Night Light for Couples - Everyday Moments

“I was filled with delight day after day.” Proverbs 8:30

We all cherish the milestones and special events in the course of married life: the wedding and honeymoon, the birth of children, the twenty‐fifth and fiftieth wedding anniversaries, the kids’ high school and college graduations. These are occasions to celebrate with hugs, photographs, and congratulations all around. But don’t forget to savor the everyday moments that make up the rest of our days. Think about what it means to wake up in the morning next to someone you love and to begin the day with a kiss… to exchange knowing glances with your partner as you rake leaves in the yard or share a cup of coffee… to hold hands with your mate in church as you sing praises to our glorious God. When you review the mental scrapbook of images from your marriage, we hope it is filled with happy memories of the “big moments” you’ve shared together. But also be sure to include snapshots of those joyful, everyday events that make each day of marriage something special.

Just between us…

• What everyday activities bring you joy?
• Do you think we have lived from one big event to the next—or have we tried to make ordinary days special, too?
• How can we help each other savor everyday moments?
• Do our lives demonstrate to others that each moment is a gift from God?

Father, we find Your love in the simple joys around us—a bird’s song or a smile from our mate, blue skies or the laughter of children. Thank You for health and for Your unfailing abundance. open our eyes to the wealth of each day, o Lord. May we never live like paupers when You have made us so rich. Amen.

From Night Light For Couples, by Dr. James & Shirley Dobson
Copyright © 2000 by James Dobson, Inc. All rights reserved.

Girlfriends in God - When Your Heart Needs Healing

by Gwen Smith

 

Today’s Truth

Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. (Isaiah 40:31)

Friend to Friend

A friend of ours has struggled for years with heart problems. He’s gone through seasons of wellness and seasons of strain. Last year his health challenges moved from the back burner of his life to the front when his doctors recognized the need to operate.

He didn’t just need a simple procedure. He needed open heart surgery to the max. I mean we are talking valve replacements, ablations, hole repairs and more. You name it – and the surgeon pretty much had to do it.

In the wee hours of the morning prior to his surgery, our friend’s heart decided to cause problems that led them to the Emergency Room instead of the Operating Room. Thankfully, his surgeon rushed to the scene and took him right into surgery. Hours later, his heart was repaired.

In the days that followed, scary set backs came and went. Each one was dealt with head on. Thankfully, after 8 days in the hospital, our friend was able to go home to fully recover.

I asked his wife how I could pray for him. Was there anything specific?

Her answer surprised me. “Just pray that he will have the will to press on through the healing process because it is going to be a long, hard hull.”

When I hung up from our conversation, I paused and reflected on her request.

In essence, I will be praying for him to have the heart {the strength, the guts, the determination} to fight for his heart to heal fully.

Wow. I know that struggle well.

Week after week, friend after friend, loved one after loved one, struggle after struggle, conversation after conversation… this is one of the biggest challenges we face. Having a heart fixed on healing. To press through to a place of wellness and strength: spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically. To not back down from the resistance before us in light of the rewards that awaits us. To run the race of faith well! 

I’ve asked God for forgiveness, but I just don’t know how to forgive myself.

I know the Bible says God loves me, but I feel invisible. I don’t FEEL loved and adored.

I believe that God has a plan for my life, but I’m so tired of waiting for it to develop.

I want restoration in my relationship, but I will not be the one to make the first move.

I’ve lost my love and hate being alone. I no longer have the will to live or dream.

I know my eating patterns are unhealthy and they undermine my wellness, but God loves me just the way I am!

I worry all the time and struggle with anxiety. I really want to trust God, but often fail.

After we go through initial heart repairs with Jesus, many of us find ourselves as wounded believers. Close to whole, but still broken. We want healing but won’t or don’t know how to move forward in the direction of the Healer toward the complete wholeness He has for us.

This is hard stuff. I know. I struggle too. We all do.

Ultimately: every one of us is a work in progress. Our challenges and failures are real and should be acknowledged and confessed. But our faith that God can and will tend to our wounds must be greater.
So I joined in prayer when our friend faced months of therapy, doctors appointments, medicine changes, financial strains, emotional exhaustion, and unseen struggles.

And I am grateful that we pray to the one true God who loves, sees, hears, purifies, answers, comforts, protects, forgives, provides for, refines, restores, redeems and heals those who cry out to Him. He is the great Surgeon who rushes to us in our emergency rooms and takes us to the operating room of His presence.
The One who knows how to care for each wound, burden, and bruise.

So, when your heart needs healing: PRAY.

Pray when loneliness, laziness, or depression takes up residence in your heart.

Pray when you are tempted to anesthetize with food, wine, exercise, shopping, or pain pills.

Pray when the arms of that man seem more attractive than the purity you are called to in Christ. 

Pray when your doubts are stronger than your faith.

Press through barriers in the strength and grace of Jesus. His plan is good. His faithfulness is unwavering. His presence is accessible 24/7.

When your heart needs healing, move in God’s direction and give Him the burdens of your heart.

Pray. Believe. Trust.

Do you not know? Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.(Isaiah 40:28-31)

Let’s Pray

Lord, As they say, “the struggle is real!” Thank you for allowing me to be honest about the challenges that tangle me up. Please move in my heart and in my circumstances today so that I can move forward in faith as I hold tight to the hope I have in Christ.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.

Now It’s Your Turn

Read Hebrews 10:19-39. Journal any verses that you would like to memorize or remember. Consider what “heart healing” would look like for you.

If you need heart healing today, I sure would love to hear about it and pray for you. CLICK HERE to leave a comment on my blog.

More from the Girlfriends

Gwen Smith is a speaker, worship leader, songwriter, and author of the new book, I Want I ALL, who wants to help you think big thoughts about God – and inspire you toward His grace and truth. Her website is filled with videos, posts, songs and resources that will be a deep well of encouragement to you. Click here to visit her site. (Get a FREE Downloadable “I Want It All” COLORING and JOURNAL book when you sign up to receive her blog!)

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Girlfriends in God
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Standing Strong Through the Storm - PRAY AS A WARRIOR

Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. Colossians 4:12-13

Today’s devotional comes from a Bible study prepared by a church leader in North Korea encouraging his fellow believers to “pray as a warrior.” It is fascinating to see how our persecuted brothers and sisters in North Korea regard prayer. He begins in Colossians 4:12-13:

What can we learn from this? That Epaphras wrestled in prayer. He prayed as a warrior. The word “wrestling” in the text means “battling, fighting.” We, too, must pray as warriors. I must do so. In the past, I often went to the mountains and prayed all night…God uses this prayer to open doors. It is not for nothing that Paul tells us at the beginning of chapter four that we must be watchful and thankful and must keep praying. Then…God opens doors to proclaim the mystery of Christ.

What does “praying as a warrior” entail?

1. Discovering God's will - Just like Paul, we must take our strategies from the Lord God. Paul wrestled in prayer in order to discover the will of God. This meant that God was able to lead him…When we make plans, we must pray according to His will. The Spirit knows what Satan is intending. God will reveal it to us and warn us if there is any danger.

2. Concentrated prayer - We must pray in a concentrated way, and for a long time…while I was praying in a concentrated way, a sentence came to my mind: “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” I did not know this text. When I spoke to a friend about it, he told me that it is in the Bible, in Philippians 4:13. There was much sin in my life. I had to pray long and often in order to break down the barriers between God and me. This, too, is praying as a warrior.

3. Prayer of sacrifice - The prayer of a warrior is also the prayer of sacrifice. Praying is the most important thing you do in a day. Whatever you do each day, begin everything with prayer. Prayer is the shortest way, not the longest! By sacrificing yourself and applying yourself to praying as a warrior, God will open the hearts of people and break through their thinking…this type of prayer helps us to conquer evil with good. This is why we pray that Kim Jong-Il will become a Christian. And even more, that he will combat the evil in our society.

Epaphras remained faithful to Jesus Christ until the end. He was a prayer warrior. In this, he followed our Lord Himself…How can we manage without this prayer?

RESPONSE: Today I will pray as a warrior…especially remembering Christians in North Korea.

PRAYER: Thank You, Lord, for the example of Epaphras in the hard work of wrestling in prayer.

His Princess Every Day - Take Courage in Me

Devotionals for Women - Inspirational author and speaker Sheri Rose Shepherd imagines what a letter written from God to you would look like.

You need never be afraid to stand up and do what is right, My child. I will always go ahead of you and prepare the way. I rescued Daniel from the mouth of the lions and delivered David from the hands of his enemies. Can you trust that I am strong enough to handle any situation? I truly want what is best for you.

Take courage and walk in My strength, not your own. Face every situation head-on—armed with the sword of the Spirit, the belt of truth, the armor of righteousness, and the shield of faith. You never need to turn your back and run--I will empower you and protect you. Just stand firm and pray, and watch your courage become contagious.

Love,
Your King and your Captain of courage

This devotional is written by Sheri Rose Shepherd. All content copyright Sheri Rose Shepherd 2015. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Visit HisPrincess.com for devotionals, books, videos, and more from Sheri Rose Shepherd.

Chocolate For Your Soul with Sheri Rose Shepherd - The Treasure Inside of You

by Sheri Rose Shepherd

Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! — Deuteronomy 30:19

 

I used to feel angry with God for allowing me to grow up in such a dysfunctional home. Why hadn’t He put me in a family that lived together peacefully? Why did He let me cry myself to sleep at night while my parents screamed at each other in the other room? Why did other little girls have parents who loved each other and got along?

I don’t think it was God’s will that my parents fought or that their marriage ended in divorce. But today I realize that my past pain and my parents’ marital problems do not have to determine my future. If everything in my life had gone the way I wanted it to, I might not have such passion for my God-given call as a Christian speaker and author. I might not have compassion for those who have walked through similar trials in this life.

He has used my painful past to make me passionate for peace in my own family now. He has used my parents’ divorce to compel me to stay married when I was tempted to give up in tough times. He has used my poor choices to take drugs by giving me courage to speak to young people about how to live for God. My battle with bulimia drove me to write a bestselling book, that helps girls and women break free from that bondage.

I know many times life does not seem fair or just. I wish I could give you a reason for every sad and awful thing that happens on this earth. I wish I could pray away all the pain this life brings. What I do know, according to the Word of God, is that we are in a spiritual war and there are souls to be won!

Our God can take any part of our lives, good or bad, and use it for his Glory. We can be a trophy of His grace, forgiveness, and mercy for the world to see.

Today is a perfect day for your new life to begin, you are only one choice away from a beautiful break through!

God's Letter to You

I believe if The Lord was going to write you a personal letter about battles this life brings it may read like this....

My Princess Warrior,

I will make you a Hero of the faith if you chose to live for me. Every tough choice you make to obey Me will become a foundation of faith your family.. Your commitment to my call will crave character in the next generation. Every prayer you pray will become a blessing passed down.

Your and courage will continue to bring comfort to many during their difficult times. Your trust in Me will remain in others who watched you walk in peace. I, your God, declare on this day that your children’s children will be forever blessed because you lived your life for an audience of One . . . Me!

Love,
Your King Who Gives You Life

Treasure of Truth
Happy are those who delight in doing what he commands. Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed. They themselves will be wealthy, and their good deeds will never be forgotten. — Psalm 112:1–3

Verse of the Day - June 28, 2016

2 Peter 3:9 (NIV) The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Read all of 2 Peter 3