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

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.

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.  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

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

Worst-case Scenario?

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone.

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me?

Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.

Psalm 62:5 NIV    Psalm 43:5 Berean Study Bible

I admit it, sometimes I can be a bit morbid. Mentally playing out worst-case scenarios to their logical end as I try to anticipate how I will handle the challenge. Not with a lack-of faith mindset, but in an awareness that challenges face all of us. Being a follower of Christ doesn’t grant us a pass on life’s trials but rather a solid place to land as we walk through them. Have you noticed that too?

Recently, while still in the recovery process from heart surgery, I ventured out for my first walk, alone, through a nearby park. I used the quietness and slow pace to talk with my Lord, then my mind began its habit of worst-case-scenario planning. As I mulled over the very real possibility of a specific challenge, a momentary fear stabbed my heart. “O, Father … what if….? It would be shattering ….”  Thankfully, before fear had the opportunity to take root and invade my heart, His truth instantly washed over me. “I will never leave you or forsake you … “

Without stopping to see if anyone else might be on the trail who would overhear (and think I’m crazy!) I heard myself begin to speak out loud … “No matter what happens Father … I will always have You … I know You will walk me through anything that comes my way.  Even if _____ happens, I’ll be okay. Help me find my rest in You alone. Not in anyone or anything else. It’s You and me Lord.”

It’s so easy to find our stability and soul’s rest in other people or pleasant circumstances or a steady paycheck or a good family and even our own ability to white-knuckle our way through life/trials … but God calls us to find our soul’s rest in Him alone. He is our Rock of Refuge.

Think for a moment, where is your soul finding its rest? Be honest with yourself. If you find (like I have many times) that your soul’s rest is anything other than the Lord, turn to Him now and ask Him to help you transfer your rest to Him alone. Whether our circumstances are best-case or worst-case scenarios, we are to find our soul’s rest in Him alone.

If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. If you look at God you’ll be at rest.

Corrie ten Boom

Father God, Help me find rest in You alone. Not in another person or pleasant circumstances or in my own perceived strength … but in You alone. You are trustworthy and my mighty Rock of Refuge. Thank You for Your faithfulness Lord! In Jesus’ name, Amen

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

By the Hand

 I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt…

 I will bring you up out of the suffering and oppression of Egypt … to a land flowing with milk and honey…

Hebrews 8:9b AMPC    Exodus 3:17 AMP

I love to walk hand in hand with my husband, whether we’re power-walking trails at a nearby park or strolling through grocery store aisles. There’s something tender, personal and even “safe” about such a simple gesture. It also necessarily means that we are going away from, and then to, the same location, together.

In today’s Scripture reading we hear our Lord say this about His people, “I led them by the hand.” God, the Creator, Sustainer and Lord of all…”led them by the hand!” If that isn’t enough to blow our minds into face-to-the-floor worship, He goes on to say where He led them from, “Out of Egypt.” Let’s keep this simple. Egypt is B-A-D, full of emotional, physical and relational pain.

Though the ancient Israelites were in, and then led out of, a literal land of Egypt, you and I encounter our own versions of “Egypt” don’t we? The emotional ripping and tearing of abuse or addiction. The relational pain of pornography or divorce or loneliness. The physical challenges of our own illnesses or the searing pain of helplessly watching those we love suffer.

Beloved, He promises the same, for you and I.

Lord, enable me to find my security in You alone. Not in my spouse or children or career or bank account or service or ________, but in You alone. The utterly faithful One.

I will lead them.

By the hand.

Out of Egypt.

Our Sovereign God has not promised to whisk us away in a fairy-tale-esque escape plan. No. But He has promised to lead us out. To lead us through… step by challenging step. And miracle by miracle, if needed. Providing the manna of His Presence along the journey as He leads into our own land flowing with the milk and honey of joy in the midst of, peace in spite of. And blessing us with, “I’ve been where you are” compassion and empathy.  Handing us a testimony that shouts His great faithfulness that led us by the hand through the wilderness and out of our own Egypts, right into the promise land of fulfilling His purposes in us, and for us.

God is God. Because He is God, He is worthy of my trust and obedience. I will find rest nowhere but in His holy will, a will that is unspeakably beyond my largest notions of what He is up to.

Elisabeth Elliot

My Lord, Such tenderness and compassion You show through the promise to lead Your people (which includes me!!) by hand… out of my Egypt and into the promise land where I will testify of Your great faithfulness to restore and deliver. I love You beyond words. In Jesus’ name, Amen

 Written by Becky White for Jesus

Free Devotional – Stony Paths

Learning to Trust Him as we walk along STONY PATHS – 09.24.2021Download

Stony Paths – Learning to trust Him as we walk the Stony Paths of real life.

Recently, a friend asked what drew me to write a book on the topic of trusting God. The answer came immediately….

Let me share with you what I told him that day … I was confronted with emergency open heart surgery with no time to think through the seriousness of the situation. The doctors explained that with a near total blockage in what is often referred to as the “widow maker”, I had no time to spare … this was life and death … surgery was needed immediately. While I am no spring chicken and would never be confused for an athlete, I am in decent physical condition, try to eat healthy and exercise, so this news came as a complete shock to my husband and I. Understanding what must be done, we held hands and prayed together, thanking our heavenly Father for His flawless timing and protection on my behalf (and asking Him to help the surgeons of course!).

Days later, as I became fully aware of what had actually happened and how close I came to dying, I was overcome with thankfulness and gratitude to the Lord. So excited to share with nurses, friends, housekeeping staff … anyone who would listen, about how the Lord spared my life. Of how good God is. How loving and faithful. But then it hit me … like being smacked across the face. What if He had said “no” to our prayers of healing? What if God had not caused the blockage to become known and I had died suddenly? What if my husband was planning my funeral rather than planning my home therapy sessions? And what about the people who heard me gush about my near-fatal experience? What if they had a family member who faced the same scenario but their mother or wife or friend had died instead of the miraculous intervention I had experienced?

This question reverberated in my heart – Is God still good and is He still worthy of trust, even when the answer is No? Is my trust in Him total and complete or is it only for particular outcomes?

We trust Him for finances or safety. We trust Him for basic necessities. We trust Him for healing. And we should. But there is a still deeper level of trust that our Father God is calling us to. A trust that stands alone – separate from our hoped-for outcome. To simply trust Him, no matter the outcome. A trust in the goodness of God based on His word that tells us that if He was willing to give the life of His Son for us, is there anything He will withhold? You see, if we look at the Cross of Christ as our backdrop, then we can look the rawest reality in the face with the knowledge that if He has allowed it, I can trust that He has a plan, a purpose and that He knows what is ultimately best for me.

“If God Sends Us On Stony Paths He Provides Strong Shoes.”

Corrie ten Boom


I still share with anyone willing to listen to what the Lord did for me … but I always bring it around to this point: Even if He had called me home that day, He is still good, He is still faithful and I trust Him.

Even when we don’t understand. He is worthy of our trust.

Though I must admit that I have cheated a bit on this whole trusting the Lord thing, you see, He’s given me lots of practice. Maybe He’s done the same for you too. I’ve buried two children; I’ve walked through betrayal as well as financial collapse and as with many folks, childhood brought its own set of challenges. And if that weren’t enough, I made plenty of messes that caused great distress for me and others. Through it all, I have learned by experience that our Father God can be trusted – no matter the outcome and no matter the reason for our mess.

As you read through the devotions in this book, it is my prayer that the Lord will enable you to look your darkest challenge in the face and know with certainty that He loves you. That your Father God is trustworthy. No matter the outcome. He will walk you through this. You are not alone. He loved you enough to send His Son to die for you. With that as your life’s backdrop, be intentional about viewing all you walk through as filtered through His fingers. He’s got this. Let’s trust Him as we walk the stony paths of life.

To purchase a hard copy of Stony Paths, visit the products page or visit Lulu Publishing. It may also be purchased on Amazon.

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

Stony Paths devotional

Products by Becky White

He is Aware

But He knows the way that I take [He has concern for it, appreciates, and pays attention to it]. When He has tried me, I shall come forth as refined gold [pure and luminous]. Job 23:10

The eyes of the LORD are in every place. Proverbs 15:3a NASB

For You, O God, have proved us; You have tried us as silver is tried, refined, and purified. Psalm 66:10

You are behind me and before me and You lay Your hand upon me. Psalm 139:5

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:7

Sitting at my computer I asked the LORD to “fill my pen” with words of life that might encourage and bring renewed hope to those feeling hope-less. As I typed and then hit the backspace button more times than I can count, I poured another cup of coffee and talked to the Holy Spirit for a while.  Try as I might to write a neatly packaged devotion, what I “hear” from our Father God is this – “Remind them I love them and am aware of what they’re going through. Though trials abound I am no less aware and in control.  My plans for them have not changed.”

Some of us are facing trials that have gone on for decades, others of us are walking through “minor” day to day struggles that have drained us of all joy, and others are facing the assault of temptations as they’ve never known. “Remind them I love them and am aware of what they’re going through. Though trials abound I am no less aware and in control.  My plans for them have not changed.”

An invisible virus or the accompanying fear surrounding it. Death and the grief embedded within it. Trials that drain our stamina, or challenges that call us to a deeper walk … even blessings that call us to a greater responsibility … we are to call to mind the truth if His sovereign control over all things. While this does not diminish our responsibility, yet as Spurgeon has rightly said, “His sovereignty is the pillow on which we lay our head.”

My Father God, Thank You for the reminder that you are aware of all we face. You are truly the God of all comfort whose compassion fails not. We fall face to the floor in surrender and worship of You! In Jesus’ name, amen

Written for Jesus by Becky White 

Highlights and Covid-19

Friends, It’s been over a year since I penned the devotional below. As the cascading tragic events of the last few weeks have reverberated in my mind and across our globe, its truths came to my mind again.

Too many of us who claim the name of the Lord Jesus Christ are living and walking in fear. Did God’s Word suddenly lose its power? Are the promises we’ve stood on through past difficulties not strong enough for us to stand on today? Whatever the outcome, our lives are in His hands – the days ordained for us have been established before even one began (Psalm 139). Let’s take Him at His Word. He Who gave the life of only His Son for us, deserves our trust – come what may.

Highlights and Covid-19

God is my Refuge and Strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, I will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea…

I will be still and know He is God.

Whom do I have in heaven but You? And with You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 46:1-2,10   Becky’s paraphrase. Psalm 73:25-26  NASB

No, not the Miss Clairol kind of highlights gracing my ever-graying hair…

Social-distancing. Quarantine. Covid-19. Mandates. Mask-rage. A new vocabulary has arisen. News casts, social media, empty grocery store shelves…no matter where we turn it’s there. The reality that our reality has changed, pours forth from every direction. Uncertainty and a sense of unease has suddenly become an ever-present, silent guest.

Feeling the sheer weight of the trial that seems to be engulfing every area of life…I whispered a prayer of “help”, opened my Bible and began scanning the pages for highlighted, underlined and note-beside-them verses. Highlights from past days and past trials with scribbled notes reminding me of all He has walked me through. Not having the mental stamina or emotional energy to search out something new, these old friends are comfort-food for my soul – reminding me of His faithfulness and sovereign control of all that has grazed my life. From death and divorce and betrayal to financial collapse and depression. Even the utter silliness of bad hair days and hormone challenges (yes, I pray and write about it all!).

That’s when it hit me. All these neon yellow highlights and “Amens” scrawled in red ink…Did I still believe what I highlighted? Now. In the midst of such world-wide and prescription-for-fear uncertainty? Did these highlights represent the truth and a rock solid faith to stand on or did they reveal a shallowness that would only carry me through sunny days and desired outcomes? Was my faith a façade or real? And as it has been said, “A faith that cannot be tested, cannot be trusted.”

The Holy Spirit gently showed me that fear was trying to assert control where it had no right. Though my emotions might fluctuate with the latest news story, my faith didn’t have to. My peace didn’t have to and my courage to face the future didn’t have to either. I had a choice to make and a God to serve. Whatever the outcome – He is in control and has a purpose. In the meantime, I was to find my strength in the shelter of the Most High and be about His business. The business He has called me to – to encourage His people to trust Him no matter the circumstance.

So dear one – as we walk through this unsurpassed trial layered with all the other struggles of everyday life, allow me to encourage you to trust Him in the middle of this storm and find your strength in the shelter of the Most High, He will not fail you. I am not attempting to slap a Band-Aid on cancer or a cutsie meme on real pain – it is front facing the reality and then choosing to trust the God we serve and taking Him at His Word. Period.

If you don’t know Him, cry out to Him, He will not reject you. If you already know Him, get to know Him better. Right now, while He has your undivided attention. Look back at your own neon highlights or make some new ones. Start with Psalm 46…  and highlight dear one, highlight!

You’ll never know Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have. 

– Corrie Ten Boom

Father, You are just as faithful today as I proclaimed last year or last week. As I shelter myself in You and Your Word, Infuse me with Your Peace in the midst of the storm and enable me to lead others to You during this season of trial. I love You… In Jesus name, Amen.

Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus