by Judy Fitzgibbons, MS,RDN, LD
Dietitian, retired

Two ideas related to healthy eating caught my attention during a nutrition webinar I attended in early October: salad for breakfast and pistachios for protein.

Having trouble getting in the recommended 3 cups of vegetables a day? Consider eating a breakfast salad. The person suggesting this didn't give any specifics so I'm trying to imagine how this might look on my plate at 7:00 am...I'm assuming we're talking about lettuce and raw vegetables, nontraditional breakfast foods for Americans. (We do put vegetables in omelets.)

A breakfast salad would provide a vehicle for eating healthy fats as oil-based dressing. Nuts and seeds would add more healthy fat and some plant protein. Hard-cooked egg, cooked lean meats could bump up the protein for staying power. (I can't face tuna or salmon before noon.) As I write, we're approaching the first frost of the season and cold lettuce in the morning doesn't sound appealing. But then, again, who says a salad has to be cold?

Since the webinar was sponsored by the Wonderful® pistachio and pomegranate company, pistachios had to come up. According to the Wonderful® presenter, pistachios are the only tree nut that provides complete protein. This means they contain all 9 of the essential amino acids that humans need from food in order to build our bodies' necessary proteins. Their total protein content is also on the high end for tree nuts at 6 grams in about 2 tablespoons or one ounce. On the downside, they're a pretty expensive source of protein, running between $15 and $25 a pound. Rather than focus on the protein, I think pistachio's greater benefit is their healthy fat and fiber. Like most nuts, they're high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and low in detrimental saturated fat. They're also an excellent source of copper, a nutrient we don't hear much about, but that is essential for humans.

Pulling the two together, up your veggie intake by trying a breakfast salad including a tablespoon of pistachios (or other nuts) for good measure.

Note: I am sharing Spirited Living ideas 2 to 4 times a month. If you would like to receive all of those by email, send me a note at: judy@fitzgib.net.

For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. (2 Corinthians 8:3-5 NIV)

The background of this scripture lesson is a great Palestinian famine. Suffering and hunger were rampant. Paul enlisted the aid of the Gentile churches for relief of Jewish Christians.

The Macedonians responded in a remarkable way, with no excuses. One might say they had every right to find an excuse as they were severely persecuted and impoverished themselves. And yet, as God’s own people, their hearts were moved by God’s grace and the expressed need. Excuses for not giving were abandoned and they ultimately gave beyond their means and pleaded to do so.

Some years ago, our family was starting the stewardship journey of a capital campaign in our church. Believing we should encourage our children to take part in the experience, we sat our two boys down, explained the campaign and its purpose, and suggested we find a way to give of ourselves to support our church through the campaign.

My “bright” idea was to suggest our two boys come up with their own definition of the word sacrifice—in a one-word definition. (The one-word definition is where I went wrong.)

Our older son, a mature twelve-year-old at the time, shouted with fervor, “That’s easy, it’s the word ouch!”

Hurriedly his eight-year-old brother, not to be outdone, responded with a hearty, “That’s easy, it’s the word joyful!”

“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard!” his big brother stated.

Trying to save the day, my wife jumped in and asked our younger son to explain what he meant. He answered her in these questions:

“Well, aren’t we doing this for our church?” Yes, my wife replied. “Then, aren’t we doing this for God?” Again, a yes in reply.

“Well then, why would God want this if it is not joyful?”

Our sons’ wisdom has morphed into a new definition for giving at our house. The combination of these two words is a definition for giving back to God out of God’s goodness and grace—it’s a “joyful ouch.” And in the joyful ouch, we discover our best self, the self created in the image of a loving, generous God.

~Terry Goolsby

Reflection

In response to God’s goodness, bounty, and grace, what is your “joyful ouch”? Can you remember the times when you’ve offered excuses instead of giving?

Challenge

In your journal, list other times you’ve felt joy in sacrifice.

From A Generous Life: 28 Days of Devotion. Copyright © 2019 Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27 NIV)

Sometimes the voices overwhelm us, voices calling for us to buy this or do this; voices calling for us to be fearful or angry; voices reminding us of our failings and sins; voices telling us we are not worthwhile or lovable. One pastor I know refers to these voices as the committee meeting in our minds.

There is, my friends, another voice. A Voice quiet but persistent, a Voice whispering in our ears, “You are mine ... you are loved ... you are forgiven ... you are of eternal worth.” In the midst of the committee meeting going on in your head, can you hear that Voice? In the midst of other voices, can you dare to believe in the other Voice? Can you dare to believe you are both known and loved?

Parents called their rabbi and asked him to please come to their home and straighten out their willful and disobedient child. When the rabbi came to the house, much to the parents’ chagrin, he simply held the boy close to him and never said a word. The boy grew up and became a famous rabbi, known for wisdom and compassion. When asked how he came to be so wise and compassionate, he said, “As a boy, I put my ear close to the chief rabbi’s heart, and in that moment, I heard the heartbeat of God.” Hear the heartbeat of God, whispering “I love you.” And when we hear the heartbeat of God, when we believe in the voice of God whispering “I love you,” then we are home; then we are whole.

~Scott McKenzie

Reflection

When do you most hear God’s whisper?

Challenge

At the end of the day, sit down for a few minutes and ask, “What voices did I listen to today?” In your journal, make a list of the committee voices you hear throughout the day. Now in the quiet, can you hear the whisper of God, can you hear the heartbeat of God? Welcome home!

From A Generous Life: 28 Days of Devotion. Copyright © 2019 Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.

“But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.” (Luke 11:41 NIV)

Jesus had already had a busy day. He’d performed an exorcism and spent time teaching. While he’d been speaking, a Pharisee had invited him to eat dinner. But Jesus ignited a controversy when he didn’t wash up before taking his seat at the table.

Being “pure” was a big deal to the Pharisees, so they would wash both themselves and their eating utensils in ritual baths. Some taught that it was important to keep the outside of the cup clean, while others focused on the inside.

Jesus sidesteps their debate altogether by shifting the focus to the contents of our cup. It’s not just about being clean, inside or out, but it’s about the quality of what’s inside. In the comparison, he leaves open the question whether he is talking about what’s within our cup or within our heart. One is tied to the other. You can’t have good wine and a sour heart.

Jesus then says, what matters isn’t the condition of your cup but your willingness to share what’s inside. What defines our cleanliness isn’t the state of our cups, inside or out, but the abundance of our generosity. Instead of focusing on keeping yourself clean, what matters is giving away your good wine, just as he demonstrated earlier at the wedding at Cana. This is the best antidote to the greed that leads to death. What is within our cup reflects what is within our heart. An empty cup equals a full heart. Surprisingly, when the cup is empty, we arrive home and find our best self: the very person God created us to be.

~Len Wilson

Reflection

In what ways do we allow our faith to become focused on keeping ourselves clean? How might you change your focus to the contents of the cup instead of the cup itself?

Challenge

Look for a way this week to share the contents of your cup with a stranger or someone outside of your daily circle.

From A Generous Life: 28 Days of Devotion. Copyright © 2019 Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.

The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.” (Genesis 22:15-18 NIV)

After giving Abraham and Sarah the gift of a long-awaited son, God instructed Abraham to “take a journey” with his beloved son, build an altar, place the child on this altar, and ... sacrifice his life to God? (Read the story in Genesis 21 and 22.) In reading this story, it is difficult to imagine what God may be doing!

As a father of six, I cannot imagine the depth of faith and trust Abraham demonstrated to have even left on that journey! Forty-four years ago, I went through an experience that would change my life forever. Our first child, who had lived a healthy three years of life, was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia. Only fourteen days after her diagnosis, that precious girl died in my arms, and I came face to face with the question, “Who is it that you worship, Larry, the Gift or the Giver?”

In Genesis, God asked Abraham the same question. God asked Abraham to decide who it was that he would worship, the Gift (Isaac) or the Giver (God). At various points in our lives, we will all answer this question, and the answer will determine how we live life. Worshiping the Gift will only make us bitter, angry, cold, and unhappy. Worshiping the Giver will make us loving, caring, generous, and compassionate. Worshiping God, the Giver, enables us to live in the presence of a loving and giving God whose abundant generosity is always available to us.

~Larry Sykora

Reflection

So far in your life, especially during times of loss or crisis, how have you answered the question, “Whom do you worship?” When have you trusted God and when have you chosen something else?

Challenge

Think of someone you know who has gone through tragedy and still has clearly trusted God and has remained positive and hopeful. Talk with the person and ask him or her these questions: How were you able to get through this? What role did faith play?

From A Generous Life: 28 Days of Devotion. Copyright © 2019 Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.

Then Jesus said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourself against all kinds of greed. After all, one’s life isn’t determined by one’s possessions, even when someone is very wealthy.” Then he told them a parable: “A certain rich man’s land produced a bountiful crop. He said to himself, What will I do? I have no place to store my harvest! Then he thought, Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. That’s where I’ll store all my grain and goods. I’ll say to myself, You have stored up plenty of goods, enough for several years. Take it easy! Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.” (Luke 12:15-19 CEB)

Most of us have experienced that feeling of relief when, after a time of hard work, we can finally take a breath. Our work is done, and now it is time to enjoy the fruits of our labor. We look forward to taking a drive in our new car, treating ourselves to a fancy dinner, and being able to eat, drink, and be merry, much like the Rich Fool of the parable found in Luke 12.

This idea sounds great, right? But Jesus tells the crowd, with harsh criticism, God’s thoughts on greed:

“But God said to him, ‘Fool, tonight you will die. Now who will get the things you have prepared for yourself?’ This is the way it will be for those who hoard things for themselves and aren’t rich toward God.” (Luke 12:20-21 CEB)

The Rich Fool will die, and the stuff he has accumulated will be worthless to him. Ouch! Seems that although the Rich Fool had amassed substantial wealth, he forgot to acknowledge God’s role in his success. Instead of expressing gratitude to God for his abundance, he became complacent. He had become self-reliant rather than relying on God.

The journey of generosity begins with a fundamental understanding that God is the source of everything. Our relationships, skills, and even our wealth are blessings from our Creator. Being sealed by faith means we understand we are not self-made, but God-made. Finding our way home involves giving the glory and thanks to God for his eternal generosity.

~Kristine Miller

Reflection

Can you recall a time when you became complacent and self-reliant? What happened to remind you of God’s provision in your life? How do you acknowledge your dependence on God and give thanks?

Challenge

Try spending an entire day being attentive to all the ways in which God has provided for you. Keep a list in your journal and reflect on each one. Did you notice that while you’re listing your blessings, they keep coming? How can you express your gratitude to God?

From A Generous Life: 28 Days of Devotion. Copyright © 2019 Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.

One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” (John 6:8-9 NRSV)

It is likely the little boy who gave up his five loaves and two fish never forgot the encounter with Jesus! He had heard the men asking if anyone had any food. He had the lunch his mother had prepared. What should he do? With a child’s open and generous heart, he opened his bag and shared his lunch with them. Imagine his surprise. He thought he was giving away his lunch, but discovered he was being invited to a feast that would feed thousands! In Jesus’ hands, that lunch became a banquet.

Donna and Gary, a childless couple in their early forties, consented to be chairpersons of their church’s capital campaign. As requested, each day they prayed the campaign prayer: “Lord, what do you want to do through us?” Nobody knew, but they had been saving for a thirty-five-foot camping trailer for several years. The time had come to make the purchase, and as they were driving to the dealer, they looked at each other and asked, “What are we doing?” They discovered God’s answer to their campaign prayer was to postpone the purchase of a trailer and contribute their savings to the campaign.

God’s leading to Donna and Gary was sealed by faith when they chose to sacrifice for their church’s campaign. Not only did their response impact them, but it had a huge impact on their church. It was not just about the money. When they told their story, the impact of their faithful response to God’s answer to their prayers inspired heart-searching prayers from other members of their church family.

Sealing God’s answer to our prayer with faith is a critical step in the journey of generosity.

A year later in a follow-up conversation with the leaders of the campaign at their church, I learned that Donna and Gary had been blessed with a “miracle child.” I called and visited with them on the phone. Joyfully, they told me of the birth of their daughter. They had all but given up hope they could ever have a family! What an amazing God we serve.

~Gregory McGarvey

Reflection

How did the boy’s experience that day impact his faith and living in years to come? Have you ever given a gift and discovered it opened a door to new relationships or experiences you could not have imagined?

Challenge

Pray with intention: “Lord, what do you want to do through me?”

From A Generous Life: 28 Days of Devotion. Copyright © 2019 Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”

“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. (Mark 10:17-22 NIV)

He came to the correct person, Jesus, and he asked about the correct subject, eternal life. But when Jesus responds, “Why do you call me good? ... No one is good—except God alone” (v. 18), it seems strange. Most of us probably think Jesus is good, so what is Jesus attempting to teach that young man? The lesson Jesus is teaching is that in order to get eternal life, doing good or being good is not enough.

Jesus goes on to remind the young man of the commandments that the young man had already accomplished. At first the young man is elated. He thinks he is in! “Teacher, ... all these I have kept since I was a boy” (v. 20). You can just imagine him pumping his fist and exclaiming “I made it!”

Peering into him and loving him, Jesus says, “One thing you lack. ... Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (v. 21).

The young man finds himself at a crossroads and has to answer the question we all face. Do we believe our future will be good because God is with us? Or do we believe our future is secure because our portfolio is diversified enough and our assets are allocated sufficiently? Simply put, is our faith placed in God or in our stuff?

In the end, the young man allowed his possessions to own him, and he missed life. God asked to be loved more than the young man’s stuff, and the young man was not able to do it.

~Dale McConnell

Reflection

What is at the center of your life—God or your possessions?

Challenge

Take a personal inventory of all of your possessions. In your journal, reflect on the question, “Is there anything I would be unable to give up if God asked me to?”

From A Generous Life: 28 Days of Devotion. Copyright © 2019 Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.

And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:38 ESV)

Mary received the angel’s message and had to make a life-changing decision. Imagine the courage and faith it took for Mary to choose to “let it be.” Her decision would release her into a new direction and change her life, and ours, forever.

Often we are called to make difficult and life-changing decisions. Seeking God’s wisdom may result in a change in direction or giving up on dreams and plans we have made. For Mary, her decision to “let it be” created challenges for her socially, culturally, religiously, and personally. If she chose to live according to God’s will, her life would be changed forever. Despite all the challenges, Mary made the choice to “let it be” according to the call of God.

Repeating a phrase in prayer may make it live within us. It’s like a favorite piece of music that we can play over and over again in our head. It soon becomes part of us. “I am the servant of the Lord” was such a phrase for Mary, spoken first at one of the biggest moments in her life. In times of prayer, a sentence like that can occupy mind and heart and raise us closer to God. For example:

There will be an answer, let it be ...
Whisper words of wisdom, let it be ...

Allow these words, keeping in mind Mary’s words to the angel, to play repeatedly in your head and become a part of you. Like Mary, choose to become a servant of the Lord, and “let it be.”

~Tom Melzoni

Reflection

What does God have in mind for you? In what way, like Mary, are you to bear good news to others and be empowered by the Holy Spirit?

Challenge

Find your phrase and pray to seek God’s will for you. If you say “Yes!” the work of God will be brought forward. Like Mary, say, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Let your gift be a response to God’s messenger in your life.

From A Generous Life: 28 Days of Devotion. Copyright © 2019 Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.

by Stephanie Heifner

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things for them.”
The Lord has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like the watercourses in the Negeb.
May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
Those who go out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.
-Psalm 126 (NRSV)

After about 19 months of enduring the pandemic and the derecho, we've experienced much loss. We’ve experienced the loss of our friends’ lives. We’ve witnessed the suffering of those who were very ill. We lived through a storm that changed our city. We’ve been isolated. We’ve missed out on gatherings and traditions. Perhaps we’ve even survived Covid ourselves. As much as we wish it was over, and while some normalcy has returned, it still lingers on, without vaccines available for the young, and the occurrence of breakthrough infections for the vaccinated.

We’ve all felt some loss, loneliness. We remember the way things used to be, when we were laughing and joyful. We want to go back to that time. We’re weary of this, we just want things the same again!

But nostalgia blurs our memories. We remember the good parts clearly, but the not-so-good parts fade away. There have been many ways the pandemic has highlighted the cracks in our society. The security of the safety net of those with privilege and the tenuousness of that of others.

The trees that fell in the derecho--some were very old. They’d been there as long as we could remember, offering the shade of their branches, fruit from their limbs, and a home for many species of living things. And then they fell and will never stand again. But as the remains of fallen trees break down, they feed other life--fungus and insects and ultimately, brand new trees.

Shall we be active participants in restoring our community to a better existence for all? What can we let pass away in order to nurture our future? Are we open to partnering with God and others to help it grow?

We rightly hope in God, because we remember the goodness of what God has done for us in the past. We believe in the possibility, because we’ve seen it before.

May we be like those who dream. May our tears be sown into a harvest of joy! Amen

Devotion written by Stephanie Heifner for the October 6th St. Paul's United Methodist Women's Harvest of Hope meal and program.

References: Feasting on the Word Year B, Volume 1; Year C, Volume 2

Image credit: Nicholas A. Tonelli from Northeast Pennsylvania, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.

By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see. (Hebrews 11:1-3 MSG)

A few years ago, while traveling in Long Island, I found myself in downtown New York City at 10:00 at night with the gas gauge below a quarter of a tank. I had missed the exit I was supposed to take, and the GPS kept saying the words I hear so often—rerouting-rerouting-rerouting. I kept turning, kept on following, and went through some areas that probably weren’t the best places to get stuck. Sometimes the GPS would say to turn, and the road would be closed for construction—rerouting-rerouting-rerouting.

As I was traveling down an alley, I looked up, and lo and behold I was right beneath the Brooklyn Bridge! Finally, the GPS had gotten me safely to my hotel. Needless to say, I offered prayers of thanksgiving.

Sounds a lot like life for some of us, doesn’t it? Maybe you have made similar mistakes in life, some choices that were not the best. Maybe you have felt lost and in a “bad place.” Maybe you know where you want to go or should go, but you just don’t have a clue how to get there. And all the while God is saying to each of us, “You may not know the way, but I do. I know exactly where you are, and I will lead you home.” You may get sidetracked, you may take a wrong turn, and you may get completely lost, but God always knows exactly where you are and will lead you home.

~Scott McKenzie

Reflection

Are you pounding the steering wheel of life in frustration because you are not headed where you want to go? Right now, are you looking around and saying, “This isn’t where I want to be”?

Challenge

Pray for God’s guidance. Ask God to help you trust in him. Beware, God may say, “rerouting-rerouting-rerouting.”

From A Generous Life: 28 Days of Devotion. Copyright © 2019 Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9 NIV)

Most of us are good at the first baby step of prayer. It is easy to ask God to do something! Unfortunately, after the asking, we think that we are finished; we think that since we have already asked, we are expected to do nothing more.

The first step in any journey is critical. We do need to ask in order to receive. But asking is just the first step. It takes many more steps to continue a real journey of prayer.

Jesus offers his disciples a model for such a prayer journey. Ask—yes, of course! But then seek. And finally, knock on the doors that you find.

Seeking God’s will is much more work than simply asking; seeking takes time, attention, listening, looking, searching. That journey of prayer will lead us far past asking, deep into new paths of seeking God’s way for our lives. Along those paths we will discover doorways—places where choices and decisions must be made. Do we have the courage and commitment to knock on those doors? And when those new doorways are opened, will we step into a new way of life?

Simply asking demands little of us. Seeking means searching for God’s will in our lives, and such seeking will undoubtedly change us—redirecting us in God’s way. Knocking on the doors that God would open to us may well lead us down paths that we never imagined! We do not know what God has in store for us when we begin such a journey, but one thing is certain: such a journey of prayer will change our lives. After all, changing us has always been the real power of prayer.

~Mick Tune

Reflection

Are you seeking God’s will? Have you asked God to lead you down God’s paths and open doors?

Challenge

During your prayer time, write down in your journal what you are asking and what you are given, what you are seeking and what you are finding, what doors you knock upon and what is opened to you.

From A Generous Life: 28 Days of Devotion. Copyright © 2019 Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.

One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them. (Luke 6:12-13 NIV)

A close friend of mine has an adult child who spent several years running from God. It wasn’t a series of short sprints either, but more like a marathon. Alcohol and recreational drugs were an easy trap for someone with addictive tendencies and family history. New relationships always turned into broken relationships, and her two boys were pulled through the pain. She bounced in and out of rehab programs while her family kept encouraging her, loving her, and praying for her. For almost a decade, they wept through every setback, they scooped up the kids for time with the rest of the family, they kept believing that God wanted her to be free from the bondage, and they kept praying.

Because I am one who has trouble remembering to pray for things for more than about a week, I can’t even wrap my head around “praying it through” for almost ten years. Maybe that’s why I usually only see God make the impossible become possible through the prayers of others. You guessed it—my friend’s daughter is a new creation. She has new purpose and direction in her life. She is chasing after God and expressing God’s love back to those who stayed beside her, fought for her, and refused to stop praying.

Whenever I read these verses in Luke 6, I wonder about the mystery of prayer and what I might be missing. This is Jesus, the Son of God. Seems like he was well equipped to select the twelve apostles from among his disciples, on his own, right? Instead, he waited for this moment when he had spent the whole night praying to God.

~Richard L. Rogers

Reflection

Why do you think Jesus spent so much time praying? Is there a major decision or situation that you should be praying about? Is there someone who desperately needs you to be praying for them?

Challenge

Take a picture of something that represents who or what you need to be praying for as if someone’s depending on it. Then make that picture the lockscreen image on your phone to remind you.

From A Generous Life: 28 Days of Devotion. Copyright © 2019 Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.

Then he said, “Your name won’t be Jacob any longer, but Israel, because you struggled with God and with men and won.” (Genesis 32:28 CEB)

Prayer is not always easy!

Nancy was eagerly anticipating her retirement as an elementary school teacher when her pastor asked if she would consider developing a Sunday morning program for special needs children. Her first thought was, naturally, “This isn’t how I imagined spending my first year of retirement.” Reluctantly, she agreed to pray. Nancy prayed, wrestling with God, and in the end, instead of spending her first year traveling, gardening, and doing all of the things she had long dreamed of, she spent her time pulling together a curriculum for families and their special needs children. She continually asked herself why she agreed to do this.

On the Sunday of the program’s launch six families and their special needs children attended the first class. Three months later, all six families joined the church, and the children were baptized. Nancy sat in the back pew, a smile lighting her face. She hadn’t traveled much, and her garden still had weeds, but she wouldn’t change a thing.

Like Jacob, the willingness to struggle in prayer and step out in faith transformed Nancy’s life.

Transformation defines us as followers of Jesus. Usually, as with Nancy and Jacob, transformation comes with struggle. We wrestle with God, sometimes through the wee hours of the night and always through prayer, and this prayerful wrestling changes us.

Faithful giving and generosity are not always what we naturally do. Faithful giving and generosity are prayerful struggles that define who we are, or rather, who God calls us to be. Prayerfully wrestling with God about who God wants us to be changes everything about us.

~R. Craig Miller

Reflection

Have you ever felt God asking you to change? When are times that you have struggled with God? Who serves as an example for you when you resist God?

Challenge

Search your heart and find where you are currently struggling with God (if it isn’t obvious). Spend an hour with no distractions in “prayerful wrestling.”

From A Generous Life: 28 Days of Devotion. Copyright © 2019 Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. (Matthew 1:24-25 ESV)

Have you ever had a restless night in the midst of trying to make a significant decision? I can remember many sleepless nights tossing and turning seeking peace—praying, weeping and often getting up walking the floor. Some of those restless nights revolved around financial issues: the purchase of a home or car, new career opportunities, or how generous I should be to the church or other great ministries. During those hours I would pray and pray and pray even more seeking peace. My preacher dad would often say, “Pray the night through until you find peace!”

Generosity is a decision and should be rooted deeply in prayer. My grandmother would say, “What is in the well comes up in the bucket.” Prayer deepens our well of generosity. Giving comes from deep within us. Praying enables us to connect with God and listen for God’s will.

Joseph was seeking peace about his relationship with Mary. His fiancée, whom he greatly loved, was with child, and he was not the father. Deciding what to do was a life-changing decision and required much prayer. In stressful exhaustion he fell asleep, and an angel (a messenger from God) gave him a path forward. Joseph’s decision had become one of obedience to God.

Generosity begins as a response to God. This response is most often an act of faith. In the end, Joseph acted on faith and because of his faithful response to the call of God, the world was forever changed. The call to generosity begins with prayer and moves through faith. In the end, we are forever changed and, just maybe, the world is too.

~Tom Melzoni

Reflection

Do you remember a decision about generosity in your life? Did the decision require obedience to God’s call? How did God speak to you?

Challenge

Pray: “God, how much should I keep of your generous blessings in my life?” This is a different kind of prayer. Respond by giving what you don’t keep to impact a life, a church, and a world.

From A Generous Life: 28 Days of Devotion. Copyright © 2019 Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.

“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.” (Genesis 12:2 NIV)

It was during an official ceremony at the Balad Air Base, Iraq, in 2011, that I remember singing “God Bless America,” thinking to myself how fortunate I was to live in “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” I found myself standing a little taller, my chest swelling with pride knowing that that evening I would have a comfortable place to sleep and a bountiful buffet of food waiting for my next meal at the DFAC (dining facility). Waiting for my return back in Arkansas were a devoted wife and a very supportive church. I was not alone that day in feeling blessed. This was not the case, however, with everyone in attendance at that ceremony. There were those who had left their finances in a mess, those who had left a relationship in shambles, and still others who were struggling with issues of loneliness.

Try to imagine what would happen if the “blessed” of this world took seriously God’s announcement to Abraham that they were to pass along his blessings. Prayerful willingness is the starting point. Abraham said yes and the world was changed. Saying yes might mean the “blessed” help take on the burdens of the homeless, the hungry, and those who have fallen on hard times. The apostle Paul wrote to the Roman church, “Those ... strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter” (Romans 15:1 MSG). How much effort would it take to lift the spirits of the downtrodden? What would a blessing look like to those who feel alienated from society?

~Chaplain (Colonel) Walter L. Smith, USAF (Ret.)

Reflection

Surely there has been a time in your life when you thought, “I’m so blessed.” Do you remember the feeling that overcame you? Was it in response to an unexpected gift or a second chance? Is God calling you to be a blessing? Will you say yes?

Challenge

Go to your list of blessings in your journal. Pray for guidance and ask, “Is there a way that one or two of my blessings could be used by God as a blessing for others?” In your journal, write about what need in your community or in your church you might help with because of your blessings.

From A Generous Life: 28 Days of Devotion. Copyright © 2019 Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.

We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia; for during a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. (2 Corinthians 8:1-2 NRSV)

Although he had a job that provided a predictable income, Devon felt like he was always struggling to make ends meet. He felt imprisoned by expenses that siphoned off what would be his discretionary income. Now he was faced not only with that persistent sense of shortage but also with his church’s annual campaign and its catchy theme about generosity. Certainly, he wanted to commit and participate with others in the congregation to help the church afford its ministries. Yet, he felt embarrassed and angry at himself for not being able to give anything.

His sadness and guilt were intensified when the pastor spoke the passage above from 2 Corinthians on the first Sunday of the annual campaign. Despite the pastor’s analysis, those women in Macedonia must not have been as impoverished as they pretended to be, and certainly not as limited as he was. He remembered reading long ago the words of Anne Frank: “You can always—always—give something, even if it’s a simple act of kindness!”* But they’re not looking for kindness right now, he thought, as he reflected on her words.

As Devon was walking his dog that evening, it dawned on him that he was focused on himself, not on God or the provisions that God persistently makes for him. That’s how God expresses his love for me, he realized. The words from his pastor last Sunday included ones commonly attributed to the fourteenth-century Christian mystic, Meister Eckhart: “And suddenly you know: it’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.” And so began Devon’s entry into prayer realizing that God was nudging him toward something new.

~Sanford D. Coon

Reflection

When have you felt trapped by scarcity? Has abundance ever felt out of reach for you? How might grateful recognition of God’s persistent provisions be transformative toward generosity?

Challenge

In prayerful mindfulness, identify three things right now for which you are grateful to God. Pause three more times through the course of today to practice this discipline. Continue it tomorrow and beyond and throughout any interval in which you feel limited by scarcity.

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From A Generous Life: 28 Days of Devotion. Copyright © 2019 Abingdon Press. All rights reserved.