Devotionals
2021
But Who Will Help Daddy?
My Daddy was so smart, I just knew he could fix anything that needed fixing. “Daddy, my dolly just fell apart!” I cried. I’d just gotten it for Christmas, and already the rubber band that held it together had broken. No problem. My smart Daddy could fix it. “Daddy, I...
Dagwood and Guilt
Elizabeth Rice Handford Reminds Us God Will Be Faithful in 2022 In the comics this week Blondie asked Dagwood, “Did you make any New Year’s resolutions, dear?” O.K., I admit it. I still read the comics. We called them the fnnny papers when I was a child, and I felt...
Joy to the World the Lord Has Come
Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room Finding New Joy in the Carols with Elizabeth Rice Handford The Christmas carol Joy to the World begins so sweetly: Joy to the World! The Lord has come! Let earth receive her King! Except that’s not what happened when Jesus came. The...
Away In A Manger
Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay Close by me for ever, And love me, I pray. Finding New Joy in Christmas Carols with Elizabeth Rice Handford Son John, four years old, came running into the kitchen, shouting eagerly, “Mother! Mother, you were wrong! There is...
I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day
And in despair I bowed my head: “There is no peace on earth,” I said. Finding New Joy in Christmas Carols with Elizabeth Rice Handford My daughters Margi and Ruth and I had a delightful time the other day, singing and playing Christmas carols with a wonderful group of...
O Little Town of Bethlehem
“The hopes and fears of all the years are met in Thee tonight” Finding New Joy in Christmas Carols with Elizabeth Rice Handford Was Bethlehem really so quiet that first Christmas night as described in “O Little Town of Bethlehem”? If you visited it today, you might...
Whatever Your Need, God Yearns to Meet It
Each week, as I prepare a devotional for you, I ask God to please help me know what your spiritual needs are on this day. I grew up in a godly home, was given wonderful Bible teaching, and more important, I had godly examples. These were marvelous gifts I didn’t earn...
Give Thanks in Everything?
Thanksgiving was not just a November holiday in the Rice home when I was a child. Daddy and Mother found reasons to praise the Lord every day, all day. Even when they encountered major setbacks, when the church they had sacrificed so much for burned to the ground,...
What Are You Listening To?
Every day we are assaulted by voices—colleagues, radio, television, newspapers, educators, famous people, even friends. What we listen to and whom we listen to can shape our beliefs, our actions, even our destiny. Sobering thought. A friend of mine believes the earth...
The World’s Record for the Oldest Human Being, And Why It Matters
Guinness World Records says the oldest living human being is Kane Tanaka of Japan, aged 118 years. However, there is an incontrovertible record of a man, Methuselah, who actually lived until he was 969 years old! His name in Hebrew could translate, “When he is dead it...
