enLIVEn Devotionals

Abiding in Jesus - Overflowing His Spirit

Comfort in Pain

My daughter is determined and dedicated when it comes to sports. At the ripe old age of fourteen, she has earned more first place ribbons and medals in two years than I have in my lifetime. As she began considering the path she wanted to take in high school sports, she opted for cheerleading. With only two and a half months to prepare for tryouts, she went full-force into tumbling classes and private lessons. Her instructor could not believe her work ethic and drive to succeed. When the day of tryouts came, my daughter felt confident and excited. She knew the hard work and perseverance ... Read the Post

My Ten Mile Radius

“Life takes us in so many different directions; never doubt for one minute that I am not with you in spirit. You are always on my mind! You are the one constant in my life who I know is always there. I don't step often out of fear of feeling my circumstances; but also because so many people rely upon me that I have to keep going. God gives me the strength to keep a positive and supportive attitude. I feel as if I'm in a little garden with a ten-mile radius and within that ten miles I sow, I prune, I support, I feed, and I weed. All are just a little part of life.” My sister sent this quote to ... Read the Post

Trusting for More

We are a military family who move frequently, which means constant change and trust. After arriving at our overseas duty station, we immediately started the venture of finding our home. This is always the first thing on the list so that we can settle the family, get the kids in their schools, and basically get back to normal living once again! When we looked at multiple houses and couldn’t find anything, we got very discouraged. We looked at many homes, but nothing felt right. Our allotted thirty days was up and still we had no home. My husband was pressing for a house to be picked and I ... Read the Post

One True Thing

Hands clutching a mug of sweet coffee, I pinch my eyes closed to hear the sound of the ocean in tree leaves. Wind sways them like waves. I open my eyes to return to the reality of neighbours, concrete and hydro lines. Far above it all, wind pushes thick layers of grey cloud toward the single patch of blue sky. I consider how it must look above the clouds –sunny, clear sky, a perfect day. The patch of blue shrinks and is swallowed by a sky of grey. All is cloudy and grey from where I sit, yet I know the sky above has not changed. It is still blue, sunny and clear – just hidden from my view. I ... Read the Post

The Missing Texts

Almost a week had gone by, and I still hadn’t received reply texts from several of my friends. I sent one friend a silly photo. I asked another a question. And I was trying to make arrangements with the other friend. Yet, none of them replied back. I struggled with not being offended by this compound shunning. I had to capture every negative thought. I knew my friends, and they usually always communicate back with me in a day or two when they get a chance. However, it had been six days and I began to worry. Did I do something wrong? Were they busy? Did I somehow offend them? And I wrestled ... Read the Post

The Search

I was laying on the floor of our boys’ bedroom one afternoon, peering behind their bunk beds, when Cole walked in.  “Help me look for Spike,” I mumbled. “I can’t find him.” The Johnson house is a critter haven, one of which is a sixteen-inch Chinese Water Dragon named Spike. Spike is allowed loose in our boys’ lizard-proof bedroom for a couple of hours each day, and he often hides out on the tall fake tree next to the window. Occasionally he scrambles off the tree and hides when he’s frightened. I figured that’s what happened this particular time, but as Cole and I searched their room, our ... Read the Post