Devotionals for the Heart: God's Promises and His Perfect Timing

It’s On the Way
A devotional by Angela Anderson

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” 

–Ephesians 3:20-21 (NKJV)

It was New Year's Day. I just received the news that my friend had given birth just a little earlier than her due date. The baby was healthy and my friend was doing well. She was relieved that the delivery was over. My friend and I went through the ups and downs of our pregnancies together.

We both experienced morning sickness and all of the special conditions that pregnancy had to offer. We encouraged each other through the process and we both wondered if we would make it to 40 weeks. Well, her waiting period had come to an end. As for me, I was still pregnant and I felt like my waiting period had no end. Secretly, I wished that I was the one who had given birth on New Year's Day. I wanted this pregnancy to be finished and I especially wanted the delivery to be over so that I could hold my baby and then continue with the next phase of raising a newborn.

The doctor strongly suggested that I induce the baby. I really did not want to choose that option, but I was running out of time. I was 39 weeks pregnant, my due date was steadily approaching, and there were no signs indicating that I was close to delivery. This would be my second child and I was getting uneasy about the inaction. I had frequent check-ups and stress tests to make sure that the baby was alright. All of the tests results were fine, but why wasn't anything happening? At this point in the game, the baby was supposed to drop, I was supposed to be dilated, and there was a slew of other symptoms that I was anticipating. None of these things had taken place. I felt like I was in limbo. The uncertainty was excruciating!

I scheduled the induction for a very early Wednesday morning. The day before, a good friend who is also a midwife came to visit me at my home. She told me about a few natural formulas and strategies that would hopefully prepare me for the next morning when I would be induced. I still was not dilated and there were no changes from the previous week. I followed her instructions at the beginning of the day on Tuesday, and I continued the natural procedures all day into the evening. Still no change.

As I was making plans for the next morning, my friend suggested I soak in the bathtub to relax since it had been a long day. I soaked only for a few minutes when all of a sudden I felt movement in my abdomen. I got out of the tub, my friend took one look at me and then informed me that we would not make it to the hospital. The baby was coming now! Much to our surprise, my baby was born in my bathroom that Tuesday evening. Thank God my friend who is a midwife was there to help me. I was overwhelmed with gratitude to God for delivering a healthy baby boy safely into my hands!

And just like that, God's promises to you will be born. It may seem like nothing is happening and everything is at rest; but God is moving and He is working on the inside. Your talents, gifts, skills, and abilities may be laying dormant, but they are waiting to be set loose so that you may reach the potential that God created in you. It's like pregnancy. There is something growing and developing inside of you and at the appointed time, everything He promised will come forth and you will give birth to God's purpose for your life. In the meantime, you have to pay attention to the opportunities God brings to you and pursue His will for your life at all costs. 

It will be worth it in the end.

Let’s Pray: Dear God, we want You to fulfill Your promises in our lives. Help us to discover Your will and to follow Your purpose so that we can reap the blessings that You have in store for us. We love you and we thank you. In Jesus's Name I pray, Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

Angela Anderson was born in Brooklyn, New York. She was raised in a Christian home in New Jersey. Angela dedicated her life to Christ and was baptized at the age of 12. 

As a child in elementary school, she developed a penchant for writing book reports and entering writing contests. By high school, she was taking advanced placement courses in English and Speech & Creative Writing. Angela’s love for journaling also had its beginnings in high school and it evolved into prayers journals and detailed notes for prospective book ideas. As a result, Angela is the author of a published 40-day devotional book titled Just When I Thought I Knew God. She also wrote a children’s book that is not yet published.

Although Angela wanted to somehow incorporate writing in her life, she is currently a Certified Human Resources Professional. Angela graduated from Rutgers University in NJ with a double bachelor’s degree in Labor/Employment Relations & Sociology. She also has an MBA from Strayer University.

Angela founded a non-profit 501(C)(3) organization called Head to the Sky, Inc. It was formed in order to assist those in prison with their transition into society and to reduce the rate of recidivism in the community. During this venture, Angela received a certification in grant writing from The Edyth Bush Institute for Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership at Rollins College. Angela was very passionate about teaching, training, and sharing the love of Christ in this ministry; but she had to refocus her passion when she and her husband decided to start their family.

Angela has been married to the love of her life, Duane Anderson for 16 years. Together they have two sons: Thomas (age 8) and Ryan (age 3). Angela’s favorite pastime is journaling and she also enjoys spending quality time with her family. Her personal mission is to empower others to achieve their goals and dreams.

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Connect with Angela:
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/angela.thomasanderson
Facebook fan page for her devotional book, Just When I Thought I Knew God:
https://www.facebook.com/jwitikg/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelanderson1104/

Devotionals for the Heart: Treasures

Treasures of the Heart
A devotional by Mirachelle Canada

“When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” 

–Luke 2:17-19 (NIV)

Every December is the joyous season of giving and receiving. Both actions show our remembrance of and celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

So significant was His birth that a bright star illuminated the stable where he was born, and an angelic host proclaimed His glorious arrival to some humble shepherds. The news was so great that they went in search of the child and, once they had seen him, they told everyone they could find.

When something amazing happens to a person the first thing most want to do is go tell someone about it. When your heart is bursting with such joy it is hard to hold the excitement inside. But sometimes a gift and our reaction to its true meaning are meant for God alone.

In Luke 2:19 after Mary, who had just given birth to Jesus then heard the glorious retelling of the shepherds’ angelic encounter that finally proclaimed what she already knew, there is the word but. Mary took a pause. Instead of joining in the excitement and perhaps invite all of Bethlehem to come and see her amazing child, “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, "ponder" means to think or consider especially quietly, soberly, and deeply. So why did Mary take such a deep appraisal of things?

Experience. She’d already had an angelic visit of her own and was miraculously with child though a virgin, making what she heard easy to believe, but it also weighed on her heart as a new mother who had proven faithful to wait and listen to God before acting on impulse.

How often, after we open all the gifts from under the Christmas tree, do we take pause to give thanks to God? Or even personally reflect on what it means that He sent His Son Jesus to be the Hope and Light of the world? 

Mary understood the significance of her actions as well as her reactions to the events of Jesus’s life. Few others in The Holy Bible are a better example of patience and endurance considering Mary found out early on about her and her son’s fate through a blessing in Luke 2:34-35 (NIV):

Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Whoa. Wait. What? “A sword will pierce through your own soul also so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” What does that mean? 

Simeon’s blessing was referring to what Mary was already doing – waiting and storing up God’s treasures in her heart. All the thoughts she had pondered and not acted upon. Promises. Hopes. Dreams. For what mother could so gracefully endure knowing a sword would one day pierce her own soul because of what her son was meant to do?

Mary’s example of such endurance paved the way for us to learn to have patience and show humility in every season. As the mother of the proclaimed Messiah, she had every right to be proud and tell everyone about it, but she didn’t. Instead, her faithful act of storing up the treasures of God in her heart throughout Jesus’s life ultimately provided the opportunity for us to follow her example and store up our treasures there too. Like Mary, God promises to honor and reveal all the treasures we ponder in our hearts, as the book of Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV) reminds us:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Let’s pray: Dear God, We thank you for the gifts and blessings in every season and rejoice that as we ponder these things and store them up in our heart, You are also storing up treasures for us in Heaven. Give us the strength each day to take captive every thought and reaction and give us wisdom to know when to act or to ponder events in our hearts in accordance with your will. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

Mirachelle Canada is a writer, playwright, screenwriter, and theatre director/producer from Northern Virginia, where she teaches television production at her high school alma mater.

She earned her Master of Fine Arts in Script & Screenwriting from Regent University and is an alumnus of Act One: Hollywood Film & Television Writing Program.

Mirachelle is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, American Fiction Writers Virginia Chapter, The Jerry Jenkins Writers Guild, and Your Novel Blueprint.

She is currently working on her first historical fiction novel set during WWII.

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Connect with Mirachelle:
Website: www.mirachellecanada.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mirachellecanada/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/miracan

Devotionals for the Heart: Paula's thoughts on life and Proverbs

Just Life
A devotional by Paula Moldenhauer

"Hope that is put off makes one sick at heart. 

But a desire that is met is like a tree of life." 

~Proverbs 13:12 (NIV)

The birth of a child. I’ll never forget the first time. Even after seventeen hours of hard labor, little sleep, and an aching, postpartum body, I was alive (excited, strong, and full of joy) because I held in my arms the fulfillment of my dreams. I couldn’t wait to show off my little girl and couldn’t sleep for looking at her. I clutched her to my heart, singing to her. I held her when she nursed, when she slept, and when she awoke.

Perhaps the joy was more pronounced because of the months the dream was deferred. I’ll never forget the fear, disappointment, and even anger I felt each time I realized I wasn’t pregnant during the struggle to conceive that first baby.

Life is full of both the devastation of unrelenting disappointment and the wild joy of dreams coming true. Part of really living means allowing emotions on both ends of the spectrum.

One thing I love about hanging out with the elderly is their perspective on life. When my neighbor Bernice was almost eighty, we talked about life’s struggles. She pronounced in her no-nonsense Jewish, New-Yorker momma voice, “That’s just life, kid. We all have those times. Then they’re over.”

Bernice’s philosophy was based upon experience, but in it are echoes of the scripture which reminds us that weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning (Psalm 30:5).

My daughter, now a married woman, takes this concept a step further. She calls it living “in the and.” She’s learning not to stuff down the pain of life’s disappointments but at the same time to refuse to allow life’s struggles to steal the joy of living. Her words remind me of my own journey to cultivate joy. Today I had a beautiful lunch with a dear friend. She awaits test results on a serious health issue. It has her afraid and off-kilter. There were some teary moments. Yet in the midst of that pain and fear we savored a homemade meal and good conversation. We teased and joked, our laughter ringing from the kitchen. We nursed warm cups of blueberry green tea, pausing to breathe deeply of its sweet aroma.

We embraced the and, cultivating joy by acknowledging the beauty of life and entering into the glory of good food and fellowship without denying the struggle.

So, my friend, embrace life. Allow the seasons to ebb and flow. Cry when you need to. Laugh often. Dance in the rain when you can.

Live in the "and". 

And in the daily experience of real life, remember the One who loves you in all seasons. Cling to Love when it hurts. Welcome Him into the joy. God’s love is the one thing that we can always count on. As the Brad Paisley song says, love is never-ending.

My Prayer: Father, please help me to trust you in seasons of disappointment. When it feels overwhelming, I need your comfort and hope. Sometimes I need help believing joy comes in the morning, so hold me close and whisper this truth. When the crazy wonderful happens, help me believe it is real. Open my heart to enjoy every bit of the experience, and fill me with gratitude and praise. And while seasons come and seasons go, there is always the and. I want to be real in my struggles without allowing pain to steal away the beautiful moments that life offers. I want to always remember You and Your love no matter what is happening. Your love is never-ending.

~*~
Author Bio:

Author, speaker, and mom of four, Paula Moldenhauer encourages others to live free to flourish. She shares this message when speaking at women’s events, and it permeates her written work. 

Paula has published over 300 times in non-fiction markets and has a devotional book series, Soul Scents. Her first published novella, You’re a Charmer Mr. Grinch, was a finalist in the ACFW Carol Awards, and she now has six published works of fiction. Her most recent release is included in A Bouquet of Brides. 

Paula and her husband, Jerry, are adjusting to a sometimes-empty nest in Colorado. They treasure time with their growing family of adult children, spouses, and spouses-to-be. Paula loves peppermint ice cream, going barefoot, and adventuring with friends. 

Today’s devotion was adapted from her devotional book, Soul Scents: Rooted. Visit her at www.paulamoldenhauer.com

Music Monday: Kari Jobe's new album, "The Garden"

    

Kari Jobe
"The Garden" (Listen to the song here)
(Summary courtesy of MergePR)

It’s said for everything there is a season. Winter. Spring. Summer. Fall. One by one, we experience these seasons throughout our lives. Our souls grow dark and weary in the thick of winter, and just when we think we can’t endure another cold night, we recognize the first signs of spring. Slow and unexpected, welcome shades of green break through the frozen ground. Sometimes our Creator uses His own creation to remind us that even amidst winter’s chill He is always at work. For it’s in the unseen where life’s most beautiful moments take shape. Worship leader Kari Jobe knows this to be true in her own life, and on her fourth album, The Garden (Capitol CMG), she invites listeners to drink of the wellspring of hope she’s found in the midst of unimaginable tragedy. 

Jobe has earned the right to speak from experience. She’s become a trusted friend to listeners throughout a career that includes more than 1 million albums sold, a GRAMMY® nomination, multiple Dove Awards and praise from the New York Times. She’s amassed 173 million career streams and is the most-followed female CCM artist on social media with a following that exceeds 3.5 million. Beyond the stats, Jobe’s timeless songs have carried countless listeners to the feet of Christ over and over again. Her voice has become a soundtrack to people’s lives, and The Garden is well-equipped to bring healing in the midst of pain.

While The Garden planted the songwriter back in the studio following 2014’s critically-acclaimed live recording, Majestic—which won a GMA Dove Award for Praise and Worship Album of the Year—the new album is also rooted in a series of personal transition and remarkable grief for the singer and her family. In the past two years, Jobe married her husband Cody Carnes and moved from her hometown of Dallas, Texas, to Nashville, where the couple bought their first home and had a baby. With due dates three months apart, Jobe and her sister, Kris, were excited to be pregnant at the same time. Yet, in the midst of happy life changes, heartbreak struck. Seven-and-a-half months into her pregnancy, Kris gave birth to a stillborn daughter, James Ivy. Jobe, four months pregnant with her son at the time, was devastated.

“It just shattered my heart. It was so, so hard,” Jobe shares. “It wrecked me—just the weight of unanswered prayers. I was trying to walk in peace when I didn’t feel peaceful and find my rest when my spirit didn’t feel rested.”

Aching for her sister, Jobe was simultaneously anxious for the safety of her own child. On February 18, 2016, a healthy Canyon Carnes entered the world. “It’s hard to celebrate life, but to be grieving with your sister,” Jobe admits, adding that knowing Canyon’s name ahead of time gave her strength through the remainder of her pregnancy after the loss of her niece. “God gave us his name even before this whole thing took place,” she says. “Canyon means a deep ravine for water to flow through. Canyons are formed through storms, so the fact that God gave me his name was so peaceful to me… I was thankful He gave me his name for that season.”

While the birth of her son was undoubtedly a milestone to celebrate, her sister’s loss weighed heavy on her heart. Yet, a reminder of God’s kindness came in a surprising way. As Jobe held Canyon in her arms, she stood looking out the kitchen window of her new home. And there in her backyard, she glimpsed the first signs of spring. When she and her husband purchased the house, a garden that resided on the property was overgrown; and though they knew it needed to be tended, they were advised to wait and see what it produced. The result was a breathtaking bounty of harvest. That day, Jobe made her way through the garden—a stark reminder of God’s faithfulness in all circumstances. Looking up, interwoven in the archway, she couldn’t help but smile as she saw what only God could produce: thick, green ivy lacing its way overhead, immediately reminding her of her niece’s namesake.

“Ivy is the most resilient plant there is. It can grow in the harshest of climates; it can grow in the harshest of situations,” Jobe explains, adding, “I’m standing in this garden. There’s ivy growing, and I just started to realize, ‘God, You’re moving in a way that is different than what I asked for, but You are moving.’ He’s at work and doing things we can’t see.”

The experience yielded the title track for Jobe’s new album and fresh healing for her soul. “Those seeds were planted years ago for it to be the way that it was that day for me, because it wasn’t just last year that they planted all this beautiful ivy. That took years,” she observes. “Something in my spirit started to rustle. Life was coming back. What felt dead in my heart was starting to wake up. It was like I’d been in this place of being numb in my walk with the Lord, but something just started blooming in my heart.”

Her unanswered questions began to grow into songs. As Jobe declared God’s goodness over her own circumstances, He began to transform her heart. “These raw things were coming out of my mouth, so I just started writing,” she shares. “I Will Sing,” written while she was still pregnant, became the first song she penned for this album. Jobe spent the next several months pouring out her emotions one track at a time, collaborating with friends, and eventually recording half of the album in Redding, California, and the other half in Nashville. She and her husband wrote together frequently, and Cody adds vocals on numerous tracks. In addition, Jobe co-wrote with acclaimed songwriters, including Jacob and Amanda Cook of Bethel Music, Brooke Fraser Ligertwood, Ben Fielding, Jason Ingram, Mia Fieldes, Martin Smith, Henry Seeley and Josh Silverburg, among others. In addition, she covered two songs that she claimed in the midst of loss: Jesus Culture’s “Miracles” and Elevation Church’s “Here As In Heaven.” Jeremy Edwardson (Jesus Culture, Bryan and Katie Torwalt), who helmed Majestic, produced the project.

While songs like “Fall Afresh,” “Heal Our Land” and “Closer to Your Heart” reveal congregational anthems like many of the offerings that have defined Jobe’s career, most of The Garden’s 14 tracks speak to hope in the midst of loss, peace in the midst of uncertainty and God’s presence in the midst of pain. “Oh The Power” vividly recalls another garden where suffering took place, the Garden of Gethsemane. “Jesus went to a garden in His last moments to have intimacy with the Father. It was like He wanted to be surrounded with something that reminded Him of when there was no sin and there was no separation from God,” Jobe says, referencing the garden where mankind began—in Eden. It’s a heavenly space she hopes to invite listeners into with her new album, which, on a sonic level, feels like an overarching narrative backed by a sweeping cinematic score, meant to be savored from start to finish.

“The garden is true intimacy with the Father, and it’s a place where He intended for us as humankind to be surrounded with His creation. There’s life in things that He’s created,” she offers. “I want to lead people into intimacy with the Father. It’s something that’s so important as we walk through stuff in our lives.”

Today, Jobe and her family continue to discover restoration through glimpses of God’s goodness. “The healing that He’s been bringing to my family and the way that He’s met us in our pain, it’s made me realize how many people are going through really intense pain and disappointments and trials,” Jobe offers. “There’s a lot of people who have lost babies or family members out of traumatic experiences. My eyes have been opened to that in a whole new way.”

She’s also viewing her platform in a new light since giving birth to Canyon. “I feel more of a maternal instinct now in my worship leading, even declaring things over people,” she shares, adding, “At the end of the day, my favorite thing now is just to be on the floor playing with blocks and reading books. Nothing else really matters. If I just became his momma and a wife, I’m fine with that. I just feel more settled than I’ve ever felt in my life.”

In the time leading up to The Garden, Jobe has experienced both indescribable joy and unimaginable pain. Life and death, side by side. Yet, through it all, she’s found God to be inextricably faithful because she’s learned to trust the Gardner and the beautiful, unseen ways He tends to our hearts.

“Everyone who’s seen something grow out of the dust realizes God was up to something in the midst of pain and questions. He never promised that it would be easy or that it would be pain-free, but that He would never leave us or forsake us,” Jobe offers, adding, “I’m more aware of His presence than I think I’ve ever been. God has surrounded us with things that will be life-giving if we take a moment to realize it. God’s always at work in our lives. He truly does go before us and prepares the way for the journey ahead.”

~*~

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Book review: The Midwife's Tale

Book: The Midwife's Tale

Author: Delia Parr

Review writer: Alexis A. Goring

Review title: Delia Parr spins a story about tradition, life changes and faith in God

Book review: 

At first, I didn’t think I would like this book but reading it proved me wrong.

Author Delia Parr spins a story about tradition, life changes and faith in God amidst unexpected events in a way that resonates with the reader. The reader may feel connected to the main characters within the first few pages of the book. Yes, Parr is that good of a writer!

Chapter 1 introduces the reader to the main character Martha Cade in her glory—she is working as a midwife surrounded by female assistants—helping to birth a baby but she’s not in a hospital, she’s in a residential home which as true to real life in the fictional town of Trinity, Pennsylvania in which the story is set. The year in which the story begins is 1830.

The characters are not always endearing but they are believable from the beginning. Parr does an excellent job of making Martha’s career as a midwife not only believable but interesting. Parr has a way of dropping the reader right into the action from the first line of the story to the final word on the last page.

What impressed me the most about this book is that the author wrote with such skill and portrayed a deep knowledge of medical matters in every scene involving the midwife at work with her patients. Clearly, Parr knows how to do research and write in a way that’s not only captivating but informative! I learned quite a bit about the life of a midwife and medical matters in the 19th century just from reading this book.

The book is not just about the midwife, it’s about her defiant daughter Victoria who ran away with a theatre troupe. It’s an action that causes Martha great concern throughout the story. Another issue for Martha is the new doctor in town who is competition for her, so much so that she worries her career as a midwife will soon end. Such an idea hurts her heart not only because she loves her career but because she wanted her daughter to carry on the tradition of working as a midwife.

While I do not want to give away the ending, I can say that the reader is not likely to be disappointed when they reach the final pages of this book as Parr does a delightful job of denouement in a way that satisfies most if not all of the reader’s curiosity.

Historical fiction is not my favorite but I think this book deserves at least four stars because of the author’s way of sharing a fictional tale that was relatable and real.

*Bethany House Publishers sent a complimentary copy of The Midwife’s Tale to Alexis A. Goring in exchange for an honest review.