Saturday, 2/15/2025 – Red Hearts and Roses by P. Williams
Sun and Stars and Moon and Rain
Chocolate and Hearts galore
Grocery Store full of balloons and
Red cupcakes with Sparkles
At least this has been a fun week
A Hallmark Holiday… But you can’t
help but smile
It is… a nudge to all of us
Give your loved ones a big hug
Remember to say “I Love You” to
Our precious partners and family
So I will thank God today
Because I feel He must have
Had a helping hand… helping Hallmark.
Pushing Us to remember the
Love and Wonder that fills our lives.
Heart shaped boxes of chocolates and red roses
Makes us ALL smile!
So today I will Thank Him for
Valentine’s Day… I love you God!
Wednesday, February 12, 2025 – “God’s Love” from Upper Room Daily Devotions
Romans 8:35 – Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
I vividly remember the day I received bad news from back home. I was in seminary in a foreign country, and at that
moment, I felt lost and in despair. I could not help but ask, Where is God when it hurts? Where was God when all
these things were taking place in my life? I believe that life brings hard circumstances to us all. But God cares deeply
about each of us. God spoke and is still speaking to me in the midst of my pain.
In the vast African forest where the seminary is located, I was listening to the songs of the birds and the noise of the
bugs when my attention was drawn to Romans 8. I heard God speaking to me through the holy scriptures in the midst
of my pain. The first thing we learn from this passage in Romans is that we all go through suffering. That’s why the
apostle Paul asks, “Who will separate us?” The answer resounds: No one and nothing can separate us from the love of
God! God’s love outweighs the pain. Sometimes God delivers us from the pain and other times God delivers us in the
pain. No matter what the circumstances, we are surrounded by God’s love.
Saturday, February 8, 2025 – “Worry” by P. Williams
Worry… Something all of us have to
deal with every day.
How do you cope with “worry”? Do you
get a headache? Lay down and go to sleep?
eat and snack… or drink too much?
We each handle worry differently.
Some of us even hide our worry and
pretend everything is alright.
We all know there is no cure for
that “tap you on the shoulder worry.”
That “in your face… can’t get it out
of your mind worry.”
So I will share a thought from
Franklin Graham that I think helps.
He says “I just think about who is
going to meet me on the other end” and
everything is ok.
God Bless Each One of You, Amen
Wednesday, February 5, 2025 - “Psalms” from Upper Room Daily Devotions
Often I do not know how to pray. Usually my prayers are check-the-box requests delivered in a steady, professional
manner. The psalms show a different way of praying that is eloquent, raw, and emotional. They pull us in deeply to
what the writer was thinking or feeling. In many of the psalms the author shares feelings — good and bad, uplifting
and disturbing, but always honest.
Though about one third of the psalms are laments, almost every one ends on a positive note. This encourages
me always to try to end my prayers on a positive note. But if I cannot, if I am feeling too broken, confused, or crushed,
then it is okay to end where I am. I am confident that God would rather hear an honest prayer that does not end on a
high note than one that is falsely hopeful.
The psalms teach us how to talk to God — to give God not only our requests but also our emotions. Prayers do not
have to be as eloquent as the psalms. They just have to be honest and heartfelt.
Saturday, February 1, 2025 – “Thankful for Today” by P. Williams
I decided to be thankful for today
The sun is out but I did have a little rain
I have been thinking a lot about Western North Carolina
Today:
I showered in my own bathroom
Then made up my bed
I drank 2 cups of coffee and
I am going to cook a hamburger and
fix myself a salad for lunch…
on my stove… in my kitchen
I put on a load of clothes in my Washer
Dried them and put them away in my
chest of drawers
Do you see my train of thought?
I am so thankful for these basic
gifts from God.
Gifts this morning and every morning
Gifts from God to you and Me
Due to flood or fires so many are homeless
or close to it…
I especially thank God today for
simple, everyday things… necessities…
that we all take for Granted every day
I’ve spent time in my life when I
didn’t have a lot… but got along just
fine because God always takes care
of us… every day.
God Bless each one of you
Amen
Wednesday, January 29, 2025 - “Me on Your Mind” by Matthew West
I've read the words in red
How You leave the 99
To find the one missing
Feels like that was written
With me on Your mind
And the prodigal son who ran, leaving his home behind
The part where the father came running to meet him
Did You say that with me on Your mind?
Who am I that the King of the world
Would give one single thought about my broken heart?
Who am I that the God of all grace
Wipes the tears from my face and says, "Come as you are"?
You paid the price, You took the cross
You gave Your life and You did it all with me on Your mind
Just knowing You're mindful of me
Just knowing You call me Your child
It's flooding my soul with unspeakable hope
Thank You, Lord, that it's me on Your mind
I've read the words in red of a heavenly home on high
You're preparing a place where the sorrow's erased
And when I stand before You, I'll find
All along, it was me on Your mind
Who am I that the King of the world
Would give one single thought about my broken heart?
And who am I that the God of all grace
Wipes the tears from my face and says, "Come as you are"?
You paid the price, You took the cross
You gave Your life and You did it all with me on Your mind
Saturday, January 25, 2025 – “Clean House” by P. Williams
Snow is just about gone now
And the weather is getting warmer for a few days….
We will all enjoy the warmth of the Sun.
I cleaned house today… well, I brought the vacuum in to the living
room on Wednesday. But do you know you have to plug it in and
push it all around to make it work?
Well… I got up Thursday and it was just sitting there – looking like
a maid but had a funny smile on the front!
So Friday I plugged it in… drove it all over my house… Swiffered with
the WetJet and dusted with Endust… You know that means?
I did away with the dust! Ended it! Think that’s gonna work?
No… me neither… but I sat down about 4 this nice shiny Friday
and sure was proud of how my little house was gleaming… I know
I worked hard and cleaned up…
But look at it the real way:
God provided it all… the vacuum, the dust rag… the fridge… the
food… the clothes in the closet…
He provided it all… He did
I am astounded by His Gracious Gifts…
His Love of each of us… His everlasting gifts that we get everyday.
Thank you, God for every Gift…
Even my vacuum cleaner.
God Bless Each of You, Amen
Wednesday, 1/22/25 - “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”
Deuteronomy 6:4
The Shema, a daily prayer and affirmation of faith for our Jewish siblings that has been shared with us, gives an
important reminder in a polytheistic world. Depending on the translation you read, it may say, “The LORD is our
God, the LORD alone,” or “Our God is the LORD! Only the LORD!” or as it reads above, “The LORD our God, the
LORD is one.” Read one way, it seems to call for loyalty and obedience only to God. Read another way, it is a
statement about God’s unique nature, God’s one-ness.
Reuven Kimelman, a professor of rabbinic literature, says that the Shema summons God’s people to feel “an all-
consuming love of God.” It's a love that is unreserved, all-demanding, at all times, in all places and in all circum-
stances. Nothing is excluded. Thoughts are to be focused, words are to be spoken, and deeds are to be done.
As those created in the image of the One God revealed to us in the Trinity, we are also called to this unique one-
ness, which is made possible by this “all-consuming love of God.”
Prayer: O God, our God, forgive us when we focus on those things that make us different rather than focusing on
you and your one-ness. May your all-consuming love bind us together in unity with all our siblings in Christ. Amen.
Saturday, 1/18/25 – Weather in January by P.Williams
My favorite is always the wind… I learned what wind really is when
living in the mountains… feeling it’s strength and watching it move
a forest or over a ridge… or swirling in a hay field.
Wind… can’t put that in our pocket. I love wind.
This next week will be so very cold… maybe single digits… a number
of days will not get above freezing –
If the wind blows in this cold it will feel brutal… pipes and faucets
will be at risk of freezing… along with danger to animals and humans.
So this week I suggest you devote time to study. Maybe your
favorite Bible passages or stories. A favorite Children’s Bible Story
from your childhood. How about singing or just reading the words
of a favorite hymn. All of these will bring God’s love closer to your
heart.
Closer to your thoughts… my prayers to each of you…
Feel the wind… Embrace it
Stay Warm with the Heat
From God’s Love
We are Blessed!!!
God Bless each one of you, Amen
January 15, 2025 – John 15:5 – Daily Devotions
Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart
from me you can do nothing.”
On a cool summer morning I eagerly strolled into a blueberry patch with my empty bucket. Rows of blueberry bushes
lined the country landscape as birds sang sweetly in the distance. Branches drooped with different shades of blue-
berries — green unripe ones, red developing ones, and bright blue ripe ones. I searched for the ripe blueberries and
gingerly placed them in my bucket.
Then a large broken branch with wilting fruit caught my attention. I quickly picked the ripe berries, but I knew that the
green berries on the broken branch would not ripen. They would not receive the nutrients they needed.
This broken branch reminded me of the importance of staying connected to God through faith in Jesus. In the same
way, we can only produce the enduring fruit of the Holy Spirit (see Gal. 5:22) by abiding in a personal relationship with
Jesus. On our own we cannot do anything of eternal value. Spending time in prayer and Bible study enables us to
produce spiritual fruit so that we bless others and glorify God.
January 11, 2025 – “What’s It Gonna Do?” by P. Williams
It’s going to Snow… OR Sleet… OR freezing
Rain… or plain rain.
But whatever it does… whatever falls from
the sky… is God’s gift today… to Us.
Hopefully we each are thankful if it is rain, snow,
sleet, sunshine, cloudy, wind…
No matter what… that we are thankful for the Variety.
The snow is so quiet… not another
sound…. Makes it even more beautiful.
It’s like God is shaking the snow shaker…
The black cars are covered with a thin coat…
I love it… been a long time and it is really so beautiful…
it looks just like God made it… and He did! Over
1,000 days… I can wait that long again….
January 8, 2025 – Post found on Facebook
“How cool
is it that
The same God who
created mountains
and oceans and
galaxies looked
at you and thought
The world needed one of you, too. Think about that!”
Amen
January 1, 2025 – Reading from “Daily Devotions”
As the time to take down Christmas decorations drew near, I felt that familiar sadness in my heart. The celebration
of Christmas comes and goes so quickly. As I began to remove the pieces of my Nativity set, each piece spoke to
my heart and prompted me to pray: Lord, help me to be like a shepherd — to lead, nurture, and guide those around
me to the Good Shepherd. Lord, help me to be more like the wise men — to hear your call and to use the gifts that
you have blessed me with to serve others. Lord, help me to be more like Joseph and Mary — like Jesus — to show,
understanding, and forgiveness.
Praying with my Nativity set in this way helped to ease my post-Christmas sadness and gave me a sense of hope
and excitement for the new year and what it would bring. We can look forward with hope when we walk hand in hand
with our Lord and Savior.
