Women In Ministry – Devotionals

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 For a Lion/Beaver person like myself (according to Smalley’s personality test), I love being in charge and I enjoy making plans. I want to know exactly where I am headed, and how I am going to get there, from point A to point B. A new year, is a new challenge: I want to plan my entire year, and I even have a calendar with the dates and events planned out for the year. And this is perfectly okay, if it wasn’t for the fact that as a Christian that loves the Lord and wants to please God, I constantly struggle with surrendering my will to His. I find myself fighting the desire to plan my life and my husband’s life and my children’s lives and surrender my own agenda to adopt God’s agenda. Although it might seem an oxymoron, Jeremiah 29:11 it is unquestionably, one of my favorite Bible verses of all time, and it is also one that I find most challenging. I see that even though God has given me an ability to lead and plan, His plan is always far better than the best plan I might be able to come up with. One of the challenges for us Lion/Beavers is to let God show us his plan step by step. The Lion wants to be in charge, the Beaver wants to see the road ahead mapped out. However, if I take time to reflect on the meaning of what being in charge is: to have command, to have supervisory power, I realize that this kind of being in charge is way beyond my ability to lead or my desire to command. This type of being in charge belongs to the one that surrendered his crown to become a servant and that came to this earth to serve me and you and not to be served. It is the kind of command that I can surrender to, that I can trust my life and my family to. It brings me the kind of reassurance that although I might not see the beginning to the end, I know the end result will be perfect, because He is the one in control.  I can reflect on the previous years, and although the times might not have been clear and laid out for me to see where He was leading me, the outcome was great, because it was His plan. I can see that the road we have travelled, it was mapped out by Him, and although I was tempted to take shortcuts or detours that were appealing, His road was the road to victory and experience. Oh how have I learned by trusting Him every step of the way! I thank God that His grace and love have taught me to surrender my will and my desire to be in charge for His Will. That wherever His will has taken my family, His grace has protected us. It is with confidence that I can say: He is the one in charge!...

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way just as we are – yet he did not sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in...

It’s the Christmas season and most of us are hurrying and scurrying about, trying to get everything done on our lists.  But my challenge to you is to take a few moments to reflect on Mary, Jesus’ mother.  We could all tell the Christmas story in our sleep.  But ponder these questions and let the Holy Spirit to speak to...

I love this scripture about Jacob blessing Joseph’s children in Gen. 48:15 & 16 He said: “The God who has been my Shepherd [leading and caring for me] all my life to this day, The Angel [that is, the Lord Himself] who has redeemed me [continually] from all evil, Bless these boys…” There’s so much going on here but what stood out to me the most in this verse...

This past summer I took my kids, Joey and Riley, to the beach. It was so much fun! We live in Ohio, so the sun and warm weather aren’t exactly a big part of our lives. They were in heaven! In fact, they were enjoying themselves so much that nothing, and I mean nothing, could distract them from their fun! Riley was...

Have you eaten any elephants lately?  We buy cute little chocolate bunnies, or adorable little cake pops that look like reindeer, but elephants just aren’t that appetizing.  You may have heard the saying “When eating an elephant, take one bite at a time.”  There are some things in life that just simply aren’t that appealing. They are overwhelming jobs that...

I recently heard a message from 2 Kings 4:1-7 about the widow and the oil. Although it’s a familiar passage of scripture to me, this time I heard it differently. After expressing her need to Elisha, the widow was asked two questions. Elisha asked her, “What can I do for you?” and “What do you have in your house?” She said,...

I have done quite a bit of traveling lately which has been so much fun but exhausting at times. The changing of time zones, running to meet flights, stressing over the many details from what to pack to leaving a key piece of clothing back home that you REALLY needed! It's all worth it but I think there is a...