Counting

Most of us enjoy counting the days until a special event — a special birthday, wedding, vacation, retirement, or the birth of a grandchild. You may be counting the days until you travel to Omaha, Nebraska, for the 41st Biennial Convention. I am counting those days too and looking forward to spending time with my sisters in Christ being inspired to dig deeper in God’s Word, being nurtured to share the love of Christ with enthusiasm, and being encouraged to support missions and our mission goal.

Blessings are something we can count, too! I use a jar to accumulate the blessings I jot down on paper. I enjoy going through the jar periodically to remember some of the blessings God bestows. Check out the retreat/workshop resource, Count Your Blessings. There are some wonderful Bible verses and questions for thought in this resource.

As of June 8, 2025, it’s 14 days until I travel to Omaha. It’s a blessing to be able to attend and to serve the Lord!

Kathy Pavelock

Vice President of Communication
Lutheran Women in Mission

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Raindrops Keep Falling

He covers the heavens with clouds, he prepares rain for the earth;
he makes grass grow on the hills (Psalm 147:8).

Spring rain from heaven brings blooming flowers, singing birds, and green grass. God created raindrops to evaporate, transform inside a cloud and condense, fall as precipitation, and eventually, it starts the cycle all over again by either being steered towards runoff or into the ground through infiltration and then percolates into the groundwater. Whew!

Your transformation happened through the Holy Spirit. The sprinkle on your head or your immersion during Baptism created faith in you. Remembering your Baptism daily helps ground you in your daily walk. My prayer for you — when it rains, you remember your Baptism knowing you are forgiven and restored. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection offers salvation and eternal life!

Next time you grab your umbrella, think of your Baptism!

Read the Mustard Seed Devotion on the topic of Baptism, Water of Life: Same but Different.

Cheryl Mattil

Strategic Plan Facilitator
Lutheran Women in Mission

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Remember Your Baptism

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6:26).

In our backyard is a bird bath we fill daily with fresh water. Last week several robins took a bath simultaneously. They squawked and flapped their wings in an effort to get clean and make room for each other in the water. What a fun sight to see.

An even more beautiful sight to see is Baptism. Through the water and the Word, a child/adult is washed clean and becomes a child of God. God always has enough room for one more person to join His family. You are valuable to God; daily remember your Baptism – He has washed you clean to love and serve Him.

Arlene Naasz

Vice President of Organizational Resources
Lutheran Women in Mission

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Prayers for LWML Mission Grant Proposals

“My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isaiah 56:7b).

This week, voting members for the 2025 LWML Convention in Omaha, Nebraska, will be voting electronically, in advance, choosing the 2025–2027 Mission Grants that will be funded in the coming biennium. Have you read about these 47 mission grant proposals? Please pray for these missions and those who will be blessed by them. Each grant, whether serving people across the world or close to home, is spreading the Gospel, sharing Christ’s love. All praise to our loving Father!

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation (Mark16:15).

Please keep in prayer the voting delegation. May God grant them wisdom.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18).

To assist in our prayers, download the printable PDF of the list of mission grant proposals. Find it under Convention Documents on Convention Central. It is truly a blessing to read about and pray for God’s work to be done through these missions.

Leslie Colligan

Meeting Manager
Lutheran Women’s Missionary League

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My Redeemer Lives

“I know that my Redeemer lives; What comfort this sweet sentence gives! He lives, He lives, who once was dead; He lives my every-living head.” (LSB 461 v. 1)

As we enter the fifth week of Easter, are you still celebrating that our Redeemer lives? I hope so! The words of this beloved hymn, based upon a passage from Job 19:25, affirms all that Jesus our Redeemer means to me. “He lives to silence all my fears; He lives to wipe away my tears; He lives to calm my troubled heart; He lives all blessings to impart.” (v. 5)

I have a dear friend who is dying. Beyond my visits and prayers, I have gifted her with our new devotion book God’s Grace in a Lemon-Filled World by Aretta Gordish, available in the LWML SHOP through CPH. This collection of 20 devotions demonstrates how God’s grace prevails when life gives us lemons. It is my prayer that this little devotion book will provide some comfort to my friend in her last days and affirm to her that her Redeemer lives.

“For I know that my Redeemer lives….” (Job 19:25).

Anita Werner

Treasurer
Lutheran Women in Mission

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His Princess

Did you ever want to be a real princess, a pretend princess, or be treated like a princess? As I think back to my childhood, I remember the neighborhood kids playing “Palace.” We had a king, queen, princess, prince, and servants. That game brings back wonderful memories, but most of all, it reminds me of Jesus, the King, who makes us His princesses and princes – His children! What a privilege in our lives.

Being under a king means being protected and provided with a good life. Our King Jesus gives us that — and more — in the gift of forgiveness and the promise of an eternal home in His heavenly kingdom.

Being of the King, through faith, it is my joy to live as His princess. Just a thought for you.

In the LWML resources, you will find the litany, “King of Time and Eternity.” I encourage you to use it for a personal devotion or an LWML group devotion.

Karol Selle

Vice President of Special Focus Ministries
Lutheran Women in Mission

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Mustard Seed Devotion — A Timeless Resource

I found a 1985 version of an LWML Mustard Seed Devotion while cleaning out my home office. Its mustard yellow cover caught my attention, and I wondered how this wonderful piece of LWML history had found its way into my office. The Mustard Seed Devotional packets were developed in 1971 to provide a portable devotion for working women to use during their lunch hour. These small devotions have been “on the go” ever since. Lutheran Women in Mission add these devotions to tips in restaurants and hotels, and slip them into cards for soldiers, cancer patients, and friends. I use them as personal devotions and send them to LWML sisters in cards.

Last year we discontinued our current Mustard Seed Devotions packet due to increased production costs. We tried a few products as substitutes, but nothing caught on. I’m pleased to announce that a new version of the Mustard Seed Devotions entitled “Devotions to Sow: Joy in our Daily Lives” is in production. This tear-away booklet features 30 Mustard Seed Devotions, each with a duplicate copy, so you can easily share God’s love and encouragement with others. Visit the LWML SHOP at convention to be one of the first to purchase these Mustard Seed Devotions.

Debbie Yocky

Public Relations Director
Lutheran Women in Mission

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