Think, Pray, and Devote

As I was "doing" my devotions Sunday morning before church, I was thinking. I was thinking about how I frequently miss my readings or devotions during the week and then catch up on Saturday and Sunday. It's not that I don't pray during the week. In fact I pray lots. My husband and I also pray together every night before we go to sleep. Yet studying God's Word and listening to others' writings that relate to God and faith, I put off. My justification is, 'well at least I do devotions on the weekend'.

When I was a child, my parents read to us every night from the child devotional, "Little Visits with God" and "More Little Visits with God". We did the same with our children, although we included short, Christian books. There was a series from Concordia Publishers called Arch Books, that was quite good and we read those too, sometimes over and over. Point being, when our kids were in elementary school, we "did" family devotions and prayed with them before bed. As they got older, we would try to have devotions, especially during Advent and Lent.

Back to devote. Merriam-Webster Dictionary on line defines devote:
1: to commit by a solemn act <devoted herself to serving God>
2: to give over or direct (as time, money, or effort) to a cause, enterprise, or activity
Other similar words or synonyms are: allocate, consecrate, dedicate, earmark, give up (to), reserve, save, set by, set apart, set aside.

So, devote is serious. Devotion to God. And that can't be squeezed just into a weekend. It's an every day and every moment devotion to God and Jesus Christ. I plan to step up my devotions to every day, and maybe just do longer thinking, devotions, and prayers on the weekends.

A Social Media Love {Thy Neighbor} Story: (in)couragers clip

 A Social Media Love {Thy Neighbor} Story: (in)couragers clip - YouTube:

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From the wonderful, blessed website (in)couragers.

The Gift of Community

The Gift of Community | (in)courage:

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I have been hurt by community too. As a preacher's kid when I was in an adult Bible Study class on Sunday morning, criticism was hurled at my father. This B.S. was to be part of my spiritual nourishment for the week to come. Instead I was drained by defensiveness and anger.

Then I married a pastor. I fell in love with the man, not his career. However, at the beginning of our marriage I was not working outside the home and I was helping with everything at our small-town parish. And when even a little critical remark could almost slay me. Keeping quiet and patient has never been my strong suit. I had to work hard to stay calm and "thick-skinned". Thankfully in these situations I always have friends who would listen and help me get over it. Well, almost over it. I prayed too, for patience and understanding. Still it was very difficult.

In my mature years now, I have gained those qualities of patience and understanding. Mostly. Thank God I do have friends to vent with and get whatever out of my system. I still work on being supportive to my husband who works with these folks. And I pray. A lot.