enLIVEn Devotionals

Abiding in Jesus - Overflowing His Spirit

Exercise

Exercise. Just the word makes me tired! It brings to mind thoughts of hard work and slow progress. It reminds me that I ought to be on that treadmill I begged my husband for and now serves as a “catch-all” in the corner of our bedroom! Unfortunately, my spirit is willing but my flesh is weak! Isn’t that the way it is with anything that is significant in our lives? It takes effort and discipline to maintain our physical health. Interestingly enough, it also takes effort and discipline to maintain our spiritual health. I know this to be true for myself, but I’m not the first to figure it ... Read the Post

Fall: A New Season

Fall is my favorite season, though living in South Texas we do not get much of a fall until January. But that is another story. What I love about the fall is that everything is new again. The kids are back in school after a long summer. The trees are changing colors (okay if you are in the hill country the leaves are colorful). You pack away the summer towels and water toys, and you bring out the fall decorations. I’ve heard it said that the fall is like the New Year for women. It is time to reevaluate our priorities and goals. It’s the beginning of things that we’ve put off. It’s a new ... Read the Post

A Family's Salvation

One of the hardest things to accept as a Christian is a family member who will not accept the gift of Jesus. After years of praying for my family and sharing God’s love, I began to see God’s hand at work. My little brother began to have random people tell him that he needed to give his life to Christ. One night while escaping from a friend’s house that was being robbed at gunpoint, my brother ran to a house for help. In the middle of the house’s yard was a large sign that read, “Jesus Saves.” The owner of the house helped my brother; and the following day, the man called to check on ... Read the Post

A Father's Eyes

Compassion is a word that carries a great deal of meaning for the Christian. Jesus was a man of compassion. When people are hurting, they need the compassion of others. Do we have trouble seeing the needs of hurting people? Sometimes a kind word, a gentle smile, or taking a casserole over to a hurting family demonstrates the love of God more emphatically than the best sermon in the world. It takes having our Father’s eyes to see the needs of those around us. As a teenager, my sister and I rode a bus everyday to high school. There was a girl our age who had lost her mother to cancer. She ... Read the Post

Feelings of Adoption

It’s been several years since my husband and I made a trip half way around the world to bring home our baby boy from Russia. As I look back at the beginning phase of the adoption process, I realize just how overwhelming, exciting, and stressful that time was. I felt like I was expericeing the emotions of a real pregnancy, except with tons and tons of paperwork. Our adoption did not take nine months like a traditional pregnancy; no, it took about a year and a half. I was tired. But it was worth it. We have a strong, healthy and energetic little boy that loves life. However, I did have ... Read the Post