Devotion Introduction

“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”  

~Matthew 13:24

Reading God’s word is fruitless unless we think about it and ponder it until we understand what is being said, what it means, and how it applies to our life. When I study the word, I start with reading the passage and jotting down questions or thoughts that come to mind as I go through the scriptures. After finishing the day’s reading, I meditate on the word, think about the questions that arose, and then gather my thoughts into a summary or two based on the length of the passage. Finally, I pull out the lessons that I like to remember from the reading, followed by prayer based on how the Lord is guiding me with the lessons. I am by no means an expert on scripture analysis, I am just sharing what questions come to my mind, what thoughts form, and the lessons I have learned.

Because of the amount of time I put into a passage, it could take me several days to work my way through the entire process. Lord willing, my plan is to spread my devotionals over several posts as I go through the text. Devotions will be posted under the link on the top navigation bar. Please feel free to go through the material and comment as desired.

May the seed of God’s word blossom fully in your heart.

Introduction

Drinking a cup of hot tea while reading God’s word is my favorite way to start the day, a day filled with way more items on my action list than possible to complete in one day. Life is certainly busy with a travelling husband, homeschooling our daughters, tending to extended family, running a computer consulting business, serving the Lord, and keeping up with our home. When everything flows smoothly, life is rich and full. When an area of life requires more attention, then life becomes unbalanced as details fall through the cracks. After an extended period of what seems like chaos, I had to get to the root of the problem.

In 2006, after a cancer diagnosis, I spent the year in treatment. The Lord is so good and His word was a beacon of hope (particularly Psalm 27 – “I believe I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living”) during this time and after completing the treatment, the cancer was considered in remission. However, I spent the next couple of years recovering from the chemotherapy and radiation. Most people would not have realized how difficult the recuperation period was because I continued to work just as hard as ever actually harder, because my “systems” at home had eroded while I was too sick to manage them. By systems, I mean the methods by which our household functioned, not that they really matter in the grand scheme of life, it was just how I kept our family and home running efficiently.

Most of my efforts go to people or tasks outside of our household, living little time for improving our home. But now I feel as if God is calling me to focus on home, to take the time necessary to ensure our family and household are Healthy, Organized, Managed, and Efficient in a way that honors the One who is Holy, Omnipotent, Merciful, and Eternal. Many women whom I have spoken with feel the same burden. By sharing my journey home, I am praying for a community of women who desire the same and can be a source of encouragement for each other in practical and spiritual ways. Please join the discussion as we Focus on Home.