Saying "Thank you" is one of the first lessons we try to teach our children. Some babies even learn to sign "Thank you" before they can talk. It's an important lesson. Showing gratitude is a way of showing love, of showing that we appreciate the other person and what they have done for us. But, I am convicted that many times I forget to say thank you. Sure, I pray a prayer of thanks when something major happens. If someone is miraculously healed or we unexpectedly get money we needed or someone I love finds a job after months of unemployment, I definitely pray and thank God! But, I often forget about the little things- the fact that no one is sick in my house today, the fact that I have a comfortable house to live in, the fact ...
Category Archives: Devotional
Trapped by my own grip
This is a bug house. It's meant for young explorers to place their backyard prey into without suffocating them like our generation did when we simply put the bugs into a glass jar with some bits of grass and a couple holes poked in the lid. A couple of summers ago I discovered a new use for it. Actually, my 2 year old son discovered it--it can also function as toddler trap. I entered into the scenario when I heard one of those screeches usually reserved for an episode of sibling rivalry. I came around the corner to serve as referee and found my son with his hand in the bug hut, stomping his feet and shaking it. I got him to stop flinging it around long enough to see the problem; he thought it looked ...
Five Finger Prayer
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." Eph 6:18 Of all the spiritual disciplines, prayer is often the hardest for me. I do talk to God all day, and I guess that’s prayer, but some days I feel like only emergency prayers get tossed heavenward. You could say that God certainly gets all kinds of requests from me, that's for sure. But somehow, I’m not so sure that’s what the scripture above means. Recently, my children and I have been discussing prayer. During the school year, we have a 20 minute drive to school each morning and we use that time to pray. We take turns praying out loud. But over the summer, without the commute, we haven’t been so diligent. ...
Look Up and Smile
A very dear friend just emailed this sweet story to me: A Child's View of Thunderstorms A little girl walked to and from school daily. Though the weather that morning was questionable and clouds were forming, she made her daily trek to the elementary school. As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up, along with lightning. The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school and she feared the electrical storm might harm her child. Full of concern, the mother quickly got into her car and drove along the route to her child's school. As she did, she saw her little girl walking along. At each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up, and smile. Another and another flash of lighting followed quickly and ...
Spaces of grace
grace: unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification b: a virtue coming from God c: a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace I can’t get away from it this morning. I woke up with these words--a space of grace--trailing again and again across my mind. I wanted to write about something entirely different here this morning, but the right words for that post are just too elusive. And so I’m giving in to the words that are here, and I’m exploring them. I’ve always known these spots existed, these spaces of grace, but I’ve never had reason to put a name or a description to what they were, or what they meant to my life. They are these “pockets of time” in our spiritual journey when we experience moments so filled with His power that we are ...
Hose Water
“Tell me all the fun things you did today?” I questioned my eight and six-year-old about Bible school. “Well,” Faith began, and took a deep breath. I knew I was in for a story... “We were outside playing games and it was hot. So they gave us cups from Sonic and you won’t believe what was in them,” my daughter told me, getting more and more animated. I equate Bible school with Kool-aid so I had a pretty good guess. “What?” I asked, waiting for her reply. “HOSE WATER!” She spat it out in the most exasperated way. I wasn’t sure I understood what she said, so I made the mistake of asking again. “HOSE WATER! HOSE WATER! You know, water that comes out of a hose, like from outside,” Faith told me still not believing they had the audacity to serve it. “And ...
Our Heavenly Teacher
This is what the Lord says - your Redeemer, the Holy one of Israel: "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. Isaiah 48:17 With summer break here in much of the United States, teachers and students alike are breathing a sigh of relief . . . thankful to leave the classroom for a couple of months. As a former teacher, I remember this time of year as being bitter sweet. I loved the slower pace of the summer, the extra time with my own children, and of course not having to head off to work every morning. Yet, it was difficult to say good-bye on that last day of school. I know I am not the only teacher to shed tears as students ...
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Genny Heikka
Managing EditorGenny started her career life thinking that the business world was where she wanted to be. But after her daughter was born and she began reading books to her, she realized that what she really wanted to do was be a writer...
