enLIVEn Devotionals

Abiding in Jesus - Overflowing His Spirit

Formatting Life

There are many aspects to writing books. One of the final stages—besides publishing and marketing—is formatting the book. This can be one of the most tedious, laborious, frustrating and time-consuming aspects of writing. Trying to transfer a huge word document into publishing software creates havoc on almost every page of the book. Also, books in our current generation can’t just be words on a page. There needs to be pretty, little details at the start of the book and the beginning of every chapter. Some books even add details to every page! Having to add these details is also very tedious ... Read the Post

The Empty Fridge

We had just come back from a weeklong family vacation the night before, and I went into the kitchen the next morning, contemplating what I would cook for breakfast. All three of my kids sat at the table, waiting with anticipation for their morning meal. I opened the refrigerator and stared at the emptiness. I had made sure to use up most of our groceries before we left, so nothing would be wasted. The fridge looked bare without its usual occupants of milk, OJ, eggs, fruit and vegetables. Suddenly, I heard my 8-year old son cry out, “Mom! The refrigerator!” I looked over at the table ... Read the Post

The Sacrificial Leaf

It was a beautiful spring day in the southwest Florida ecological preserve. My sister, mom, my nephew, and my two boys and I walked leisurely along the preserve boardwalk, passing a bouquet of trees: oak, palm, Royal Palm, pine, and mangrove trees— black, white, and red. Spiders filled the empty spaces between foliage with silken threads and shimmering webs while birds squawked from high branches. Despite God's beautiful creation all around, heavy reverence filled my heart. It was the afternoon of Good Friday, the day a cross-shaped tree held my crucified Savior. "Surely He has borne ... Read the Post

Sticker Value

My local grocery store passes out little “Buddy Bucks” to the kids whenever we are in the checkout line. The kids can use these bucks to play a game located at the exit of the store. The game spins a big wheel, and when the kids push a button, the wheel slowly comes to a stop. Whatever number—from 1- 50— the wheel lands on, a sticker of the number comes out of the machine. The numbered stickers represent points. We then collect these stickers in books that the store provides. When we save up a certain amount of points, we can get something from the catalog. We have been collecting these ... Read the Post

Rerouted Favor

We went to Disney World Parks on our Spring Break. The kids were ecstatic when we finally crossed into the first park of our Disney adventure, Animal Kingdom. However, I was less than enthusiastic about the crowds and long lines. Never had I seen so many people converge in one place! My husband got us Disney Fast Passes, but the Fast Pass to the main ride, Kilimanjaro Safaris, had run out. We were pretty disappointed because this ride allows the visitors to see the main animal attractions at the Animal Kingdom. The wait for the ride was 90 minutes, and the kids would not want to wait so ... Read the Post