Guest Devotional - Sandy Mayer

During the hustle and bustle of the holidays, New Year and planning my daughter's wedding, I have been trying to slow down and not have it all be remembered as one big blur. I want each year to be different with a celebration of joy that only God can give. I know I have to prioritize my day so this will happen. But, how do I do it?

First, I need to remember Jesus said to "Love the Lord my God with all my heart and with all my soul and with all my mind." (Matt 22: 37) Do I just wake each morning wondering what will I do today, or do I have a planned schedule that can’t be changed? Both aren’t that great, unless I ask God what is on His schedule for me today. Before I get out of bed my thoughts are: "Lord speak to me during my time with You in your Word and fill me through your Spirit with an overflowing of your love." God knows what is important, He knows what I would like to accomplish, and He knows what we (God and I) should accomplish in His day. So why would I worry about my never-ending "to do" list when I can trust God with my schedule. If something doesn’t get done , I just blame God. No, just kidding! I just come to realize it wasn’t that important anyway. It wasn’t part of the "Big Picture." God had something better for me to do.

In Matthew 22: 39 Jesus said, "Love your neighbor as yourself. " The word "neighbor" doesn’t mean a material possession. Neighbor means a human being. Jesus is reminding us that people are important to God, and thus, they should be important to me. I need to take my mind off the things are not human and put it on living souls. I'm so happy that CATB has activities such as Servant Evangelism, Home Teams, and service projects where we can pour into the lives of others.

One more thing that helps me prioritize my day is to remember that God loves you and me first. 1John 4:19 says "We love, because He first loved us." We are to feel loved daily and the overflow of our love for God and the acceptance of Jesus will flow into the lives of others. I hope this upcoming year we will all experience the joy of the overflow !!!!!

Five tips on Simplifying and Living Generously, stolen from Anne Jackson

With the onset of a new year and new goals, and the awful plight of our Haitian neighbors, there's no better time than now to consider how we can make lifestyle changes to be able to give generously.

And, instead of pretending I came up with these nifty suggestions, we're just gonna take it straight from author/blogger/speaker/really-bad-driver (self-titled): Anne Jackson. 

• PAY OFF DEBT – Obviously. Chris and I have been credit card debt free for over a year and a half. There are people who handle credit cards responsibly and there are people who can’t. We can’t. (Rather, I should say I can’t!) There are plenty of programs that can help you do this, or you can just make a plan and stick to it. That’s what we did. We had a smart friend who helped us make a budget, we stuck to it, and two years later we had paid off all of our credit cards. When we had saved up a few thousand dollars, we paid off one of our cars. We still have one blasted car loan to pay off, but saving hundreds of dollars a month by not having debt frees that money up.

• DOWNSIZE – Live in a smaller place. Yes, even with kids. You’ll pay less in monthly housing expenses and utilities, as well as maintenance. Is it annoying sometimes to have one bathroom for two people and our dining room (with no wall between it and our living room) converted into two offices and a recording studio? Sometimes. But dang, I love keeping our housing expenses down. And it’s really quick to clean up.

• GIVE IT TO GOODWILL - When you downsize, you have to get rid of stuff. The easy rule here is if you haven’t used it in a year, donate it. If it’s worth something, try selling it on Craigslist or eBay. We set aside two weekends a year to go through our house to clean out the clutter.

• DECIDE WHAT’S OPTIONAL – Do you have to have cable with 300 channels? Can you get by on basic cable, or no cable at all? Can you live without a home phone number? Can you cut your minutes or data back on your mobile phones? Do you need internet at home (Here’s a tip: if you have problems with porn, kill your internet at home and the data plan on your phone. Seriously.) Are there magazines you can unsubscribe from or newspapers you no longer read?

• EAT IN – Grocery shopping always scares me. I hate spending a bunch of money at once because it seems like it’s cheaper to eat out. It’s not. Plan a menu for the week and write down what you need to buy and stick with it. Also, if you eat in, you can go two different routes to save money.
  
  • Use portion control. Only make what is the serving size of what you’re eating. This way, you won’t overeat and you can use the leftover product later.
  • Make a ton of food! There’s only two of us, but sometimes I’ll cook for six. So, I’ll immediately plate the food for two servings, and put the other four servings away for leftovers (either freeze them or eat them for lunch later in the week). Your food will go so much further this way.

• JUST BE GENEROUS – Whenever you feel that nudge, go all in. Keep protein bars and water in your car for when you meet someone who needs a meal. Give until it hurts – that’s true sacrifice. Generosity is contagious, and when you live with a spirit of generosity, you’ll never be left wanting.
  

I (April) would love to hear what you guys (gals, really) think about this! What have you tried? Do you have other suggestions as well? Click here to get back to our blog so you can comment.

Let's put our money where our mouth is, and plan to give, not just on impulse! Our God calls Himself the Defender of the orphan and the widow--let's worship Him by doing the same!

Guest Devotional - Melissa Walker

I walked out of a store with my bags in hand and ready to hurry to my next errand – after all it was the one morning each month that I run errands by myself while my husband takes our boys for the three of them to get their hair cuts.

There was a man riding past me on a bicycle, with bags in tow. It was obvious that he was a homeless man, but if he was not on his simple transportation with bags, then he would not have had the same look to him as he appeared clean, meek and put together. My gut was to give him a candy bar that I had just bought, but I talked myself out of it thinking that a candy bar was an odd thing to hand him at 10:30 in the morning and just didn’t seem sufficient….after all how nutritious was that???

I needed to circle through the bank drive through that was located next door, so with no cash in my wallet, I circled through the bank with the intent to give him $10 for his lunch. My plan seemed simple…..circle around the parking lot and hand the man $10, and tell him that God told me to give it to him. After leaving the bank, I circled through and even though the parking lot was surrounded by a busy intersection, the man was not there. How could he have left so fast? Where did he go???

Thoughts began to flood my head……I know that God impressed upon my heart……it wasn’t about the $10, it wasn’t about the candy bar…it was about someone acknowledging that the man existed and giving him a smile…it was about me possibly being the only person that said hello to him all day….all week…..

How often do I go with the plan in my head that seems right and makes sense….???

How often do I miss the plan that God has and gives me in my heart….???

God’s plan does not have to make sense to me, but I have to know that God knows the other person and his needs. As I drive past that parking lot, I will continue to look for that man, with a candy bar and $10 tucked away in my wallet for him, but most importantly open to what God tells me in my heart. This is a lesson way beyond how to reach out to a homeless man…..what do we do when our heart and gut feeling does not make sense to us???

“God what are you trying to say to me?”

When we fail to listen to God, we miss His very best.

Collosians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

And in Proverbs 4:10-13 we read, "Listen, my son, accept what I say, and the years of your life will be many. I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. Hold onto instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.”

When we choose to listen to God and accept his instruction... the outcome is life-changing.

Guest Devotional - Claudia Lisotta

For a very long time I have been waiting for a very important day in my life... the day that I get my Permanent Green Card so I can became a citizen in this Country. We thought my case was approved until four months ago when we found out that some one inside the immigration made a mistake and never told us. We never received a phone call or a notification letter telling us that the case was not finalized. Our lawyer was persistent and kept calling the Immigration Office. One day he was able to find out what the status of the case was. Basically, I am in what they call "deportation status" and my court date is January 19Th. Who would’ve thought that this situation would end up like this.

So now I’m facing a huge challenge in my life and I struggle every day to find answers to my own questions. Why me? Why does someone else get to decide the course of my life? Why did I have to put my husband through this? Well I don’t know why. All I know is that God is the one who decides my life and that is what I truly believe.

I pray every day for strength, comfort, and for God to be with me and hold my hands telling me that it is going to be okay. I do believe that He has a plan for me and for my husband. We will get through this .

And it's times like this that I seek faith and comfort. There is a Bible verse that helps me so much. I hope that it can bring you peace the next time you are faced with a potentially life-altering situation...

1Peter 1:6-9
Be truly glad. There is a wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold-though faith is far more precious then mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

Guest Devotional - Alexis Albright

Happy new year!

Finishing out the year was a time of reflection for me and a time to begin setting new goals for the year ahead.

One thing I was pondering as the Christmas season was approaching was how my boys each had two items they wanted under the tree on Christmas morning. But more than them just wanting these two items, was that they had been asking for them since June. Almost everyday, they would bring the toys up in conversation and I heard about them so often and with such enthusiasm, that I frequently found myself in restrain mode. I wanted to make their wishes come true right then. I wanted to see their smiles wider than I'd ever seen as their eyes shined with all the possibilities this gift would bring. But if I had done that, the anticipation from the 6 month build-up of dreaming and imagining life with these new toys would have been gone and ultimately Christmas morning would not have been as full. It was rich for my boys and for Blaine and myself too.

This is how our Father operates as well. He loves us so deeply that he wants us to have the desires of our hearts. I imagine it's probably difficult for Him to make us wait for things or not give us what we want. For me, I could reason that the gifts to my boys would be that much better with time. Our Father's decision isn't always as simple as deciding when to give us the "toy" we've been wanting, but his timing is perfect. His answer is just right. I'm so glad I don't have to worry about whether or not I'm going to get what I want. I can take it to him and let Him decide.

So, for this new year, one of my resolutions is to rest in God's timing and in His answers to my requests. Psalm 37:4 says "delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart" and Ephesians 3:20 states, "God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us."