Though undiagnosed, I know that I suffer from an element of Seasonal Affect Disorder, also known as SAD. SAD is defined as a mood disorder that affects people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year, bringing on mild to significant symptoms of...
Last Thursday, in "Preparing the Mango, Part 1", we saw that when we make the effort to focus beyond our own circumstances, we will often realize they aren't so bad after all. But wait. We're talking about serious problems here. Can we truly expect that focusing on...
Over the last 7 devotionals, we've been looking at the story of Jesus--and Peter!--walking on water. We've seen: 1. How God has indeed called each of us out upon the waters, into situations where ‘our feet may fail'! But it is there that we find Him in the mystery,...
God is very, very good. We had been planning this particular trip for months. Having just purchased a new trailer and a new vehicle to tow it, we were chomping at the bit to take them out for their maiden voyage. Imagine our disappointment when the weather forecast...
"He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end." (Eccl 3:11) Last week, a very selfless little squirrel gave us his entire...
Today in the penultimate part of our 4-part series on the some obvious and some not-so-obvious lessons gleaned from the first Christmas, let's focus on Poverty... If at all there was one person who could have chosen affluent parents to live a life of ease, it was...
Those were dark days in Israel. The ark of God had been captured and was in the hands of the enemy, and the high priest, Eli was dead, as were his two sons. For all practical purposes, God had left Israel. We can all relate to this. It doesn't matter whether it is...
Last Saturday, in "Preparing the Mango, Part 2", we saw that we get through our trials, not by focusing on them, but by surrendering them to the God of the universe. This frees us to focus on the needs of others, and when we do, our own troubles shrink back to a...
"Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind..." (Job 38:1 NKJV) Life happens. Storms happen. And though we would love to believe that this new year will indeed be "happy", we know that things won't always go as we wish them to go. Illness comes. Financial...
It is quiz time folks! Name the fourth element in the nine-fold Fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). Of course, the first three-Love, Joy and Peace- reel off our mouth instantly but the fourth one (very vital one at that) doesn't come to our mind just as easily. Well,...