enLIVEn Devotionals

Abiding in Jesus - Overflowing His Spirit

The Indwelling

More than two thousand years ago, a simple girl named Mary was visited by the angel, Gabriel. He proposed what seemed like an impossible scenario, that God Himself would take human form, indwell her human body, and be born as the person Jesus. The concept that God would take a form that could indwell and live inside of a human body was a new concept, and Mary was challenged to believe that God could really do this and agree to accept His plan. As we know, that Christmas day when Jesus was born, the world was forever changed. Even our calendars testify to the magnitude of that change, since ... Read the Post

The Pink Butterfly

I was zipping up my five-year old daughter's pink jacket, and I noticed that the zipper was a cute pink butterfly. "Oh!" I exclaimed. "Your zipper has little butterfly. How sweet!" My daughter sighed and replied, "I know, Mommy. I saw that a long time ago." And Jesus' words about the little children hit me square in the nose: "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (Matthew 19.14 NVI). I'm realizing that I'm missing a lot of the precious details of my everyday life--the same details that incorporate God's amazing ... Read the Post

Caregiving: Ceaseless–Holiday or Not

Christmas can be joyous as we celebrate the birth of our LORD and enjoy family and friends. As caregiver, you may be wishing that the holidays were over or anticipating them with a dread because the expected and extra “doing” is added stress. You have family coming into town to see the parent you care for and hold resentment towards one or more of them for their lack of support or for telling you how to do things when they never offer actual help. You can’t find anyone to watch your care recipient so you may go with your husband to his office party. Your care receiver struggles to recognize ... Read the Post

A View of Love and Hope

When we moved to Dallas, Texas, six years ago after living in Houston, Texas, for twenty-five years, my husband and I had the opportunity to visit many churches, and we have entered a variety of different sanctuaries all over the city and surrounding area. One of those church visits was a couple weeks before Christmas and it moved me deeply as I viewed a perfect demonstration of love and hope. It was the video of an annual Christmas ministry that had just taken place the weekend before. The video began with showing the line -- the extremely long, long line of hundreds of people coming down ... Read the Post

Throwing Around Thankfulness

“Throw it to me!” Cole’s hands reached eagerly for the football his brother held. Cole and Chase tossed the football back and forth for nearly an hour that cool fall evening. They had been asking for a football for weeks because our old football had met its end under the scorching rays of last summer’s sun. I kept forgetting to get one; by the time I finally picked the green and purple football up at Walmart, our boys were overcome by gratefulness. “Thanks, mom!” “This is awesome! Thanks, Mom! Let’s throw it around the trampoline.” Later the same evening, before we prayed and ... Read the Post

He has Dealt Bountifully With Me

I would cry out, “How long, O Lord? How long,” as I would leave the nursing home where my mother spent the last five years of her life. Due to a terrible fall and surgery, Mama would never be able to fully walk again. Previously, her mind had slipped into a roller coaster of dementia-ridden fear, repetition, accusation, jealousy, confusion, and hallucinations. Diabetes turned to Type 1 at age 85, making her insulin-dependent until the day she died at age 98. Then in her last year of life, she got an extremely painful, odd cancer. I loved my Mama dearly and she loved her family. I loved to ... Read the Post