From Eating Cookies to Counting Calories

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.  Ephesians 2:10 NKJV

I can do nothing on my own.  John 5:30aESV

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians s 4:13 ESV

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9:8 ESV

You know the New Year is just around the corner when advertisements boomerang from images of whipped cream-topped hot cocoa and a mouthwatering cookie, to aisles of treadmills, ellipticals and tax prep packages. Yep, we’ve turned the corner from “The most wonderful time of the year” to a season marked by resolutions of weight loss, getting out of debt or ending a bad habit. A season that’s brimming with the determination to try harder, or take advantage of the clean slate in front of us. Yet, before we see Valentine candy on the store shelves, many of us are already filled with despair at our lack of ability or willpower to maintain the desired course correction. Or worse, peering into the future brings thoughts of hopelessness mingled with emotional bankruptcy.

I promise not to add to your list of what you must do or change or what you must do better in the coming year. No guilt trip here. What I will do is remind both of us of the foundational truth that we are all a broken, lost, hot-mess people, unable to change ourselves. Willpower, determination or positive thinking, will not (alone) do the trick, though those are definitely our allies in the process. As with the salvation of our soul, He alone is able to change us from the inside out, and enable us to become all He has planned for us.

That plan may include reevaluating our health (or lack of it), reevaluating relationships or how we spend our resources of time, talent and money. It most certainly includes an honest assessment of our relationship with Jesus Christ, the One who has provided our time, talent and treasure. What it doesn’t include is an end-of-our-rope striving to be better, do better and work harder to be “good-er” (as if…).

We can do nothing on our own, but we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. We are His workmanship, His masterpiece. And as we see treadmills filling store aisles or popping up on our phone screens, refuse to despair. May they serve only as reminders that we are His workmanship. Rely on His wisdom, strength and ability to put His finger on areas of needed change and provide what’s needed to live out the life He has given us.

If you wait until you feel like taking action, you’ll never make progress.

Don Howe

Father, Please put Your finger on areas of my life that need changed or reevaluated. As I honestly acknowledge them, enable me to make whatever course corrections are necessary as I lean into You as my Strength to accomplish what I cannot. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

Ministry of Thorns

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. - 2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV

God did not take away Paul’s thorn; He did better—He mastered that thorn, and made it Paul’s servant. The ministry of thorns has often been a greater ministry to man than the ministry of thrones.  – Streams in the Desert 12/18

“It shall turn out for you a testimony.” Luke 21:13

God has given me a ministry of thorns. Graciously taking all the pain of my life (self-inflicted, other-inflicted or just the ache of real life) and given me the great honor of using it all for His glory.

This truth was brought home to me recently, as I stood in front of a podium before several hundred ladies at a correctional facility. I have no great skill as an orator, no degree on the wall or social station that would open such doors. My thorns provided the invitation and thorns were what I spoke of. Oh, I called them by their real names of regret, abuse, addiction, grief, betrayal, depression, divorce and hopelessness. Wrapping it up with God’s promise found in Romans 8:28, that He is able to cause all things to work together for our good and His glory, for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

I have found that when I share the thorns of my life, in an authentic way, it frees others to share theirs as well. Releasing them from the formality and pretense and self-protective stance that often shrouds our lives. It’s then, when the pain is on the table, that the Great Physician can begin His work.

He may or may not remove the thorns of real life, but He is entirely faithful to use them. That’s what I desperately wanted those precious ladies to know that night. If placed in His hands, He will use our thorns for His glory. He may even grant us, a ministry with those thorns.

We have a choice. The same heat that melts wax, hardens clay. And the same thorn that pushes one to lean hard into God, may cause another to run from Him.

What will you do with your thorn?

Suffering in life can uncover untold depths of character and unknown strength for service. People who go through life unscathed by sorrow and untouched by pain tend to be shallow in their perspectives on life. Suffering, on the other hand, tends to plow up the surface of our lives to uncover the depths that provide greater strength of purpose and accomplishment. Only deeply plowed earth can yield bountiful harvests.

– Billy Graham

Father, I am in awe of Your faithfulness and ability to use my mess for Your glory. My thorns for Your kingdom. As we prepare to launch into a new year, I hand You, once again, all of me. Thorns and all. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Written by Becky White for my Lord Jesus

My God, I have never thanked Thee for my ‘thorn!’ I have thanked Thee a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my ‘thorn;’ I have been looking forward to a world where I shall get compensation for my cross as itself a present glory. Teach me the glory of my cross; teach me the value of my ‘thorn.’

George Matheson

Ministry of Thorns

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. - 2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV

God did not take away Paul’s thorn; He did better—He mastered that thorn, and made it Paul’s servant. The ministry of thorns has often been a greater ministry to man than the ministry of thrones.  – Streams in the Desert 12/18

“It shall turn out for you a testimony.” Luke 21:13

God has given me a ministry of thorns. Graciously taking all the pain of my life (self-inflicted, other-inflicted or just the ache of real life) and given me the great honor of using it all for His glory.

This truth was brought home to me recently, as I stood in front of a podium before several hundred ladies at a correctional facility. I have no great skill as an orator, no degree on the wall or social station that would open such doors. My thorns provided the invitation and thorns were what I spoke of. Oh, I called them by their real names of regret, abuse, addiction, grief, betrayal, depression, divorce and hopelessness. Wrapping it up with God’s promise found in Romans 8:28, that He is able to cause all things to work together for our good and His glory, for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

I have found that when I share the thorns of my life, in an authentic way, it frees others to share theirs as well. Releasing them from the formality and pretense and self-protective stance that often shrouds our lives. It’s then, when the pain is on the table, that the Great Physician can begin His work.

He may or may not remove the thorns of real life, but He is entirely faithful to use them. That’s what I desperately wanted those precious ladies to know that night. If placed in His hands, He will use our thorns for His glory. He may even grant us, a ministry with those thorns.

We have a choice. The same heat that melts wax, hardens clay. And the same thorn that pushes one to lean hard into God, may cause another to run from Him.

What will you do with your thorn?

Suffering in life can uncover untold depths of character and unknown strength for service. People who go through life unscathed by sorrow and untouched by pain tend to be shallow in their perspectives on life. Suffering, on the other hand, tends to plow up the surface of our lives to uncover the depths that provide greater strength of purpose and accomplishment. Only deeply plowed earth can yield bountiful harvests.

– Billy Graham

Father, I am in awe of Your faithfulness and ability to use my mess for Your glory. My thorns for Your kingdom. As we prepare to launch into a new year, I hand You, once again, all of me. Thorns and all. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Written by Becky White for my Lord Jesus

My God, I have never thanked Thee for my ‘thorn!’ I have thanked Thee a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my ‘thorn;’ I have been looking forward to a world where I shall get compensation for my cross as itself a present glory. Teach me the glory of my cross; teach me the value of my ‘thorn.’

George Matheson

Christmas Socks

Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given…

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son,

that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life.

Isaiah 9:6    John 3:16

Christmas. I love the lights, the tinsel, the songs, and the food. I love the cheesy nothing-to-do-with-the-real-meaning-of-Christmas movies. I love baking cookies with the grandkids and watching the excitement in their eyes as they gasp excitedly at Grandpa and Grandma’s covered-in-icicles Christmas tree. And yet – none of those things is really “Christmas” is it? In fact, one of those decades-old movies reminds us that Christmas can, and does, happen even when all those extras are missing.

Old socks turned Christmas socks.  Old socks nailed to the wall as Christmas stockings, plump with fruit and candy, old socks used as mittens for the kid’s snowball fights and old socks turned into bean bag toys and hand puppets. During those trying years, God gave me a heart of thankfulness for such blessings as old socks – while in recent years, I have spent Christmas’ basking in the outward blessings of tinsel, lights, cheesy movies and grandkids – all shared with my gift-from-God husband. But no matter the circumstance, I always had Christmas. Because Christmas isn’t about those outer trappings I so enjoy…

While we could debate the origins of celebrating this set apart Holy Day we call Christmas, or the accuracy of the exact date – let’s land on the meaning of what we are celebrating. God made flesh. Born of a woman. The Creator entering into His creation to save them. No lights or tinsel or cookies or even eggnog needed.  Jesus the Christ, born into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. That is Christmas.

This Christmas may find you comfortably sitting in your favorite chair, sipping hot chocolate and basking in the glow of a tree or alone in a prison cell (physical or emotional), tear-stained face and discouraged beyond words. It may find you missing a now-in-heaven child/parent/spouse/friend… or it may find you feverishly trying to “create” Christmas for family. My prayer is that this Christmas we purposefully remember what we are celebrating – the greatest *gift of all time. The gift of His one and only Son… for you. Amazing.

The very purpose of Christ’s coming into the world was that he might offer up his life as a sacrifice for the sins of men. He came to die. This is the heart of Christmas. –Rev. Billy Graham

Father, I am speechless when I think of what You have given us…Your Son, Your only Son. I bow at Your feet, acknowledging Your goodness, faithfulness and absolute mercy and grace given to one such as I. Thank You Father, thank You. In Jesus’ name, Amen

*(Make sure you have opened this gift or it will do you as much good as those expired gift cards!).

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

Songs in the Night

The Lord will send His goodness in the daytime; And His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life.  Psalm 42:8 NASB

…My God, Who gives songs in the night.  Job 35:10b

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God (while in prison), and the other prisoners were listening to them. Acts 16:25 NIV

Lean hard into him bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me bless his holy name. Why are you in despair on my soul put your hope in him I will yet praise him the help of my countenance and my God. Psalm 103

The thick night darkness hid the emotional ache that permeated me as I mentally surveyed my life’s circumstance.  My throat sore from stifled tears, in a near whisper, I sang as my declaration … “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name… (Psalm 103:1) The whispered Scripture turned prayer, fell from my lips as I sang to the Lord, and to my own spirit.

That painful, yet powerful, decades-old memory surfaces as my eyes land on the scripture that speaks of “songs in the night.”

The apostles sang songs in the night as they lay shackled in a Roman prison cell … singing God’s praises in the midst of their painful circumstance. Right there in the ongoing unfairness and cruelty, simply for doing the right thing. And Scripture tells us that “the other prisoners heard” the praise songs, and most importantly, they listened.

There’s something about a person walking through pain and trial,  who still turns to God … in trusting praise. Maybe through tears and a cracking voice, perhaps, but turning to Him anyway. Others take notice and stop to “listen” as we sing our song in the night. Not a life that never encounters a night, but those who choose to “sing” in the midst of it all.

From a bad hair day to the death of a loved one to an all-encompassing loneliness and everything in between, whatever our night season looks like, if we turn to Him, He will provide a song in our night. An authentic song that others will stop to listen to, and perhaps turn to The song Giver.

If God would make manifest the fact that “He giveth songs in the night,” He must first make it night.

—William Taylor

My Father, as “night” swirls around us, enable us to turn to You rather than away, to Your Word and Your soul-deep Comfort and Peace. We love You. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

Christmas Cookies

Christmas Cookies is one of my favorite Christmas devotionals. It’s such a vivid word picture of the ingredients that make up our lives and what the Lord is able to do with those ingredients.  Wrapping the joy of Christmas cookie baking (and eating!) around the real-life pain that each of us walks through at some point in our lives. It describes His ability to take raw staples, added in the right order, mixed together, provide just the right amount of heat, and …. Let’s just read the devo 😉 – Becky White

The LORD of Armies has taken an oath: “It will happen exactly as I’ve intended. It will turn out exactly as I’ve planned.

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Isaiah 14:24 GWT    Romans 8:28 KJV

Every December, it’s the same pre-Christmas cookie-baking ritual. I grab large mixing bowls and measuring spoons, along with flour, baking soda, salt, brown sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs. I spend an entire day mixing, and refrigerating batches of cookie dough.  I’ll spend another whole day baking and decorating (and taste-testing of course!) until our kitchen counters are covered in sugary goodness.  

In the midst of my baking marathon, I stepped back to survey the landscape of my countertop. I noticed that most of what my eyes landed on wouldn’t taste very good as a stand-alone ingredient. Baking soda or a pinch of salt isn’t very tasty all by itself, however, mix each ingredient together in the correct order, add some heat and voila’! You have a mouth-watering, hip-enlarging Christmas cookie! As I mixed and stirred this year’s cookie-dough, I thought a lot about the “ingredients” of my life … of most people’s lives, and how similar it is to my Christmas cookie routine.

On a stand-alone basis, many of the ingredients we encounter are bitter, or even down right painful. Some appear as pointless as baking soda or a pinch of salt. At times were convinced the oven temperature is set on broil…oh the pain of the heat of trials or testing or even natural consequences of our own bad choices.

In my own life, the Lord God has taken “ingredients” like childhood challenges, the death of two of my children, domestic violence, divorce and even my own addictions …. and in the end, brought them all together for my good and His glory.  Ingredients that I thought were unnecessary or an “oven” temperature I thought was too hot or “baking time” I thought was too long… He brought good from them all. Not one ingredient wasted.

Your ingredient list or baking time, may be similar to mine or completely different. Maybe it includes the bitter flavor of COVID or the nastiness of depression-inducing isolation or the uncertainty of our political landscape or financial anxiety. Perhaps your list even includes the bitter ingredient of death or discouragement or cancer …

Wherever you’re at in the cooking process and whatever your ingredient list, let me encourage you today. He sees you. He is aware. I am so sorry for the pain or heartache some of your ingredients have caused. We may not understand “the why” of each ingredient or the cooking process, but we can absolutely trust the Master.

Grab yourself a cup of coffee and a few cookies… and reflect a minute on how He so masterfully used/uses all your life’s ingredients for your good and His glory. Or sip hot cocoa and ask Him to help with your ingredient list that feels so “unnecessary” or an oven temp that seems too high for way too long! Pour out your heart to Him. He is faithful. Of that we can be sure.

“Faith isn’t the ability to believe long and far into the misty future. It’s simply taking God at His Word and taking the next step.”   

Joni Erickson Tada

Father, help me view each life ingredient as from Your Sovereign hand. Enable me to trust You with the bitter and the sweet, and in the end stand amazed at Your faithfulness! In Jesus’ name, Amen

 Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

Click here for free pdf devotional – Stony Paths. You may also purchase a hard copy at this link.

Icicles and Lambs

And she gave birth to her firstborn, a Son. She wrapped Him in swaddling cloths and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.…

Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Luke 2:7 Berean Study Bible            John 1:29 ESV

I love all things sparkly! Every year I layer our Christmas tree with an entire package of hand-me-down silvery icicles. I so enjoy the way the Christmas lights reflect off the silvery beauty! As much as I love the sparkle of Christmas decorations, I know this isn’t the real meaning and symbol of Christmas.

The original “Christmas scene” is rich with symbolism and depth of meaning, and definitely no cutesy fairy tale or sterile religious scene as we may accidentally portray it with our graceful Nativity figures. The authentic Nativity is gritty real-life embedded with layers of meaning. And the only sparkle were the stars of heaven. Come with me for a few moments, step away from ribbons and bows or perhaps the grief that some are experiencing this Holy-Day and let us push back the hay, peering into the stable …

The Lamb of God, born alongside smelling, dirty lambs. The Lamb of God, born to take away the sin of the world, birthed alongside animals intended to temporarily cover the sin of the people. John 1:29 Jesus, The Bread of Life, lain in a feeding trough. Beckoning us to feed on the only thing that authentically satisfies the hunger of our soul and deepest longings. Him. John 6:33

His teenager mom,  gave birth in a barn/cave, not because she enjoyed the rustic setting, but because there was no room for them anywhere else. They were not wanted or welcomed or cared for by others. From His first Word-made-flesh-Divine-breath to His crucifixion on Mt. Calvary, He experienced the pains of our humanness. Rejected. Outcast. Sorrow. Misunderstood. As the Holy Spirit spoke through Isaiah the prophet 700 years earlier, “He was a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief…. Despised and rejected by men …”

His birth announcement didn’t include a Santa-hat photo in the society pages of Bethlehem but did make the shepherd evening news. Angels arrived during the night-shift of lowest-on-the-totem-pole of that society to proclaim the good news for all the world (Isn’t that just like our God?). “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”  And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” Luke 2

Stepping away from the stable and back into my modern-day Charles Dickens-esq Christmas celebrations, I am reminded … that Jesus is the Lamb of God, who came to take away my sins … He is the Bread of Life sent from heaven, the only One who can truly satisfy our needs. He knows our pain of rejection or grief or regret.  And Jesus offers us joy beyond measure as we bow our heart and kneel before the Lord our Maker – a Maker Who came wrapped in swaddling clothes laying in a feeding trough to give His life for us. Astounding.

God became flesh – doing it all in a most unexpected way, in a most unexpected place to a most undeserving people. The world. You. Me.

Whatever the Christmas holiday looks like in your world, from my never-enough-sparkles, to alone in a  prison cell (physical or emotional) or taking in the reality of  a cancer diagnosis, to a military spouse teary-eyed with loneliness, to a new mom holding her own swaddled child. Lean hard into the Lamb of God this Christmas…

“Christ didn’t only come into the world that first Christmas night in Bethlehem, but He wants to come into our lives today, and every day of the year.” – Billy Graham

Billy Graham

Father God, I bow before You in awe of Your faithfulness. Providing the spotless Lamb, Your very own Son … for me … Please show me where I “don’t make room” for You in my life … and enable me to daily recognize the depth of my need for You … as I bask in Your goodness, even as it comes in ways and by means that I did not expect. I love You. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

Advent devo suggestion

Confession, I usually find Advent devos to be a bit “religious-y” and not something that draws me in to honoring Jesus’ birth. But this devo is different!

Advent-AlphabetDownload
Advent Alphabet

I highly recommend it. You can download a free copy or order a hard copy. It is well worth the cost.

Blessings to you!

Becky White

Thanksgiving

In every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 AMP

Always giving thanks to God the Father for all things, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

 Ephesians 5:20 AMP

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. 

 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. 

For the Lord is the great God, And the great King above all gods.

Psalm 95:1-3 NKJV

For many of us, it isn’t Thanksgiving Day without family encircling a bountiful table, with the smells of turkey and pumpkin pie wafting through the air. For others, good friends and a gourmet meal reflect Thanksgiving Day. Which works out great if we happen to have those blessings this Thanksgiving Day.

As I reflected on God’s word that reminds us to give thanks in all circumstances and for all things … and as I thought deeply of what “all circumstances” might mean … I immediately thought of all the families grieving this Thanksgiving Day. From those in my own family who are around the table even now, with a painfully empty chair, to those impacted by the recent Christmas parade massacre in the state of Wisconsin (2021).  Such profound loss. There may be loss in the form of loneliness this holiday or deep disappointment through dashed expectations.

Some reading this may literally have to sift through the debris of their lives to find something to “give thanks” for. Others need only take a quick glimpse around to be astounded at their great blessings. Whether we have been lavished with a bountiful supply or “celebrating” Thanksgiving living on the land or living in a prison cell … we have much to be thankful for. Today, this day, we have air in our lungs to offer praises to the God who has given us life and sustains us day by day. He has lavished us with salvation and His very presence to sustain us.

So, this Thanksgiving Day, even if it must be done through tears, or a search party is required to find something, whatever it takes, gives thanks to the God of heaven and earth who has given us all things to enjoy!

“God is in control, and therefore in EVERYTHING I can give thanks – not because of the situation but because of the One who directs and rules over it.”

Kay Arthur

Father God, God of all blessings, today we give You thanks for Your goodness and mercy. For the gift of Your Son on our behalf. For life and food and clothing and a bed (if we have one) and for the gift of freedom. We love You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

May I take Your Order?

Order my steps in Your word; let no sin rule over me. Psalm 119:133 Berean Standard Bible

I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will give you counsel and watch over you. Psalm 32:8 Berean Standard Bible

I know, LORD, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course. Jeremiah 10:23 NLT

Always let him lead you, and he will clear the road for you to follow. Proverbs 3:6 CEV

Four jalapeño cheese burgers with mustard and pickle and a large onion chip. That’s my standard White Castle order. Mmmmm, I can almost smell the grilled onion aroma… I order my meal the way I want it, pay the cashier to receive it, and off I go. As I read today’s Scripture in Psalm 119, my go-to Castle order came to mind.  What does God’s Word have to do with a fast-food order you ask?

In a way so much greater than any drive-thru order, God orders our steps. The way He wants them. Yes, I realize the analogy breaks down quickly. God never makes a mistake in His ordering. In addition to being lousy listeners, we are often unwilling to trust His ordering options. Choosing instead to grab the menu of life choices and tell Him what we want, how we want it, when we want it. After all, we live in a “have it your way” world, don’t we?

I can’t speak for you, but in my own life, that didn’t work so well. Making life choices before asking Him for His will, His wisdom and His direction, has led to a multitude of bad menu choices. I’ll spare you the details, let’s just say, that I have learned that if He chooses the liver and onions of trials and challenges and I would prefer the Krispy Kreme donut of ease, I’m going for the liver and onions every time. I continue to learn that He knows what He’s doing in ordering my steps, all He wants from me is to submit my will to His and trust Him. He’ll make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Always providing just what we need, at the moment we need it. And just because He’s good, a golden glazed Krispy Kreme once in awhile.

Let’s bring this back to you and your life.  Are there areas where you’ve grabbed the menu and not allowed Him to order your steps? Choosing life options apart from His will? That’s okay, we’ve all been there. Recognize it. Tell Him about it. Ask for forgiveness. Hand the menu of life choices back to Him through prayer as you ask Him to order your steps. Then, open His Word and ask Him for wisdom. Proverbs everyday or the NT book of James is a good place to start. Then, choice by choice and moment by moment, your “taste” will change as you grow to appreciate His menu choices for you!

“Affliction is often that thing which prepares an ordinary person for some sort of an extraordinary destiny.”

C.S. Lewis

You are a good, good Father, forgive me for the times I’ve not trusted You or allowed You to be Lord of my choices. Please order my steps for Your glory and my good. Even when that means hard places, I choose to trust You. In Jesus’ name. Amen

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

www.DevotionsForDifficultDays.com