grateful for this job offer and I gladly accept the gifts God gives. I want to accept every blessing that He gives with an open and grateful heart. No need to get greedy and ask for too much. This is a blessing already and I’m very happy and thankful. We’ll see where He leads next!

November 5

Put more energy into trusting Me and enjoying my presence. Don’t let your well being depend on your circumstances. instead, connect your joy to my precious promises.

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