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Devotions Archive
Peace, Relationships Dana Rongione Peace, Relationships Dana Rongione

Planting the Seeds of Peace

I have a brown thumb. Actually, that's being generous. It's more like a thumb of death when it comes to plants. I've given up trying to grow anything because no matter how carefully I follow the instructions or how diligently I water and tend, most plants barely last a week before keeling over. My friends and family have learned not to gift me plants anymore, having witnessed too many botanical tragedies. Even my attempt at growing a supposedly unkillable miniature rosebush ended in disaster. (Who knew they could actually shrivel up and die from too much attention?)

Yet, despite my gardening failures, James 3:18 has been lingering in my thoughts lately: "And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace."

The imagery here is powerful. Peace isn't described as something we manufacture in a crisis.

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comfort, Encouragement, God's goodness, God's love Dana Rongione comfort, Encouragement, God's goodness, God's love Dana Rongione

Are You a Bummer Lamb?

I was watching an interview with Christian author Sheila Walsh the other day when she began talking about "bummer lambs." Having lived in rural Wales for a few years, I've learned quite a bit about sheep farming, but this particular term was new to me.

A bummer lamb, as it turns out, is a lamb that has been rejected by its mother. Sometimes, the ewe has twins and can only feed one. Sometimes, the mother dies during birth. And sometimes, for reasons only the sheep know, a mother simply refuses to accept her baby.

When this happens, the shepherd steps in. He takes the rejected lamb into his home and hand-feeds it. He keeps it warm by the fire, wraps it in blankets, and tends to its every need. The shepherd essentially becomes the lamb's parent, giving extraordinary care and attention to this tiny creature.

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Dog Devotions, Spiritual Growth Dana Rongione Dog Devotions, Spiritual Growth Dana Rongione

Mimicking the Master

On a recent walk through town, Jason, Tess, and I encountered another dog walker along our usual route. In typical terrier fashion, Tess approached the other dog, exchanged the customary sniffs (you know, the canine equivalent of "How do you do?"), and then bounded over to the man. But before he could even reach down to pet her, she'd already turned tail and continued her journey, clearly satisfied that she'd fulfilled her social obligations for the moment.

Jason burst out laughing, nudging me with his elbow. "She gets that from you," he teased, and I couldn't help but chuckle because, well, he wasn't wrong. Like my furry friend, I too prefer to keep my social interactions brief and purposeful. Give me my quiet office with its book-lined walls or my peaceful garden over a crowded social gathering any day!

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Women of the Bible, Service Dana Rongione Women of the Bible, Service Dana Rongione

Just an Ordinary Day…Until It Wasn’t

In our Bible Study last night, I had the opportunity to teach the story of a woman seldom discussed in Sunday School. Her name barely fills a few verses, yet her courage changed Israel's history!

The story begins with Israel under severe oppression from Jabin, a Canaanite king, whose army was led by the fearsome Sisera. God raised up Deborah, a prophetess, who summoned Barak to lead Israel's army into battle. Though Barak agreed, he insisted on Deborah's company, to which she replied, "I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman" (Judges 4:9).

When the battle turned against Sisera, he fled on foot and sought refuge in the tent of Jael, wife of Heber the Kenite.

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Spiritual Growth Dana Rongione Spiritual Growth Dana Rongione

Beyond the Noise

Have you ever played the "telephone game" where everyone sits in a circle and whispers a message from person to person? By the time it reaches the last person, the message has usually transformed into something hilariously different from the original.

I was thinking about this recently while reading about Elijah in 1 Kings 19. Poor Elijah was having what we might call a spiritual breakdown. After his magnificent victory over the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, Queen Jezebel threatened his life, and suddenly our brave prophet was running for the hills—literally.

He ended up at Mount Horeb (also known as Sinai), exhausted, depressed, and feeling completely alone. "I, even I only, am left," he lamented to God, "and they seek my life, to take it away" (1 Kings 19:10).

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