Author: Jayne Lawson

Make Your Vote Count!

Jayne Lawson 0 Comment Devotionals

Joshua 24:15 “And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Our lives are full of choices. Today, we head to the polls to make our choices for various political offices and issues of which the battles have been quite fierce. It has been extremely difficult to discern fact from fiction, which in turn makes it hard to choose wisely when voting. How do you know what is truth and what is false as you listen to the candidates clamoring for your vote? Even researching on one’s own can be overwhelming, especially with all the negativity that is on the airwaves and social media. In the end, some simply choose to vote along party lines, while others allow celebrities or athletes to influence their votes. There are those who vote according to their religious beliefs, and others who follow their own personal convictions. There are some whose enthusiasm for our civic duty propels them to cast their votes early, and sadly there are also those who do not vote at all. Read more

Special Glasses

Jayne Lawson 1 Comment Devotionals

Isaiah 9:2 “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”

In 2017, parts of the eastern US was affected by a total solar eclipse. It was pretty exciting for my family. We bought the special glasses, and my son-in-law even made special boxes for viewing the event. While we were not in the direct path of the total eclipse, we were in the penumbral section, which meant we would see a partial solar eclipse. In our area, it was reported that 99.2% of the sun would be obscured by the moon, so only a mere sliver of sunlight would remain visible to us. We had such high hopes to be in near darkness, but that never happened for us! That tiny sliver of sunlight was enough to eliminate our immersion into total darkness. While the daylight dimmed somewhat, and we saw an increase in shadows, less than one percent of sunlight prevented the darkness from enveloping us. Read more

Shine On Me!

Jayne Lawson 0 Comment Devotionals

Psalm 119:105 “Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

I never really think about flashlights until I need one, and then I am so grateful for them! Once in a while, our power goes out, usually when there is a strong storm. It’s not a problem in the daylight hours, but when night falls, my once familiar home becomes an obstacle course! Without electricity, I bump into the corner of chairs or tables, or I step on things I thoughtlessly left on the floor. After I have groped through a drawer, my searching fingers finally find the flashlight, and now I can see the right path to take through the house, avoiding the pitfalls of a misplaced shoe or pulled out chair. Read more

Hold Tight!

Jayne Lawson 4 Comments Devotionals

Isaiah 41:13 “For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not. I will help thee.”

My father was a big man. He was a little over six feet tall and weighed somewhere in the mid-250s. His deep voice was loving, and his laugh was always robust! One thing I remember clearly about my dad is that his hands were huge! He worked as a contractor for most of my life, and wielding the tools of his trade undoubtedly strengthened his hands. Sometimes when we walked, he would hold my hand. When his fingers closed around mine, I was secure in his grasp, and I had not a care in the world. As little girls often do, I adored my dad. I suppose I could say he was a gentle giant with me, and as a small child, he was my almighty protector. When I was afraid, Daddy’s hand would reach out, take mine, and I would no longer be fearful. There was never any doubt in my mind that my father would keep me safe as long as my hand was in his. Read more

Now, That’s a Question!

Jayne Lawson 0 Comment Devotionals

Isaiah 40:28-29 “Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of His understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might, He increaseth strength.”

“Hast thou not known?”

I was somewhat taken aback at these four words. What a question! I thought I knew, but then I wondered, did I really know? As I thought about these two verses, I kept coming back to those first four words. I definitely believed God was all those things, but this was a moment when the enormity of those particular characteristics made me wonder if I really could say “yes” to that question. I understood that God was the Creator who never got tired; I understood that I could never grasp the extent of His knowledge, but this was the first time I really gave these attributes a “deep think.” Truly, God NEVER is faint; His understanding can NEVER be realized, and He ALWAYS provides strength for His children. Wow! Read more

Antigua

Jayne Lawson 0 Comment Travel

Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee.”

In spite of weather forecasts for rain, we awoke this morning to calm seas and partly cloudy skies as we approached Antigua. Golden rays announced the rising sun in the eastern sky, and the only sound was the quiet hum of the ship’s engines. Opening the sliding door, I was greeted with a beautiful view of the island! To think God simply spoke all this beauty into creation is so incredibly amazing! The vastness of the sea, its deep blue waves in rhythmic harmony as marshmallow clouds hang suspended in a sky blue firmament. Wow! How great Thou art! Read more

Guess Who Sings!

Jayne Lawson 0 Comment Devotionals

Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy, he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” 

Singing in church with my granddaughter Bree is such a blessing to me. Bree has a lovely voice, and she really enjoys singing for the Lord. I love having her by my side praising the Lord with me in song.

When I read today’s verse, I discovered something else really wonderful about singing.

God sings! I did not realize that! Until I really read this verse, I never imagined God singing, but He does! He sings with joy because I am His child! I have been adopted into the family of God, and He sings because of that! Wow!

I can’t wait to hear Him singing and rejoicing when I step into His presence. God Himself is going to rejoice over me with singing!! Me!! My heart is thrilled to know that on that day when I am in the presence of my Lord, He will rest in His love for me and sing! Sweet melodies that I have never been heard before will fall upon my ears! Songs of love will fill the courts of heaven, and those songs will be coming from God Himself! My heart will soar with the melodies that burst forth from the heart of my God!

I can’t wait to hear God sing!

Stop and Smell the Rose

Jayne Lawson 1 Comment Devotionals

Song of Solomon 2:1 “I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.”

I recently learned how to ride a Segway. For someone my age, learning to ride this contraption was quite a challenge. My biggest fear was falling and breaking something, so I was very attentive while learning. I listened carefully to the safety training video; I followed every direction the teacher gave, and I made sure every move I made was exactly what I had been told to do. Before I knew it, I was standing atop my Segway! Soon, I was actually riding around in the training area, albeit at a snail’s pace. My turns were wide and slow, but I didn’t fall! Moving the machine forward was coming along. (I refused to try the backwards roll!) Finally, I was ready for the road! Read more

St. Lucia

Jayne Lawson 0 Comment Travel

Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee.”

St. Lucia is definitely a gem of the Caribbean! It is an island of verdant forests, volcanic black sand beaches, brilliantly painted flowers, and very friendly people. As we approached, we saw houses nestled within the rainforest adding splashes of contrasting colors to the tapestry of green woven over the island.

Before we reached our first destination, we had several places where we stopped for photos as we ascended into the rainforest. Our first stop provided us with an amazing panoramic view of the azure blue waters of the Caribbean Sea. From this vantage point, we could look down on Castries, the capital, and also, our ship at the dock. Our next stop was overlooking Marigot Bay. A beautiful inlet that often shelters boats during hurricane season, this spot was known for several films made here. Each overlook had a few locals selling their handmade wares, but all we took back with us were pictures.

Finally, we arrived at the Tet Paul Nature Trail. This was a precarious hiking trail that would take us between the Pitons, two peaks that seem to be rising right out of the sea! Made of hardened lava, they rise to an elevation of approximately 2,000 ft. above sea level. I managed to stumble my way up the trail without a spill, and was rewarded with a breathtaking view of the Pitons! Once we made the trek back down, we were rewarded with crispy fish fritters (so delicious!), the sweetest Valencia bananas (I think 1 ate 3 of them throughout the day!), and guava (my first time)!

Our next stop was brief as we made our way to a local waterfall. Most of the folks there were jumping in and taking their photos under the falls, but we chose to stay dry and snap a picture from the sidelines. From here, we went to have lunch at a restaurant on the beach. It was buffet style and had several local selections: plantains, fried bread, cabbage slaw, breadfruit pie, boiled green bananas, lentils, saffron rice, creole chicken and whitefish. Yum!

On the ride back to the ship, I had the opportunity to think about the variety of cultures that we’ve been able to experience. It is so mindboggling to think about the creative mind of God. Our world is diverse in so many ways, and yet it all came from His mind alone. Never mind the incredible process of creation that occurred simply from His spoken word, but just the profound assortment of plants, animals, topography He designed takes your breath away! Amazing doesn’t even begin to describe it!

 

Next stop: Antigua

St. Kitts and Nevis

Jayne Lawson 0 Comment Travel

1 Kings 8:60 “That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else.”

The diversity of the Caribbean islands always amazes me! Although the indigenous history of the islands is similar, the countries that eventually colonized them differed greatly. St. Kitts was fought over by the Spanish, British, and French, but the British and French eventually shared the island in the early 1600s, with Britain eventually taking full control later.

Known for its sugar, St. Kitts’ economy depended on sugar cane until recently, when it no longer became profitable to produced sugar. Now, tourism is the backbone of the economy. On our recent excursions, heat and humidity have been our constant companions, so I finally got wise and brought a cloth and a sweatband! Yoohoo! I was ready to go! By the time we got back to the ship, my sweat band was soaked, but I had a great day!

We visited Romney Manor, once owned by an ancestor of Thomas Jefferson. This estate was beautiful! Surrounded by rainforest, the estate had a plethora of colorful flowers and lush green plants. We strolled around the grounds, enjoying the tropical garden and the shade of a 400-year-old saman tree, whose canopy covered 2/3 of an acre! An added treat was visiting the batik fabric crafts factory on the grounds where we watched a woman make the designs as she explained the process of creating the materials.

Afterwards, we went to the Brimstone Hill Fortress, which is the largest fort in the Caribbean. It was quite a climb to the fort itself. Probably due more to the heat and humidity, but by the time I got to the grounds of the main part of the fort, my muscles were protesting! However, I wasn’t going to quit! I had a fort to explore with John! Cannons were all around, and we were able to roam around checking out the old barracks, ammunition rooms, and officers’ quarters. I found it quite interesting that we could climb all over this multi-leveled fort and there wasn’t a single protective rail on the upper levels! If you weren’t paying attention, it would be a very long drop!

Being at the fortress and hearing about the battles between the French and British for the island reminded me that our battle as Christians is not against a mortal enemy. Ephesians 6:12 says “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” We must be equipped at all times in the full armor of God to fight our adversary, for Satan is formidable and seeks to destroy anyone who loves the Lord. As God’s Word tells us in 1 Peter 5:8, “… the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” Therefore, I must be battle-ready at all times, so that no matter what I face in this life, with Christ, I can “withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

Next stop: St. Lucia