God’s Chocolate Chips: Daily Doses of Heaven’s Chocolate to Sweeten Your Life

By Erin Wilmer

Chocolate is the ultimate comfort food, and we all need comfort sometimes! Author Erin Wilmer understands the many ups and downs that life may bring. She puts at ease the mind of her readers in this 31 day devotional as she reminds them that the ultimate comforter is with them on their journey.

In God’s Chocolate Chips, Erin provides thirty-one sweet doses of God’s wisdom. Encounter God’s presence in every day occurrences. He reveals himself in everything we experience and endure. He is always somewhere behind the scenes, working on our behalf, and if we look close enough and shut out the noise of the day, we will see and hear Him.

It is Erin’s desire that those who engage, reflect, and meditate on the fresh truth of God will experience an awakening of who God is and how we may cultivate a personal relationship with Him. God is the essence of chocolate; everything is sweeter with Him!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Feb 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9781973683292

Erin Wilmer

Erin Wilmer served honorably twenty-four years in the United States Navy. She has over twenty years of ministry experience. She is a Pensacola, Florida, native. She enjoys spending time with her husband and their four children. Erin’s desire is to edify and encourage everyone she encounters.

Book preview

Copyright © 2020 Erin Wilmer.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8328-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8330-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-8329-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020900338

WestBow Press rev. date:   01/28/2020

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Day 1    Clogged Pores

Day 2    3D Glasses

Day 3    That Baby!

Day 4    Combat Boots

Day 5    Eggs and Sausage

Day 6    Monkey See, Monkey Do

Day 7    My Best Friend

Day 8    Rotten Bananas

Day 9    Superglue

Day 10    The Treadmill

Day 11    Camouflage

Day 12    Timberland Boots

Day 13    Are You Kidding Me?

Day 14    Massage Therapy

Day 15    Cleavage

Day 16    Duncan

Day 17    Dominos

Day 18    My New Hairdo

Day 19    Spit Shoeshine

Day 20    Laundry Detergent

Day 21    The Christmas Ornament

Day 22    The Dining Room Table

Day 23    Spades

Day 24    The Green Monster

Day 25    Shrimp and Sausage Cajun    Skillet

Day 26    The Opportunist

Day 27    Humpty Dumpty

Day 28    Name Brands

Day 29    The Academy

Day 30    Running Around Like a Chicken    with Its Head Cut Off

Day 31    The Houseplant

Bonus Day    Am I Alone?

Until We Meet Again

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English

Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry

of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright

© 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress.

All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982

by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (AMP) are taken from the Amplified Bible, Copyright ©

1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New

International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica,

Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.

zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks

registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible,

New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale

House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers,

Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian

Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers.

Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are

federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

GOD'S WORD is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Quotations are

used by permission. Copyright 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved.

Dedication

I DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO God. Thank you for loving me in spite of myself and for choosing me as a vessel.

It goes without saying that my husband, Steve Wilmer, is no doubt my biggest fan, and he is always poking, prodding, pushing, pulling, and challenging me to be all that God has created me to be.

My children—Judah, Josiah, Joi, and Jayna. The greatest gift God ever gave me was mothering the four of you. Remember to stay on the winning team!

To the women of my life who mentor me, love me, and guide me—my mother, Lillian; my grandmother, Frances; my sisters, Jill and Felicia, my spiritual mothers, Cheryl and Kelly, and my spiritual sister, Milana, who I call my voices of reason-my life is richer because of all of you.

Acknowledgements

SPECIAL THANKS TO MY SISTERS in the faith, Kari Dunham & Karen Merritt-Wade for using your time and giftings to bring this book to life.

Introduction

I INVITE YOU TO TAKE this thirty-one-day journey with me. Each day we encounter God’s presence in everyday occurrences. He reveals himself in everything we encounter, experience, and endure. He is somewhere, behind the scenes, working on our behalf. And if we look closely enough, if we shut out all the noise of the day, we will see and hear him. God is the essence of chocolate; everything is sweeter with him in it!

Day 1

CLOGGED PORES

day%201%20clogged%20pores%20shutterstock_309400355.jpg

DURING A RECENT FACIAL, THE therapist began lecturing me on clogged pores. She explained how the pores can get clogged with too much secretion of sebum, with dry and dead skin cells, or with normal everyday dirt and filth. She explained that if I didn’t keep my face clean by using a regular skin-care regimen, it could cause discoloration, and my skin would be unable to display its natural beauty. As I listened to her, I wondered what areas of my life were clogged. Where have I allowed dry and dead things to stay in my life? Where did I need to wash off the everyday dirt and filth of the world? Did I need a spiritual facial? Hmmmm, do you? I go every month to have my skin cleaned and my pores unclogged. How much more often should I go and lay on the table of my Creator and allow him to unclog my life’s pores? More than once a month, that’s for sure! Each day we can take all our cares, concerns, and worries to our Father. He will exfoliate us so our true beauty will shine. Be blessed, my friends, and get those pores unclogged.

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Daily Prayer

God, today help me to allow you to make me over. Let me never be ashamed to lay before you for a spiritual cleansing. My desire is that I am a reflection of you. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

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Scripture Reference

Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. (Psalm 51:2 English Standard Bible)

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Self-Reflection

In what ways do you need your life pores unclogged?

Day 2

3D GLASSES

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I REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME