Today’s verse makes me want to dance.
This verse appears on the bottom of the fry container at In-N-Out. By the way, you may want to dance just to burn some of the calories if you eat the fries Animal Style (yes, another secret menu item).
All in Encouragement
The “Secret Menu” of Your Life
Today’s verse comes from In-N-Out’s milkshake cup. My California friends, who introduced me to In-N-Out, love the Neapolitan shake. You won’t see it listed on the menu. It’s considered part of the “secret” menu and made with all three regular shake flavors: chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.
Does Jesus Want a Bite of Your Burger?
Today’s verse comes from In-N-Out Burger’s hamburger wrapper. I think it’s fitting because Rev. 3:20 sounds like Jesus wants to eat with us.
The Heartbeat of Life
Singer Danny Gokey recorded a song entitled “Tell Your Heart to Beat Again.” This beautiful song gives me encouragement to keep going when I am tired or depressed. https://youtu.be/eUHRDCYnFfg
Spinning out of Control: Stop the World, I want to Get Off!
If one were to attach a descriptor to 2020, it could easily be: spinning out of control! I am reminded of the title to the 1961 musical made famous by Anthony Newley: Stop the World, I want to Get Off. 2020—exactly! Ever wonder who was in control through the months of uncertainty? The experts wavered—how was the virus transmitted? are surfaces contaminated? how close is close? do we need to wear masks? how long to quarantine? And we still don’t really have answers.
When Hard Work Doesn’t Pay Off
Sometimes this verse can be hard to believe.
Today is one of those days.
Broken and Beautiful
I love seashells.
And I love all kinds. Even broken ones.
Evangelism Going Out of Fashion?
The Barna Group recently released a new report: Reviving Evangelism, which revealed that almost half of American Christians between the ages of 23 and 38 think it’s wrong to share their faith.
Someone’s Praying for You
I still remember my concern when I realized my little Granny would one day not be around to pray for me. She’d stood as a spiritual rock my entire life. As she aged, I began to dread the inevitable loss. Then, a doctor’s diagnosis and a brief illness brought me to the place I feared.
If
The word “If” is a tiny word with big meaning. In my Bible, it’s near the top of a passage dubbed “The Believer’s Triumph.” Paul used it when he posed what seemed to be a rhetorical question. Paul just explained the amazing gift of salvation God offered through the sacrifice of His Son. He also taught about the role of the Holy Spirit in believers’ lives. He then concluded, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Rather than a question, Paul actually stated a fact! God isfor us, and He proved it by sending His Son and His Holy Spirit.
Welcome!
My daughter witnessed a rare moment—a cow returning to the herd with her newborn calf. The expectant mother had wandered off the evening before to give birth privately in the scrub brush. As dawn broke, the pair stood alone under a tree. The yearlings wandered up first. They circled the calf in curious amazement. Even though the mother tried to stay between them and her baby, she was outnumbered. Each simply wanted a sniff and appeared to say, “Welcome to the herd!” When the rest of the cows arrived, the calf was apparently overwhelmed with joy. It left its mother and eagerly greeted each cow one-by-one. It seemed to ask, “Will you be my friend?”
Keep it Together
Forgive me for taking this verse a wee bit out of context, but I was at my wits end. I did not think I could keep it together. Then, while reading through the small book of Colossians, these words, “by him all things hold together” immediately jumped out at me.
Blessing Overflow
I knew the holiday season would prove difficult for my mother. She had moved into an assisted living facility in the midst of the COVID plague and could only receive visitors through a plexiglass wall. There would be no family Christmas gathering for her.
Look What Is Under the Tree: Day 5
There is one gift left under the tree.
Can you see it there in the back, behind the tissue and the gold wrapping paper?
I saved it for last because it is just for you-- from me.
Look What Is Under the Tree: Day 4
The other day our youngest granddaughter and I were visiting about her upcoming birthday party. I asked her who would be at her party and she named several children from her kindergarten class, none of whom I knew. To make conversation, I asked her to tell me about them. A couple of half-hearted answers later, she said, “Don’t tell anybody, but I like the presents more than people.” Words spoken with a six year-old’s honesty, but a sentiment we can all relate to. Who doesn’t like presents?
Look What Is Under the Tree: Day 3
I don’t know about you, but my childhood Christmases weren’t all teddy bears and ballet slippers. It was also the season when practical needs came wrapped in holiday paper. One item I could pretty much count on to make an annual appearance under the tree was a new scarf.
Look What Is Under the Tree: Day 2
Do you remember two-part presents? When it was your turn to select a gift to open, an adult would say something like, “You can open that, but if you do, you need to open this package, too. If they aren’t opened together, they won’t make much sense.”
Pruning for Purity
All summer long, my backyard rose bush produces hundreds of pink roses. I notice that it blooms and then most of the roses die about the same time. With my garden shears, I cut away the spent blooms. I imagine it sighing and saying, Thank you. Now I have room to grow and bloom all over again.
Painful Plowing
Trials are hard. They’re messy. They’re down right painful. Do you feel blessed when you experience them?
For eight years, I drove by the same field. There were weeds growing, and the grass looked unhealthy and sparse. One day, as I drove by, I noticed a tractor driving over the grass with sharp circular blades cutting through the hard, cracked, dry ground turning the soil. How painful that must be for the ground, I thought.
Refined as Gold
Do you know how precious metals are refined? Smelting is the process in which gold is separated from ore and other metals. The ore is first pulverized with extreme pressure to create tiny particles, which are then melted at almost 2000 degrees Fahrenheit. As the gold becomes molten, most of the impurities are burned up.