A Gift

I have a devotional book that I received from my best friend back in the mid-90s. Each page assigned a calendar day and some faith-based message. Some are heavy and some are quite humorous. I keep it in a convenient place (i.e. my bathroom) where I am almost guaranteed to lay my eyes and hands on it each day, as long as we are home.

Back in 2006, I started writing the current year on the page if I had read it. I set some rules for myself...no turning pages back to a missed day or jumping ahead if I know I will not be home to read it. I can only read the current day. And if something of significance happens on a specific day, I make sure to note it. This gives me the chance to give thanks on those specific anniversaries for lessons learned and unexpected blessings.
 
I always have a pen handy so that I can underline any statement or phrase that convicts me or gets my brain to working.  It's interesting to notice each year what has seemed previously underline-worthy and what was not...all evidence of my new location in life's journey.

This book has been such a precious gift to me...and I hope that it will be a precious gift to my daughters someday...a keepsake sharing my faith and life events with them, a place for them to visit each day to relive a Bible verse or lesson through my eyes.  I also hope to plant some seed in them to always spend some time with their Creator and Savior each day...even if it is only for a few minutes...even if it's in the bathroom.

Defining Prayer...

From "Morning Jam Sessions" by Betty Malz...

Prayer is not conquering God's reluctance. It is not worrying out loud. Prayer is praise for what He has already done, then laying hold of His willingness to do more.

Shift Out of Reverse

The hardest person to forgive is often yourself.

From "Morning Jam Sessions" by Betty Malz...

There is no reverse gear in the the Christian race. The saddest words of tongue or pen are these What might have been. Stop punishing yourself. Even in a court of law, a man can be punished only once for the same crime, while we keep looking in the rear-view mirror of our lives. If you keep looking back, you will run into something and cause a wreck. Godly sorrow worketh repentance, but only one application is necessary for the cure. Get out of reverse. Your are "accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). Paul said, "I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me."

Don't let others remind you of your past, either. Tell them, "I distinctly remember forgetting all that!" And then sing to yourself this song of declaration: I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back!

Snap Judgment

From "Morning Jam Sessions" by Betty Malz...

Avoid hasty conclusions and snap judgments.

... The Bible says there are three things that cannot be recalled, brought back or returned: a shot arrow, youth, or a sharp word spoken in haste. "Their tongue is an arrow shot out; it speaks deceit; one speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he lies in wait" (Jeremiah 9:8).

Let's not lie in wait to make snap judgments.

Are You the Imp in Impatience?

From "Morning Jam Sessions" by Betty Malz...

If the devil can't get you to be immoral, drunk, profane, backslidden or a cheat at business, he will rally his imp guerillas of impatience and cause you to wound someone's spirit and bring guilt to your own inner control.

Morning Jam Sessions

Years ago...in a galaxy far, far away (just kidding!)...a dear friend gave me a devotional titled "Morning Jam Sessions" by Betty Malz. I really wish I knew when I had received it...it was definitely 1994 or later. This book has been a daily treat. It is formatted as a page per day for the year. I started writing in the year that I visited each page in 2005. Sometimes I make a note on the page if that is the anniversary of a significant event in my life. And I made a rule for myself that I can never visit a missed day. It is interesting to reminisce about what may have been going on in my life on a missed day...camping or just off track (and why?). I totally envision this being a treasure to one of my daughters someday.

The author is funny...relatable. Sometimes she makes me smile and sometimes she opens my eyes to my stumblings. I tell you all that to introduce this series of blog posts, where I will share tidbits from the book. The ones that I share will be the ones that I needed...so don't be offended...I wasn't thinking of you. But, I figure if I needed the reminder or education, maybe someone else does too. ( I hope so...otherwise it is just me with all these issues.)