Let's Get Inspired EVERY DAY, Thanks to Author Debora M. Coty
Friends! No, you’re not seeing double, but due to my multi-tasking I had the wrong cover of this wonderful book I’m sharing about. So the below is what you need. My apologies! Please enjoy:
Friends! Have I ever got good news to share with you! Spring has sprung, and with it, daily inspiration, thanks to author Debora Coty and her new book, Too Blessed to be Stressed…Inspiration for Every Day.
Short and sweet, each devotion includes a clever title, a Scripture verse, an anecdote to go along with the title, and a prayer to close it out. One of many, many of my favorites is entitled, “Perfecting My Stinky Face.” (Makes you curious, doesn’t it?)
For those of you who don’t know Debora, you’ll love getting to know her because she has the funniest sense of humor I’ve read in a long, long time. She’s also a great storyteller and you’ll think you’re sitting right next to her while she tells you what’s transpired.
I love how she calls her grandson “grandbuddy.” His name is Blaine and in this particular story, he was watching her put her face on…Wondering what all that stuff was, Blaine asked his Mimi what it does.
Deb told him her blush gave her more color. He then asked why his Mimi wanted to be pink. (!!!)
Next up, a little spray of perfume. Further curious, typical of a three year-old, the “why” question returned. Deb told him she thought her perfume made her smell pretty.
Oh, Blaine’s response is worthy of an award for best comedy: While making a stinky face…he said, “Uggghh. You smell like my Pull-Ups.” Wow. Outta the mouths of babes.
Her point to this devotion is we all make “stinky faces” over something. Not so pretty to look at when passing a mirror. Many times we don’t even realize the scour our faces are sportin’…
Deb teaches us, “The face is the window into the mind. Reading expressions is our feedback mechanism to know what’s going on inside others.” Reminds me of that saying, “If you’re so happy, you may want to notify your face.” Makes me laugh every time.
Right before the ending of the devotional, Deb asks us to consider a couple of questions:
“So does my countenance bless or intimidate people?”
“Does Jesus-joy shine through my eyes and encourage through my smile?”
While we readers are pondering those questions, Deb closes with a beautiful prayer:
See how neat this devotional is? And it’s just one of three hundred and sixty-five! One for each day. And you know my rule for devotionals: “Like shoes, you can never have too many devotionals. Change them up as your mood does.”
Last year, I was blessed to get to meet Debora in person in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Hubster and I happened to be vacationing there for a few days . She drove over from Tampa just so we could meet face to face (our faces were happy that day!!!) and sip on some tea. We had a ball and our time flew out to sea before we were close to being finished.
Deb and I’d been emailing for a few years after my happy discovery of her book Fear, Faith and a Fistful of Chocolate—Wit and Wisdom for Sidestepping Life’s Worries. It’s another one not to miss.
I love what one of her endorsers, Rhonda Rhea, says of this devotional, “Too Blessed to be Stressed…is just like the right touch of soul caffeine—perfect for my morning. I love that it’s compact and clever. Witty and heartwarming, yes, but best of all the wisdom tucked inside is biblical, and each devotion directs my focus to God who wants my day…”
A couple more fun facts and then we’ll close…So back in 2011, Too Blessed to be Stressed—Inspiration for Climbing Out of Life’s Stress-Pool was published. Debora’s publisher got the bright notion to birth a few more offshoots from this and a cookbook was born as well as a three-minute devotional which then led to this three hundred and sixty-five day one. (See the post from March 2016 for more on Deb)
Debora says this devotional is “ready to rescue readers from the joy-sucking dully-funks.” The devotions cover about any topic you could come up with:
“Relationships,
Love,
Boundaries,
Hope,
Brokenness,
Revitalization of spirit, body, and faith,
and Refreshment”—just to name a few!
Run, don’t walk, to your nearest bookstore and grab this devotional! You’ll be so happy you did!
‘Til next time!