Proverbs 12:25 – Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. (ESV)

Years ago, after I had injured my ankle, I went to the doctor's office to pick up my new ankle brace. After receiving it, I took it back to my car to try on. I was quite discouraged when I realized that I had been given the wrong size of brace.

I put on my shoe and limped back to the doctor's waiting room, where I explained everything to the receptionist. She told me that I'd need to wait until the doctor was finished with his next patient.

I decided to go back to my car to wait, and soon turned on the radio.

Joyce Meyers was sharing a story about a time when she had been in an airport waiting for her luggage. She didn't want to draw any attention to herself. But soon, she noticed a woman staring at her, so she quickly looked away. A little later, she discovered herself now staring at the woman. Finally, she got up the nerve to go over to the woman and explain that she was staring because she thought that she was so beautiful, and she just wanted to let her know that.

The woman said that she was going through such hard trials in life. She mentioned that she was even contemplating suicide.

After hearing the woman's story, Joyce wondered if her kind words to her may have given the woman the strength that she needed to go on.

Joyce then asked the audience, "How often do you have a kind word or a compliment for someone, and you don't share it?"

I was called back into the doctor's office to pick up my new brace, this time with the correct size.

As the receptionist handed it to me, I thanked her, and I said something like this: "You know, I'm really glad that I got the wrong size brace, because when I talked to you before, I thought that you had the most beautiful, bright, sparkling eyes that I have ever seen! And I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you this before!" She smiled and thanked me, and as I walked to the door, a very handsome young man jumped up from his seat, and thanked me for being so brave and having the courage to tell her that. In fact, he said, he thought the exact same thing when he saw her. He also regretted not telling her sooner and said that he never wanted to do that again.

I left with a smile on my heart as he stood there telling the receptionist how beautiful her eyes were!

Proverbs 16:24 – Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. (KJV)

How quick are you to offer someone a kind word or compliment?

Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, You alone know the secret hurts on the hearts and minds of those with whom we may come in contact each day. May Your Holy Spirit give us words of encouragement to share boldly with those whom we meet along our path. Thank You, also, for putting people in our lives who have said something that lifted our spirits in our times of need. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Have you ever sung a new song to the Lord that you found written on your heart?

On April 27, 2006, as I was driving, I began to ponder how the beautiful sky is like the Lord's art canvas, and how He blesses us daily with a new design. Soon, I found a song on my heart. I dropped off my teenage daughters at school, then I sang the song to the Lord with joy all the way home.

Later, I picked up the girls from school, and shared the song with them. When they made fun of it, I felt crushed, and I cried all the way home.

The next day, I was cleaning out a drawer filled with cassette tapes, deciding which ones that I wanted to give away. As I was leaving to pick up the girls from school, I grabbed two tapes, got in my van, and popped a tape into the player.

Flashback to 1995: Our family had just started going to a new church, when it held a week-long revival meeting. Tom and Janie Autry played their music there for the whole week. I was also delivered of severe depression. I bought a couple of their cassette tapes, but I listened to only a portion of one tape. Instead, I kept playing the other tape over and over, as I found it really ministered to me at the time.

When I put the tape that I had never heard into the van player, miraculously, the words of the song were as if God were speaking directly to me. It was healing for my wounded heart, and I cried for joy all the way to school.

"Just A Song" by Tom Autry
(shared with his permission)

I'm not looking for your song on the chart.
I'm looking for the praise from your heart.
I'm not looking for a catchy melody,
Just a song to glorify Me,
A song to glorify Me.

I'm not looking for performance or show.
I want someone who'll let My Spirit flow.
I'm not looking for a fancy harmony,
Just a song to glorify Me,
A song to glorify Me.

I'm not looking for a seeker of fame.
I'll use the one who'll magnify My name.
I'm not looking for a big-time ministry.
Just a song to glorify Me,
A song to glorify Me.

Call on My name and I'll hear.
And My Spirit, My Spirit will draw you near.
Listen, listen to the words that I say,
I'll give you the songs when you pray.

I'm not looking for the perfect poetry.
I'm looking for a song to set men free.
A singer who sings on bended knee,
A song just to glorify Me.
A song to glorify Me.
I just want a song to glorify Me.

Sometimes, it's helpful to see life's hurtful things from God's perspective, and encourage ourselves in the Lord! I just want to please the Lord and it matters to me what He thinks! When we are obeying and pleasing the Lord, it doesn't really matter what other people think. It truly matters only what God thinks.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for speaking to our hearts in love. As we stand in awe of You, may our hearts truly sing Your praise. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

July 27, 1999

It was bedtime. I had just finished reading a story to my children. As they were getting tucked into bed, I asked my youngest daughter a question. "What do you love?

Her answer was "Candy."

I said, "I know you love candy — you tell me every day. Everyone knows that you love candy. But honey, do you love God?"

"Yes," she said, "and I love you, Mommy. Can I love you more than God?"

"No." I said.

Next, I asked one of my older daughters, "What do you love?"

"Clothes and make-up" was her reply.

I told her, "All of these things are made from things that God created. We are to love God and not love the things that He created more than we love Him."

A verse came to my mind:

Deuteronomy 6:5 – And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (KJV)

How many people know what your favourite color is, or your favourite food? How many know your favourite song, or movie, or car, or restaurant, or vacation spot? And how many people know that you love God?

Prayer: Father in heaven, may we never forget that You first loved us. May our love for You grow, as we get to know You more through Your Word, the Bible. Thank You for Jesus our intercessor who said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6b KJV) May we truly love You above all else. Help us not to be afraid to tell others of our love for You. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Deuteronomy 6:7 – And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. (KJV)

Do you ever wonder how many spiritually lost people you pass each day?

It was December 2018. I needed to run to the store to finish Christmas shopping. I felt a strong urge to grab a tract and a coupon that I had just received in the mail from the City Mission.

When I got to the store, I heard the Salvation Army man ringing a bell. A question suddenly popped into my mind, which I decided to ask him. "Could you tell me how a person can come to know Jesus?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know," he said.

"Aren't you saved?" I asked.

"No. And really, I don't know how a person can come to know Jesus. Do you?"

"Yes, I do. What do you believe about Jesus?" I asked.

He thought for a while, and then said, "Well, I was raised Baptist. But then, when I got older, I went into the Service, and I guess I fell away from church and just went my own way."

I told him, "Going to church doesn't make you a Christian, just like going to McDonalds doesn't make you a hamburger, does it?" Laughing, he said, "I guess not!"

I shared how I went to church for many years, but I still never really knew God. Years later, I heard a sermon, and God opened my eyes to the gospel truth with this verse:

Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (KJV)

After talking a little longer, I asked if he'd like to receive Jesus. "Yes, but how?" he asked.

I said, "It's not by doing anything like going to church, or trying to keep the Ten Commandments. They are there to show us that we are all guilty of sin, except for Jesus — He alone is sinless. He died on the cross to pay the price for our sins."

Romans 10:9 – That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (KJV)

I led him in a simple prayer, confessing, "Heavenly Father, I believe and thank You for sending Your only begotten Son, Jesus, to come into the world to die on the cross for my sins. I believe that You have raised Jesus from the dead. I ask You to forgive my sins. Please help me to live according to Your will. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen."

I asked if he had a Bible, and he said yes. I encouraged him to pray, read it, and go to a good Bible-believing church.

Next, I gave him the tract and the coupon from the City Mission for a free bed and breakfast, to give away to someone.

He looked at the coupon, and with tears in his eyes, he said, "I actually have a friend who is standing at a store right down the street, ringing a bell just like I am. He just told me today that he is about to become homeless. Can I give him this coupon?"

"Sure!" I said.

He thought that his friend also needed a Bible, so I gave him an extra one that I had in my car.

I almost hadn't asked him my initial question, assuming that if he were with the Salvation Army, he must be saved. But the Lord knew otherwise!

How about you? Who has God placed in your path to share the good news of the gospel with today?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, may we always be on the lookout for opportunities to boldly share Christ and His gospel truth. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Our dog needed surgery, so we had to watch him closely. I wrapped his foot, snapped on his leash, then took him outside. He stopped on the deck, not wanting to go further.

Through eyes, ears, and nose, he took everything in. And just observing his sensitivity, I became aware of God's presence.

A bee quickly buzzed past in the distance, and landed inside a flower. On my left was a Rose of Sharon bush. Its beautiful multi-tones of pink flowers and green leaves were so delicate and lovely, just peeking over the railing of our deck. Its beauty suddenly captivated me. I thanked the Lord for creating it and for placing it there, because we didn't plant it — one day it just began to grow in front of our deck.

My eyes followed the top of the deck to the right, and stopped at a large potted plant from my daughter. Amazingly, there was another large, bright, red flower atop the plant again. I had lost track of the number of times that this plant had blossomed since I received it the previous May. I was just stunned by the plant's beauty and delicacy that only God could create.

I thanked Him for creating such breathtaking things of beauty, and that they would even be in our yard. I thought of Genesis, how God spoke everything into existence, and how good everything was that He made, and I thanked Him.

Again, my eyes went further along to the right where my dog was sitting. I told the Lord, "Thank You for making my dog so beautiful. I love him so much."

Then once again, my eyes went along, but this time, landed on … me. Suddenly, I found myself very self-conscious. I was wearing my husband's slippers, an oversized grey T-shirt, and pajama bottoms, with crazy bed-head hair and in need of makeup.

But softly and gently, I sensed the Lord impress on my heart that He made me, and that I was beautiful, too. Having felt so unworthy, I began to cry as I was surprised by God's amazing love.

1 Samuel 16:7b – The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. (KJV)

Ecclesiastes 3:11a – He hath made every thing beautiful in his time. (KJV)

Do you sense the Lord saying something like that to you?

Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, thank You for surrounding us with the beauty of all that You have created. May we bless You, Lord, in return, with the beauty of holy lives. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

I made a new friend just the other day. Her name is Cheryl. As I was sitting at the table eating breakfast, I decided I wanted to pray for her. For some reason, I wasn't sure how to begin. My mind started racing — what should I pray? Should I go and find my book on prayers? That didn't seem right. I wondered if I should do a search on my smart phone: How to hear from the Holy Spirit. I knew that I needed the Lord's help.

I decided just to call out to God. So, I quietly said, "Lord …" Then my eyes glanced out my kitchen window. "Would You …" As I spoke, my eyes lifted past the tops of the trees in my yard … "please help …" My eyes kept glancing upwards looking for a space free from branches and leaves, where I could see blue sky, and then suddenly, my eyes quickly stopped in their tracks and fell back to where I sat.

Then without any words, I felt the Lord impress upon my heart that I didn't have to look so far for Him. He was already right here with me.

Romans 8:26-27 – Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. (KJV)

Ephesians 3:20-21 – Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. (KJV)

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to remember that You are always near. Please bless those we care about, in ways even higher than we could possibly think or ask. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

And although I wasn't expecting it, I was blessed, too!