Today is Wednesday, poem day! August 31, 2022 Here is a lesson about God’s plan for you and me, as taught by flowers and a Robin.

God has a plan. He gets to choose how flowers dress in rainbow hues. One flower to the other said. “How come I’m purple and you’re red?” Red then replied, “I have no clue.” They both decided, since confused, to ask how colors were infused. The robin heard and shook his head. “God has a plan. I’ve heard it said.” The bird explained and gave this news: “God chose to make us diff’rent hues, of gifts and talents we should use to help each other walk life’s tread. Though we peruse, we forge ahead. God has a plan.

I hope you have a good day!

Copyright 2020-2022 Christina Crute

Each day we take a journey, closer to our time on earth being done. That is not something to mourn, but to celebrate! God has given us another day to serve Him here on earth. Know what is important to do every single day we have left?

Ask Jesus to search our souls. You know how dust builds up in a house every day? So our souls gather dust from this world. Without realizing it, we pick up invisible attitudes, grudges, feelings of pride. These hinder us from being all that we can be in Christ.

To put it simply…they dirty our soul by hiding in corners and under parts of our soul. God showed me that I was dusty in my soul; I was holding a grudge and didn’t realize it. It affected how I treated my family. So…

I think we had best “Go big or go home” when it comes to being a Christian. We only have a limited number of days. Why not be REAL and SINCERE and ALL OUT? Isn’t that what Jesus did? What if we use every opportunity to serve people in those relationships… without any “dust” and with “soul deep” purpose. How do we do this?

It’s simple actually. We maintain a soul-focused view.

First, we invite Jesus into our own soul. We ask Him to inhabit, clean, forgive, dwell in, mentor and guide our souls to do His will. We make a clean start every single day!

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Ephesians 3:16-17a

Second, we care for other people’s souls. Every person we know or meet has a soul. That soul will be happiest when it knows Jesus. Really praying for them and asking God how to reach them and serve them and tell them about Him must be our heart’s desire. He who is faithful will help us do His will here!

Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.” Psalm 25:8-10

Thirdly and finally, reside in confidence that God is faithful to us. He always hears us, always answers us and always loves us. Even when we mess up, and we all do, He forgives and forgets when we repent. He never stops loving us. We will never be perfect. God does not expect that. He does, however, expect our effort to come from a righteous heart, meaning our desire and effort is to do our best with Him in control of our soul.

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills [his purpose] for me. Psalm 57:1-2

What a great prayer for us to pray each day. With love from the Father, I hope you have a soul-full day:)

Christina

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.1 John 5:14-15

Here is a video that is an encouraging song we can pray! Katy Kinard does a beautiful job with this reverent, lovely offering from our souls and mouths to Jesus. Listen and sing and pray at the same time. May God bless your day and prayer life!

With love from the Savior to You, I pray You have a blessed day!

Christina Crute

Copyright 2019-2022 Christina Crute

Good Morning, Happy Wednesday! Today is a Poem Day! August 24, 2022

We walk into eternity each day, with clocks and feet that measure out our way. As time surrounds our path that leads us home, we yearn to glimpse our Lord upon His throne. He knows just when our time on earth is o’er and when our need for clocks is nevermore.

I wrote this because I realized that the Lord knows exactly what time all the events in our life will happen. We can tell time here on earth in the present but only God knows our future and that is comforting! He knows exactly what time He will call us home and exactly how much time we have left, even though there is no need for clocks in heaven:)

Have a great day!

Christina Crute

Copyright 2020-2022 Christina Crute

 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 NIV

This may sound like a strange title, but I could think of no better way to describe how to pray from the soul. Last Monday, we searched our souls by applying God’s Word to them. After searching, we may have found some things we need to pray about, so today, let’s learn how to Pray the Soul.

First things first, we ALL need to pray, in good times bad times or somewhere in-between. Communication with God is our lifeline. We will become spiritually dead without it. That sounds dire, huh? It really is vital that we talk to God from our souls. Here are some ways to do that, so we can grow spiritually and do God’s will as we were meant to do. Grab your journal or just consider these…

1.Prepare the practice of prayer. With your own situation in mind, list some ways you can make it easy and convenient to pray. For example, I leave my Bible, journal, pen and a couple devotionals out each night. I leave a sticky note pad out for things the Lord brings to mind while I read His Word. What things can YOU do?

2. Prepare your soul. This is what we did last week, searched our souls. This prepares us to be able to receive whatever He wants to tell us. He always speaks, if we are quiet and obedient to listen and expect His voice. Open your soul to His inspection and let Him in. What do you want to thank Him for? What situation do you have that requires His authority and divine help?

3. Practice prayer every chance you get. Practice while you are driving, (but don’t close your eyes,) Practice while you are housecleaning, cooking, doing laundry, remember your BEST FRIEND is right there with you! Pray out loud and talk to Him from your soul, with your soul, because of your soul. Go deep, go real, go home to Him. How will you get more practice praying? What quiet time will you set aside for just Jesus? What times will you pray while you are doing your day? (His day)

These are just some ideas the Lord has laid on my heart. I hope they encourage you to pray more and deeper and with expectancy, reverence and thankfulness. I was at a point, a couple of years ago, where I wanted to get really real about prayer. I was tired of saying the same words every time. So, I started searching my soul…

I knew that the Lord was putting more effort in than I was. That inspired this soul searching and prayer emphasis that I have been meaning to write about. Anyhow, the enemy fought me on it, but I fought back and will keep fighting back. Remember…

We only need to pray on days that we are imperfect.

Lord Jesus,

Thank You for showing me how special my time with You can be. Help me to resist the enemy’s lies that ” it takes too much time” or that “skipping one day won’t matter.” Please accept my imperfect prayer life and use it to guide me as You know I need. I will talk to You later, probably all day while I do this day you gave me. Thank you for being an obedient servant and showing me how to be one. I love You. Amen

Just an idea that was/is a game-changer for me…It is helpful to write out your prayers. For me, it is easier to let go on paper and let my thoughts spill out in ink. It’s also helpful to go back and read the prayers and see how God carried me through and helped me learn! The writer in me loves new journals, but it’s mostly because I love writing about God more than anything:)

I love you all with the love of the Lord. Have a great and prayer-full day!

Christina

Copyright 2019-2022 Christina Crute

Happy Friday! Here is today’s devotion, a video and prayer. May you be encouraged and filled with His love. May we always long for the Lord. August 19, 2022

Robin Mark sings a song based on this verse. Sing along and feel your soul’s desire for the only One who can feed it, make it strong, forgive it. God’s plan is awesome, isn’t it?

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? Psalm 42:1-2

Have a great day, glorifying Him in every little way you can!

With love from our Father,

Christina

Good Morning! Happy Wednesday! Here is a poem for today! August 17, 2022

How many oceans would I need to cross, to equal the breadth of God’s care for the lost? How many skylines would I need to span, to equal the length of God’s mercy for man? How many valleys need I travel down, to equal the depth of God’s grace that abounds? How many mountains would I need to climb, to equal the height of God’s love so divine? God’s Word tells us this. His love has no end. It’s way beyond knowledge on which we depend. So we can’t measure, nor easily grasp, the great things of God, like His love unsurpassed. That’s a great treasure for you and for me, that love beyond measure, He doles out for free!

We cannot easily grasp the measure of God’s love because His love is endless. And that is a treasure of endless measure! There’s no other treasure like His love!
Ephesians 3

With love from the Father to you, have a wonderful day in the Lord,

Christina

Copyright 2020-2022 Christina Crute

Happy Monday! Here’s today’s devotion, with an invitation to apply some scriptures to your own soul. I will do the same:) Wonder what we’ll discover? August 15, 2022

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28

Before you read… As the Lord guides, we will, on some days, explore the Word, journal-style, with self-reflective questions about what your life experience has been and how YOU personally relate Bible verses to your life. I think it will be a season of growth for us!

Last Monday we talked about satan and how he wants to destroy us. It’s not enough to KNOW there is a danger. We have to try to prevent it and know what to do if we encounter it again, just like any emergency. Our souls are at stake!

Considering that, let’s fight back by making ourselves aware of how he tries to do that. Let’s shine God’s light in our souls. Grab your journal, if you want, and consider these verses and questions:

1.This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. Jeremiah 6:16

1.Think of something you would not normally do, like tell a lie or gossip or judge for example.  Have you, at some point in your life, done it anyway, rationalized it with the enemy’s help? (I have!) What would be the ‘good way‘ to walk through that scenario if it came up again?

2. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

2. In what areas of your life, do you have the most temptation, where the enemy may use the ‘forces of darkness?’ List some vulnerabilities you have that he may linger near. What will you tell him next time he hits you in your weak spot? Look up a verse about God being our rock, defender and guide that you can lean on.

3.See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:24

3.In your own words, why do you think soul-searching, finding “offenses” in your soul, is necessary? What could you hope to gain from knowing what’s hidden in your soul? Why do you think the Psalmist, David, asks the Lord to find the offenses? Are there things in our soul that we cannot find without His help?

Today’s questions may seem simple, but they are important! When we know our enemy’s character and we know our weak areas, then we can be better prepared for the temptation to sin. God is faithful to help us when we study His Word.

We will be doing more journaling with Jesus soon! (This is a great excuse to go buy a pretty journal! )

With love from the Father, may you have a blessed day!

Dear Jesus,

Please bless the effort we make, to search our souls. Please light up anything we cannot see, find what should not be there and cleanse us from it. You are so faithful and loving and we love You so. May You be glorified in all we do today. Amen

Christina Crute

Copyright 2020-2022 Christina Crute

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Good morning all! This song reminds me of the One sees the shadows in our soul but lived to die for us. Jesus is our ‘Living Hope!’ Have a blessed day!!

Christina