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New Wineskins
[Guest post by Ozella Morris: Welcome back, Ozella! On Tuesday, we read Jennifer’s story of waiting instead of trying to force a change. But what if the Lord knows you need a change to be closer Him?] Mark 2:22: And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins. Thank God for change! Even though it may not always fall in our favor, change is a blessing. Change brings on new areas for meaningful progress to take place, for new bonds to be made, and for old wounds to…
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The Unexpected Joy Found in Waiting
[Guest post by Jennifer Kelly: Happy New Year! When Jennifer sent me this post, I just knew it had to be the first Devotional Diva post of 2015! She tells us of the joy found in waiting when this New Year is such a time of change.] Wait on the Lord. This is my season right now. My limbo. My song. My thing. My line. My joy and my pain. Why is it so hard to wait? What is it about waiting that tail-spins my impatient, stubborn self into a frenzied, spoiled three-year old brat? Honestly! I’m like THAT little girl you see in the store: arms furiously crossed, crazy-eyed, and spewing out…
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Alive Remains the Manger Scene
[Guest post by Rebecca Lamarche: Rebecca also blogged recently, but when I received this beautiful poem from her, I knew it had to be the final post in this Christmas guest post series! Merry Christmas, everyone!] ALIVE REMAINS THE MANGER SCENE Sweet Baby Jesus asleep on the hay With reverence I kneel down before You today In worship and prayer, tears fall from my eyes; For You’re God – yet and infant – with soft gentle cries. I wonder – were Your infant tears shed for me? Because of my sin, and the great penalty That I could not, on my own ever pay? Were…
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Every Good Gift
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17 Well, Christmas is nearly here! There’s only one more post left in our Christmas guest post series, “The gifts God has given you.” That will go up on Tuesday. I truly hope you’ve been encouraged by the series! After that, Devotional Diva will take a holiday break until January. At this point, I’m not sure of the exact date in January we’ll be back! I wanted to take this opportunity to invite you to begin submitting your stories for 2015!…
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Extending God's Gift of Grace
[Guest post by Carla Gasser: Carla submitted this piece when I was scheduling for this series, and although she didn’t intend to be a part of it, I thought her story of God’s grace was perfect for the series. As God gives grace to us, we should extend it to others!] I had an interesting conversation with one of my sons (whose name I will graciously withhold) at breakfast this morning. I was asking why he was wearing the same khaki shorts for the third day in a row. He started complaining that he had no clean shorts because “someone” had not washed them. Excuse me? I held my breath…
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Mental Illness is My Gift from God
[Guest post by Linda Svoboda: Thank you, Linda, for bravely sharing your story on mental illness! It’s challenging to accept mental illness in your life at all, let alone call it a gift from God!] I am so thankful for all the gifts that God has given me, but I am especially grateful for one that He has blessed me with. Many people would not see it as a gift, but rather a difficult challenge. Most people have a hard time talking about my gift and don’t understand what it truly is. However, a few really get it. They understand that my gift is indeed a truly unique treasure and…
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#FaithbookofGod Releases Today
[This is just a short break from our Christmas guest post series so that Renee could share some news. “The gifts God has given you” will resume tomorrow!] As the Founding Editor of DevotionalDiva.com, I’m excited to announce #FaithbookofGod, my sixth book releases today. Owning your faith while surrounded by a faithless culture is difficult. But. As evidenced in my soon-to-be released book Faithbook of God, it is possible. I wrote the book, which has 366 daily devotional readings, in order to equip Christians to grow in a world that doesn’t want them to. By addressing the Christian’s needs, challenges, and fears, Faithbook of God prepares readers to live the…
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My Extra is Someone Else's Everything
[Guest post by Jo Ann Erwin: Jo Ann just recently posted in November, but I couldn’t turn this wonderful post from her away for our Christmas guest post series! I love the story of the widow in Mark & Luke, and Jo Ann’s story of how her extra was someone else’s everything is a great thing to remember at Christmas.] On two occasions I have heard someone say “that is too good to just give away.” When I heard it, both times, I immediately thought of the widow who gave all that she had. Mark 12:42-44 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. …
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Peace and Joy
[Guest post by Rebekah Carrington: Maybe it’s the pregnancy hormones, but this post really tugged at my heart! I know exactly what kind of peace and joy Rebekah is talking about and it’s certainly a gift from God!] There is heaven and earth and then there are some places where the two seem to converge blurring the lines of reality. One such place is a senior citizens home residing at the top of a hill with a sign that reads Fairhaven. If you are not careful, you will look at it but miss seeing the glimpses of glory and beauty inside just as one can miss the forest for…
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God's Gift of Faithfulness
[Guest post by Dawn Wilson: This is exactly what I had in mind when I created the idea of this Christmas series. God’s faithfulness truly is a gift, and ultimately everything we receive is from Him!] God’s gift of faithfulness is an ongoing blessing. When I was a young woman, I traveled all over the United States with a brand new revival team, Life Action Ministries. I arrived at the team proud and self-sufficient, and it didn’t take long for me to realize I was a “Phony Baloney” Christian. I trusted Christ—for real—and set out on a life-long adventure with Jesus. During those first days with the revival team,…
