Sept 2, 2025 – Who and What

I made copies of the devotions from Power Thoughts to bring pages rather than a book with me and today is the last day of those. I was planning to copy pages from each day that I’d be away from all of my devotion books, but I let time get away from me as the departure day approached and didn’t get to the other books. I tend to think of things, like copying, packing, etc, way in advance (and therefore don’t do them because it’s too early) or at the last minute (because I didn’t do it way in advance). I don’t really have an in-between prep mode. I think that’s leftover from diaper bag days.

Before kids, I was an on-time or appropriately early person. I didn’t need extra prep time because my time was my own, but once I started thinking for everyone (including the dog), my ADD brain was stretched and I had to learn new ways. And then, just as I was figuring out how to juggle so many other lives, I was back to just being me to consider (well, and the dog and the rental houses and my father for a while…I try to let Don figure most of his stuff out himself and I also try to not get frustrated when he doesn’t! Mainly because he doesn’t get too frustrated with my many shortcomings.) Mom-prep and mom-love make me think of God’s love which segues well into today’s Power Thoughts devotion:

Power – “Once you believe God’s love is based on Who He is and what Jesus has done and not on what you do, the struggle is over.” I tend to think of my relationship with God as more parental than friend oriented. So many times, when my kids were young, I would say something to them (have I already mentioned this), and then would look up to God and say, “I know. That was for me.”  Those realizations really did help me in understanding how much He wanted to help me and how He could love me so unconditionally (like I do my children and all of the dogs I’ve had).

My parenting experiences helped me lean in to asking for and trusting His guidance. That’s what I think my children have done as they have matured. They know my intentions are good in offering help and advice; so, they take what works for them and they tell me they heard me on the rest (and I’m, mostly, able to then drop the subject and let them be!) I guess the friend part of our relationship with God is sort of like how we grow (or can grow) into a friendship of sorts with our children. We are many things to our children just as God is many things to us.

Utmost – “If we believe in Jesus, it is not what we gain, but what He pours through us that counts….hundreds of other lives will be continually refreshed.”