Beverly Joy Roberts

My house is loaded with baby gates.  These gates are at every staircase and dangerous doorway in our house.  These baby gates have an important function.  They are there to protect the baby from harm. The reason our house is loaded with baby gates is because we have house guests for a year and one of  our guests is a new walker.  (The picture is of our actual house guest.)   At the writing of this devotion, I'm proud to say that we have not had any tumbles down the stairs. There is a problem with the baby gates.  I have seen a number of funny Facebook videos of toddlers scaling baby gates like soldiers readying for war.  I have also seen babies capable of pushing down a baby gate, as well as the brilliant little ones whose tiny hands figure out how to unlatch a locked gate. There is a scripture that speaks to an adult situation that is similar to these baby gate escape artists.  It's found in Psalm 141:3 (GW) O Lord, set a guard at my mouth.  Keep watch over the door

It's that time again.  The changing of the furnace filter.  I've known for over a month that the filter needed to be changed, but I couldn't remember the size.  So day after day, week after week, the dirt would get thicker and thicker hindering the filter from doing its job. Finally, I put the size in my phone so I'd have it with me at all times.  Still, I have not bought a new filter.  You may wonder why.  The truth is having the correct information and acting on it are two different things. This whole furnace filter debacle caused me to think of my own life.  It was years ago in a counseling format that I first heard the word "filter."  It was used to describe how people hear things.  If the information comes to them through a dirty filter,  usually due to life experiences, then it's anybody's guess what the person may actually hear.  Even if every word you are saying to help them is awesome, wisdom from on high and amazing, they simple ca

When children first learn to talk, the parents are overjoyed with each sweet word that is uttered by their protege.   "Dada!"  "Mama!"   "Bye Bye!" Then other words begin to appear, and these words can be underwhelming.  "No!"   "Shut-up!"  "Poop." (A personal favorite of my grandsons.) As a toddler's vocabulary increases, so do the words we don't want our sweet babies to say.  Then the parents must adjust their conversation to protect the child's budding vocabulary.   Remember the spelling years!  I-C-E  C-R-E-A-M!  Even with all we do to protect our brilliant off-springs, they will still pick up some unapproved words.   A word in our house that seeped into our young children's vocabulary was "MINE!"   I have no idea where my children could have heard such a selfish word...s he lied . MINE, when spoken in a possessive way, reeks of selfishness.  I understand selfishness a

Our youngest grandchild recently turned one.  For being a little guy, he has the grip of a grown man.  Once he gets hold of something, and he doesn't want to let go, there is only one way to break his grip.  If you guessed pry back his fingers, you'd be correct. The boy knows what he wants and he will hold fast to whatever that may be.  You probably wouldn't notice this in the family photo I posted, but #10 is holding a stick much to his mama's dismay and his daddy's giggles.  He wouldn't let go and as you can see...it's in the family picture as a forever memory. Speaking of holding on and not letting go, today is our 42nd wedding anniversary.  We married young, but we knew what we wanted.  We wouldn’t be dissuaded.  On September 6, 1975 we took hold of each other and have held on tightly.  Forty-two years ago, we made this forever promise one to another. T o have and to hold from this day forward,  for better for worse, for richer for poor