Encouraging Words Devotional

They Call Her Sister Freda

They call her Sister Freda, and she is an inspiration to me!  She is a Kenyan nurse who saw great need and decided to do something about it. So she started a medical clinic in an area of great poverty.

Wonder—and Worship

“Oh, Terri, just look at that rose! See the delicate markings and shading? Absolutely gorgeous! Just look at it!”

Yes, when I see a beautiful flower, I immediately want to grab your arm and pull you over to take a look at its loveliness, the exquisite color, the unusual formation of the petals. Terri, my walking partner, is getting used to my exclamations as we pass by lovely flowers. She knows I just have to exclaim about them. And she knows she might as well stop right where she is until I’ve had time to take a closer look.

Talking to a Friend Can Be Prayer

Talking is something most women enjoy. I guess it’s because women value relationships that we also value time to share feelings and thoughts with other women. But because of our fast pace of living, talking with friends is something most women do less and less these days.

Dark Days

I’m always fascinated to listen to people tell how God met them at their point of desperation. Take the Elegados, for instance. In his work for the copper and gold mines during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, Mr. Elegado had the only car allowed to go back and forth to the mines near Baguio.  In order to be permitted to pass check points he had to have a Japanese sticker on the car. 

When Life Isn’t Fair

A while back I was asked to speak to a group of women on how to live with infidelity, alcoholism or abuse. I was unqualified to speak from personal experience, so my walking partner, Terri, came up with a plan: “Why don’t I set you up to talk to some of my friends who have found God’s strength to survive this kind of pain?” Terri did just that. So for a week I listened and took notes.

I Want That!

In the area where we live, we have to be hooked up to cable TV to get any TV reception at all.  For me one of the best parts about that is that we get the Home and Garden channel—HGTV. It may be called something else in your area, but you probably have a similar channel. I love enjoying the creativity of people who design beautiful landscaping and choose lovely colors and decor for their homes.

A Scary Prayer?

Sometimes when you’re reading a book, a single phrase jumps off the page and catches your attention.  It happened to me this week.  I was reading Jill Briscoe’s book The Deep Place Where Nobody Goes, and the phrase that stood out to me was in the middle of a conversation that Jill was having with God.  The phrase? Simply the words “Spend me.”[i]

 

In the Beginning God Created

Science writer Samuel Alibrando proposes a challenge to anyone who has difficulty believing that God created the earth. He says,

Let’s make a huge puzzle….  And let’s limit it to say, one million parts. It includes chemicals, scientific properties, elements, atoms, cells, changing weather, bugs, fish, reptiles, plants, dirt, mammals and instincts. Okay, can you put it together so that not one thing lacks what it needs…?

Enjoy Them Now

Ken was still madly in love with Mary after 40 years of marriage.  Everyone could see that! But Mary unexpectedly passed away with cancer, and Ken found himself alone and heart-broken. 

Something Beautiful

An artist decided to begin work on what he meant to be the masterpiece of his life.  In his mind he knew exactly what he wanted to paint. He was working on the canvas, putting on the drab colors and grays that were to make up the background, when a friend came by to see him.