Devotions
A weekly devotion by Laurie Hampton. Created to encourage women to find peace, grace, and hope in Christ Jesus, to inspire women to live authentic, not perfect, lives, and to point them to Jesus to heal and beautify their brokenness.
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Motherhood in the Dash
Bible Verse: He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Revelation 21:4-5a Song: Big House By clicking the above song title, you will be directed to a video of our worship song for today. Hope you enjoy this song selected specifically to go along with our devotion! The wait is the really hard part. The missing and the waiting. Ten years ago, my sister lost her only son. I know that Mother’s Day is a really,…
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The Profound Impact of Connection
Bible Verse: “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. Also, if two lies down together they will keep warm. But how can you keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Eat your vegetables, drink plenty of water and get enough sleep. Our need for connection is as fundamental as our need for food, water, and sleep. Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater poverty than the person…
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New Wine
“No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good'” (Luke 5:36-39) Wineskins were made of goatskins. Because new wine expands as it ages, it has to be put into something…
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Remember the Sabbath
“If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the Lord’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the Lord, and I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 58:13-14 (NIV) The Sabbath does not have to be something we wait for Sunday to observe. …
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Soul Retreat
Truly my soul finds rest in God; My salvation comes from Him. Psalm 62:1 For years I have struggled with the concept of having a set quiet time with God. Honestly, I think that I simply did not “get it”. I would do it when I had time, when I felt like it or when I was desperate. It was more like an item on my To Do list or a chore. Don’t get me wrong, I often had a quiet time with God, it was just not consistent, and I struggled with the “heart” of my quiet time. Well, last year I finally figured it out. So, what changed? My…
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The Pampered Cows of Bashan
Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!”. Amos 4:1 I don’t know why, but when I read that verse it made me think of the line from Napoleon Dynamite “Tina, you fat lard, come get some dinner!”. Either way, I cannot think of even one woman who would appreciate being called fat lard or a cow. To put the “cow” reference in context, let’s remember Amos is a herdsman and is familiar with these animals. As you read through the book of Amos, you will see quite a…
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Same Kind Of Human
Same Kind of Human – [1] Today I learned a new term, “Survival Sex.” Many people believe that prostitution is a choice. That cannot be further from the truth. Prostitution is the result of lack of choice, and it exists amongst the most marginalized, vulnerable and defenseless. [2] It is time we changed the way our society looks at prostitution. Christine McDonald, in her book “The Same Kind of Human,” challenges us to look beyond our preconceptions and consider the human behind the circumstances of need. She challenges us to see them as God see’s them, with love and compassion and understanding and then to help them, recognizing that they…
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Broken Vessels
Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. Isaiah 1:17 Human trafficking. The very phrase seems incomprehensible, and yet the sale of souls in our world today is a reality that is as widespread as it is horrifying. Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery – for purposes of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, or organ trafficking. It is an evil that profits billions of dollars and enslaves millions of people. And it is happening everywhere – all around the world and within our own communities. – — (Taken from Alliance for Freedom, Restoration, and…
