I {Mandy} wasn't blinded by a light on the road to Damascus like Saul was. Mine was a more gradual journey where I have given my heart to God in fits and starts. 

I was baptized at 13. I understood then who God is and my need for Him, but God allowed me to travel at my own pace. Throughout my life, I have hit many cross-roads where I have been brought to my knees and overwhelmed with emotion in His presence, each time with a greater desire to actively serve Him. 

Those cross-roads yielded different outcomes: a commitment to want to grow deeper in my faith, acknowledgment of my sin, forgiveness of others, stepping out of my comfort zone to be more public with my faith by blogging, asking others to join me in blogging for Him, and now, perhaps the greatest stretch I've made so far, to become a DOer of the Word and not just HEARing it. 

When I first started blogging it was a stretch for me, for sure. It was scary. I was terrified of public opinion, but God has helped me to grow my skin thicker and to see the BIG picture over my fears. Now, it's almost too easy to write something--even something that is soul-baring--and hit "Publish." 

It's too easy to write ABOUT God in the hopes of inspiring others to DO SOMETHING FOR God. I think for a while I felt I was "doing my part" by writing words that would resonate and spark a change in someone else. And I believe I was doing what I was called to do. I still feel called to write, but...

But that spark I was [potentially] lighting under someone else is now a blazing inferno under my own backside. While God's Word all by itself heals and doesn't need our help to do so, we are called to be the Church--to be actively doing the will of God. My words are cheap and useless if I am not willing to follow through with my actions. 

Since I can remember, I've had a heart for people. Even as a child and young teen I would lay awake at night and cry knowing there were homeless people and abused children in the world. My heart ached. I didn't know why I had this terrible "curse" of feeling such strong emotions...until now. 

While my tears and prayers were honorable, they did nothing to actually be part of a solution to help the people I was grieving for. What they did do was create in me a desire to help these people find better. They need Jesus, yes. Absolutely, but He calls us to be a part of that. Instead of merely talking (or writing) about Jesus, I must show them Jesus. 

It's God's grace alone that saves us. But once we accept that grace and truly commit our hearts to Him, we are changed. Having the Holy Spirit in you and asking for Him to actively work in your life makes it nearly impossible NOT to change. 

When we are completely sold-out to God and ask Him to take the wheel of our life, we align ourselves with Him and His purpose. Suddenly, those things that seemed so important aren't anymore. The promotion, the new car, the big house, the high-end clothes, the dream vacation, the gadgets (or whatever it may be in your life)...they aren't as important anymore. Pretty soon, we start seeing people differently. We start realizing everyone has worth and value. Every single person on this planet was created with absolute precision and the utmost care and attention to every detail. The same way God fashioned us with love and a unique plan etched into each one of our souls, so He created everyone--without qualifying. 

Suddenly, we begin to feel His burden, His love, His compassion, His empathy, His desire that not one would perish. 

And something from 2 Peter 3:9 (in the box above) just punched me right between the eyes. Sometimes I pray for the end. I have cried out more than once "Come quickly, Lord Jesus!" because this world is an awful place so often. But when I do that, I am disregarding His desire that all would come to know Him so that none would perish. Even more? Maybe He's waiting for me to do my part. 

If I count my greatest trials as computer glitches, server failure, or an image not quite right for a blog post, what kind of crown will I receive? When I arrive in Heaven and stand before Jesus, I don't want to stand before Him with soft, manicured hands that have spent a lifetime on a keyboard in the safety of my own home in Suburbia, USA. I want to crawl before Him, and fall flat on my face, exhausted and spent from having given every last bit of my energy to serving Him. Whether that is service to my husband, my children, my family, friends, my church, my neighborhood, community, those less fortunate, and yes, even in blogging and writing, I want to have given my all and used my talents to the best and the fullest (Matthew 25:14-30).

This will not look the same for all of us. Not all will travel to 3rd world countries or inner-cities. Not all with help end human trafficking or abortion, but ALL must be doing something. 

If you feel the stirring in your soul to serve God wholeheartedly, follow it! Seek His guidance and wisdom. May we not be like the church in Sardis:

"I can remember when we found out that my sister’s first child, Bailey, would be born with serious disabilities and not live. I remember pulling into the parking lot at K-Mart, and crying out to God, “Why? Why my sister? They are serving you so faithfully. They want a family! Why all this pain?” I was reading through Job at that time and determined to read until God answered my “Why.” He answered my why with a WHO." ~Sarah Beals, Overcomer Outreach

Maybe you can relate to this woman's plea to God. Maybe your struggle isn't with a sick child. Maybe it's with abuse, divorce, suicide, abortion, depression, or any number of unnamed struggles. 

Have you ever raged at God, shaking your fist at the unfairness of it all? If you have, you're not alone. Join us at Overcomer Outreach (by clicking HERE) and read the rest of Sarah's story. 

So, here’s a fun fact about me. I [Melissa] love to watch home renovation shows. In fact, there are times when I find myself spending hours watching contractors and interior designers and homeowners wield their power tools and paint brushes to create a great room by removing and repositioning a series of walls that cut off the flow of the home or build a dream kitchen in the space that was once the garage.

My favorite episodes are the ones where a team walks into a home that is really not much to look at – the one that most people would actually walk right by and not even think twice about it. But after a little elbow grease and some chiseling away at the old crusty paint, they uncover something so incredibly beautiful that everyone wants what they originally thought was worthless.

I love that vision. I mean, wouldn’t you just love to have a team pull their truck up in front of your house and fix all those things that you’ve felt for years just aren’t right? It’s a weekly dream of mine.

But watching this week stirred up something completely different in me. I began to look closer at the whole renovation process and was in complete awe – the intentional steps to take something that appeared to have no purpose, no worth and make it new again, to give it immeasurable value.

And I couldn’t help but think of God and how the work that He does in us is so much the same.

Those of you who read Monday’s devotional may remember that I talked about appearances and how often I fall victim to the trap of judging and feeling judged based solely on how I, my kids or my home may look.

I also talked about the one time when I believe that it’s okay to be worried about appearances – when you are consumed with the appearance of your own heart and whether or not it’s portraying a true reflection of Jesus.

I’ve tried to be more attuned to my heart’s motives lately and, the truth is, I need some help.

I’m still finding myself hung up on what the moms at school are thinking about me as a parent when we pass by each other in the pick-up line, I’m still worried about what people who stop by my house are saying about the clutter on the coffee table, and I’m still stressing out that someone may remember that I wore the same sweater on Tuesday that I have on today!

My heart is not where I want it to be. I don’t think it’s where God wants it to be, either. And I‘m feeling the need for a … well, for a renovation.

And what I realized this week? The same process that I love watching so much for houses can be applied to my own heart.

A little elbow grease and some chiseling away of that old crusty stuff. Getting rid of the junk that is of this world and uncovering the parts that truly reflect a genuine love of God.

Because it’s all under there, just waiting to be uncovered. Just like it is in those houses I love so much.

God sees it and wants us to uncover it, too. In fact, He reminds us everyday with affirmations like:

We are God’s workmanship ... (Ephesians 2:10)

Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16)

With truths like that, how could I not want to be the best version of myself?

We’re entering into the perfect season to take on a heart renovation. In just two weeks, Advent begins. It’s a season of anticipation and of preparation as we celebrate the arrival of the Greatest Gift ever given. It’s an opportunity for me (and all of us) to open our hearts to a deeper relationship with the Lord – to clear out all the junk that may be keeping us from giving our hearts to Him completely.

It may not be a process that can be edited down to a 30-minute highlights reel, but in the end it’s one that will reveal something more beautiful than you or I could ever imagine – that you and I are women with hearts after God!

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

My name is Kelli Maynor. I am a mother of many and the wife of a very courageous man. In December of 2011 God led me to start a ministry for single moms. My mind was full of things I wanted to do for them! Having been a single mother of 5 for a couple of years, I remembered many areas I could have used the help. God pulled the reigns a little and simply asked me to write letters of encouragement for the moms and to send birthday cards to them and their children. I started to make a list of the single moms I already knew. It's hard to believe that I knew 40 personally. God showed me that there definitely was a need in this area. If I already knew 40, how many more could there be? He was about to show me! I began reaching out to anyone God led me to speak to and the number of families grew. Over the past few years the ministry has grown more than I had ever imagined it would. 

I now send out over 150 letters every month or two, and mail more than 500 birthday cards each year. God provides for each and every card and stamp! In the mother's card I add a small encouragement notecard, and in the children's cards I add stickers or encouragement cards (I try to make what is added in the card age appropriate). God has also blessed me to be able to see some of the other ideas on my heart come to pass...Valentine's cards, mother's day cards, father's day weekend picnics, monthly giveaways (kind of like an indoor garage sale where everything is free :)). Not all of my moms are without help from the father of their children, but many are and I want them to feel special and appreciated throughout the year. 

The main purpose of this ministry is to share God's Truth with the moms and help them to know of His great love for them. I want them to know they aren't alone in their walk as a single parent, most of all because God is with them. However, I also want them to know they have each other. There is a secret ministry page on Facebook where they can get connected, receive encouragement and prayer, as well as list items they are in need of or items they are giving away. Family friendly (financially friendly) events are also posted in the group. The desire is for them to see that they have a community of moms willing to help each other. 

I want them to know of His passionate pursuit of their heart, and to know what Real Love is. 1 John 4:10 is the key verse for this ministry. "This is real love - not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." Many times as a single mom, I lost my way looking for "real love" in the wrong places. I believe an intimate relationship with The Father is important and necessary in every person's life, but I know that it can make a great impact in the lives of these ladies. And, my hope is that it will trickle down and be a life changer for their children. Glory to God! 

There are still many things I'd love to be able to do, but if God has shown me anything during these last few years it is that 1) His timing is perfect, 2) He Who called me is faithful, and 3) He indeed WILL equip me with everything I need to do HIS will in this ministry (and every oth
er part of my life). God bless!