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Give Everything to God
Spiritual Growth

Give Everything to God

December 3, 2021

After a wild night of tromping through the neighborhood adjacent to ours (they have better candy), for what felt like five and a half hours, but was really only 47 minutes, my two sons hit the motherload of Halloween candy. My oldest son, Liam’s bag, was eight pounds, and my youngest, Waylan’s, was five pounds (yes, they weighed them, with my old-school 70s inspired floral bathroom scale).

EVERYTHING is a competition with boys…

After spending the remainder of the evening with their stash spread all over the living room floor, trading and bartering for each brother’s beloved candy, I finally had to cut off the highly addictive sugary bliss as it was getting late and they had school the next day. 

The next day, after school, as my youngest was sitting at the desk doing his homework, in between mouthfuls of Snickers, Twix, and Swedish Fish, he said to me, “Mom. I have decided you can have one piece of my candy per day. If you are feeling ‘snacky’.”

I blankly stared at this child, whom I brought into the world, after carrying him in my own body for what felt like seven years, and said, “Wow. That’s very….ahem, charitable of you.”. 

Thinking to myself how nearly insulting it was to be offered one single solitary piece of candy per day, when minutes before, I literally saw this same child, with his whole head inside the pillowcase in which he is storing his massive candy stash.

And then it hit me. I am no different. 

My precious Savior, Jesus, gave His absolute ALL for me. He gave His very life to save me from the pitfalls of selfish sin that daily ensnare me.

I wonder if He feels the same way when I mindlessly offer an hour of my time on Sunday morning, or perhaps a random act of kindness to ward off the guilt I feel after over-zealously spending too much money, or the number of other minuscule offerings in attempts to please my Heavenly Father?

When in reality, He does not need a single thing from me. He simply desires all of me. My heart, my hurts, my pain, my joy, my excitement, my thanksgiving, my time, my talents, my hopes, and my dreams. He simply wants me…the good, bad, warts, ugly, shining, beautiful, forgiven, and struggling. 

Give Everything to God

Yet. 

Time and time again, I am no different than my precious child, offering the tiniest bit of attention I can muster, and holding back the remainder, selfishly trying to satisfy my earthly desires in a way that produces anything but satisfaction. 

Dear Lord, forgive me for holding on to those empty calories of gluttonous self-centeredness. Help my desire for you to grow each day. And to fully come to fruition as I come to know the joy of giving you my all. The way you so selflessly did, hanging on that cross, with your arms wide open, as a sign of selfless love; the likes of which, the world has never known. 

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Manndi Wilkins

Manndi Maphies DeBoef works at the UMKC School of Pharmacy and as a freelance writer in her spare time. Her greatest passion is being a boy mom to her two rambunctious, creative, endearing sons, William, age 11 and Waylan, nearly 9. Her sons never fail to provide daily entertainment, which inspires many of her writings. She also loves to write about everything from being a single mom and dating after divorce to finding love later in life, the devastation of miscarriage, the loss of a loved one and starting over. Her pieces are lovingly filled with inspiration, encouragement and always a touch of humor. “Live a life others wish to read about.”

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It’s a challenging time to be a Christian. But the good news is God created us for such a time as this. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble.But take heart! I have overcome the world.” -John 16:33 NIV

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It’s a challenging time to be a Christian. But the good news is God created us for such a time as this. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble.But take heart! I have overcome the world.” -John 16:33 NIV #Christianity #Jesus #God #Christian #Bible #faith #JesusChrist #Love #church #prayer #Bibleverse #christianlife #godsword #jesussaves #jesuslovesyou #wordofgod #christianwoman #dailybibleverse #verseoftheday #bible-quotes #godislove #jesusislord #dailydevotional #biblejournaling #christianliving #scripture #biblequote #christianlifestyle #christianmom #faith
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"You see, we weren’t meant to stay young parents of young children. It was always part of the plan for our babies to grow up and, to some extent, to go away." @sandybrannanauthor 💛
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You better believe Jesus would welcome every single person at His table. But they’d walk away a changed person. They wouldn’t continue their life of sin.

There’s a difference between passing judgement that’s not ours to pass and knowing the difference between right and wrong- recognizing sin. I can recognize sin and still invite you to my table. But you better believe the topic of conversation is going to be about how God forgives. How He loves. How He offers salvation. 

Because leading you to Jesus is the biggest act of love I can show you.
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You better believe Jesus would welcome every single person at His table. But they’d walk away a changed person. They wouldn’t continue their life of sin. There’s a difference between passing judgement that’s not ours to pass and knowing the difference between right and wrong- recognizing sin. I can recognize sin and still invite you to my table. But you better believe the topic of conversation is going to be about how God forgives. How He loves. How He offers salvation. Because leading you to Jesus is the biggest act of love I can show you.
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Keep this somewhere you can see it. 💛
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It’s a challenging time to be a Christian. But the good news is God created us for such a time as this. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble.But take heart! I have overcome the world.” -John 16:33 NIV

#Christianity #Jesus #God #Christian #Bible #faith #JesusChrist #Love #church 
#prayer #Bibleverse #christianlife #godsword #jesussaves #jesuslovesyou #wordofgod #christianwoman #dailybibleverse #verseoftheday #bible-quotes #godislove #jesusislord #dailydevotional #biblejournaling #christianliving #scripture #biblequote #christianlifestyle #christianmom #faith
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It’s a challenging time to be a Christian. But the good news is God created us for such a time as this. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble.But take heart! I have overcome the world.” -John 16:33 NIV #Christianity #Jesus #God #Christian #Bible #faith #JesusChrist #Love #church #prayer #Bibleverse #christianlife #godsword #jesussaves #jesuslovesyou #wordofgod #christianwoman #dailybibleverse #verseoftheday #bible-quotes #godislove #jesusislord #dailydevotional #biblejournaling #christianliving #scripture #biblequote #christianlifestyle #christianmom #faith
1 month ago
View on Instagram |
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"You see, we weren’t meant to stay young parents of young children. It was always part of the plan for our babies to grow up and, to some extent, to go away."

@sandybrannanauthor 💛
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"You see, we weren’t meant to stay young parents of young children. It was always part of the plan for our babies to grow up and, to some extent, to go away." @sandybrannanauthor 💛
1 month ago
View on Instagram |
2/4
You better believe Jesus would welcome every single person at His table. But they’d walk away a changed person. They wouldn’t continue their life of sin.

There’s a difference between passing judgement that’s not ours to pass and knowing the difference between right and wrong- recognizing sin. I can recognize sin and still invite you to my table. But you better believe the topic of conversation is going to be about how God forgives. How He loves. How He offers salvation. 

Because leading you to Jesus is the biggest act of love I can show you.
saltnsparrow
saltnsparrow
•
Follow
You better believe Jesus would welcome every single person at His table. But they’d walk away a changed person. They wouldn’t continue their life of sin. There’s a difference between passing judgement that’s not ours to pass and knowing the difference between right and wrong- recognizing sin. I can recognize sin and still invite you to my table. But you better believe the topic of conversation is going to be about how God forgives. How He loves. How He offers salvation. Because leading you to Jesus is the biggest act of love I can show you.
5 months ago
View on Instagram |
3/4
Keep this somewhere you can see it. 💛
@realbrittanydawn
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Follow
Keep this somewhere you can see it. 💛 @realbrittanydawn
5 months ago
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