by Marie | Jul 28, 2025 | Archives, Inspiration
It is 37 degrees, but a carafe of hot black coffee, flannel PJs, a snoozing pup on my lap, and a couple of blankets make for a snuggly-sweet chance to see the moon sink behind the mountains. A rare treat, as the morning will not be this dark with a sinking moon at 7am for another year. I dare not miss it. My mind quietly wanders as I take in the view. Chilly Octobers. Starry nights. Beautiful moons. A memory of my mother-in-law, more than 20 years ago. She was with us on that clear starry Friday night, watching a baseball game, eating fried chicken, laughing, and enjoying the evening. The next morning, she suffered a devastating stroke. She lost her ability to move her arms and legs. She couldn’t speak. But in the days to follow, she could speak one word. One name. Jesus… I would pray with her. She would just pray that one word: Jesus. It seemed to be enough. Meditation: “If my people, which are called by MY NAME, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 Also Read: Understanding God: God of Delegation Purpose: Sent to Redeem and Upgrade (1) The
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by Marie | Jul 26, 2025 | Archives, Inspiration
I love hearing the sound of waves on the shoreline of a beach. Whether the wind brings them crashing in or calmer weather causes them to gently lap the sand, there is a consistency, a repetition to waves that fascinates me. I find myself listening for their rhythm and discernible pattern. “Crash!” The waves impact the shore and are drawn back out to sea. “Crash!” The white foam of the waves crests, then diminishes as the sand absorbs the blow. God’s voice is like a wave; a thought hits the shore of my mind. I’m aware of it, but it ebbs away as I move about my day. But sometimes the thought revisits the shore of my mind. It could be a scripture, or a person’s name, an idea, a situation, or a sin that I need to address. As the thought ebbs and revisits, I become aware of its consistent repetition. Sometimes the thought crashes; other times it’s a gentle, persistent lapping. Praying, looking to God’s Word, listening for the Holy Spirit, and seeking wise counsel are part of discerning God’s voice. But when a thought keeps nudging me, experience has taught me that it’s often God trying to get my attention about something He wants me to do, either for myself or another person. Oh, I wish I
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by Marie | Jul 25, 2025 | Archives, Inspiration
When was the last time you took 24 hours to turn it all off and disconnect? Unplug? No cell phone. No computer. No TV. When was the last time you woke up in the middle of the night, anxious, and didn’t automatically reach for your phone? When was the last time you stepped away from the noise of this world and took a long walk with the Lord? We cannot text while we are praying. We cannot scroll through Facebook while we are worshipping. We can’t seek dependence on God, if our eyes, hands, and heart are continually focused on images other than Him. I thanked Him for that fleeting image, and humbly prayed, “Lord, God. Allow me to walk alongside you. Please speak to me. I am listening.” These are words that God honors, just the way a father does when his child snuggles up beside him and says, “Daddy, let’s talk.” The language God uses in our ears is different for each of us, but we need to unplug from the noise of the world to clearly hear His voice. Disconnect. Take a walk. Invite Him to join you, and invite Him to speak. Meditation: “He has made it clear to you, mortal man, what is good and what the LORD is requiring from you — to act with
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by Marie | Jul 24, 2025 | Archives, Inspiration
Have you ever had a day like this? A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day where one thing after another keeps piling up, as it did for Job, one of the Bible’s most inspiring characters? “One day … a messenger came to Job and said, ‘…the Sabeans attacked…’ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, ‘…fire…burned up the sheep and the servants…’ While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, ‘The Chaldeans…swept down on your camels…’ While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, ‘Your sons and daughters … are dead…’ In all this Job did not … blame God.” Meditation: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33 Also Read: Understanding God: God of Delegation Purpose: Sent to Redeem and Upgrade (1) The Pencil Story Delivered From a Sinful Lifestyle An Easter Reflection You can now partner with the Daily Dew Ministry by clicking here.
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by Marie | Jul 23, 2025 | Archives, Inspiration
Jesus is both God and human, so we can trust that he FULLY understands our pain. And because we’re his children, when we hurt, he hurts, like any good dad. If you’re pulling away from him because you’re thinking that he might not understand, think again. God may allow us to go through pain, but we can bank on this: What God allows, God also promises to work through for our good. This doesn’t make us feel better, perhaps, but it gives our pain purpose. Pain holds the potential to help us grow, unless we allow it to make us bitter. Pain can also expand our empathy and compassion. Who better for God to use to help someone in fresh pain than someone who has passed through it? Our willingness to sit in another’s pain with them is a gift without measure. God works through relationships. He tells us to do life together, supporting one another, so that when we are down, others can lift us. Isolating ourselves, which we tend to want to do when we’re in pain, isn’t helpful. It’s also not healthy to hold pain in. When we’re hurting, we need others to come alongside us and remind us that things will work out. We need others to listen, to help us process through it. We need
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by Marie | Jul 22, 2025 | Archives, Inspiration
To belong. To be in loving, meaningful relationships with others. And that shouldn’t surprise us, because God MADE us that way. He planted within us his capacity for loving relationships, his “relational DNA.” God gave us his ability to love, so that we would “do life” in loving relationship with others. To do Christianity “right” requires that we seek to walk in love. And to be in “right relationship” with others requires that we see them with the value that God does. We are unique, one-of-a-kind individuals, each with our own gifts, talents, and personality. You may wish you had someone else’s talents, or someone else’s life. That’s understandable, as we tend to play the comparison game and get sucked into society’s view of “success” rather than God’s. But if we believe that God specifically created us for his purposes, we can choose to trust and appreciate that. Then we can surrender our egos and let go of comparison. We can look forward to partnering with God, finding joy in developing our best selves so that we are open to being used by him. We have to offer ourselves grace as we do this growing — and offer it to others, as we’re all messy humans in the process of sanctification. What fuels relationships is kind, generous, authentic connection. Lifting
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