Michelle McKinney Hammond - Sassy, Single, and Satisfied Devotional: Inspiration for Todays Woman

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

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Cover illustration Casey Anderson (caseydraws.com); iStockphoto / donggu

SASSY, SINGLE, AND SATISFIED DEVOTIONAL
Formerly titled Single-Minded Devotion
Copyright 2009 by Michelle McKinney Hammond
Published 2012 by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com

ISBN: 978-0-7369-4698-8 (pbk.)
ISBN: 978-0-7369-4699-5 (eBook)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

To those who have been waiting on God to reveal His arms in human form He is ever near.

As we revel in His embrace we find the love weve been longing for and more.

Suddenly we find ourselves giving what weve been searching for and getting it in return.

Perhaps I struggled with this writing because of what it demandsa willingness to embrace where you are while walking in expectancy of Gods best for you. Not an easy thing, but when you do, the reward is so great. This is when God visits, pouring out all that He has. He is ever gracious, giving even when He does not receive and loving when He is not loved. Hes ever patient in the face of our lack of trust. Heavenly Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirithow I depend on You. Thank You for ignoring me when I fight You and for loving me in spite of myself. You are my everything.

To my wonderful Harvest House family. We continue the journey together, and its all good. I love and appreciate you soooo much.

All my family and friends (you know who you are), thank you for putting up with me when I disappear into the black hole of writing. Youre always here when I come out, and I am truly grateful!

My dear sister,

God has given you all the ingredients for the best love story ever written. So dont wait for someone else to write it! In your personal love story, a ransom is paid for the life of the princess. The dragon is defeated, and the prince rises to glorious and loving power. There is great celebration and rejoicing! And thats just the beginning.

Your story will be filled with joy as your prince sings My banner over you is love and takes you to His Fathers house for your wedding and the great wedding feast. You are not single after all! You are engaged and waiting for your divine Fianc to finish the preparations that are even now being carried out. He wants everything to be perfect for your arrival.

Until then, please allow God to perfect you into a delightful bride. And when you get weary of waiting for the marriage celebration, remember He is waiting too!

With love in Christ Jesus,

From the very start

there was only you

you alone before the distractions

the distractions of the lust of the eyes

the lust of the flesh

and the pride of life

before me

before it all

there was you

before serpents

and temptation

and beautiful gardens

before there was light

and sky

before the earth was released

from its watery grave

before there was man

before there was me

there was you

you longing for me

to love you

to worship you

to place nothing

before you

From the beginning God had plans for our lives. Beyond our dreams of success, beyond the things we want to acquire, and beyond marriage. God created us on purpose with specific purposes in mind. As we dedicate our lives to Him and become who He created us to be and do what He created us to do, fulfillment comes. From the beginning, life was designed to be filled with pleasure and all the perks that come with kingdom livingright standing with God; peace and joy in the Holy Ghost; intimacy with Jesus. That is truly living la vida loca!

A life filled with the purpose of God blesses us. Our lives will overflow with abundant love, exceeding all we can ask, or even think of asking, for. And this flows into the people around us too. God loves seeing all He created thriving. This is what glorifies Him best. We are the evidence of His power and glory. I pray that we will walk in that knowledge and reflect His goodness.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

J OHN 1:1-2 NASB

Y ou have my word, he said.

Promises, promises, I thought.

Sure enough he didnt do as hed promised. I purposed never to trust him again. To do so would only set me up for disappointment. Better not to take the risk. And thus began the dismantling of my faith in people.

People are one thing; God is another. When God says, You have My word, He is saying, You have Me, and in Me you will find all you ever want or need. He is His word. He cant be separated from it. What He says He must do. He promises to supply all we need as we live for Him. Only in knowing His words and promises can we be sure of who He is and what He will provide.

To know Gods Word, the Bible, is to know Himand to discover more about His amazing love and faithfulness. God never lies. He cant go against the grain of who He is because He is truth. And His truth sets us free to trust and to hope. We can expect that He will do what He said because He always tells the truth. There is no greater or more faithful love than this. We have His Word.

What are your expectations of God? Do you trust Him to deliver what He promises?

Precious Lord, teach me to rest in Your Word as I wait on You. Help me to know and trust Your promises. In Jesus name. Amen.

And the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

G ENESIS 1:2

T he image of the statue The Thinker has always left me wondering, What could he possibly be thinking about so intensely ? Well never know. The answer is locked away in the mind of the artist. However, when I consider what another artistGodwas thinking about as He hovered over the waters that lay beneath the heavens, I dare to offer the thought that He was thinking of us. Even then, with no one or anything else in sight except a globe covered with water, He was looking forward to meeting and fellowshipping with us.