Daily Devotional

Safety driving features for vehicles continue to develop and become more common as technology increases.  There are lane departure warnings, blind spot detections, emergency braking systems, back up cameras, and more.  These features assist drivers to stay aware and alert.  These help with knowing about the other drivers on the road, as well as give visual aids and cues to lower the risk of an accident.

Even a simpler car or an older vehicle has seat belts, air bags, side mirrors and a rearview mirror. Of course, even with all these features – more simple or advanced, you still have to know how to drive. You may have been taught to drive by a parent or a trusted adult or took a course with an instructor. There are many things to know and do to get safely from point A to point B.

As we move forward in life, it’s also important to know that we have many tools to help us navigate. And still, we often feel lost or unequipped…

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom I serve with a clear conscience, as did my fathers, when I remember you constantly in my prayers. As I remember your tears, I long night and day to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lo′is and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you. Hence I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control.

I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I […]

As old of a sport as track and field is, many of the changes and innovations did not take place until recent times. One of those changes was brought to the sport by Dick Fosbury. Fosbury was a student at Medford High School in Portland, Oregon. He wanted to be part of the track team, but struggled to make the lowest qualifying height for the high jump. His leg strength was not the problem. The technique of the time was to jump forward, kicking each leg over the bar, one at a time. By all accounts, Dick Fosbury was unable to coordinate his movements to be successful in the high jump.

Dick Fosbury did not give up. As a Junior in high school, Fosbury began to experiment with new methods to clear the high bar…

The first time I remember getting into a boat was just after my dad had purchased a small bass boat. I was young, about 8 years old, and we took it to Lake Ellsworth for its maiden voyage. Even at an early age, I loved to fish, but this was the first time I’ve been in a boat on a large lake. To be very honest, I was terrified.
My nervousness was somewhat expected since I was a small child, and it was my first time on the lake. The disciples’ fear that night on the lake was unexpected. Most of Jesus’ disciples were experienced fishermen. They had grown up on the water. They were experts at handling boats. However, Matthew tells us they were “Afraid.” The wind was strong, and the waves were crashing into the boat…

As teenagers, we think we know it all. We have all the answers and everyone else just “doesn’t understand.”  This sentiment could not have been more true for me heading toward my 16th birthday. While I was completely crushed by tragedy that had stricken just months prior with the loss of my mother, I felt this total desire to run as far and as fast as I could toward a feeling that was somewhere between numbness and overwhelm.  I just wanted ’normal’.  Well, normal landed me at a church camp in which I had been encouraged to go to by my Jewish foster parents (the irony was never lost on me).  It was there that I would meet some of my closest and dearest friends to this day, feel whole for the first time in a long time, and find myself face to face with Jesus…

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” -Galatians 6:2

It is starting to get hot outside. The days are getting longer. The spring rains have begun to fall. That means it is time to mow the lawn! For many, mowing the lawn is just another one of the ordinary, mundane tasks that we do during the warmer months. For some, mowing the lawn is a far-too-difficult task. Between the cost of equipment and the physical demands of the actual labor, mowing can be challenging.

Spencer B. is the owner and operator of SB Mowing in Wichita, KS. He knows how much labor is involved in mowing; after all, he has been running his own mowing service since he was 12 years old. Spencer is now 24 and newly married. Spencer paid for his college by mowing lawns. He has no plans to stop mowing. This is just one way that Spencer exercises his entrepreneurial spirit.

God has a plan. He has a plan for each one of his precious children. He knows what we are destined to become and how we will accomplish that task. A friend from my women’s bible study told me this and it rings so true.

“If you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans.”

He knows we will have love and heartache. We will have joy and sorrows. WhenI am unsure of what I should do, I am very hesitant on how to proceed. I tend to doubt my path that has been laid out by my God. I must remind myself to trust and put my faith in God. Proverbs 3:5-6 helps me remember to- “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

I was an early childhood educator for the state of Oklahoma for the past 15 years…

And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Come, let us return and visit the brethren in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” And Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphyl′ia, and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp contention, so that they separated from each other; Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of the Lord.

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
    he heard my cry for mercy.
Because he turned his ear to me,
    I will call on him as long as I live.

The cords of death entangled me,
    the anguish of the grave came over me;
    I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
Then I called on the name of the Lord:
   “Lord, save me!”

The Lord is gracious and righteous;
    our God is full of compassion.
The Lord protects the unwary;
    when I was brought low, he saved me.

Return to your rest, my soul,
    for the Lord has been good to you.