Devotionals for the Heart: Sacrifices

Sacrifices
A devotional by Sara L. Foust

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." 

—John 15:13 (KJV)

I would never, ever, in a million years feel comfortable comparing a person to Jesus and to the penultimate sacrifice He made for each of us. What He did cannot even be measured in comparison to anything a mortal, “normal” human being has done or will do.

We just celebrated the 4th of July, one of my favorite holidays. As a kid growing up in East Tennessee, our Fourth consisted of going to Norris for their annual celebration, including carnival style games and a dunking booth, bake sales, a blinged-out bicycle parade, and just-after-sunset fireworks. As dusk settled down, us kids would circle up with a soft disc and play killer Frisbee (it sounds worse than it is, if you’ve never heard of it before). Then we’d run back to our blanket, stretch out, and wait for the magic. To this day, fireworks are one of my favorite things. Of course, I now have two little ones who are petrified by both the sound and the sight of them and that hinders my ability to enjoy them a bit (okay, a lot). But someday they will grow up and things will gravitate into more of the wonder than the fear.

I am a Southern, All-American girl. My daddy served in the Army in the Vietnam War. Growing up, I was reminded of his sacrifice often. Not by him. No. He was too humble to accept any kind of gratitude or attention. But it was an important part of him and something I felt proud of. There were so many men, men he knew well, who didn’t make it home to their families. I sometimes marveled at the fact that if he’d died in that war, I wouldn’t have a mind to be able to wonder at it, or at anything at all. And thanked God that He saw fit to bring my daddy home.

There are still men and women who bravely step into military positions, volunteering not only their times but their lives themselves. Men and women who don’t make it home. And those who do. None of them walk away the same, unchanged, unaltered. God made some of us extra-special, with the heart to serve our country and put their lives on the line every day. I think He gave them a little something different than us laypeople. And I’m thankful that they love me enough to protect my country, even though they do not know me.

While I know most of them are too humble to accept praise, it is important that you and I never fail to recognize their sacrifices. Not just a couple times a year when a holiday reminds us to do so, but every single day. We can do this by remembering them in our prayers, supporting charities that support them, and smiling their direction and saying thank you when we have the privilege of meeting a veteran or active-duty service-person. And as we perform this simple act, let’s make sure we turn our eyes heavenward and thank the ultimate giver for his sacrifice too. Every day. Every hour. Every prayer.

~*~
Author Bio:

Sara writes Inspirational Romantic Suspense from a mini-farm in East Tennessee, where she lives with her husband and their five homeschooled children. 

She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from the University of Tennessee and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Tennessee Mountain Writers.

Her debut novel Callum's Compass won second place in Deep River Books' 2017 Writer's Contest. She also has a story, “Leap of Faith,” in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Step Outside Your Comfort Zone. Sara finds inspiration in her faith, her family, and the beauty of nature.

When she isn’t writing, you can find her reading, camping, and spending time outdoors with her family. To learn more about her and her work or to become a part of her email friend’s group, please visit www.saralfoust.com.

Thankful Thursday: God is Faithful

It's Thursday and today I am forever grateful that God is faithful! He blesses me and you in so many ways--seen and unseen--every single day of our lives.

He's always there for us, no matter what and He loves us with ALL of His divine heart. Yes, you heard me right--God who is the CREATOR of the UNIVERSE loves you! Loves me! And He's not going anywhere. His love lasts forever! Why? Because God is faithful! Read Deuteronomy 7:9 for evidence.

I'd like to share two recent examples of God's faithfulness in my own life:

Example #1: A few weeks ago, it had been on my mind to take my car to the dealership for an early maintenance. It's a new car so I figured I had a few more weeks to go through before I took it in but the thought of getting my car checked would not leave my mind. So I decided to take it in a few weeks earlier than scheduled. 

Now here's where the story gets interesting. On the day of my maintenance appointment, hours before I was due at the car dealership, I was driving and approached a stoplight. A homeless man who frequents that particular stop, was holding his usual cardboard sign that said he was hungry but on that day, beneath the word "Hungry" was written quite clearly, "Check Your Tires." Now that man always frequents that particular stop but never in the past ten years of my seeing him at that particular intersection had he ever written the words "check your tires" on his cardboard sign! I found that to be unusual but it did make me wonder if everything was okay with my tires or if that was just a general message for everyone with no special meaning.

And here is where God's faithfulness comes in...Later on that same day, I arrived at the dealership and checked my car in for maintenance. I brought a book with me and settled into a cushioned leather chair located in the waiting room. Halfway through my reading of the book, one of the dealership's employees asked me to walk with him to my car because he wanted to show me something that needs my approval to fix. Warily, I followed him to the garage and stopped at my car. The service worker pointed to one of my tires which he had removed from my car. He pointed to not one but two medium-sized, thick nails that were embedded into that tire and said he can remove it and "plug" the tire for an extra $35.00. The plug is supposed to last for a lifetime. He also said it's not as bad as it could have been if the nails were located elsewhere on the tire and that he can fix it with a plug.

The words on the sign held by the homeless man flashed across the memory of my mind and I realized that God sent me a message through that man with the cardboard sign. I believe to this day that is a pure example of God's faithfulness to me and all of His children! And it's a great reminder that God can work through anyone in any place at any time to help His people.

Example #2: Yesterday, I saw through a digital reminder on my car's dashboard that my car only had about 92 more miles to travel before I'd need to fill my gas tank. I made a note on my electronic calendar to get gas today but as the activities of the day went on and I hit the road, I forgot. However, as I was eating lunch at one of my favorite little restaurants, one of the patrons standing near me waiting to place his order was talking to someone and in his conversation he mentioned "gas" and immediately, the thought popped into my head, "I need to get gas for my car!" So thankfully this story has a happy ending because after lunch, I did not delay the task-- I drove to the gas station and filled my tank with the gas it needed. Yet another example of God's faithfulness!

In closing, I'd like to share a song by my Mom's ultimate favorite singer, CeCe Winans. She's a beautiful woman blessed with a soothing voice. So tonight, I'm sharing CeCe's song, "Great is Thy Faithfulness." As you listen to this song, I encourage you to reflect on God's faithfulness in your life and the lives of your loved ones.

If you don't recognize God's faithfulness in your life or do not believe in God, I am praying for you. And I want you to know that God loves you just as much as He loves the pastors, preachers, gospel singers and Christian writers in this world. God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34), He loves us equally! God doesn't play favorites (Romans 2:11) but He knows how to treat each one of His creation as if they are each His favorite person in the world because honestly, we're all His children and He wants what's best for us.

Hence, the reason for His faithfulness! God's not going anywhere. Don't run away from Him, run to Him! You'll find God waiting for you--if not running to you--with His open arms, ready to embrace you, hold you and see you through this life here on Earth. 

Ultimately, I pray that God will show you His faithfulness!

Thankful Thursday: Family Matters

It's Thursday and I'm thankful to celebrate Thanksgiving Day with loved ones because family matters!

Here in America we celebrate Thanksgiving every November, this year it was celebrated today, Nov. 28. We're known for gathering with family around a feast laden table usually filled with turkey, cranberry sauce, collard greens or green bean casserole, corn on the cob, potato salad, fresh dinner rolls of bread with butter and the list goes on! 

Sitting around the dining room table at my grandma's house today I found myself being thankful for the blessing of family and for God keeping us through another year to celebrate thanksgiving together. Some people, my grandma said today, don't even have family to celebrate Thanksgiving with so she's grateful that she has us. Awe, how sweet!

Now pumpkin pie is considered the classic American Thanksgiving dinner dessert but that's not how we do it, we have my grandma's famous sweet potato pie--so smooth and savory that you wish you had an entire pie, not just one slice, to yourself! Yes, it is that good!

My aunt surprised me this Thanksgiving with a red velvet cake with vanilla icing which she baked especially for me because it's one of my favorite desserts and my aunt can bake like the best professionals around so I'm always grateful when I get to taste food she made. I love surprises that have a lot of thought and heart behind them and that is what my aunt did for me today!

Whether you live in America and celebrate Thanksgiving Day or not, I hope you will find time today to be quiet and think about what you're thankful for in life.

May God bless you today, tomorrow and always!

A Season of Thanksgiving

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow."  
~Melody Beattie

Dear blog readers,

Happy Thanksgiving!

My grandma always says, "Gratitude will change your attitude."

On this Thanksgiving Day, I hope and pray that we will celebrate those whom we are thankful for and embrace the daily blessings God bestows upon our lives.

As you're feasting around the banquet table today, remember to ask God for an opportunity to share your faith in HIM! :)

Love,

Alexis