Weekly Devotions for Women
Happy Sunday, everyone! Blessings for your day, and welcome to the Weekly Devotions for Women.
Weekly devotions for women exists to enrich your time with God and encourage you to spend time in His Word.
For some reason, many of my special times with the Lord…when I really hear from Him and know it…are when I am cooking.
For many years, we did not have a dishwasher and I would tell people my deepest quiet times were at the kitchen sink while washing dishes for a family of five.
When the dishwasher came along, I rejoiced, and turned my prayers and thoughts of God to when the actual cooking was taking place.
As an educator in a Christian high school, I was occasionally invited to speak at the elementary school chapel.
There was a time when the invitation came and I knew there were children going through tough times….in the kitchen, I asked God how I could help them the most during chapel that week.
And here is what he showed me…..
WEEKLY DEVOTIONS FOR WOMEN: YOU ARE A CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE
I was moved to show up with a plate of chocolate chip cookies….always a crowd pleaser!
But, before passing them out…I said…You are a chocolate chip cookie!
Of course, they laughed.
After asking for very brave volunteers, I put them in two lines.
One line got to test all of the ingredients that taste good…sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, butter and, of course, chocolate chips.
The other line had to taste flour, salt, a little egg white, and baking soda.
Right after, I shared that it takes the sweet and the sour ingredients mixed together and then baked in the heat of an oven (which could be unpleasant) to create a delicious chocolate chip cookie.
The mix of the good and the bad and just the right amount of heat at a certain time leads to a wonderful outcome.
This is a reminder of how God uses the good times and the difficult trials in our lives to mold His children.
He is molding us and mixing us to be more like His Son.
We only need to trust Him and have hope in Him.
WEEKLY DEVOTIONS FOR WOMEN: HOPE
I know that the difficulties of my past…especially being raised in an angry home…have brought me closer to God.
Those difficulties also helped me to better understand the Trinity of God, Jesus, Holy Spirit…I am so aware of all in my life.
Never doubt…hope will not disappoint….
No matter what lies ahead for any of us…believe that we cannot be separated from The Father.
Our daily preparation to draw nearer to Christ prepares us for whatever is in our future…and smile thinking about the joy as you eat a chocolate chip cookie…or even spend time with God in your kitchen.
PERSONAL PRAYER REQUEST: Please pray for me that I will be at peace and trust God during the first cataract surgery this Thursday. Please pray for the doctor who will be doing the surgery…and that I will be calm.
Thank you for prayers and for joining me today for Weekly Devotions for Women…I will be here tomorrow and hope to see you…until then…
EMBRACE TODAY AND KEEP SMILING!
By Pamela Lutrell
A beautiful devotional this morning…prayers have begun! You have seen so clearly with God at your side. It has just been a bit blurry lately! All will be well.
Bless you, Deborah. Have a wonderful day.
Beautiful Pam. I am praying for the best outcome with your cataract surgery and for the second one ( if like mine) in about 2 weeks! Bless you…..
I pray you will be calm and your eye surgery team be skillful. It’s not as bad as you think!
What a fun analogy and I’m sure those kids still remember that now as adults. No doubt they’ve passed that along to their own kids. God always has THE BEST ideas.
You are in my prayers, Pam. The Lord is with you and He will carry you through this. I’ve had cataract surgery and know the anxiety that comes with all the stuff, but God is always faithful!
I am joining all the others in praying for you. I have had both eyes done and can see great without glasses for the first time since I was eight years old (astigmatism and myopia) and now have 2.5 readers all over the house. I had to keep still during the surgery and became nervous. A person who I could not see was standing by and put their hand on mine and without a word, calmed me. God will give us what we need so “Fear not!” ❤️🙏
Sending good thoughts and wishes your way. The Jewish people have a special prayer of healing (called the Mi Shebeirach) – and I just said it for you. It’s a beautiful prayer (you can look it up on the internet) AND listen to a musical version popularized by a Jewish folk musician Debbie Friedman…this is how the song ends:
Bless those in need of healing with r’fuah sh’leimah
The renewal of body, the renewal of spirit
And let us say Amen.
Same God.
Pamela, What a powerful way to illustrate how God uses both difficult and happy times to bring us closer to him. I am praying for you, that your surgery is as painless and successful as mine was. I now have 20/20 vision and no longer even need readers. Wait until you see true colors again! Thank you for your prayers for me. After waiting almost 7 weeks for my ultrasound on Friday it showed I have a cyst, not a tumor. I am very thankful. Lisa, thank you for introducing me to Mi Shebeirach. What a beautiful prayer. Let us say Amen.
Pam, what a beautiful message. Life is a mixture of good and bad times. You exhibited this so well with a message of hope to the children. God bless you with your eye procedures. I have had both eyes done and was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was. Just stay on the eyedrop schedule and you will be fine. Listen to some beautiful music this week.
What a wonderful, thoughtful, memorable analogy with the cookies…we all experience the good with the bad, but may not appreciate how it changes our perspectives. Whenever I personally am troubled, my verse that settles me is Romans 8:28. As we all have said, we will be praying for you Thursday when you have your first cataract surgery. Before I had my first eye done, I had an IV and received a calming medication so had no problem lying very still during the operation. You will not see anything except the very bright lights and perhaps a little movement removing the old lens and putting the new one in place. My Mr. B saw our doctor this past week and has scheduled his surgery for March. I’ve written your surgery date in my daily reminder book so hopefully you will feel all of our prayers being said on your behalf.
A great devotional. You will be in my prayers. Keep calm in knowing God is with you.
That’s a fantastic lesson about the chocolate chip cookies.
Of course we will pray for you and your medical team this week. Also for your Mr. B and Tux, that they don’t fret too much. Having a loved one going to surgery, even minor, is a bit stressful.
💕🤗, from Oregon.
p.s. – I finished reading The Correspondent last night, which was recommended here not long ago, and it was a lovely, moving story.
It is scheduled two weeks later…thanks Paulette!
Thanks, Linda. I always have had anxiety about being sedated…any time of sedation…not sure where that comes from. Thanks Linda.
The kids loved this…even the ones tasked with tasting…not so good…ingredients. It was fun. Thank you for the prayers!
You give me great encouragement, Melinda. Thank you
I will look it up and thank you, Lisa. I love Jewish traditions!
I already feel those prayers…let me know when your Mr. B goes and I will pray for him too. Thanks so much, Celia.
I always imagine Jesus holding my hand…he got me through a dental procedure recently….I started praying for my eye surgeon this weekend.
I can’t wait to read it and see the words clearly! I attempted to begin but the words were just too blurry. I plan to go back to it next weekend and see if the one eye surgery helps. I so look forward to this book. Thanks Connie.
The chocolate chip cookie example was very good. Also the Romans 5:3-5 are good to remember.
I will be praying for you and your doctor this week. It will be just fine.
Thank you, Paula.
What a great object lesson, Pam! Lately, my mind has been going to some very negative and hurtful experiences from my past and reliving some of the pain. This post is a good reminder that, as awful as those experiences were, they’re part of what made me the “cookie” that I am today. I’m so thankful that we serve a God who can bring good out of even the worst circumstances.
I’ll be praying for you as you go for your cataract surgery!
Dear Pamela,
You will do swell, and I’m sure you selected a good eye surgeon. You will be fine. I understand how you are feeling squeamish, it’s your eyes.
YOU will be in my thoughts and prayers. What time is your surgery scheduled for?
🌹🙏🌹
Pamela, please don’t be afraid of conscious sedation. You will have some awareness of lights and movement but no pain. Tell them if you really have the jitters and they will give you a little something to relax you while you wait. Waiting was the hardest for me. But both times it was a simple and quick procedure. Stick to the drops schedule and don’t try to read a book yet and strain your eyes. Relax, a little TV and prayer cooking will get you through to the brighter colors and light. If you look through one eye then the other you will really see the difference. Don’t be alarmed if the clearness comes and goes that first few days. Your eye is healing. They will tell you and give you written instructions. My prayers and thoughts go out to you. I loved your chocolate cookie analogy! Perfect!
What a great lesson for the young students. I’m sure some of them rememeber the message and think of you when making their own chocolate chip cookies. I like Celia Bass’s suggestion of writing prayer requests in her Daily Reminder Book. I have a prayer list going, but like her idea even better. Keeping you in my prayers. HE will be holding your hand and keeping steady the hand of the surgeon.
Thank you for the prayers, Elaine…yes, you are one special cookie!
Hi Katherine, we have to be there around 8:30 AM. Thank you so much for the prayers.
Thanks for all of the sweet advice, Sydney.
Prayer journals are wonderful faith builders, Deanna. It is always fun to look back and see how and when your prayers were answered.
We’re praying for you as you have your surgery and for your recovery time. We are asking our Heavenly Father to watch over you and the surgeon and staff.
I enjoyed the chocolate chip cookie illustration. Blessings always
I had a similar but more complex surgery in my 50s. You will be in good hands! Be easy on yourself for about two weeks. Follow the eye drop regimen, wear the eye shield, and do not rub the eye. Prayers coming your way.
Your devotions today reminded me of something I heard a few years ago. We can’t appreciate the mountain top experiences without being in the dark valleys. You will in prayers as this week as you approach & go through your surgery.
Dear Pam: Your chocolate chip cookie object lesson is brilliant. I am praying for you.
Oh Pam, what a wonderful hands-on way to explain on the children’s level. And a good analogy for us adults, too. I’ll be thinking of you on Thursday and praying for a flawless outcome.
Thank you, Sudrey! Blessings!
Thanks for the tips and prayers, Mary!
Thanks for sharing that Becky..,and for the prayers!
Thanks so much, Mary! God gave it to me!
Thanks Yvette…they love eating the cookies at the end of chapel too!
Great devotions today and prayers for everyone for this surgery and the next. You have a whole army behind you!
Thank you, Joan…everyone is so precious and kind to pray!
This was a lovely post today, Pam! Love the cookie analogy … amazing how cookies can show us so much! I will add you and your doctor to my prayer list!
Thank you so much, Beth!