I held the tiny little ivory sock in my hand and wondered. Warm from the dryer. One sock. A sock so small that it fit in the palm of my hand. Tiny blue stripes. Small and perfectly made, like the little one soon to arrive. Waiting. Wondering. Hoping. I didn’t know a sock so small would be so big for the little miracle headed our way. Our precious one arrived and brought all the joy promised by God.

A wonder. A masterpiece fresh from heaven.

More socks.

Little socks were followed by baby shoes and bobby socks, tennis shoes and crew socks, soccer cleats and soccer socks, hockey skates and hockey socks, hiking boots and wool socks. Socks so big I wondered and marveled. How did he grow so big, so strong, so soon?

A rush and whirlwind of ball games,

school projects, all-night video games (fifteen hungry teenage boys crammed in our house). Pizza and pancakes. Finally, The Day arrived. Dropping our son off at college. God held me together. I kept a smile on my face, joining him in his joy and excitement, hiding my pain. Proud, torn, excited, anxious, we left him at his dorm. Out of my hands … into God’s hands. I was fine until I arrived home.

And saw a sock. Just one sock.

Forgotten on the floor of our family room. One sock. I picked up the sock and held it in my hand. He just wore this sock. (How many times had I told him to quit leaving his socks around the house?)

Years mingling with tears.

Memories.

Tears of a job done right. Joy. Hugs. Sacrifice.

Family. Hurt. Struggle.

Love.

Kindergarten to college.

No longer just my son, but now my friend.

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Short and Sweet Nourishment for the Soul

^{6 “}And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,” Ephesians 2:6

“So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord–who is the Spirit–makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”2 2 Corinthians 3:18

I sat with my back propped against my husband’s legs. My sweatshirt felt good against my skin as the northern summer breezes flowed landward off Lake Michigan. The tall sea-green beach grasses wafted gently in the water. The sunset promised to be a keeper. My heart felt as content as the unusually peaceful waters of the Great Lake.

My eyes scanned the horizon like a seasoned sailor, counting the moments until the great event — the setting of the sun. We Michiganders take our sunsets seriously. Tourists and natives alike dotted the dunes along the shore. Watching. Waiting.

As the sun slipped lower in the sky, something caught my attention along the shore; a quiet radiance amid thousands of dark cool stones at the waters edge; one stone made brilliant by the setting of the sun. Loathe to disturb my comfort, I turned my head for a better view of the shining pebble.

Why a stone?

It stood like a lighthouse among its dull counterparts, beaming and casting its light. I marveled that such a small object could make so great an impact. A rock. Plain. Small. Unremarkable. Why a stone? Why not a diamond? Or a ruby? Just one small, plain stone.

Why one stone?

Thousands of millions of stones line the beaches of the northern Great Lakes … tossed and tumbled … worn smooth by relentless waves of time. But, only one glimmered in the sunset. Why? Three reasons: Position. Reflection. Water. The small rock, washed with water, was in the right position to reflect the light of the sun.

“And you are living stones …

… that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.”

We are His stones. Small. Plain. Unremarkable. Made of clay. But, as living stones we can have great influence for three reasons: Position. Reflection. Water. Position in Christ. Reflection of His glory. Living Water. God has placed us on beaches of this earth, among the thousands of millions of people tossed and tumbled by the relentless waves of deception, to reflect His glory and truth in the darkness. Soaked by Living Water, we shine and reflect His light, enabling others to find their way to the Father.

Let your light shine before men.

Action Points:

1. How can you let your light shine?
2. Name something specific you can do today to shine God’s light to those around you.
3. Do you tend to shut down your light around certain people? Why?

Life is sweet.

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Copyright 2015.

Day 1: Psalm 1

Day 2: John 4:7-14

Day 3: Psalm 105:41-45

Day 4: Judges 15:18-19

Day 5: Psalm 23

Day 6: Isaiah 43:18-21

Day 7: Psalm 42

Day 8: 1 Corinthians 10:1-4

Day 9: Nehemiah 9:11-15

Day 10: John 6:27-35

Day 11: John 7:37-42

Day 12: Isaiah 55:1-6

Day 13: Psalm 63

Day 14: Matthew 5:1-12

Day 15: Matthew 10:37-42

Day 16: Matthew 14:23-36

Day 17: Revelation 7:12-17

Day 18: Zechariah 14:1-8

Day 19: Revelation 21:4-7

Day 20: Amos 8:11-14

Day 21: Matthew 3

Day 22: Mark 4:35-41

Day 23: Exodus 15:22-26

Day 24: James 3:4-13

Day 25: Revelation 22:1-5

Day 26: Matthew 8:23-27

Day 27: Luke 5:1-11

Day 28: John 2:1-11

Day 29: John 5:1-9

Day 30: John 19:31-35

Day 31: Revelation 22:16-21

Bonus Day

To Do-ers List: Without Complaining

14 “Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. 16 Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless.”

Philippians 2:14-16

It has taken me a while to figure out complaining is not a spiritual gift.

In Christian circles complaining is an acceptable sin. It is not as messy as other more shocking sins. Why is it so acceptable? Because everyone does it.  Not everyone has a debt problem. Not everyone has an issue with addictive behaviors. Most of us don’t have an armed robbery conviction (all of which are forgiven and covered by Jesus), but EVERYONE complains.

On a daily basis.

Well, hourly.

Ok, it’s a way of life.

We rationalize: Complaining isn’t really that bad. Everyone does it. Millions of people can’t be wrong.  Note: Complaining is not without consequence. It will produce a harvest, not of nutritious fruit, but of weeds and tares. Complaining is sin because it casts doubt on the goodness, wisdom, and sovereignty of God. We complain because in our pride we think we know more than God.

Complaining needs an audience.

The Greek word for complaining is goggysmos.

Goggysmos?

The word just looks like trouble, doesn’t it? I can imagine the following conversation:

How is your husband today?

Oh, he’s been very goggymos, I had to get out of the house!

Goggysmos means, murmuring, muttering, a secret debate, of the cooing of doves, of those who confer secretly together, of those who discontentedly complain. Study the definitions of goggysmos. Do you notice anything interesting? Complaining is a team sport.

One little complaint  has the potential to loose an avalanche of grievances. To be completely honest … I must confess … sometimes I enjoy complaining. I like having a good grumbly story to tell my friends and then wallowing in the sympathy that is sure to follow.

Complaining affects our destiny.

Read Psalm 106 again. What did the Israelites do instead of entering the land God prepared for them? They complained.

They missed the Promised Land.

Instead of living the abundant life in God’s presence, they had to wander the desert. (Our God inhabits praise, not complaints Psalm 22:3). Complaining will keep us out of our Promised Land and hinder our walk with God. We will wander through life and miss God. We can believe or complain, but we can’t do both.

Once we decide to quit complaining and trust God, what do we do instead?

Instead of complaining, praise and pray.

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Praise Him for how He is going to work your tough situation for His will. Thank Him for how He is using this present pain and suffering to shape you into the image of Christ. Pray for Him to change to the one thing you can control in this trial, your attitude. God’s Word says to give thanks in everything, not because everything is good, but because God will use everything for good.

Hard things.

Ugly things.

Hideous things.

God will give beauty for ashes.

You may have reason to complain, but you do not have the right.

For Today:

Ok. This one is going to be hard. We can do this. No complaints. Not one. No bad words about anything or anybody-including ourselves! We have a choice: We can speak words of life or words of death into our situations. What will we choose? Thank God out loud for what He will do and how He is using annoying things to shape our character, thus our destiny. Remember, the book of James states our words act like the rudder on a ship, steering us to good lands or stormy seas.

Study Guides:

To help you organize your daily study and record your experiences, please download and print the following PDF, or download the journal app to your favorite Apple device. I’ve added a new graphic organizer today, Journal 101 (This one is my favorite. I use it often for Bible study and I LOVE it.)

• Journal 101: Bible Journalgraphics
• To Do-ers List Study Guide PDF
• Days Lite: My Wonderful Life App free app from App Store.

Resources:

• The Secret to Avoid Complaining

Don’t forget to comment on your experience in the comment section below!

**If you are starting late, please access the first seven days of the study on the links below!**

To Do-ers List Day 1: Love God

To Do-ers List, Day 2: Love Others

To Do-ers List, Day 3: Pray ’bout Everything

To Do-ers List, Day 4: Walk by Faith

To Do-ers List, Day 5: Word in Me

To Do-ers List: Day 6: Always Do Good

To Do-ers List: Day 7: Trust God

Be a doer of the word.

Copyright 2015

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Day 7

To Do-ers List: Trust God

Whom do you trust?

In the game of life, God calls us to trust Him.

Trust God and fall into His everlasting arms.

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Trust God with all your heart.

Read today’s verse again … with all your heart. Not part, but all. How well would you function with part of your heart, say only the right ventricle? Yet so many people try to. I know I have. I can trust God with my job, but my children?

Trusting God with part of your heart will leave you with a heart condition. Not healthy. You may sustain life, but you will never be able to run, soar, and live the abundant life with part of your heart. You will limp along in the shadows, living a half-hearted life. Trust God with all of it. He wants it all, every corner of your heart: relationships, career, school, friends, children, family, love, hate, hurt, blessing. He says fall and you let go. He’ll ask you to trust Him with more of your heart, bit by bit, until you finally trust God with all of your heart. Trust God.

A little warning.

Trusting God will not always make sense. Some people will think you’re crazy. Others will TELL you you’re crazy. You may lose friends over it. I have experienced all three. Trust God anyway. My greatest victories have come when I have listened to God and trusted Him, despite the voices of others.

Remember, God will never call you to do any thing which contradicts His Word.

For Today:

Take a moment and pray. Ask God to show you what areas or situations of your life you need to entrust to Him. Don’t hold back. If He wants you to speak, do it with all your heart. If He wants you to pray, do it with all your heart. If He wants you to reach out in a new way, trust God and do it with all your heart.

Use the To-Doers List Study Guide or a journaling app to plan and journal  your day.

Note: the To Do-ers List Study Guide will greatly enhance your time with God.

• To Do-ers List Journal Study Guide PDF
• Days Lite: My Wonderful Life App free app from App Store.

For ideas on how to trust God, please check the resources below.

• How Trusting God Can Transform Your Life by Joyce Meyer

Please take a moment to pray and ask God for His strength to do good to everyone you meet today (and the people you live with). Don’t forget to leave a comment in the comment section below. Have a blessed day!

To Do-ers List, Day 1: Love God

To Do-ers List, Day 2: Love Others

To Do-ers List, Day 3: Pray ’bout Everything

To Do-ers List: Day 4: Walk by Faith

To Do-ers List: Day 5: Word in Me

To Do-ers List: Day 6: Always Do Good

by Mary Kane

Copyright 2015

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Day 6

To Do-ers List: Always do Good

God has a different idea.

Do good. Always do good. Instead of payback, pay-it-forward. Good for evil. Blessings replace cursing. Help instead of hate. Always do good.

Why?

Because that’s what God does; it’s who He is. It’s what He did for us. While we were yet sinners, Jesus died on the cross for us. We were enemies of God by our wicked works and He died for us. What if He had waited for us to do something GOOD until He did something good? He’d still be waiting while we spent eternity in hell.

What is good?

In the Greek, good translates as agathos, which means good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy, honorable, upright, excellent. Part of the word means sacrifice. To always do good, we must

sacrifice our right to be angry, our right to be hurt, and our right to be bitter.

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This one is hard for me. Really hard. I learned and lived by the law of the street. I can payback like the rest of ’em. It’s a wonderful witness when you convey a rude gesture and have a fish sticker on the back of your mini-van. I still struggle with it today. Why? Pride. I’m better. I act better. I think better. How dare you do that to ME. It’s ugly and sinful. But, by the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, I’m making progress.

Long time ago I came across the following maxim:

Satan repays good with evil;

Man repays evil with evil and good with good;

God repays evil with good.

Always do good.

It’s a choice we make … to love instead of hate, to bless instead of curse, to always do good. We were created in the image of God. Like Father, like daughter. He is good; therefore, we must always do good.

For Today:

Today will be tough. Look for ways to do good to those who aren’t good to you. Doing good to another can be a kind deed, graceful words, or prayerful thoughts. Look to do good to everyone, regardless of how they treat you. Do we always do good because others deserve it? No, we always do good because it’s the right thing to do.

Use the To-Doers List Study Guide or a journaling app to plan and journal  your day.

• To Do-ers List Journal Study Guide PDF
• Days Lite: My Wonderful Life App free app from App Store.

For ideas on how to always do good, please check the resources below.

•  Overcoming Evil with Good

If you missed a few days, you can catch up by clicking the links below.

To Do-ers List, Day 1: Love God

To Do-ers List, Day 2: Love Others

To Do-ers List, Day 3: Pray ’bout Everything

To Do-ers List: Day 4: Walk by Faith

To Do-ers List: Day 5: Word in Me

Please take a moment to pray and ask God for His strength to do good to everyone you meet today (and the people you live with). Don’t forget to leave a comment in the comment section below. Please remember, Jane and I have been praying for you. Have a blessed day!

by Mary Kane

Copyright 2015

all rights reserved