Posts by Melissa Spoelstra
Today’s Truth
"On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, 'Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.'"
John 7:37-38
Friend to Friend
Getting along is so hard. One of the things that makes it so difficult is our tendency to project our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs onto to others. Our default is to think:
What annoys me also annoys everyone else.
What doesn’t bother me shouldn’t bother anyone else.
If I need time to process things, so does everyone else.
If I don’t need time to process, then you shouldn’t either.
When I know the right way, I should keep pushing until everyone acknowledges that my way is right.
You get the idea.
How can we step outside our own way of feeling and thinking and see other’s points of view? Yet in the midst of trying to understand others, how do we still be true
Read More
Today’s Truth
Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.
Psalm 96:3
We hope you are enjoying the Girlfriends in God daily devotions. We (Mary, Sharon, and Gwen) would like to introduce you to some of our special friends. From time-to-time, the Friday devotions will be written by one of our friends in ministry. We call them our Friday Friends. So grab your Bible and a fresh cup of coffee and drink in the words from our Friday Friend, Melissa Spoeistra
Friend to Friend
Television shows about lawyers and court rooms get me every time. I have to admit that I love watching people argue, uncover the truth, and operate within the confines of the law to expose it. One of the tactics I’ve watched lawyers use (at least on TV) is burying information. If
Read More
Today’s Truth
But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.
Luke 5:16
We hope you are enjoying the Girlfriends in God daily devotions. We (Mary, Sharon, and Gwen) would like to introduce you to some of our special friends. From time-to-time, the Friday devotions will be written by one of our friends in ministry. We call them our Friday Friends. So grab your Bible and a fresh cup of coffee and drink in the words from our Friday Friend, Melissa Spoeistra
Friend to Friend
Have you ever felt like you were wandering in circles? Like you do the same things over and over again – laundry, groceries, emails. You visit the same spots – kid’s school, gym, work, church. Certain seasons of life can feel like a holding pattern in more ways than one. Spiritually,
Read More
Today’s Truth
For You are my hiding place; You protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory. The Lord says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.’
Psalm 32:7-8
Friend to Friend
I played hide and seek often with my three siblings as well as the various friends and cousins that migrated in and out of the house when I was a child. I can remember hiding under beds, the back of closets, and even squeezing into cupboards or toy boxes in an effort to be the last one found.
Some days between managing my home and running the race of church, kids’ activities, and work deadlines, I want to find a place to run and hide. A place where there are no notifications and reminders sounding an alert on my phone. A place where no one is calling, “Mom, I need you.” A place where the mental hamster wheel
Read More
Today’s Truth
Though good advice lies deep within the heart, a person with understanding will draw it out.
Proverbs 20:5
Friend to Friend
I’ve never been accused of being a woman of few words, especially if you ask my teenagers lately. I often find myself exasperated while preaching diatribes in an effort to help my kids stop fighting, be kind, and take personal responsibility. Sometimes I talk until I’m blue in the face with very little behavior change accompanying it.
While Jesus was quite vocal when teaching God’s Word at different times, He often asked questions and listened as much as He talked. Something stood out to me about Jesus’s words in John 8 regarding the woman caught in adultery. He didn’t use many. He wrote in the sand (boy I would like to know what He wrote!), and then He
Read More
Today’s Truth
Then Elijah stood in front of them and said, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him! But if Baal is God, then follow him!” But the people were completely silent.
1 Kings 18:21
Friend to Friend
My daughter Rachel is limping right now. Her knee likely hurts from all the jumps and back handsprings she does as a cheerleader. The pain in her knee affects the way she walks, and limping is no fun. It calls attention to a weakness or flaw. I have stubbed my toe, banged up my shins, and had sciatic nerve pain that left me hobbling like a person twice my age. Elijah uttered the words in today’s truth just before he challenged the people of Israel to a contest on Mt. Carmel. He asked them, “How much longer will you waver, hobbling between two opinions?” It seems the nation of Israel suffered from a limp of their own.
In
Read More
