Weekly Devotions for Women
Happy February 1! Welcome to the Weekly Devotions for Women.
These weekly devotions for women are meant to help you grow closer to God on the inside and then it will show on your outsides.
I am often asked how I handle disappointment, discouragement, and challenges.
It never fails that I constantly hear two words over and over again during the trials and the storms…those words are “Trust Me.”
This past week has not been a fun one…January has ended with it’s share of the storms.
Fortunately, my surgery went well and I will discuss that more tomorrow.
And the snowstorm was lovely…it brought no challenges to me and I enjoyed every flake.
However, there were storms…and I will only share the largest one…
WEEKLY DEVOTIONS FOR WOMEN: STORMS ROLL IN
Recently, I mentioned that I was hacked last Sunday in one of my bank accounts.
I went through two days of grief and believed the account was secure and the money would be returned.
However, on Friday, the thief returned and cleaned out the account again. $1300 may not sound like much, but it is to us and I had planned use for it that day.
Not extravagances….just expenses.
Also, on Friday, I was paid back $199 that was owed to me…and that check bounced.
Also, on Friday, an insurance appeal I was sure would be resolved in my favor, was not.
On top of all of this, I was on calls all day attempting to get around AI, and each time I called, I had to tell the entire story over again.
It took forever to be heard and to get a supervisor to listen to me. At the end of Friday afternoon, I finally got help…but money will not be returned until there is a thorough investigation.
This hacker was very sophisticated and the investigation goes across three different banks.
As you can imagine, there was great frustration on my part. But, I kept hearing the words…Trust Me.
Every time I felt frustration rising up within me, I prayed for God’s help.
When I was sharing the story with ladies at the nail salon, two said that I should have stomped my fists and slung out some F-bombs.
Well, that is just not me…I do not use that language…and I do believe it taints my representation of the Lord if I were to.
I did tell them I got really mad and said to some one one the phone…HOLY MOLY I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS!
There was a big laugh as one girl said…wow, I am sure that made a difference.
Mr. B found that to be very funny.
Is has taken years for me to learn that no matter the storm, I must listen to God and Trust Him.
Does that mean that the money will magically appear tomorrow…maybe not, but it does mean that He has us in His hands and will provide and care for us.
His ways are not always our ways. And He asks that we trust His ways.
I did pray for this thief…for his or her salvation and that he or she would become a new creation in Christ.
I do feel at peace …I know God has this.
It is the first storm like this that I have walked through feeling at peace.
I think the most anger I experienced was when I could not get the primary financial institution to listen to me.
And there was great disappointment in the bounced check because I thought I could trust that person to pay.
But, God was listening and He will answer….and He is the one I trust.
In Matthew 14: 22-34, Peter attempts to walk to Jesus on water during a storm. He sinks into the stormy waters because he takes his eyes off of Jesus.
I encourage all of us to keep our eyes on Jesus during every storm we face and trust Him. He promises not to let us drown.
Thank you for joining me today for the weekly devotions for women…I will be here tomorrow…and hope to see you then….
EMBRACE TODAY & KEEP SMILING!!
By Pamela Lutrell
That you can still afford manicures is something to be grateful about, I’ve started doing them myself. And I can not afford to pop into shops regularly, I have never been one to carry a credit card balance. I would love to see some posts about tightening the belt, shopping your closet, thrifting. Let’s take a look at your closet Pamela. I’d love to see how you have it organized. How you store all you accessories. I’d also love to see what you wear daily, not just for appointments and planned events.
So many of my friends here have shared similar episodes of hacking bank accounts leaving them empty. Then checks they’ve written bounce. Eventually they all have gotten their money back, however.
My husband checks our accounts daily now— am and pm. I’m not sure it helps in a huge way but I feel a bit safer that he’s on top of things.
Bless you Pam! I hope it’s all resolved soon.
Pam, I’m so sorry that you’re having to endure this issue, but I appreciate the way you’re maintaining your Christian integrity. Every trouble we face is an opportunity to choose the response that most honors God. You’ve been given the platform to influence many people. I appreciate that your story isn’t an “and I told them a head full “, but one of showing a spirit that honors God.
I’m praying that your situation will quickly be resolved.
I’d guess we all understand the frustration of technology in our world today. I’m currently at a loss as to why my Word program seems to have disappeared. When I went to your website yesterday and today I received a warning to not open, but I obviously did anyway. And I can understand your disappointment to have a check from someone you trusted and there not be sufficient funds. Scammers along with A.I. have made me doubt almost everything I see or read which is so sad to me. But like you I fall back on “ Trust Me”, and I do. If I’m upset, I make myself stop and talk to God to calm myself and not react in anger. Thank you for your words today. Hope everyone is safe and warm…our feels like 11° here in South Georgia is not the norm for us.
So glad that your surgery went well. But i am so sorry for all of the other issues. You have to have true faith to give it all to God to take care of, this is so hard. But I do believe in faith and God. I don’t live the perfect God fearing live but I try so hard. I agree I would not have said that word, I hate that word its so vulgar to me.
Thanks for your post and update. Take care.
God has always shown me what to do. He will continue to do just that with my budgeting. I pop into shops for the blog and for building relationships with my new community. I can write about ways I tighten the belt and the conversations Mr. B and I are having on that topic. But all decisions will be prayed over. I do often wear and write about clothing I have in my closet…just wrote a post like that this week. And regular readers know what is happening with my closet re-do and that there will be more on that after the eye surgeries are done. And I will continue to show you what I wear daily…I have done more of that in the last few months. All great ideas and ones that I have followed and with prayerful consideration will continue to do so. I am actually going to do some thrifting tomorrow…I do love a good treasure hunt. Thanks for your suggestions.
So do I, Paulette. It is unsettling when you have taken every precaution you know to take and it still happens. I think one of the financial institutions is opening its eyes to the fact that this might be an inside job.
Thank you, Cindy. I do my best to be ever aware that I am representing Christ with my behavior. Sometimes that does mean tough love, but it never means losing it on employees that had nothing to do with the crime. I confess that I have wanted to let AI have it!
Thanks Celia…I have no idea why you would get a warning from my page…that is very frustrating as well. I am with you that there are VERY FEW people or brands that I trust currently. So, I put all my trust in HIM.
Dianne, do not be concerned about being perfect. Just pray…read the word even a little daily…and get to know your Father. He loves you and wants to spend more time with you. Forget perfection.
So sorry you’re dealing with this in the middle of your recovery from cataract surgery. You’re right—trusting God and taking things one day at a time will get you through this setback. Thank goodness you were finally able to connect with someone at the bank who would listen to you!
Wow! What a Friday! At least you were able to get some things started to resolve this issue rather than having to wait all weekend. That is scary!!
I assume your eye surgery went well.
You did share some wonderful Bible verses today!
Hope you have a better week
Pam, sorry for the “storms”. Thank you for sharing that the underlining truth is “trust in God”. We will be praying for you for a good resolution.
I am very sorry about your troubles, and hope all will be restored sooner rather than later. We are currently out $999 for a computer my husband purchased on-line, got home and then determined it wasn’t compatible. He immediately ordered a second, slightly different one, from a second vendor, which did work, but we never received a credit on the return of the first one. It is now six weeks, and he is going through the steps, but I’m not certain he knows (remembers) what he’s doing. Had he gone to our local Staple’s store as I suggested, he could have made a good purchase in the first place, or easily replaced it if it wasn’t quite right. My battle is lovingly helping without being critical, especially since he increasingly creates situations like this due to his poor short-term memory. I fear he may have simply boxed up the computer and left it off at a store, and now doesn’t remember if it was truly an official Amazon return spot or not. We can absorb the loss, but obviously my worries are about helping my husband through his deficits. Navigating this with a proud and otherwise competent man is … 🤦♀️.
Thank you, Audrey. I trust Him and believe it will be resolved at some point.
I hear you, Connie. We do all have our challenges. I just returned from church and the message today was on…you guessed it…trusting God. Our pastor discussed that we should always remember that God is omniscient and omnipresent…he knows and sees everything so we can trust Him with anything. Psalm 139 was the scripture lesson for the day. Pray over your husband every day…one day at a time…and trust that God sees Him, loves Him, and will answer.
Connie, now that we are both in our 80s, we have had a few challenges especially with technology. We made the decision to go together to the store to make big ticket purchases. We just bought our first laptop and retired our old pc. My husband had to get a new email account because our old one is being phased out of the cable company we have for cellular service and TV. He is still having trouble getting it changed everywhere and gets quite frustrated. I pray everyday that we can continue to live together independently and not we our kids.
Pamela, my credit card was hacked and I had to go through the process of getting a new number and then changing it with everyone. Fortunately, I did get my money back. It is so scary when someone puts their hand in our money and just takes it. Billions of dollars are stolen every year and I’m afraid AI will just make it easier for the the theft. I’m praying for the swift resolution of this situation. Maybe you need to consider moving to a different bank.
As Jesus said to Martha about her sister, you have chosen the better portion by praying for your enemies & not cursing them. Your trust in God is an example for all of us. I hope that this storm will be resolved for you soon, but part of trusting God is knowing that His timetable is different than ours as I’m sure you know. Blessings to you.
So very sorry for your troubles, Pamela. Praying that it all works out for you🙏
I trust the Lord with it ALL!