I Still Believe

Prayer Dogs (#365 of 365+)

“Then Jesus asked them, ‘Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?’ But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored” (Mark 3:4-5)

Joni talked about the time when one of the staff members of a prayer center was uncomfortable with the presence of a visiting disabilities group. He didn’t agree with the fact that two blind people needed their guide dogs to remain with them, even as they sat in the prayer room. He said, “I’m concerned that having a dog in the room would grieve the Holy Spirit.” He tried, to no avail, to have those dogs removed.

In what ways do I focus on externals so much that I end up hurting a human soul in the process?

How have I been so absorbed with the letter of the law lately that I’ve neglected to love my neighbor as God intended?

“You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God’s Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment—the absolute basics!—you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required. Do you have any idea how silly you look, writing a life story that’s wrong from start to finish, nitpicking over commas and semicolons?” (Matthew 23:23-24 MSG)

Father God, thank you for speaking to me in countless ways over the past 365 days through your Word and through the teachings of Joni Eareckson Tada, my sister in Christ. I pray that you’ll richly bless Joni’s ministry and her marriage... Help me to faithfully live on the outside what I’ve learned on the inside. With your Holy Spirit’s help, I know that I can do all things. In the coming year, may I love mercy, fight injustice, and bring glory to your name… even if it means I won’t have much time to blog about it. Continually draw my family closer to you and to each other every single day. Protect us all as we go about our lives, doing your will. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Fruit Comes through Struggle (#364 of 365+)

I’m posting this on Sunday, September 26, 2010—the day after I actually had this devotional. I just didn’t have enough time to blog about it yesterday. On Friday evening my husband picked me up from work. He found me sitting in my office with the lights turned off and tears streaming down my face. I had never experienced such a painful migraine… It felt as if my entire head was being stabbed at and that my skull was about to crack open because of the brain swelling... It was really bad.

After we got home I went directly upstairs. My husband brought me water and two Advil. I swallowed all of it, lay down on the bed, cradled my head, and prayed to God to give me relief. After about an hour of cringing and crying, I felt a cold sweat come over me and I passed out. I awoke an hour or two after that, finally headache-free. Thank the Lord...

I drank plenty of water that evening and slept in late on Saturday morning. When I finally got up, showered, and read my devotional, it was almost lunchtime. I helped my teen son complete his Chemistry worksheets and then fed him lunch. I proceeded to spend the majority of the afternoon driving him around town so he could take the photos he needed for a special Geometry assignment due on Monday. By the time he finished the Geometry scrapbook, date night had arrived! My husband treated us to sushi at our favorite place and then we got ice cream and came home. My son had vacuumed, dusted, and done a couple of other chores while we were out! He went to bed and my husband and I settled in to watch the original Buffy: The Vampire Slayer movie on Netflix. With our warm doggies snuggling close, I couldn’t help falling asleep on the couch within the first fifteen minutes of the movie. Oh well, I have a feeling I didn’t miss much!

“This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:8)

Joni said her friend Tim is a master of growing rare grapes. He taught her that planting grape vines in good fertilized soil is actually counter-productive because it results in less fruit and more leaves. In order to get the kind of production he wants—more sweet grapes—he puts the vine under duress. When it has to struggle for every nutrient it can find, it won’t waste all that effort on growing leaves. It will direct the flow of nutrients to grow a bounty of beautiful grapes.

I think the Lord gave me this story about Tim’s grapevines so I could better understand what happened to me on Friday. I struggled and prayed so much because of my migraine that, when I was finally free of it, I felt more energy and “life” than I’ve felt in quite a while. Joni called it a “bruising of blessing” and said “you won’t bear a crop” without “trials and struggles, disappointments and setbacks.” It was quite a lesson to learn and it will stay with me for a very long time.

This is my second-to-last devotional in a year-long series. I’ll take my time writing and editing the last one but I’ll try to post it by the end of today.

Lord, thank you for answering my prayers and leading me in the way you want me to go. Your presence is my very breath of life. Amen.

Steering Sin (#363 of 365+)

“The LORD works out everything for his own ends—even the wicked for a day of disaster” (Proverbs 16:4)

How great are the mind and the power of God! I don’t claim to understand

Mrs. Sherman’s Treasures (#362 of 365+)

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves

Prone to Wander (#361 of 365+)

This is a beautiful verse from Come Thy Fount:

Oh, to grace how great a debtor,
daily I’m constrained to be!

A Different Kind of Leprosy (#360 of 365+)

“A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.’ Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ Immediately he was cured of his

The Correct Path (#359 of 365+)

“Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight” (Psalm 119:35)

The small town paramedics took the unconscious three-year-old boy and

Rescued through the Flames (#358 of 365+)

“God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation”

There’s Always a Way (#357 of 365+)

“For Christ's love compels us” (2 Corinthians 5:14)

Joni said, “There is always a way—a creative, sincere way—to share the love of Christ.” The first step should be prayer, by asking the Holy Spirit to

Somebody’s Watching (#356 of 365+)

“His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 3:10)

No Accident! (#355 of 365+)

Ahab was an evil king, more evil than all the previous kings had been. His wife, Jezebel, was a very bad influence on him. He learned to worship and serve Baal instead of the Lord God of Israel (1 Kings 16). When Ahab

A Little Girl’s Gift (#354 of 365+)

“A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great” (Proverbs 18:16)

What I learned from today’s devotional was that I shouldn’t reject someone’s

Jake's Story (#353 of 365+)

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21)

It was definitely a miracle from God.

Least in the Kingdom (#352 of 365+)

“Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the

Speak Up (#351 of 365+)

“I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none” (Ezekiel 22:30)

Terror Tactics (#350 of 365+)

“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16)

Today is September 11, Patriot Day, when we solemnly remember the

Casey Reds (#349 of 365+)

“Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle” (Psalm 32:9)

Casey Reds was a beautiful quarter horse that belonged to Joni’s sister. He

Facts of Life… and of Death (#348 of 365+)

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23)

The Lord has placed a heavy burden on my heart today. I’m thinking of a

Battle Plan (#347 of 365+)

“Though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments