Category: Devotions

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Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men

Luke 1:78-79

78 All this will be because the mercy of our God is very tender, and heaven’s dawn is about to break upon us, 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and death’s shadow, and to guide us to the path of peace.

I know it is not Christmas, but today’s tragedy reminds me of a Christmas song, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. It is hard to hear peace on earth when hate is so strong. It was bad enough when the shots were fired. However, the hatred that followed from my fellow Americans from both sides is more than I can handle.

There is no reason for anyone to be shouting out anything buy prayers and love right now. However, open social media and all I see is arguing over gun control. I don’t care which side you are on, this is NOT, I repeat, this NOT the time or place. Hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth goodwill to men.

My only light is my hope and faith. To all of the doctors, nurses, police officers, EMS, firefighters, blood donors and the heroes who had no regard for their own safety and reached out to help their fellow man, I want to say thank you! Thank you for proving God is not dead, nor does he sleep. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail with peace on earth, goodwill to men.

The following are the original words of Longfellow’s poem: that inspired the song:

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,

and wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,

And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,

And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;

“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.”

 

Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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What’s Your Bright Side

Psalms 106:1
Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His love endures forever.

It is Friday! So what is your bright side?

Here are my 5 for today:

1. My 6th-hour kiddos earned pizza from me. When I brought it in today they were so thankful. It was so nice to be thanked.

2. My husband who has been working so hard on my jewelry displays for my show tomorrow.

3. My friend Kathleen who I can’t wait to showcase all of our lovely jewelry with tomorrow. I know she is going to make my day fun and exciting.

4. My son made it home safe from an exciting business trip in Boston.

5. My favorite time of year is finally here and we are starting to see fall temperatures.

Autumn Trees

By Tabetha Frick

I passed a tree
In all its splendor
Its leaves it was
Beginning to surrender

Beautiful leaves
Of reds and browns
Beautiful leaves
Falling all around

I said dear tree
Please do not die
I simply slumber
Was its reply

Autumn is here
So I cannot keep
My beautiful colors
I plie in a heap

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Thank you Lord for family, friends and beautiful seasons!

Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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Beware! Sitting Ducks No More!

Ephesians 6:12
For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against persons without bodies—the evil rulers of the unseen world, those mighty satanic beings and great evil princes of darkness who rule this world; and against huge numbers of wicked spirits in the spirit world.

So we spent our after school staff meeting running around the school getting shot.

Hmmm…I bet I have your attention now!

Actually, we were doing ALICE training. For years, we had been taught if an armed gunman was in the building we were supposed to lock the doors and hide the kids out of sight. We were then supposed to stay quiet and hope no one would know we were there. Then a little thing called Columbine happened and people started rethinking what was best for all. Luckily the decided being sitting ducks was not a good plan.

It took many years for them to come up with a new attack plan, but what they came up with makes a lot more sense to everyone. No longer would we be victims. We would be empowered to do what was necessary to survive. We would run and escape when we can. We would barricade doors and prepare to combat if necessary.

As the police officers began to explain the options we could come up with to confront a shooter, my mind couldn’t help wonder to Home Alone. In all reality, that is what he was telling us to do. We were to look around and see what was available and make a plan. Wait, does anyone else hear the Macgyver theme song playing?

Being a high school teacher, the first things that came to mind was, of course, throwing my overly heavy textbooks, while someone else prepared to tackle the shooter. Someone else mentioned making sure we had one of those pens you click at a windshield to break it. Our particular building only has tiny windows that most people could not fit out. Then, we got to the good stuff like the Science Teachers recommending throwing chemicals in the face of the assailant.

I quickly started putting together a mental list of objects I would like to keep in a toolbox in my room for “just in case”. Then my mind jumped to why don’t I have a spiritual safety toolbox? Then I remembered…I do!

Ephesians 6 13-18
13 So use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will still be standing up.

14 But to do this, you will need the strong belt of truth and the breastplate of God’s approval. 15 Wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you preach the Good News of peace with God. 16 In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. 17 And you will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the Word of God.

18 Pray all the time. Ask God for anything in line with the Holy Spirit’s wishes. Plead with him, reminding him of your needs, and keep praying earnestly for all Christians everywhere.

Like any tools, you have to use them. They won’t do you any good if you keep them in the toolbox and just look at them. Just like my students and I becoming sitting ducks if we just sit there and stay quiet, we will become spiritual sitting ducks. We open ourselves up to sin and just like James says: “Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” In other words, aim, fire, shoot! You’re dead!

Instead of being a sitting duck remember your strength comes from the Lord’s mighty power within you. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand safe against all strategies and tricks of Satan! (Ephesians 6:10-11)

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Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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Forget Fighting to Find Focus

Psalms 62:1-2
I stand silently before the Lord, waiting for him to rescue me. For salvation comes from him alone. Yes, he alone is my Rock, my rescuer, defense and fortress. Why then should I be tense with fear when troubles come?

You know the old saying about doctors make the worst patients? Well let me tell you, teachers make the worse students.

Just stop in at any meeting and you will see all of us doing all those things that drive us crazy when our students do them to us. Yes, I am guilty of a few of the more popular ones like checking my email, texting and even the occasional social media posts.

Now I do try not to be rude. I really am listening. Many times my ADHD just gets the best of me. So, lately, I have been trying an old tactic in a very new way. I doodle and color!

When I was in school, setting through long lectures, and taking notes, I would doodle in the margins of my notebooks. I have shown many of the notebooks to my students to give them ideas of what to do when they are struggling to pay attention. Isn’t that funny? I mean I have to distract my mind in order to be able to concentrate.

Anyway, as for my new way, I have recently procured an iPad Pro and I started using an app called GoodNotes to take notes and do all of my lesson planning. Last night, I downloaded several coloring pictures onto it and low and behold I created a coloring book. Below is my masterpiece from today’s meetings.

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Coloring didn’t distract me. It relaxed me enough to be able to concentrate.

Long meetings aren’t the only place I struggle to focus. I often find the more I struggle and fight to focus on my prayers, bible studies and even church services sometimes, the harder it is to concentrate. Then I decided one day to have a nice long chit-chat with God and I stumbled upon this verse:

Psalms 62:1-2 I stand silently before the Lord, waiting for him to rescue me. For salvation comes from him alone. Yes, he alone is my Rock, my rescuer, defense and fortress. Why then should I be tense with fear when troubles come?

Notice it doesn’t say, I fought, grappled, wrestled, scuffled, brawled, sparred, strove, or tried harder before the Lord. No, it says I stand silently and wait. It seemed so simple. I needed to quit fighting and start surrender.ing Then, I would find what I was looking for…God, my rock, my rescuer, defense, and fortress. Let him do the fighting. After all, salvation comes from him, not anything I can do.

I simply need to forget fighting to find focus!

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Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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Purposeful Not Perfect

Matthew 24:13–14 MSG

Staying with it—that’s what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won’t be sorry, and you’ll be saved. All during this time, the good news—the Message of the kingdom will be preached all over the world, a witness staked out in every country. And then the end will come.

I am reading a book called Uncommon by Carey Scott. She points out that we evangelize with our actions just as much, if not more than, with our words. I don’t say this to put pressure on you. As a matter of fact, Carey also says in her book that perfection is a lie. We should not strive to live perfect lives but instead purposeful lives.

I spent way too much of my life and energy trying to be perfect. I spend even more time beating myself up because I never meet the expectations. My need for perfection drove me into depression. I am learning to be purposeful. As a matter of fact, I spend some days being purposeful about being purposeful.

When I am being purposeful, it is OK when things don’t go my way. It is OK when I make mistakes. When I am being purposeful everything becomes a Chance for God to shine through. It is a time for my actions to shine brighter than my words.

It is here that I wanted to write a beautiful prayer. However, instead of trying to be perfect I am going to be purposeful. I am going to leave you with Carey’s words instead.

Lord, help me be a light in the world—not perfectly, but purposefully. Help my words and actions point others to You. Sometimes sharing my faith makes me anxious because the world is becoming intolerant. Would You give me the courage to evangelize anyway? Would You help me preach with my words and my actions? I am available to You and will walk through the doors You open. I want to be part of the reason Your name is praised in all the world. Please give me the boldness and confidence to not cower but instead, stand strong as I praise my Father in heaven. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Uncommon
Carey Scott

 

 

Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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Keep Moving Forward

Psalms 37:24

If he stumbles, he’s not down for long; God has a grip on his hand. (The Message)

For those of you who don’t know, I am working on my Doctorate degree in Curriculum and Education. I have finished all of the classwork. Two weeks ago, I had to turn in a final exam that consisted of writing two papers. The next steps should be to propose my dissertation, write my dissertation, and then finally defend my dissertation. The problem is I have hit a snag. I did not pass the exams on my first try.

Now, the good news is they sent me the rubric with all of the evaluator’s comments. One of my papers lacked a connection between two parts. The evaluator said both halves were well developed but I need to work on connecting them. As for the second paper, I got lots of nice comments on it. The only thing I did wrong was not write enough.

I was disappointed when I first read the email. It is never easy to get a rejection. However, when I sat down and read the comments, God graced me with a heart prepared to receive critique and not read it as criticism. He had also been preparing me over the past several months during training I received through Proverbs 31 ministries on becoming a writer. One issue we discuss all of the time is how to accept rejection and move one.

I have stumbled, but I am not down for long; God has a grip on my hand. I know he has called me to this path and I am going to keep walking.

What does that look like now? Well, I have two weeks to make corrections and resubmit by exam. So, I will pray and put pen to paper and do what God has called me to do…WRITE!

I would welcome any extra prayers you can send my way.

Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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Find My Way Back

Psalm 119:105

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

There are days when you get pummeled from every side. Those are the days you stop and go, “Wait just a minute! Satan you are not going to get away with this.”

I also know Satan is not behind every bad thing that happens to us. First of all, he can’t be everywhere all of the time. Unlike God, he is not omnipresent. Can I please hear an AMEN to that one!

So, what about his little minions? No, I am not referring to those adorable little yellow guys. I, of course, am referring to demons. Yes, I am sure they are around and cause havoc, but they still aren’t behind every bush.

No, I believe sometimes bad things just happen. I also believe there are times when Satan is sitting back laughing because he doesn’t have to lift a finger. We humans are pretty good and creating horrible situations all on our own.

Let’s also get honest here. We can never say the devil made me do it. We always have choices.

I find my students complaining about rules and they inevitable say we have no choice. I remind them they always have choices. They can always choose to not follow the rules. We always have choices, we just have to weigh if the consequences are worth our choice.

Our daily lives are the same as my kiddos. We all have choices and consequences. Many times we just figure the consequences are worth it. We take the wrong path and we find ourselves in trouble. No, the devil did not make me do it. No, the demons didn’t set me up. Even if the last one was true, I was still in the final control. I made the decision. I chose my path.

Here is the rainbow. When we find ourselves lost, we know the direction to look. UP! We will find the great navigator just waiting for us to ask directions back to safety. He is waiting with his grace and loving warm arms wide open. He has the perfect directions to get you home and he will even light the path!

Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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T.H.I.N.K.

Ephesians 4:29

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Some days I just wish I could unload a verbal assault!

The anger burns inside because someone has said something whether it is behind my back or to my face.  Maybe I read some stupid comment or post on social media. It could be about me, my kids, my students, my family, my friends or maybe it is just some different political or ideological viewpoint.  It doesn’t really matter, I am steamed and ready to blow.

Today was one of those days.

Have you ever been here?  Standing on a cliff and ready to jump in with both feet without thinking first. All you know and care about is you have been wronged someway, somehow and now you are out for revenge.

I have been here one too many times.  I recently read a book by Karen Ehman called Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All. It was a fantastic book.  She taught me how to ask an important question when I get so angry.

Is what I am about to say going to be helpful?

Sometimes, when I am upset, I really do need to say something.  The person I am upset at may not even know they upset me.  It may have been a misunderstanding.  However, if what I have to say and the way I say it are only going to make the matter worse is it really helpful to say it? Do I need to step back, take a breath, and consider the best way to approach the situation?

Or perhaps I don’t need to say anything at all because it really isn’t going to make a difference. Just like today.

No matter how I choose to handle the situation today or tomorrow, I do know what God expects of me.

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ~Ephesians 4:29

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Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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Fear Fighting

Psalm 16:8 (GNT)
I am always aware of the LORD’S presence; he is near, and nothing can shake me.

Fears come in many forms.  It is more than normal to be afraid of things.

My daughter is in the Air Force.  She has been trained to kill.  She takes plains apart and puts them back together.  However, she sees the tiniest of spiders and she is grabbing her AK47 to take it out! By the way, I have a male co-worker who would grab an entire arsenal and follow right alongside her, so don’t think it is just a girl thing.

I have an irrational fear of sharks.  I had the “pleasure” of being in Jaws 3 as an extra and although I never did a scene with Bruce (the animatronic shark), I am still petrified of great whites.  I mean seriously, I have to keep my eyes closed in Finding Nemo when Bruce is on the screen.

Fear of failure or embarrassing yourself can keep you from doing great things. I know I have been so scared because I felt totally inadequate.  As a matter of fact, you are reading a fear of mine right now.  I was so afraid to open up a blog and begin writing.  There are still days I sit and look at my computer and wonder who I think I am.  Who wants to read anything I would write? I often have to take a deep breath and remember it isn’t about me.  It is what God has called me to do. I just need to show up and do my best and let him handle the rest.

Another form of fear is found in my PTSD.  Lately, I have had some major struggles in this area.  I have woke up with night terrors and not sure where I am or what just happened.  After a recent sleepless night, because I refused to go back to sleep after waking up from a dream, I reached for a book to read and came across Psalm 16:8.

Through this verse, God reminded me I wasn’t alone.  My demons could not hurt me.  They were just playing with my mind again.

Now, this next part may seem a little silly to some people, and that is fine.  This idea just isn’t for you, but it worked for me and so I am sharing it in case there is someone else who needs to hear it.  The next night, when I went to bed, I was once again struck with the fear of sleeping.  So, I created a verse image and put it on my iPad and kept in on next to my bed.  This way when I woke up the first thing I would see was the verse and I could read it and fight back against my fear.  I also put my bible on my nightstand.  I know in all reality it is physically just a book, but sometimes just reaching out and touching it reminds me of who I am and whose presence I am in and who is going to fight my battles.

My demons can never stay in the presence of God.  They cannot win when I remind them of who I am and more importantly who my Father is.  I just have to be made aware of the LORD’s presence; he is near, and nothing can shake me.

I hope this helps someone out there. Remember no matter what your fear is, God is there too!

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Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

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Bright Side!

2 Corinthians 9:8

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

So what’s your bright side today?

I happen to think there is a little bit of a poet in all of us.  I mean when you walk around and you hear a bird and you stop for a second to listen or see the sun reflect just so off of a flower and stop, you show your poet side.

Blessings don’t have to be big life-altering events.  Blessings can be found anywhere and anytime.  As funny as it sounds, this morning I saw the sun reflect off a road sign and it made it sparkle and shine.  It made me smile at how beautiful it was.  That was a blessing.

How many times have you been in a hurry, you get to the store and someone just happens to be pulling out of a close spot?  That is a blessing.

How about opening your purse when you are dying for a soda and you are short. You look down and there just happens to be a quarter on the ground.  Yep! Blessing!

Personal favorite!  I am exhausted when I get off work, but I know when I get home I need to clean the kitchen.  I walk in and my hubby has already taken care of it!  MAJOR BLESSING!

Believe me when I say that somedays those small blessings are hard to find.  It is so hard to find a blessing in the middle of depression.  Sometimes my being willing to look for a blessing IS my blessing for that day.

I don’t know what your blessings are today, but I am guaranteeing no matter what you are going through there is a blessing around you somewhere.  Look for it!  Search it out!  Do not stop until you find it! Then hold it tight.  It is your gift from God just to make you smile!

Share your bright side with others in the comments.  Maybe your sharing will be some’s blessing they need to hear.

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Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.