I enjoy bringing you biblical content that strengthens and lightens your outlook. God brings the peace and I attempt, through words, to connect you to it.
You may be asking, “Why have you not been posting regularly?” This is a question that needs an answer.
Finishing my manuscript for the devotional, Two or Three For Your City has been taking up all of my writing time. I miss interacting with you here. But, I need to complete this book so it can minister to fellow Christians in their City–through you!
Who
Two or Three For Your City is written for the family, the city servants, the first responders, the students, the homeless, the addicted, the victims of crime, the criminals, the prayer warriors, the abused, all who work, and the ministries.
Does that sound huge and impossible? It does to me! But with God, it is possible. Look up Luke chapter one verse thirty-seven if you need encouragement for what IS possible with God.
Pray State by State
Join us as we cover each person in each state, preparing the way for Christ and my devotional, Two or Three for Our City. 20204 Release
Until next time …
P.S.
Thank you to my international readers! I see you and thank God for you.
Come on by and discover a devotional that will bless a teacher you know!
The school year has begun in most locations across the US. This is perfect timing to share a devotional written for teachers, by the 2007 Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year! I think this more than qualifies Nika Maples to minister to most any teacher you or your children know.
As we review this month’s devotional my neighborhood, it is a sizzling feels-like 116 degrees. So let’s get a cool cup of water or iced tea and sit a spell.
Devotional Title
Keep Teaching
Subtitle
Daily Grace for the Classroom – 365 Devotions
Author
Nika Maples
Published
Copyright 2019 by Nika Maples
Published by Bel Esprit Books, LLC
Book Art
Cover: Alli Koch, Alli K Design
Cover and interior design and typesetting: Kent Jensen, knail.com
Found & Chosen
I have heard Nika Maples’ podcasts and follow her YouTube channel. One day I heard her read from of her book and fell in love with her writing style. Being a homeschool mom, I wanted to see how her reflections on teaching and the Word ministered to my heart.
Inside the Cover
Visually, the interior art is an invitation to draw near and take in the message of the day. Many pages have journaling lines at the bottom, to bring the message all the way home, into the heart.
First, the book cleverly begins with August, the month teachers are typically preparing to return to the classroom. And it ends with the month of July.
Each day, you are prompted to read the verse of the day out loud. I like this as it is an act of allowing the Word to double saturate your thinking. Her verses are quoted from six different Bible versions.
The topics she brings you to ponder are unique and essential for the teacher’s heart, mind, and soul. She has a lovely way of relaying each days point, bringing truth and relationship into focus. Maples makes key points every teacher can use to grow year after year as they shape young and curious minds while honoring God.
Who It’s For
The audience for Keep Teaching, are women teachers of public, private, and charter schools. Although I gleaned a lot from her work, it is written for those who teach with others within a system of staff and a modern classroom environment.
Your Thoughts
Let me know in the comments if you have a teacher in mind who would enjoy this devotional.
God has a place for us now, where we can stretch out and be explorers once again. Like our boundless childhood imagination, God’s covering operates in much the same way.
Living in a sweet spot used to be more commonplace. Conversations quickly jump to discussions of real issues in the world, and it is hard not to—well, stress. But our addiction to worry destroys what God intends for us. You see, sweet spot living is available today, and it’s God’s plan for us to go from mercy to mercy to mercy.
This week on my YouTube channel, we talk about the covering of God in stressful times.
God has a place for us now, where we can stretch out and be explorers once again. Like our boundless childhood imagination, God’s covering operates in much the same way.
The King James Version of Psalm 32 verse 10b says “ …he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.”
Compass. Hmmm. Are you wondering if you know the full meaning of the word compass? I did too! It surely has more meaning than an instrument used for direction at sea or on land. I looked it up to find out.
AND IT DOES!
Compass comes from the meaning of a limitless boundary. If you hold a compass in your hand, it can guide you wherever you want to go. If God is compassing us, we have unlimited help.
Here are a few ways this works.
He will lead you in times of distress or worry.
He will walk with you.
He is at your side, behind you, and in front of you.
He can show you wisdom to apply or what to avoid.
He can change a situation or set another in motion.
No matter life’s pressures, God marks the boundary lines for us to walk. Do you realize the devil wants to limit you? He wants to place a suffocating boundary of fear and worry over you.
Isn’t it funny how people think living for God is limiting when the reality is he has so much for you? Are you confused? Hang on.
We need to look at one more word in that verse, mercy. Picture this, God is unlimited guidance. As he guides us through our painful situations that can create more stress or worry he hands us mercy after mercy.
The verse says, “… mercy shall compass …” us. To be clear, we are surrounded by his mercies.
What is mercy? It is a feeling or state of mind? It can create good feelings and soundness of our thoughts. Mercy is God overlooking every error on our part and the arrows sent in our direction by the devil. God stretches his favor toward you in the middle of all the muck with his overarching favor.
It may look like a coincidence.
It may look like a text from a distant friend to say they are praying for you.
It may look like a new job opportunity.
It may look like pouring over scripture at night and being able to take your first deep breath of the day.
That is God at work. We do NOT need to fear because he has mercy for us in the center of life’s burdens.
God’s mercy will show up in unique ways for each of your life situations. Keep looking to him, seeking his boundaries of protection, and you will recognize his mercy again and again. Hopefully, you begin to recognize it as commonplace with a childlike wonder.
Point God’s mercy out to someone you know, then they too can start seeing it in their life.
I would love to hear how God has extended mercy in your life lately! Please share in the comments. Let’s thank God for his unbound direction and mercy!
Prepare the Way
Prepare the Way For Florida is live on YouTube. Come for a visit!
P.S. I am working on edits with my talented editor, Dalene Bickel, and have officially hired my book designer. Exciting things are coming!
Are you struggling with worry today? It is hard to escape thoughts of concern in our personal lives and socially.
Come on over to Walking On Mustard Seeds today and see how to offload the care of your heart.
“When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.”Â
Psalm 94:19, ESV
Who does not have concerns growing in their heart? There are too many issues to count in the world, not to mention our own lives. From Genesis to Revelation, God tells us to pray, not worry, and threads prayers and meditations throughout Scripture. Gifts to open our hearts to, allowing his view to penetrate, destroying our distress.
The above verse is a perfect meditation. We can look up the meaning of the words, examine other translations of the verse, and ask God for insight.
God, what am I overthinking?
God, what do I need to take my eyes off of right now?
God, show me all your consolations of the past. (Consolation means comfort in the face of misery.)
Meditating on Scripture draws out the fullest meaning God has for us. The promise of this 13-word verse is unmatched and a treasure to keep near.
Three treasures I found in this verse, plus a bonus.
First, our minds and bodies cannot thrive under the stress of worry and continual fear. The author penned they had many concerns. Can you relate? God wants to be at the helm of all our situations. Will you allow him to lead you?
God, through the Holy Spirit, can show us what to put our focus on and how to lovingly address each task and interaction.
Second, it clears up clutter in our minds to allow the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts away from worry. The static of unruled thought steals our energy and takes our focus away from time with loved ones. The devil wants to steal our peace. Why? So we don’t trust and give God the glory in our situations. The Word tells us every situation can be turned to work out for God’s glory. We can be part of his amazing story when we seek wisdom in each situation from the Holy Spirit, Christ’s gift to us.
When we live this way it makes all of our concerns fall into the background.
Third, it improves relationships with family, friends, and neighbors. A lot of our worries are outside of our control. I can’t control how others drive on the road but I can control my attitude behind the wheel of my car. We can be fully present with our kids, grandkids, spouse, friends, and neighbors when not being controlled by consuming thoughts.
We have the most impact on those we love and are to minister to when freed from worry.
Bonus
Lastly,with our daily cares put in God’s capable hands, we can take care of details with a clear conscience. When we are truly free to be about the business of God, loving others as he would have us love them is loving Christ.
Encore
This leads us to his consolation; joy in exchange for grinding of mental gears. We waste valuable time when our thoughts are not aligned with God’s. Once we reflect on the Word and see the benefits, cheer becomes our companion.
Yes, the scripture says cheer leaving us wanting to burst out with shouts of joy.
Picture your hockey or football team. Do the fans sit idle the entire game? No! They shout and jump when their team is doing great things. Why shouldn’t we when God can silence fear?
Let’s give God a shout today!
YouTube News:
A little more about turning our thoughts to God. Also, let’s prepare the way for the release of my devotional Two or Three For Our City. Thank you for praying over Delaware with me!
P.S. Update on Two or Three For Our City is with my editor for edits. Devotional Coming Soon!
God’s Word will never fail us and will never . . .
Conversations around our dinner table are still, you guessed it, about the tornado that came through last month. We, like many families in the area, are swimming in insurance claims while managing the needed repairs. Our stomachs dropped when the first word from our vehicle adjuster’s office was to total our 2017 car. It has a lot of life left in it, but the hail damage outweighed its value, to them.
We felt differently.
A long long time ago–or, in the latter half of the 1900s, I recall you could bring your broken toys to the fire department for repair.
This fact tells a few things.
Toys were built to last through a repair or two.
Toys were created to be enjoyed by more than one generation, or at least some extra siblings.
And, if a child’s Father wasn’t available to fix their toy, or didn’t have the know-how, the local fire department would do their best to bring new life to a well-loved toy.
I have found verses in the Bible that, if applied today, will bring new life to our neighborhoods. God tells us to pray for our cities. This is an overwhelming thought to many.
The excuses can sound like:
How can I pray for everyone?
How do people remember to pray for their neighbors?
What do I pray for them when I do not know what is happening in their life?
I have developed a twelve-week devotional, designed to pray for your City. Many topics are covered with your top worries and concerns, and some you probably have not thought of.
I hope you will find Two or Three For Our City, a Summer 2024 release, as helpful as those children with broken toys found the firemen who fixed them.
God’s Word will never fail us and will never lose its value or need fixing; although we need help applying it.
What is your favorite scripture to apply?
Watch the newest YouTube video, preparing the way to pray in your City.
A tornado hit our City last week and we were grateful survivors. After speaking with neighbors, it hit me why Christ cried about his friend Lazarus’s death.
A tornado hit our City last week and we were grateful survivors. After speaking with neighbors, it hit me why Christ cried about his friend Lazarus’s death. He would bring his friend back to life, so why did he cry? Was he sad as anyone would because a friend died? Probably. But Jesus never stopped ministering to the people in front of him.
Who was with him? Lazarus’s sisters were and they were filled with emotion about the death of their brother. Jesus’s tears were likely a release of their pain that they could not express. It was a loving compassion pouring out of Christ to the women.
When I spoke with a couple of my neighbors after the event, as they talked about their experience, tears gathered in my eyes, and when I spoke of my experience, their eyes filled with tears. It was stunning to realize that I was expressing what my friend could not and vice versa.
The event was far too much for anyone to process on their own, but together, we could begin to help each other mourn and release the terror and fear of the tornadic moment.
In learning to pray for people in my City, my compassion has grown for them. There are ways I care about my neighbors that were not natural to me, even as a Christian.
When Christ was about to minister to Lazarus by raising him from the dead, His tears ministered to the women’s broken hearts. You too can have Christ-like compassion for your City.
My manuscript is almost complete and I am excited to get Two or Three For Our City into the hands of Christians in every state. To do this I am praying over each state. I would love for you to join me. This week we prayed for California. Please follow the channel so you don’t miss a prayer.
I opened my bible this morning, before hitting the, make live button. The emotions have been raw and like a rollercoaster. I don’t like rollercoasters. But for God, I have to be willing to take the next steps.
Have you ever felt that way? Maybe sending your child off to college, or making a career change? These are things that have to occur, but willingness does not equal comfort.
Then my eyes found a verse in Proverbs. I picked up my English Standard Version. Chapter fourteen verse four says, “Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.”
Maybe I have been watching too much of The Incredible Dr. Pol, a veterinarian, but it gave me a helpful visual. There is a lot of muck in a pin or the barn. But they are producing something good for the land and their owner.
The ox also needs some tending to, as I have seen from the show. So while I grapple with the discomfort of the publishing world, I will also find ways to tend to the mess of the emotions it tosses around.
I am thankful that God said to me, to produce a crop, I’m going to get messy.
Later today, those who follow my social media will see the inspiration for my book cover and the title and subtitle. (Inspiration because it is what the Book Designer will work from to create the actual cover.)
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