Daily Encouragement

[~*Lady Trekki*~]

I like to post encouraging devotionals that I get in my email from time to time. If you have an especially good devotional you'd like to share as well, feel free! :)

[~*Lady Trekki*~]

Spiritual Tennis
By Van Walton

"My God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. He is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence." 2 Samuel 2:23 (NLT)

I used to play tennis twice a week. I stopped playing several years ago. With my busy schedule, it became too much a juggle to commit to weekly games. There is another type of tennis I now find myself playing - I call it "spiritual tennis."

I have been often told I'm hyper-sensitive, defensive, or insecure. I have been told that I take comments too seriously or personally. "Can't you take a joke?" "Don't be so serious." "You are too thin skinned."

Come to think about it, I can get my feelings hurt easily! Now I certainly do not want to ever become hard-hearted or callous to life. I would rather be sympathetic than unfeeling. But the truth is, sometimes other's statements hit my mind, piercing my heart like purposefully directed missiles. It doesn't take much to wound me. Sadly, once I'm emotionally injured my focus becomes my pain -- to the extent that I become incapacitated for hours, days, or maybe months. During recovery my life is rendered worthless.

You are now wondering, "What do hurt feelings have to do with tennis?"

The game of tennis consists of two to four people competing against one another from opposite sides of the court. With the help of rackets, players smash, smack, and hurl the tennis ball back and forth with so much force as to cause the rival to move out of the way and, hopefully, return the ball.

Back and forth, back and forth goes the ball. A player scores when (s)he hits the ball with such force that the opposing player finds it impossible to deflect the ball. I can still hear my tennis coach. "All you have to do is return the ball." That meant that I had to properly position my racket at an exact angle that would bounce the ball, sending it across the net and hopefully into a corner of the opposing court where my opponent could not reach it.

One day I got hit by the ball. Ouch! I couldn't continue to play. I was incapacitated for days. Had my racket been in place, it would have shielded me and I would have averted the injury.

The racquet used for spiritual tennis is spelled S.H.I.E.L.D. When perceived insults, demeaning comments, or I-was-just-playing-with-you jokes fly at me, threatening to put me out of the game, I can be the winner rather than the loser. I position my "shield" to deflect the attack, refusing it to allow it to destroy me.

Unlike tennis, spiritual tennis, does not seek to destroy the opponent. Once I realized I could raise my shield and strike the comments, without returning insults or defending myself, I began to experience victory and walk with dignity rather than in despair.

I hold up my shield like this:

Say nothing to insult.
Hide myself in God and His dignity.
Intervene in prayer for the one who is "smacking" the ball at me.
Expect God's comfort when I tell Him about my wounded spirit.
Listen for God's wisdom.
Discuss my feelings with the one whose words or actions have hurt me.

Maybe you don't "wear your feelings on your sleeves" as much as I do but, possibly you can relate to my malady. If so, the next time you are zinged with a comment that can hurt your feelings, purpose to put your "shield" up.

Almighty God, You tell me to put on the shield. Without Your protection I perish. Show me when and how to use the shield you have given me. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

[Michie]

I think this should be a sticky. Daily Encouragement is great. :)

[~*Lady Trekki*~]

I think this should be a sticky. Daily Encouragement is great. :)
:thumbsup: :hug:

[Tenebrae]

I think this should be a sticky. Daily Encouragement is great. :)
Can we please sticky it?

I think its an awesome idea:thumbsup:

[GreenPartyVoter]

SHIELD? That's brilliant!

[~*Lady Trekki*~]

By Melanie Chitwood

"It's useless to rise early and got to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. Don't you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves? Psalm 127:2 (MSG)

Many women today share a few common denominators: we're busy, we're tired, and we need some breathing room! We have jobs outside the home and in. Husbands need meals, romance, clean laundry, and more romance. Kids have play-dates, sports, church activities, and homework. We volunteer at the school, run carpools, clean the kitchen, walk the dog, do laundry, squeeze in a walk - and on and on our list continues. Whew!

Ladies, we cannot do it all. The good news is that we were never intended to do it all. Today you have permission to say "no." For some of us that comes easily. However, for many of us women, whom God designed to be givers and nurturers, this word does not come out of our mouths very easily.

Here's one practical way I've learned to say "no." I ask myself, What are my priorities? I have two levels of priorities. The first level includes God, my husband, my children, and the home front. This level is set in stone. The second level of priorities includes ministry, friends, and exercise, and this level of priorities has more variation for me. Taken together, these priorities are my compass, helping to guide me to a "yes" or "no" when considering adding another activity to my life.

Let's see how this works in real life. Last year I was asked to teach a women's Bible study at my church. Now, at first glance, this seems like an automatic "yes." After all, teaching Bible study is a good thing! However, I took the time to pray, and God very clearly showed me it was not the right time to add this commitment to my life. Looking back my family and I were incredibly busy last year in some ways I hadn't anticipated. I see clearly how saying "no" was the right answer at that time.

In a sense I have to give myself permission to say "no" because for most of my life I've said "yes" when deep down inside I've wanted to say "no." Here are two practical guidelines to help you learn how to say "no." First, if you immediately know you don't want to do something, just go ahead and turn it down by saying something such as, "Thank you so much for asking, but I just cannot make that commitment right now." The next guideline -- pray! If you're asked to do something and you really want more time to consider the situation, be honest by responding, "Let me take some time to pray and I'll give you an answer in a week." Then really pray and listen to God's leading!

Take a deep breath and say it aloud -- no. Now breathe again, sit down for ten minutes with a cup of coffee and enjoy the breathing room you've created for yourself.

Dear Lord, You show me by Your example of resting on the seventh day of creation that I, too, need rest. Show me your priorities for my life. I pray that they align with Your will for me. Help me to say no to the things that appear good but might take me away from the better choices You have for me. Lord, I pray that I will have breathing room in my life, times to be refreshed and moments of quiet closeness with You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

[~*Lady Trekki*~]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=e8HgAVenbUU

Bring The Rain
~MercyMe

I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that
I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You

Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings
You glory And I know there'll
Be days When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to
Praise You Jesus, bring the rain

I am yours regardless of the clouds that may
Loom above because you are much greater than
My pain you who made a way for me suffering
Your destiny so tell me whats a little rain

[1st Chorus]

Holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy
Is the lord God almighty
Is the lord God almighty
I'm forever singing

[2nd Chorus 2x]

Everybody singing
Holy holy holy
You are holy
You are holy

[2nd Chorus 2x]

[JimfromOhio]

God's Overcomers (http://www.cmalliance.org/devotions/tozer/tozer.jsp?id=204)
I insist that if we are burdened with genuine concern, we have the responsibility of examining the true spiritual condition of men and women within the church's ranks. We do live in a time of soft, easy Christianity. It is an era marked by a polite "nibbling" around the edges of the Word of God. There is a mindset within present day Christianity that supposes one should get into trouble or suffer embarrassment for Christ's sake! My brethren, what does it mean to be loyal to Jesus Christ? To confess that Jesus Himself is more important to us than anything else in the world? Many find it hard to understand how large numbers of Christian believers could have died for their faith in our own generation! With a sense of distant admiration, we call them simple-hearted nationals. God calls them overcomers! Professing Christians in our North American churches can hardly comprehend so costly a price for the faith we take for granted. Material prosperity and popular acceptance have sapped the vitality of our Christian witness!

[~*Lady Trekki*~]

By Glynnis Whitwer


"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)

Tarnie treasures her early morning walks around the neighborhood before her two toddlers wake up and the day flies into high gear. One particular Sunday morning was especially beautiful ... the sky was azure blue, the air clean and crisp, and the quiet was accented only by the songs of a few cheerful birds and an occasional car.

As she turned a corner and started the second leg of her walk, she noticed a beat-up Cherokee ahead of her, driving on the wrong side of the street ... the same side she was walking on. The car stopped, then started, stopped, then started again. Unfortunately it was a very loud car, which disturbed the peace of her morning. Still optimistic and determined to enjoy her walk, Tarnie thought it would be short-lived ... either she would pass the vehicle or it would turn someplace else. Neither happened.

The two kept an annoying pace with each other as the car would start and stop, and Tarnie walked ahead of it, then behind it. Tarnie soon realized it was a newspaper delivery man, tossing out papers to those houses on his route. He seemed about 50 years old, and his face was expressionless as he alternately read his map and tossed the papers to the correct houses.

Tarnie was frustrated. She wanted the peace and quiet of that beautiful Sunday morning so she could talk with God before getting the family ready for church. But all she got was a strange dance with a newspaper delivery man. Why had God allowed this picture-perfect walk to be so annoyingly interrupted, she wondered.

As she started paying more attention to this man in the beat-up car delivering his papers, she realized he was not simply throwing the papers on the driveways ... not just whipping them out to land where ever they might land ... but instead he was intentionally tossing them. This caught her attention and she watched some more. As she did, she realized that each paper he tossed landed right next to, or right on top of, the other newspaper lying on the driveway that had already been delivered. Now, each driveway had two papers, right next to each other.

"How great to come out of your house and only have to bend down once to get your papers!" Tarnie thought. What at first seemed an annoyance was actually a show of selfless courtesy. But this was a show that will never be seen, known about, or even appreciated by most of those homeowners who would likely walk outside, grab their papers and go about their days.

But Tarnie noticed, and even more importantly, God noticed. She immediately thought of Colossians 3:23 and 24: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving" (NIV). She realized that if she were delivering papers to Jesus' house, she would make sure they were right next to the other papers so He would only have to bend down once.

Tarnie learned a lot that "noisy" early morning. God was speaking to her after all. Watching a normal paper delivery man in a beat-up car, driving on the wrong side of the street, and doing his job in an extraordinary way ... as if He were doing it for the Lord ... was a priceless learning experience. She was reminded that everything - everything -- can be done for Jesus!

Special thanks to devotion reader Tarnie Coleman for sharing this wonderful story.

Dear Lord, thank You for teaching us important biblical lessons through everyday events. Thank You for instilling value and worth in even the most humble tasks. Help me to keep a right attitude about my daily work, and remember that it's all for You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

[~*Lady Trekki*~]

Waiting for My Portion
By Amy Carroll



"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.'" Lamentations 3:22

It was going to be one of those days. I had gone to sleep with the long list of things to do rattling around in my head, slept fitfully and awakened with a knot of anxiety. I'm sure that you know exactly what I'm talking about. I was facing a day with more list than time and none of it could wait. I drug myself out of bed and through the morning routine with my children.

As I walked back into the house from the bus stop, I was tempted to skip the one thing that I can't live without. "But, Lord," I argued silently, "you know that I'm dust." (Yes, that's scriptural, but also one of my favorite cop-outs.) "You've given me most of the assignments on my list today, so I know that You'll understand if I skip my prayer and Bible study time." Even while I rehearsed the argument in my head, I felt the draw of the One who could bring order to this chaotic day.

At this point I need to say that many times I've made the argument and gone straight to my check list. On this particular day, however, God brought to my memory something that my friend and leader Lysa TerKeurst had said many times. She encourages us to ask God each morning for our assignment and then ask Him for our portion. Asking for my portion was a phrase that had really stuck with me.

Scripture has a lot to say about how God feeds and strengthens His children. When Jesus was teaching His disciples to pray, He instructed them to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." (Matt 6:11). Notice that He didn't say weekly bread (as if we could get everything we need at church each week and live the rest of the time on our own), monthly bread, or yearly bread.

The picture I love most, though, is that of the Israelites in the desert gathering the manna that God had provided as food. God's direction was to gather as much as they could eat for the day but not to try to keep it over night. Some ignored this last part of the instruction and found themselves left in the morning with stinky, maggoty leftovers! (Exodus 16). God wants the same thing for us as He wanted for the Israelites. He wants us to trust Him each day for what we need. He wants us to be dependent on Him each morning as we face the day asking our Provider for our portion.

I recently heard a question that I've been chewing on for some time. If I could knock on the door of God's office and ask for a look at His heavenly calendar, what would be on it that day for me? The speaker followed with an even more piercing question--what would NOT be on it that day for me? God clearly extends mercy to His overextended children, but I think that maybe the portion is for the items that He divinely has included on my daily agenda.

That morning I took the lesson to heart. I spent some time on my knees crying out for my portion, for God's order for the day and for a change in my own rotten attitude. Friends, I want to testify that He is faithful! The day went smoothly, and I even had a few minutes to put my feet up, to close my eyes and to thank Him before the bus returned to bring home my next assignment. He is good!

Dear Lord, I thank You that You promise to provide just the portion of strength and faith to face each day. Help me to come to You trusting that You will be my Provider. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

[~*Lady Trekki*~]

By Luann Prater

"But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy."2 Kings 5:11 (NIV)

Leprosy is an infectious disease that is characterized by disfiguring skin sores, nerve damage, and progressive debilitation. Being healed, with or without a dramatic flare should be appreciated. And yet, because God did not perform the miracle in the showy way Naaman thought, he was angry.

The job posting popped into my email. I hadn't gone looking for it, but there it was. A store manager's position was being sought for a local bridal shop. I wondered how in the world it ended up in my email. Always looking for God's fingerprints on my life, I responded to the notice with a simple reply, "Hopefully God will bring just the right person with bridal experience to you, if he does not, however, call me." And she did! She had only posted her job offer through the employment security office, so she was baffled why it ended up in my email. From the moment we met, we knew that God had meant for us to come together in some way.

I thought for sure that God had some miraculous reason for bringing our two lives together. At work each day I would watch and listen for signs of His purpose for having me there. Day after day, the drudgery of dealing with egocentric brides made me grow weary wondering if God really had a plan for me there or had I missed something.

The first week on the job I met an alterationist named Alexandra. She was from Ecuador and had not been home for 8 years. Only a month earlier I had discovered that our Proverbs 31 team would be traveling to Ecuador with Compassion International. "Ok God, is this the reason you brought me to this place?" I queried. I had many opportunities to talk with her about God. During my visit to Ecuador I hand delivered a care package from Alexandra for her family.

One day a bride was devastated when her wedding was cancelled. I wrapped my arms around her and asked if I could pray with her. Gently laying her head on my shoulder she shook her head and we prayed.

In the middle of the bustling busy day a bridesmaid came in with an attitude. She snapped at a young clerk so I stepped in and asked if she was ok. She grumbled that she had committed to be in a friend's wedding this weekend but this was the last place on earth she wanted to be. It seems her mother had just been in a head-on collision and was struggling for her very life in ICU. The frivolous trappings of a wedding had become a frustration. I asked if I could pray for her. She took my hands and we prayed.

So there has never been a showy lightning bolt experience that told me, "Ah-ha, THIS is why you brought me here!" I've only found moment-by-moment happenings that beckon me to be Jesus with skin on as I live each day.

Looking back on my life I can see countless times where I thought I knew what God was up to, only to discover later that I had no clue.

Are you frustrated with where God has placed you? Do you wonder why on earth you are here? Or what in the world is He thinking? Our infectious disease may be anger at the way God answers our prayers.

I encourage you to look beyond your helplessness and behold: The Healer.

Father, we are so blind to your ways. Open our eyes to see past our circumstances and see Your plan. Give us contentment wherever we are in this life and a joyful spirit that gives You praise in the midst of all things. In Jesus' Name, Amen.