devotional for women - Monica Ritchie

Cut Back

May 3, 2020 by Monica Ritchie

It’s spring here in Minnesota, which means that we’re all gardening! Part of preparing our landscaping is to cut back the previous years growth. We do this so that the plant can thrive in the new season. We cut the plant back to just the essentials. Recently, there has been an excessive amount of cut back in our own lives. The economy, jobs, our health and our social lives. It has been cut back, down to the essentials. Now, there is talk of things opening back up and pressing restart on it all has God’s word’s ringing in my ears. …

Relationships

March 22, 2020 by Monica Ritchie

I had written this last fall after my grandma, my Gigi passed away. It has been a reminder to me that though she may be gone physically, she is still teaching me many lessons. If you’d like to read my tribute to my Gigi, you can find that HERE. My Gig, she was a woman of tenacity and grit no doubt. She didn’t necessarily own extravagant things, and in her lifetime she didn’t necessarily even travel to what one might consider extravagant places. But what she did have, what she did create were extravagant relationships. During this time of pandemic, …

In a world that increasingly values numbers; know that never determines your worth.

February 27, 2020 by Monica Ritchie

It’s not a matter of IF you’ll be tempted, it’s more a matter of WHEN. When that happens, how will you respond? In Matthew 4 before Jesus begins his earthly ministry, we see Jesus going out into the desert. It is here that he has fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. He is hungry. The tempter (ie Satan, the devil, the evil one) comes to him and tempts him. He says “turn these stones into bread” to that Jesus answers “It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from God.” Jesus, …

Blooming in God’s Timing

February 7, 2020 by Monica Ritchie

I’ve been saying “no” to a lot of opportunities lately. A lot of really great opportunities. I have also been hearing “no” or “not yet” on a lot as well. That feels hard, it feels like rejection. It feels stagnant in an ever evolving space. But God is reminding me, much like I cannot force open the petals of my peonies to bloom, I cannot force open His plans or His timing for me. ‘Bloom where you’re planted’ is a popular mantra and typically, I’m not one to gravitate towards such things, however, this one, I’m digging into. I’m called …