enLIVEn Devotionals

Abiding in Jesus - Overflowing His Spirit

The Last Steps of Youth

  I stopped at the bathroom after work before heading home. I had just finished teaching a class, and I was drained but satisfied. I washed my hands and looked in the mirror before heading toward the door. As I glanced at my image, my reality snapped and my mind briefly froze. Something was wrong. I could feel the brain waves in my head scrambling to figure out what had changed. I turned my head slowly from side to side. My brain knew that the reflection was mine, yet it was having trouble believing it. Suddenly, it felt like all my understanding smacked into a wall and my eyes ... Read the Post

Loving the Porcupine

  When we read the scripture about loving our enemy, we might envision a deranged lunatic out to kill us. But in actuality our enemy is usually a person close to us: a boss or co-worker, a parent, an in-law, a son or daughter, a student, a friend or a spouse. This person may have consistently hurt us, or they may have hurt us only briefly. This person may have felt remorse for what they have done, or they may not have acknowledged it. These people are porcupines because whenever we get close to them, we get hurt. Enemies come in every shade and hue that it is impossible to ... Read the Post

A Mother's Sacrifice

I never knew how much sacrifice it would take to have children and to raise them. It’s like our society sweeps the importance of being a mother under a rug. Being a mom just doesn’t seem to be a big deal compared to a woman’s appearance, her education or her resume. I know as a youth, I took my mom for granted. But as I care for both my sons, I’ve come to appreciate my mom and all moms everywhere. Mothers really do rock! From the moment my first baby was conceived, my entire life became a living sacrifice: a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual sacrifice. And because of this, I am in ... Read the Post

Needy

  I went to a writers’ conference, and for the first time my son was without his mommy for five whole days. Ever since I came back, he has been extremely needy. He wants my attention constantly. He runs to me when Daddy or Auntie try to give him a hug (probably because they were the ones who watched him while I was gone). He wants to be carried all of the time, which is difficult since I am eight months pregnant. And he is having difficulty sleeping at night. Now, I don’t feel guilt or shame for his behavior because I know that God wanted me to go on this trip. My son’s reactions ... Read the Post

Obedient Mistakes

After reading, editing and printing out each devotional for the first Granola Bar Devotional, I thought everything was near perfect. We were half way done with putting all of the devotionals together, when I noticed it: A big fat error on one of the devotionals, specifically, my devotional. It was an error of information, which I had researched and wrote down incorrectly. It was blatantly wrong and staring at me in the face. I was so upset at myself and at God. Why would God allow me to make a mistake? Why would He have me start something when He knew that I would mess it up? I’m always ... Read the Post