Leslie's Little Devotional

            Anxiety is defined by our friend, Noah Webster as “an extreme uneasiness of mind or brooding fear about some contingency”. I find it interesting that the word “contingency” means something that may, but is not certain to occur. I also find the word “brooding” to be a great visual. I picture a hen incubating her eggs. In my mind’s eye I see her just sitting on her eggs, hovering and not moving.           When you break it down in those terms, anxiety doesn’t paint a pretty picture. Anxiety is choosing to allow your thoughts to loom over an event that may not even happen. Should the event happen the energy you’ve spent won’t change a thing.           This morning my studies took me to a familiar passage. Philippians 4:6-7. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.   And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”.      

                The other morning I spent some time in Isaiah, specifically in chapter 40. I didn’t get very far because I was so struck by the imagery these words painted in my heart and mind. Verse 11 says: “He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young”. The picture of Him carrying a lamb close to His heart was so precious to me. As a mother I have often cradled my children close to my heart. I’ve held them tightly in my arms and rubbed my cheek over their hair, breathing in their sweetness. In such moments I am completely overwhelmed at how intensely I love them. The idea of holding someone you love close to your heart is one I can completely understand.   Reading this text in Isaiah was one of those “light bulb” moments. I know God loves me, I truly believe that. The image of Him holding me close to His very heart completely overwhelmed me and gave me a new

          A very wise pastor once said, “Your checkbook register reveals a great deal about what you treasure.   I was thinking about this statement the other day as I looked over my account online. As I thought about his words, I browsed through the past few weeks of purchases. “What would people think if they saw my register?” I wondered. My first cynical little thought was that if they saw the balance they would think payday must be just around the corner! Then I decided to move past the bottom line and just be grateful it was black and not red.   My eyes scanned the purchases we’ve made with a swipe of our card. “I guess my treasure is at Walmart”, I chuckled to myself.           I began to group our spending into categories. Our biggest expense is a mortgage. Our second biggest expense is health insurance with groceries being a very close third. On and on, I made a mental list of where the money goes. I came to the realization that, like most families, we anticipate our earning

The glass just slipped out of my hands and hit the floor, shattering into pieces. Of course I was barefoot.   Standing in the middle of small razor-like shards of glass I called for someone to bring me a broom and dustpan.   Keeping the kids at a distance I reached out for the broom and began trying to sweep my way to safety. I went over the kitchen several times confident that I had found it all. An hour later I walked into the kitchen to start dinner and the bottom of my foot found a piece of glass that I missed. Limping into the bathroom I found a tweezers, pulled out the glass, and put on a Spiderman bandage. On my way back to the kitchen I grabbed a pair of shoes since my confidence in my sweeping skills was wavering.   I decided run the broom over the floor another time or two, just in case. Thankfully I did because I found two more pieces of glass. I really thought I had gotten rid of all the glass. Doing what I thought was a thorough job, I was confident enough to walk bar

          The Lion King is the first movie our oldest daughter, Shelby ever saw at a movie theater. Years later, it continues to be one of her favorites. Last night she was watching it with Ashley, Carly, Matthew, Jacob and her fiancé, Kevin. I happened to come into the room when Pumbaa, the warthog tells Simba,”Its times like this my buddy Timon here says: you got to put your behind in your past.” Of course, Timon is quick to correct his friend and replies, “No, no, no. Amateur. Lie down before you hurt yourself. It's "You got to put your past behind you."           Poor Pumbaa, he just couldn’t get it right. I don’t think he is the only one who struggles with this.   How often do we “put our behind in our past”? Instead of moving forward we plant our behinds in our past. We don’t move forward because we choose to stay back and dwell. What do we dwell on? Maybe we dwell on the pain someone caused us. Perhaps we linger over a gross injustice done to us. It could be th