devotion Archives - Saving Time & Money l SamiCone.com

Access

April 9, 2013 By sami

Have you ever seen a picture of random celebrities together and thought, “They have no business knowing each other except that their both famous!”

I have.

And then the next natural question becomes, “How did they even happen to get to meet each other?”

There is a very simple answer: Access

A singer likes a certain TV show, so his people call their people and boom, he gets to meet the stars. Perhaps they’re both presenting at an awards show together. Or maybe they’re both hanging out in the same VIP lounge at Target (surely Target has a VIP lounge the rest of us normal folk don’t get to see, right???).

(From Dierks Bentley on WhoSay…P.S. If you can name all the people in this picture, I’m impressed – I couldn’t!- though Dierks, if you’re reading this, you are the ONE country singer I’d like to meet…but I digress)

So I may have a skewed view of celebrity and fame, but the answer stays the same: Access.

I remember a time years ago when I was absolutely convinced that Rachael Ray and I would be best friends…if only we could meet! This wasn’t when everyone knew her name and loved her, it was just me….well, just me and my then toddler. I remember feeding a newborn baby in my arms and having my 19 month old jump up and down at the TV screen saying “Wachael Way! Wachael Way!” As someone who didn’t consider themselves a pro in the kitchen (and still doesn’t!), I resonated with her humility and quirkiness.

I had a dream that we happened to be getting our hair done next to each other and my hairdresser said to her hair dresser that she thought we should be friends and POOF! That was all it took…but the dream never became reality. In fact, as is typical of my life, once everyone else starts liking something, I usually back away from it. So, alas, the world will never know the powerhouse duo that Rachael and I could have become.

But do you know who we do have full, unlimited access to? God
“For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household” ~ Ephesians 2:18-19

When I worked at the Olympics in Atlanta back in 1996, I had an infinity level pass. That meant that even when I wasn’t working an event, I could pretty much get in wherever I wanted: the floor level of the gold medal women’s gymnastics event, the back halls of the tennis venue, even next to the Vice-President of the United States during the closing ceremonies (well, I think that one was a fluke, but once I was past the metal detector, I was in!).

I think that gig had something to do with the fact that I was young, diligent and spoke French (or just a brilliant stroke of good luck for me and my friends who also got the gig). Do you know what it takes to get an infinity level pass to God? Faith.

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we[b] boast in the hope of the glory of God.” ~ Romans 5:1-2

It’s that simple. When you put your faith in Jesus Christ, you gain an infinity level pass to His kingdom for eternity! How cool is that?

There’s not test. You don’t have to be famous. And God knows you don’t have to be perfect!

That’s the beauty of it. With faith comes access to God’s grace, mercy and unconditional love.

So the next time you feel like you’re being left out of the coolest VIP lounge (hint, hint Target…), just remember, we all have the potential for infinity level access to the ultimate heavenly lounge.

All you have to do is ask…

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. ~ Hebrews 4:15-16

Filed Under: Devotions, Faith, Faith in Action Tagged With: Access, devotion, Faith, god

I Give Up Lord

April 1, 2013 By sami

780737 born to pray I Give Up Lord
The other day, I was praying and confessing to God and said, “Lord, I want you to remove ____ from my life”…to which He quickly replied, “I want YOU to GIVE IT UP!”

Our God is not intrusive.

He is a gentleman. He is not invasive, yet meets us where we are. He calls us not to be passive Christians, but active in our faith.

Just as when we first come to Christ, we cannot ask Jesus to come into our hearts until we first confess our sins and iniquities. God is present and might to save, but He needs believers that are strong enough to admit their need, while weak enough to know we cannot do anything without Him!

The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. ~ Zephaniah 3:17

Looking to go deeper? Why not watch church online right now? I have several options for you…

Filed Under: Devotions, Faith, Faith in Action, Prayer Tagged With: christian, devotion, give up

Radiant Glory

October 24, 2012 By sami

IMG 6471 225x300 Radiant Glory

So often we brush right past people that God put in our way for a reason. If God created everything, and everything He created reflects His glory in some way, then we should be able to find that radiance in every person we encounter!

This is one of the most difficult concepts for me personally as I truly struggle with understanding how to be genuine with people I don’t get along with. (Can I get an Amen?)

However, I once approached our pastor’s wife at our former church with this quandary, since she seemed to get along with everyone.

She confessed that her spirit was not always that way, but that her husband (our pastor) taught her that there is always something positive you can find in everyone and to simply focus on that until you can develop a relationship that leads you to uncover something else.

“For I was hungry and you fave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. ‘The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”
~ Matthew 25:35-36, 40

God commands us to love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34). Therefore, by loving our fellow man and looking beyond the external, we are loving God and giving Him glory!

We need not be quick to judge based on external appearances. Instead, we ought to learn to recognize the radiant glory of God and look for it in everyone we meet.

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. ~ 1 John 4:11-12

Filed Under: Devotions, Faith, Faith in Action Tagged With: christian, devotion, Faith, glory, radiant

The difference a day makes

September 8, 2012 By sami

“God never tells us to do anything without giving us the ability to do it.” Joyce Meyer

Yesterday I took a walk.

It was the first walk I had taken a long time.

I’m not saying a walk on the treadmill or just walking to and from the mailbox. I mean a walk around the neighborhood for the sole purpose as getting a little fresh air & some exercise.

You see, since we’ve come home from Florida, I’ve felt paralyzed. We haven’t even unpacked yet, and to be honest, I don’t know where to start.

I feel like we didn’t get to spend a lot of time with the kids over the past two weeks, so I’ve tried to be there for them more both at home and at school these past few days, but that also means that our house is a small disaster and my work is falling behind too.

When I went outside for my walk yesterday, I realized it wasn’t only the inside of my house that needed help, but also the outside. As I walked the neighborhood, I saw that our lawn had become so over grown, it was obvious it hadn’t been tended for awhile.

Well I coveted some of our neighbor’s lawns, it also made me realize that just because something is beautiful on the outside, doesn’t mean there aren’t issues on the inside.

Because we are new homeowners, we don’t yet have a lawnmower, so I called my friends at Time Dog and they were able to screen a number of lawn care professionals for me. I’m glad they were the ones doing it, because as it turns out, there were many wrong phone numbers, no answers, straight to voicemail, and people that were not the nicest to deal with. Yet another reminder that just because you ask for help doesn’t mean it’s always that easy!

Finally, at 3:30 yesterday, a kind man and his wife rode in on their trailer to take care of our lawn. I wish I had a before picture, but here is the after picture.

Sure, the shrubs still need some tending, and there are some brown spots from where the grass got scorched from the sun, but as I walk through the neighborhood this morning, it reminded me that we are all given a chance to start anew every day.

Just because something seems overgrown and insurmountable in your life doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. I went to bed early last night because I wasn’t feeling well and when I woke up early this morning, I felt inspired to get back on my routine and start tackling things one at a time.

As I listened to Joyce Meyer on my walk, I was reminded that what God calls us to he will equip us for.

I would offer you this simple encouragement today: don’t give up! I know this life is not easy, but I also know that we are not guaranteed anything past today. So the best we can all do is to get out there and give it our all.

Go ahead, see what a difference a day can make.

His mercies are new every morning.Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ~ Lamentations 3:22-23

Where in your life can you make a difference today?

Filed Under: Christian Living, Devotions, Faith Tagged With: christian, day, devotion, difference, life, living, make

Pour Out Your Problems

June 18, 2012 By sami

In times of trouble, it’s natural to pray…but do you pour out your problems to the Lord?

We have certainly been doing our fair share of praying over the past week since my father in law has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. Yet in my effort to feel like I’m the one who has to keep things together for our family, I can’t honestly say that I’ve poured out my problems to my Heavenly Father.

This was brought to my attention this morning as I was reading through my Daily Walk Bible, and the introduction to Psalm 102 described the Psalm in this way:
A prayer of one overwhelmed with trouble, pouring out problems before the Lord.

I actually haven’t read this particular Bible in awhile (moving hides things from you!), and I was equally taken aback with the overview for today, the day I happened to find it again, prefacing Psalms 98-103:

Perhaps no other six psalm picture God’s praiseworthy character as graphically as the ones in today’s reading. God in his righteousness (Psalm 98), in his exalted place of authority (99), and in his everlasting mercy (100) demands and deserves admiration and adoration by his people. In view of God’s character, the psalmist pledges his obedience (101), expresses his dependence (102) and acknowledges his gratitude for God’s rich blessings (103).

In fact, Psalm 102 begins like this:

Lord, hear my prayer! Listen to my plea!
Don’t turn away from me in my time of distress.
Bend down your ear and answer me quickly when I call to you…My hear is sick, withered like grass, and I have lost my appetite…

My translation:
Our prayers don’t have to be pretty. God wants us to be honest. He feels our heart.

This brings to mind another favorite verse of mind that echoes my translation, 1 Peter 5:7:
Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you…

Bottom line is this: don’t hold back from God.

When you hurt, He hurts. To the disbelief of some, it is possible to be sorrow-filled and still be spiritual. The difference lies in where you take that sorrow…

I think the degree of your “groanings” all depends on the depth of your anguish. That’s not to say that the Lord only answers the prayers of the pitiful, but rather, we become closer to God when we are utterly and completely honest with him in our prayer life.

So the next time you find yourself in a deep valley, “like an owl in the dessert” or ”lonely as a solitary bird on the roof” (Psalm 102:6 & 7), pour our your problems before the Lord and don’t hold back! Our merciful, righteous and powerful God will meet you exactly where you are and bring you to where you need to be.

Filed Under: Dad Cone, Devotions, Faith, Prayer Tagged With: christian, Dad Cone, devotion, lord, pour out, pray, problems

Pre-programmed

April 12, 2012 By sami

Photo courtesy of www.sxc.hu

Do you ever feel like you’re pre-programmed?

We have a 2007 minivan that has GPS, but we also have a 2001 Camry that was created way before the invention of navigation systems.

What has that taught me? That you never realize how dependent you are upon technology until that technology is taken away.

Recently our van broke down, and it’s funny because just before that incident, I had thrown out the idea to my husband about selling the van and just living off of the one car for awhile.

Well I guess God wanted me to put my money where my mouth was, because only hours later, our van broke down and we were left to see what it was like to really live with only one car.

Now mind you, back before Britton was born, we were forced to sell our second car because of our financial situation. It was one of those acts that really lead us into getting serious about our finances, and making things work even when it didn’t seem possible. But at the time, I was not working, and my husband only works 2 miles from our home, so if absolutely necessary, I could walk to his work to pick up the car to use for me and the kids.

These days, it seems like everything we do is half an hour away from us: the kids school, Ricky’s work, and even my work that takes me all over the city.

So not only did we find ourselves in a new genre of schedule coordination, but I also felt like I had to relearn how to drive.

Places I had visited dozens of times before, I suddenly didn’t know how to get to because I didn’t have our navigation directing me!

But perhaps the worst realization was that I had learned to depend so heavily on those sensors and rear cameras that are installed in our minivan. You know… the ones that beep as you get closer to things and then seem to scream at you right before you hit something.

Yeah, those.

It’s scary because I noticed that I rarely have to turn around when I drive anymore! I had become so dependent on those beeps and that rear camera that I would just trust the sensors instead of turning around myself.

Truth be told, I had become dependent on said sensors and trusted that they would steer me in the right direction. Literally.

Sometimes, I feel like we view our Christian walk in much of the same way.

We remember that mountaintop experience that brought us closer to Christ in the first place, but then rely on it to feed our daily walk for years following.

Just like driving, if you don’t pay attention, you’ll end up in a wreck. You may think you know the way, but if you don’t pay attention, you won’t be aware of accidents, new construction, road work or detours that may confront you along the way.

Just because you know Christ does not mean our lives will be easy or free from temptation. If you are not continually paying attention and redirecting yourself back to the original road map (God’s Word), chances are you will end up going in the wrong direction.

Filed Under: Christian Living, Devotions, Faith Tagged With: car, christian, devotion, gps, living, program, van

I NEED you to do this, Lord

March 17, 2012 By sami

image courtesy of www.sxc.hu

It’s not often that I asked the Lord for insanely practical things.

In fact, I hate to bother him with things that seem so trivial in light of all the world’s problems. But He does in fact want us to include him in all aspects of our lives and I was reminded of this in a very tangible way today

You may know that our min-van is currently stuck at home after breaking down Thursday night, so we are left having to share our 2001 Camry. Since my husband is typically the one that drives this car, I had forgotten some of its idiosyncrasies.

Case in point:
After finishing up at the radio station, I was on my way to drop the car off at his work since he has to be here late tonight. Our kids spent the day with friends, so Kristen was meeting me here to pick me up and take all of us back home.

Since I hadn’t had lunch and knew I wouldn’t be able to stop at the store today, I made a quick detour to get some chili in the Wendy’s drive thru. I knew the windows hadn’t been working well, but I had just witnessed my husband use them successfully the day before, so it never even crossed my mind to avoid this pitfall.

Yet sure enough, in the middle of a storm, the window went down perfectly fine, but did not respond at my attempt to roll it back up after paying. I dodged rain drops to get to window #2 and worked fervently to fix the wet situation.

No luck.

Knowing I couldn’t very well hang out in the Wendy’s drive thru for longer than 3 extra seconds, I jetted out and wildly went the wrong way into a neighboring bank’s drive thru (luckily, it was closed at the time).

Thankful for the dry oasis. I turned off the car and decided to let it “reboot”, so to speak (can you tell I spend too much time on a slow computer?). After another five minutes of trying every Jedi mind trick I could conjure up, I finally stopped, closed my eyes and prayed for God to help me in this situation.

After finishing the prayer, I opened my eyes, paused to take a deep breath and then said in my most convincing voice possible:
“Lord, I NEED you to do this.”

I waited a few seconds just to make sure He heard me and then turned the car back on to try the window again.

IT WORKED!

Without over-spiritualizing the situation, it reminded me that all too often I try to do things on my own when God is ready, willing and very able to help…if only we’ll get over ourselves long enough to ask!

I was reminded of the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22 that essentially teaches us that when we simply trust God, He will supply all our needs, from the most critical to even the very trivial.

Our mini-van may not be operational yet, but at least we’re not left with a very wet interior for our one vehicle that does work!

Is there anything you need to ask the Lord for today?

Filed Under: Devotions, Faith, Faith in Action Tagged With: car, devotion, Faith, lord, need, rain, window

Making choices

February 16, 2012 By sami

What choices are you making today?

Just like using your windshield wipers ones when it’s raining will not keep the rain off for the rest of your drive, we all need to make choices throughout our day.

I was just talking to my kids about how once they make a decision for Christ, they must renew that hope on a day by day, minute by minute basis.

We must choose joy. We must choose gratitude. We must choose to love God and love each other.

These things do not come naturally to us. But they do to God.

When we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us and fill us with His spirit.

So just like we keep our windshield wipers on doing our entire drive when it’s raining, we must be consciously aware to make little choices throughout our day to drive near to God and love others the way He loves us.

We love because He first loved us ~ 1 John 4:19

Filed Under: Christian Living, Devotions, Faith Tagged With: choices, devotion, god, Love, making, windshield, wipers

Family Devotions with Jesus Calling: Win both books from Tommy Nelson!

January 24, 2012 By sami

Start a new tradition of family devotions by winning both Jesus Calling& Jesus Calling: 365 Devotions For Kids from Tommy Nelson!

When you have young kids that you have to get off to school each morning, it can be hard to have a quiet time, much less sit down for devotions together. That’s why I’ve loved the companion devotionals “Jesus Calling” and “Jesus Calling: 365 Devotions For Kids“. While I still read “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers every morning, I’ve started reading “Jesus Calling” as well because then I’ll have my daughter read the kids’ version out loud for us on the way to school!

What’s great is that they parallel each other, so even though they’re written at different comprehension levels, every day shares the same topic/verses. It’s a great, quick way to both set your family’s heart on God in the morning, but also align with each other for a shared purpose.

And one lucky reader will win BOTH for their family!

Enter via Rafflecopter below:
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Filed Under: Deals & Freebies, giveaway, Kids Tagged With: "jesus calling", book, devotion, Family, giveaway, Kids, tommy nelson

Revolution

December 29, 2011 By sami

We are in the midst of a revolution.

To say that 2011 was interesting for our family would be an understatement: we started a new business, struggled with our health, traveled to new places, stretched our finances, and refined our marriage.

While I wouldn’t change any of it (well, maybe a few things), it does make me more reflective for the year ahead.

I know there are things we need to do differently so that we don’t simply survive each day, but instead thrive.

I just read this quote, and not only did it make me stop and think, but it truly sums up how we want to live from this point forward:

“Live with thanksgiving, forgiveness and joy, and enjoy all your moments as if they were your last. Someday, soon enough, they will be.” ~Debi Pearl

My father just turned 85 on New Year’s Eve, and I desperately wanted our family to travel to Chicago to spend it with him. While circumstances prevented us from doing so, I realized that we can’t let age determine the urgency with which we should take advantage of life! After all, we never know what tomorrow holds, so why are we wasting today?

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. ~ Matthew 6:34

So this year we are living without regret. We are embracing each day for what it is and recognizing that while we attempt to get organized and implement more routines, our schedule is not our own. We want to be available to those who need us, intentional in our relationships with God and each other, and purposeful in taking charge of our health, our work and our joy (it is a choice!).

So I want to say thank you in advance for all of you who have walked with me in this journey and for those of you who will continue along the way. I don’t know exactly what lies in store, but I do know that I am grateful for today and the promise of tomorrow.

Who’s ready to join me in a revolution?

Filed Under: Christian Living, Devotions, Faith Tagged With: 2012, devotion, Faith, god, relationship, revolution