Devotions (Page 21)

Volunteer Appreciation

There are so many people to be thankful for at Lifespring. As a Kingdom Family, pretty much everyone serves in one way or another. Some will be part of a particular ministry, some will simply serve doing things in the background, with no recognition and no assignment. No matter which way you serve in this family – thank you so very much. As we serve the Lord as a Kingdom Family, I am reminded that we must always remember that…

Let It Go

Earlier this week, some friends and I were leading worship. We had just hit that “sweet spot”, where everyone was just enjoying God’s presence, the music was quiet, and the atmosphere was tranquil and peaceful. Out of nowhere, my friend grabbed a small tambourine and started shaking it to the melody. I was irritated and thought “You are ruining this quiet, peaceful moment!” I was about to shush him when I realized (or rather, God gave me a mental nudge…

Initiate Change

Last weekend, I celebrated my 38th birthday. Without a doubt, I celebrate my birthdays these days with a bit less fanfare and excitement than I did when I was younger. I see my daughters, Sophia (7) and Xenia (5) who look forward to their birthdays and what’s ahead for them. Every year marks a year that they’ve grown taller, are able to do more, and get one step closer to being a “big kid.” For me, birthdays are a very…

#BlameDave

Another great privilege to hear from one of our own. Mae-Tuin Seto, who has served and been a blessing to the Lifespring family since the dawn of time, continues to serve as the Secretary on the Board of Directors, a Kidz Harbour Shepherd, and overall mom in the house. I titled this devotion, “#BlameDave”, not because it has anything to do with what I learned, but rather because it was funny. As Mae-Tuin was sharing and teaching us of strong…

If you can’t build wide, build up

After having a discussion with both my father in-law and my brother in law, I picked up on an unusual “gem” that they both shared in their respective fields that I thought was really deep. They both mentioned that some of their limitations in their respective fields is the lack of land and property available to build in order to expand. Being innovators, they both seemed to have come to similar conclusions. That is, when you can’t build wide, you…

Something to Give

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”1 John 3:16-18 I shared how God…

Pretend, Presume & Push

Dear LifeSpring Family A few weeks ago, I finished a course that was offered to us missionaries in Power To Change. Soul Care taught and reminded me to look deeply and care for my soul. In doing this, it brought to the surface the pride in my life that I still default to when hard pressed.  Below is the devotion from Soul Care that challenged the way I sometimes think and operate – Pretend, Presume and Push.  How about you? …

Learning By The Book

Last Friday at Wildfire, we had a different lesson plan for the night: instead of one of our leaders teaching us, we simply got out our Bibles, read through the passage from the lesson, and discussed it.  I really enjoyed that discussion. I didn’t know it was possible to squeeze so much out of 9 verses, but we thoroughly dissected and analyzed each part of the passage and came up with some pretty good takeaways. Our discussion was memorable because…

From the Head to the Heart to the Hands

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms and women in the Lifespring family! There are so many ways that you give life to those around you through your care, generosity, and love. Alongside those who have had the opportunity to physically parent kids, there are countless ways spiritual, social, physical, and beyond that the women of Lifespring give life to others. Personally, I’ve received so much from my own mom, from Theresa, and from my two daughters. On Mother’s Day,…

“God Sets the Lonely in Families”

Psalm 68:6 God sets the lonely in families Last week on a cold and rainy night around 10pm, I received a call from my office manager that one of our staff had become homeless. In trying to help this young man find shelter, there was a lot of back and forth and scouring the internet to try to find affordable housing. The shelters were full, it was too late to rent places, it was all in all very stressful.  In…

Wait On You… again

One of the hardest things I needed to adjust to in my years of missions/times of worship in various African churches, was the repetition. Whether I was singing with sisters and brothers in Swaziland, Mozambique, Uganda or South Sudan, the choruses would repeat for what seemed like an eternity. And I was impatient, and hot and tired and hungry and uninterested in singing the same things over and over again. One day, one of the choruses struck a chord in…

Reference Points

Life can get busy, and before you know it, weeks and months pass us by.  There are so many good things we can work towards, but good is the enemy of great.  Our ultimate goal is to be in alignment with God, but there are many things that can detract us from it.  On Sunday, one key element of the message is the importance of establishing a reference point.  In the absence of a well defined reference point, it’s easy to…