enLIVEn Devotionals

Abiding in Jesus - Overflowing His Spirit

I Heart Peter

Peter (as in Peter, James and John) used to really bug me. I mean, where does he get off denying Jesus three TIMES? I know that if someone came up to me and asked if I knew Jesus, I would respond with an emphatic, "Heck, yes!" and then probably proceed with a lengthy, obnoxious dissertation about Him. But I began to see more of myself in Peter one day when a friend suggested we can deny Jesus with our actions, too. Huh? I started thinking about the ways I daily deny knowing Him: gossiping, judging others, being unforgiving, being quick to anger, and putting myself first. Ouch! That ... Read the Post

In His Time

God has a will for each and every one of us, and it’s on His time table. When I first met my husband, he didn’t know who God was, nor did he know God’s grace. He was one of those people who acknowledged that there was a higher power, but he didn’t have a clue what that meant. At this time, I was what we call a “baby Christian.” I myself was just learning about the mercy of God and how beautiful He really is. As I grew closer to God, I began to study His Word. I started to become frantic. I realized that I was starting to fall in love with a man that did not know Christ. We were not equally ... Read the Post

It's Just Not Your Turn Yet

It was like she was speaking right to me. We were sitting in a church at a Daybreak conference for women, listening to Angela Thomas say, “It’s just not your turn yet.” My friend turned and gave me a knowing look. She knew I desperately needed to hear those words because I had been spending my time obsessing over this one thing I’ve wanted for years. The one thing I’ve been asking God for every day, and He still wasn’t giving me. I found myself growing bitter and angry, unable to trust God’s plan for my life. I was starting to feel like He was punishing me. Why did it seem like everyone ... Read the Post

I Want My Daddy

The words of a toddler: “I want Daddy! Where is my daddy?” I know it is normal for toddlers to go through stages where they prefer one parent to the other. Sometimes it is hard when you are not the parent they are wanting. My little boy wants to ride in Daddy’s truck, run with Daddy, go fly with Daddy, and, especially, go potty with Daddy. Sometimes it can get exhausting explaining to him that Daddy is not here or that he is out of town for a few days. He wants his daddy NOW, and he will throw a fit. We are like that too. I find myself wanting my Daddy – my Heavenly Father. Many times I ... Read the Post

Amazing Grace

I was driving in my car listening to “Grace Like Rain,” by Todd Agnew, which has some of the lyrics of John Newton’s song “Amazing Grace” in it. And I wondered how Newton would react to the fact that parts of his song were being pulsed through radio waves in the sky, blasting through speakers of a self-moving contraption over 350 years later! Did he know that the hour or so he took to sit down and write the song would influence so many lives? Could he have fathomed that the small effort of obedience he dedicated to God would make such a difference? God says that the good work He has ... Read the Post

Journaling

I’m a journaled...have been for years. I write my thoughts and especially my prayers down constantly.  I write in journals, calendars, notebooks and just plain scratch paper. Because I quickly forget, I write anywhere on anything to help me remember what God has spoken. You can find my writing scattered around the house: my nightstand, my closet, under my bed or boxed up in storage. I don’t ever throw any of it away because I love to read over past writings and be encouraged with what God has shown me through the years. Just recently, I was digging through some of my old journals and ... Read the Post