CANAAN'S REST

Devotions from Lisa McMinn’s book, The Contented Soul Today’s devotion is on limits, and as a culture we are not particularly good at accepting limits, especially if our comfort is involved. People today tend to feel pressured to make the most of every opportunity and end up living frantic lives.  But contented people accept more…

Devotions based on Lisa McMinn’s book, The Contented Soul We live in a society that wants a good measure of control over pain, hunger, disease, aging etc. We get frustrated when we encounter something we can’t control. But it is in our pain and things that limit us that we discover how finite we are…

Devotions from Lisa McMinn’s book, The Contented Soul We belong not to ourselves but to God, and are part of a whole that connects us to each other and to creation. As we grow less preoccupied with ourselves, we are filled with the wonder at the God who created us and all that surrounds us.…

Devotions from Lisa McMinn’s book, The Contented Soul You are familiar I am sure of Reinhold Niebuhr’s Serenity prayer but is good to really “Listen” to the whole thing and not just the first line or two. “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I…

Devotions based on Lisa McMinn’s book, The Contented Soul When we go through hard times and respond rightly, it teaches us resilience and hope. Struggle is good because it builds fortitude, the endurance that develops through hardship and difficulty. We can learn to trust that God is doing His transforming work in us as we…

Devotions from Lisa McMinn’s book, The Contented Soul We all go through hard times and when we embrace struggle, we learn fortitude and just how capable we are of enduring. We also open ourselves to receive blessings from others.  The French Jesuit priest, Jean-Pierre de Caussade, encourages Christians to recognize God in every moment-not to…

Devotions from Lisa McMinn’s book, The Contented Soul Because the world is broken, we won’t experience the full joy we were created for, in this life. But because our contentment comes from the awareness of our personal God, we can rest in contentment even when our circumstances are not what we would like them to…

Devotions from Lisa McMinn’s book, The Contented Soul God remembers us and is always present with us. He is not the enemy of our joy but created us for joy, to experience happiness, and to be united with Him. But when we look to things and accomplishments as our sources of happiness, we miss the…

Devotions from Lisa McMinn’s book, The Contented Soul Have you noticed how market forces manipulate us by trying to convince us that their products will give us the contentment for which we search? Advertising tries to make us believe that our lives would be so much better if we purchased their product. If we aren’t…