an excerpt from everyday encouragement and hope by debora m. coty, pamela l. mcquade, and patricia...

8/20/2019 An Excerpt from Everyday Encouragement and Hope by Debora M. Coty, Pamela L. McQuade, and Patricia Mitchell

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© 2015 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.

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Daily devotional entries written by Debra M. Coty, Pamela L. McQuade, and Patricia Mitchell.

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Everyday Encouragement& Hope

I pray that God, the source of hope,will fill you completely with joy and

peace because you trust in him.ROMANS 15:13 NLT

This lovely daily devotional offers just-right-sized readings that are a perfect fit for yourbusy lifestyle. These 365 devotional readingsfeature themes that are important to yourheart—including faith, friendship, joy, love,rest, trust, peace, security, and dozens more.

As you move through the pages of Everyday Encouragement and Hope, you’ll be comfortedand inspired every day of the year as youexperience the refreshing peace and assurancethat can only be found through an intimaterelationship with the Master Creator.


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Dancing in the Puddles

And so, Lord,where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.

PSALM 39:7 NLT

They say you can tell a lot about a person’sfoundation of hope by the way she handles arainy day. Does she turn into a Gloomy Gussy,wailing, “Oh, woe is me. . .” or does she makethe best of a bad situation? A hope-filled

person will realize that abundant life in Christisn’t about simply enduring the storm but alsoabout learning to dance in the puddles. Sograb your galoshes, and let’s boogie!

D AY 1


5/13

God’s P lan

My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen,

slow to speak and slow to become angry. J AMES 1:19 NIV

God gives good advice on anger. Often, ifwe listen carefully and hold our tongues, wedon’t become angry in the first place. Goodcommunication forestalls a lot of emotionaltrauma. Hurt emotions often cause us tospeak words we regret, simply making theproblem worse. So when we feel tempted toanger, let’s stop, listen, and hold our tonguesfor a while. That’s God’s plan for morepeaceful relationships.

D A Y 2


6/13

Walking Faith

“Be strong and courageous, and act;do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD

God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you.”

1 CHRONICLES 28:20 NASB

What a life verse! What a creed to live by! Weare assured that our God will never leave usor forsake us. We draw strength and couragefrom this assurance and are then able to act; toshare our faith boldly—without fear—becausewe are never alone. The Lord God—our God—is with us.

D AY 3


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Interior Decorator

You, O LORD , are a shieldabout me, my glory,

and the One who lifts my head.PSALM 3:3 NASB

Have you ever caught a glimpse of yourselfreflected in a window and were shocked at thehangdog image you unwittingly portrayed?Slumped shoulders, drooping head, defeatedexpression? You can straighten your postureand adjust your face, but if the change doesn’t

come from the inside out, it won’t stick. Godis our Interior Decorator. Only He can providethat inner joy that projects outward and liftsour heads. Invite Him in to work on yourplace.

D AY 5


9/13

God Is in Control

“Who of you by being worried canadd a single hour to his life?”

M ATTHEW 6:27 NASB

What does worry gain us? It can’t change thelength of our days, except to decrease thehealth of our bodies. Ultimately, worry is themost self-defeating thing we can engage in.Besides, why should we give in to concern

when God controls our lives? He will alwaysset us on the right path, so we don’t have toagonize over life’s details.

D A Y 6


10/13

Designer Label

We wish that each of you wouldalways be eager to show how strong

and lasting your hope really is.HEBREWS 6:11 CEV

Our behavior is always on display and, like itor not, we are judged by our actions. . .andinactions. Without an explanation for ourbehavior—that we’re motivated by faith tobe Christlike—people will make up their ownideas: Her mama taught her right; she was

just born nice; she acts sweet so everyone willlike her. Isn’t it better to be up-front and givecredit to the One we’re emulating? Wear thelabel of your Designer proudly.

D AY 7


11/13

Blessing Others

We work hard with our own hands.When we are cursed, we bless;

when we are persecuted, we endure it.1 CORINTHIANS 4:12 NIV

God gave Paul many blessings, and theapostle passed them on, even if the recipientsdidn’t seem to really deserve them. Thosewho cursed him (and they were, no doubt,many) did not receive a cursing in return.

Instead, Paul tried to bless them. Do wefollow the apostle’s example? When we arecursed by the words of others, what is ourresponse?

D A Y 8


12/13

Inside-Out Love

God has made everythingbeautiful for its own time.

ECCLESIASTES 3:11 NLT

Beauty is a concern of every woman to somedegree. We worry about hair, makeup, weight,fashions. But real beauty can only comefrom God’s inside-out love. Once we areable to finally comprehend His infinite andextravagant love for us—despite our flat feet

and split ends—our heart glow will reflectradiant beauty from the inside out. Only whenwe feel truly loved are we free to be trulylovely.

D AY 9


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Hold on to Hope

The prospect of the righteous is joy,but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.

PROVERBS 10:28 NIV

Trusting in Jesus gave you new life and hopefor eternity. So how do you respond when lifebecomes dark and dull? Does hope slip away?When no obviously great spiritual works aregoing on, do not assume God has desertedyou. Hold on to Him even more firmly and

trust. He will keep His promises. Truly, whatother option do you have? Without Him,hope disappears.

D A Y 10

an excerpt from everyday encouragement and hope by debora m. coty, pamela l. mcquade, and patricia...

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