Day 22: Random Masterpiece or Controlled Creation?

Copyright © 2016 by Michelle Lores

 

A box of dark iron nails.

 A plank of rough, unfinished wood.

Two canisters of paint—

One aqua, one red.

 

A white button.

 Some old rusted wire.

Some twigs, a leaf—

Some bark from a tree.

 

What would you make with these items?

Would you think to make anything at all?

 

If I had them, I would create a piece of art.

 

 

By themselves, these items seem simple—

Some only good to throw away.

 

But TOGETHER,

These individual, seemingly unrelated things have the potential to become a piece of art—

A creator’s masterpiece.

 

The things that happen in our lives can seem disjointed sometimes.  They may not fit into what we think would make a beautiful picture.

But God is a Master at taking something as dull and lifeless as ashes and breathing His life into them—making something beautiful (Isaiah 61:3).

When we belong to God, He promises us that no matter what happens, He will take it and use it for our good—to make us more like Jesus, His perfect and holy Son.

 

So what is my cup of SonShine for today?

To trust in the goodness of God.

To believe that He is for me because I belong to Him, and

To rejoice NO MATTER WHAT happens, because I know that God will masterfully take everything and work it for my good—that I may become more like Jesus.

 

“O Heavenly Father,

You are so good.

Thank You for reminding me.  Please, Lord, give me the courage and the faith I need to stand on Your promises and rejoice even in the face of heartache, fear, failure, and the attack of negative thoughts from the enemy.

Lord, please keep reminding me that my battle is NOT against flesh and blood, but against the evil forces of the spiritual realm.

Father, You are so GOOD.

Thank You, Dear Lord.

I love You.

In Jesus’ Precious and Wonderful Name, Amen.”

Day 21: To Love the Children

Copyright © 2016 by Michelle Lores

 

Big strapping babies

Learning to crawl,

Learning to stand—

Can you keep up with it all?

 

Reaching for things—

Going here, going there.

You are at your wit’s end.

Sometimes you feel like pulling out your hair.  : 0
 

 

But then you realize

Every moment is worth it.

All the joys and even the tears—

You know you wouldn’t give up a minute.

 

Why?

Because you’re a parent.

You’ve inherited a special blessing—

A little one that is heaven sent.

 

It isn’t always easy,

It isn’t even always fun.

But you know it’s worth every moment—

To give your love and time to your daughter or your son.

 

 

“Father, thank You for the gift of children. 

Thank You for the parents you have chosen to give them to.

Father, I pray for families in my community, my state, my country, and all over the world—we all need You.

We need You to give us the love, the patience, the heart, and the desire to love one another selflessly.

As parents, we need to come to You for wisdom and guidance and all that we need to stop and just be there for our kids. 

They need us—just our presence. 

A listening ear.  A caring hug.  A concerned heart. 

The willingness to spend time with them and show an interest in who they are and what they like. 

They need us in order to grow up strong.  They need to know they have their parent’s love and support.  It helps so much.

Even as aunts and uncles, older sisters and brothers, friends of the family, and caring members of our communities, we can all play a part in bringing up our kids right.

Lord, help us remember to stop and take time to love. 

Our kids need us to grow up strong. 

And may we point them to You with our love, words, and actions. 

May they be drawn to You by what they see in us.

We can change lives one little person at a time when we invest ourselves—our time and our love—in the hearts of our young ones. 

They all need to be loved. 

And, Lord, You love them all.

Open our eyes to how we can brighten a young one’s day today, pointing the way to You with our actions and words of love.

And Lord, please—help us to listen more than we interject—that they may know we care about them and who they are and who they are becoming.

Show us the time to listen and the time to give guidance, and let us not confuse the two.

I love You, Lord. 

Help us love the children You have put in our lives, that they may grow up to walk with You.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

 

What is my cup of SonShine for today?

To love the children and young people in my life in every possible way that God sets before me today.

“Lord, may I not hold back any good that I can give to these children in Your Name.

In Jesus’ Precious, Holy, and Powerful Name, Amen.”

Day 20: Jesus—The Author of the Story of my Life

Copyright © 2016 by Michelle Lores

 

 

Do you ever not know what to do?

Where do you go?  What do you choose?

 

Today, I will run to Jesus Christ.

The Author of the story of my life.

 

He created the beginning and He knows the end.

He knows it all—it is all in His hand.

 

So, yes!  I will trust Him without being afraid.

I will wait upon the Lord, knowing that plans for me He has made.

 

I will trust Him to reveal which way that I should go.

For He promises wisdom to those who ask in faith that they may know—

 

What is His guidance and direction—His perfect way.

For He has a plan for us to walk in each and every day.

 

What is my cup of SonShine today?

To wait on the Lord when I ask Him for wisdom, fully trusting and believing that He will give it and direct me in the way that I should go, for He has promised wisdom to all who ask, believing without doubt (James 1:5-8).

 

I know that God is faithful and His promises are true,

So today I will trust in Jesus, and in His love for me and you!

 

“Heavenly Father, thank You for Jesus!

Thank You for loving me.

I need You every day, Lord, but there are some days that I need Your guidance and direction in a special way.

 

"Father, please help me today to look to You and wait on You, fully trusting You to guide me and looking to Your Word to be the Light to my path (Psalm 119:105).

Father, You are so good!

I love You, Lord!

May I worship You with my life today.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Day 19: Lord, You are Our Everything

Copyright © 2016 by Michelle Lores

 

Bright Light—

Puffy clouds.

Hot Summer heat.

Lots of people in crowds.

 

“Lord, we are here,

Just to serve You.

Please take our hearts

And make our thoughts, words, and actions holy, righteous, and true.

 

We want to please You, Lord.

Oh, Lord, send us out.

Be the Love in our hearts.

Pour it out through our heart’s spout—

 

To water those in need.

With Your life, love, and hope.

They need You just as we do.

O Lord, may we do so much more than just cope.

 

For we are new creatures in Christ—

More than conquerors in Him.

Lord, we need You for everything.

Oh thank You for saving us from our sin!

 

So use us this day—

Despite all the heat.

Despite every obstacle.

For in You we meet—

 

All that we need.

It is all found in You.

You are our Comfort, patience, satisfaction, and love.

Yes, Lord—all Your promises are true!

 

In Jesus’ Name, Amen!”

 

 

Have you ever been on a mission’s trip?

Or has God ever prompted you to reach out to those around you that you do not know with the message of Jesus Christ in a way that made you uncomfortable?

Did you do it?

Why or why not?

 

Being sent out to proclaim the good news of Jesus is for every believer.

It is part of our job description.

God will call different people to go out in different ways, but we are always to be ready to share why we believe what we do and why we have the hope we have (1 Peter 3:15).

 

God is so good, and Jesus is so amazing!

Don’t you just want to share His good news and His love with everyone you meet and everyone you know?

 

Is Jesus your first love?

Do you love Him so much that it just bubbles over?

 

It is hard sometimes to keep that kind of love alive.

The world is full of so many distractions—and friendship with the world is hostility toward God (James 4:4).  We cannot love the things of the world and love God (1 John 2:15).

 

We must be in the world but not of the world—and love the people in the world, but remain unstained by it (James 1:27).

 

This is for our own good—because, you see, when we love the world, we miss out on all that God has for us—we miss out on living in God’s love. 

 

To remain in Christ Jesus, we must remain in His love.

To remain in His love, we must obey Him.

To have our prayers answered, we must live vitally connected to Him, and have His word vitally alive within us.

(John 15:5-10)

 

God’s Word is so amazing!

We need it to live and thrive!

 

So what is my cup of SonShine today?

To stay in God’s Word for fuel, so I may be alive, full of love for Jesus, be able and willing to obey, and be ready to reach out in love to those around me with the good news of Jesus Christ.

 

“Dear Heavenly Father, may my love for You and my submission to Your word and Your commands keep me away from loving the world.

Lord, I love Your Word.

May nothing keep me from devouring it every day.

You are my Life Source, and I receive the nourishment I need to live and thrive from You in Your Word.

Father, we as Your children need more and more of You every day!

May we never grow tired of Your Word or prayer, for that is how we stay connected to You.

And may we learn how to listen for the promptings of Your Holy Spirit within us, that we may stay in step with You and stay on the narrow path and not the wide path of the world and its destruction.

 

“Father, You are so good!

Make us more like You today, I pray.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen!”

Day 18: Dead Tree

Copyright © 2016 by Michelle Lores

 

A dead tree still stands tall.

But soon, it will fall down.

Watch out!  Don’t get hit!

You won’t hear a sound.

 

Do you feel like that dead tree?

Or are you full of life?

Are you connected to Jesus and His Love?

Or is your heart full of strife?

 

Plug into Jesus.

Accept and LIVE in His Love.

He will give you abundant life.

And peace, hope, and joy from above.

 

How do we do this?

By walking in step with the Holy Spirit—

Our Helper from Jesus.

The One who enables us to soar through it—

 

This life which is so tough at times.

But because we have our Helper,

As God’s children, we have the strength

To do all things through the power of our Great Deliverer.

 

Praise God from whom we receive all good and perfect things—

May we be full of His life.

For it is only found in Jesus.

We as God’s children are Jesus’ Bride.

 

Marriage reflects our relationship with Jesus.

O may our marriages be full of respect and love,

That our lives may point back to the Creator of marriage—

Our God from up above!

 

In Jesus’ Name, may you be full of His life today!

In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

 

God is so good, isn’t He?  I just got back from my first mission’s trip.  My church went to the inner city for an overnight trip.  We did a lot in a little more than 24 hours, were out in 97 degree weather, and got a touch of heat exhaustion—but it was so worth it!

The people I met are in my heart!  I love them, and I long to go back and build deeper relationships with them, so they can truly come to know a life lived with Jesus.

But we can bring the good news right here to the lost and hurting in our own town.

To show some love, to be willing to listen and pray, and to be willing to share the truth in gentleness and with respect, these are our privileges as Believers and Followers of Christ.

May we be full of the Life of Christ Jesus today, that we may bring it to others!

 

What is my cup of SonShine today?

To be full of the Life of Christ that I may bring it to those God places in my path today.

God has given us the power to love one person at a time—each person we come into contact with.

 

“O Father, please make us faithful and loving and patient and kind. 

May we not be like a dead tree with no life in it that is just going to hurt someone when it falls down.

May we be like a lush vine branch that is green because we are connected to You.

Only by staying in Your Word and in prayer can we continue to stay in Your Love, following You and obeying You by the power of Your Holy Spirit.

O Father, You are SO GOOD to us!

Thank You for Your Love!

Thank You for Jesus!

Thank You for making us!

I love You, Lord.

I love You SO MUCH!!!

Thank You for being so very good to me!

 

"Thank You for putting us all on the same level.

We are all the same, no matter what, as long as we are human.

 

"For we all have souls.

We all sin.

We all need a Savior.

And, Jesus, You are Him!

 

For God, You love us all—

No matter what we see

As humans looking on the outside—

In Christ we can say, ‘You have recreated me.’

 

We are all on one level.

We all need Jesus.

God loves us ALL no matter what!

And it is because of this love that Jesus came to save us!

 

 

“Heavenly Father, thank You so much for Jesus!

I love You, Lord!

Make us alive in Your love today, and unify all of Your people in Your love—regardless of our differences.

We face very real evil, and we need to join together as believers in Christ in the bond of Your love and unity. 

Father, may we love one another, and continue to grow in You and reach out to those who do not yet know You.

We ALL need You, and may we never withhold Your love from anyone, be they friend or foe, good or bad, ally or enemy.

May we pray for one another as we are in this world.

Use us as salt to season and as lights to shine and reflect You!

In Jesus’ Name!

Lord, You are so good!

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”