The Ordinary and the Almighty: Daily Encouragement as We Journey with Jesus

By Debora McKay Notari

Every day is a gift. We can choose to believe in God’s great goodness and love towards us or become so burdened with life and its struggles that we forget how near He is. We can lose heart. The Ordinary and the Almighty is a daily reminder that we are preciously honored and loved by God. It is a refresher for the soul. Come away!

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 22, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664227866

Debora McKay Notari

Debora McKay Notari is a high school teacher with a M.S. Ed. in Learning and Literacy. She currently lives between Bend, Oregon, and Santa Cruz, CA. She is a wife and mom of three grown children. Her whole heart is to encourage believers to love Jesus with their lives, and to believe in His great care for them and all people.

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WestBow Press rev. date: 02/06/2023

CONTENTS

Dedication

Preface

The Ordinary And The Almighty

Periple

Job’s Wife

Sparrows

Mighty Ocean, Mighty God

Star Namer

Peter

To Know You

Nathan

Hunger And Thirst

The Bad Vacuum Cleaner

Your Presence

Speculations

The Trapeze Moment

Some Birds Sing At Night

Dealing

To Love

Conviction

The Someday

Redemption

Jesus Glasses

My Stuff

Healing

Something Out Of Nothing

Goliath

Two Hands

Delighting

Noticing

Anyone

What You Ask

To Seek And To Save

Still Waters

Farther Along

The Poetry Around Us

God Is Love

Bandages

The Fire

The Good Part

Quiet, Please!

Super Bowl Liv

Sirens

The Stuff Of My Life

The Masks We Wear

Today

Valentine’s Day

We May Never See

Teachers

Batons

Forgiveness

Shame

Not Fitting In

The Darkest Day

Tapestries

Tears

Praying For Blue

Irritations

Fearing No Evil

The Joys Of Common Things

The Flower That Could

Spring Is Just Around The Corner

Diamonds And Snow

Integrity

The Good Way: Be Like A Tree!

Enough

Beauty And The Best

Worry

Grandpa And The Oak Tree

Broken

The Waiting Place

Forever

Accepting Help

God’s Way Versus My Way

Patience

Judging

Oh, For A Day!

Saint Patrick

Hand On The Suitcase

The First Day In Heaven

Little Children

The Great Rock

Comparing

Worship

God’s Prompting

Serving

The Discipline Of Growing

Jesus Is Lord

Every Good Gift

Rooted

Peace

Comfort For Comfort

Prayer Matters

Playing Ping Pong

Fragrances

Faithfulness

What We Say And What We Do

The Given

The Philippians 4:8 Test

The Glory

God Is The Same

While We Wait

We Cannot Outgive God

The Resurrection

Street Signs

The Blessing Of Diversity

The Ravaged Heart

Bitterness

The Good One

Not Thrown Away

Sunrise Service

Easter

Rescue

A Barbed Gift

Thankful

Only One

Sustained

Five Loaves, Two Fish

Talents

The Burdened

Shade

The Humble

The Great Conductor

Enemies

Gratefulness

To Walk By Faith

Learning From Ants

Many Words

The Jesus Who Is

Where Jesus Is

Before

Mothers

Neighbors

Draw Near

Little Children

Fishing

Sponges

Dirty Hands

Connecting

What He Promises

Music

Have Fun!

Dtip

Famous

Time

We Cannot Go Back

The Clouds Above

Strong Joy

Need Wisdom?

Humble

Mementos

Good Soil

Eyes On Me

The Right Ingredients

Angels

Fearing God

Perfectionists

What Matters

Clothing

Discouragement

God, Our Friend

When God Stands Silent

Accepting Each Other

Elderly Wise

Willing To Be Wrong

Mary Magdalene

He Will Not Let You Fall

Washing Jesus’s Feet

The Heart Warrior

His Image

The Light And Lamp

Making Plans

Serving Him

To Listen, Obey, And Follow

Following The Recipe

For The Least Of These

What God Requires

Sequoias (Elderly Wise Two!)

Empathy

Exercise

The Still, Small Voice

The Confused Quail

Coffee

The Original

Meaning

Animals

Freedom

Dinner With Jesus

Construction

Gentleness

Not Perfect

Pandora’s Box

The Fruit And The Thorns

Dwelling Place

Parting Waters

Hinds Feet

Job

The Good From The Bad

Carry Me

Keeping Silent

With His Stripes

Cristo Te Ama/A Song

Childlike/Song Two

Balaam

Walls And Bridges

The Don’ts And The Dos

Dirty Feet

Teenagers

Crosses

Parents

Marbles

Twenty-Twenty

The Log In My Eye

What Mary Poppins Knew

Stuck

Precious

The Story Of You

Standing

Authority

The Mighty

The Lame One

Gideon

Eden

Exquisite

Everest

Striving

Samwise

Salt

Cancer

Colorblind

Not Defeated

Confidence

Treasure Hunting

Pollyanna Gets A Bad Rap

Performing

What If It Wasn’t Real?

What We Feel And What We Know

Battle Tested

Christ All Around Me

Pride

By Accident

Calling The Manager

Giving Preference

Divorce

Our Sun And Shield

Helpless To Help

Kindness And Truth

His Name

Marriage

Psalm 121

The Anchor

Be Brave!

The One Tree

The Pied Piper

Pancakes And Syrup

My Times

The Junior High Thing

Jamie’s Glasses

When God Searches

Our Heart’s Desires

A Good Word

The Homeless

Baseball

Too Hard

The Earthquake

The Unexpected

Abuse

In The Morning

Prayer Shoes

Walks With Dad

Newness

Disconnected

Hurt Feelings

Give Me Jesus

Endurance

Autumn

The Off Day

Tribulation

Attending

Elisha

The Chilly Days

Tell It

Much Strength

Rich

Reflection

To Enjoy, Not Have

Blaming

The Carpenter’s Hands

Sound Judgment

The Sky

The Lord’s Prayer

Soul Eyes

The End Of Me, The Start Of You

Counted On

Parking Spots

The Brunt

Memorials

Two Roads

Turn Your Eyes

Not In Vain

Aslan

The Way Forward

Of Grace

Common Sense

Autumn Revisited

Influencers

Psalm 119

Seasons Of Harvest

The Long View

Tending The Garden

When Locusts Come

Choose Wisely

Hume Lake

The Book Of Ruth

The Gift Of Tea

Prayer Walks

The Valley Of Shadow

Starting Over

The Whole World

Your Next Adventure

Gravesites

Fungus And Trees

Charred Pillows

Thankful Faith

Different From Me

Heritage

Able

Spending

Ingrown Eyeballs

Thanksgiving Day

Together

Birthdays

Sheep And Turkeys

Finishing Well

Ice Skating In Heaven

For Him

Before Winter

Solitude

Frozen Fog

Of Hearth And Home

Snowflakes

Oh, Christmas Tree!

The Little Drummer Boy

This Star/A Song

A Christmas Prayer

The Little Match Girl

Noel

Advent Prayer

The Brightest Light

Prepare Him Room

The Wise Men

Ebenezer

Some Children See Him

Let It Snow!

The Christmas Truce

Emmanuel

A Shepherd’s Heart

Wrapping Paper Blues

Comfort And Joy

Christmas Eve

He Is Here!

After Christmas

House Cleaning

Authority

Imprints

Resolutions

New Year’s Eve

References

DEDICATION

So many people have taught, loved, and inspired me!

I am deeply grateful!

To my beloved family:

Dave, Dad, Mom

Jessica, Justin, Jordan

Deanna, Mike, Gary, Behnoush, Jeff, Jenn, Janine, Patricio

MaryAnn and Dave Overly

Melodi, Tasha, Calvin, Chris, Laurel, Jake, Caden, Nick, Darren

And the ones to come.

My incredible heart friends:

Deb, Chrystal, Colette, Janet C., Julie, Karen, Kerri, Lily, Laurie,

Nancy A., Patty, Rachel, Ruth, Shannon

My mentors:

Connie Badgeley, Dewey Bertolini, Muriel Cook, Ken Cross,

Geri Hinote, Susan Hurley, Charlaine Williams

My inspirations:

Ann Kiemel Anderson, Pastor and Velma Church, Jim and Barbara Day, Dr. David Jeremiah,

Ken and Melba Poure, Rene and Laurie Schlaepfer, The Spurlock

family—especially Jack—Joni Eareckson Tada

And to every student I have taught, or should I say, who taught me back!

Thank you

"Something is wrong, I know it, if I don’t keep my attention on

eternity. May I be the tiniest nail in the house of the universe, tiny,

but useful. May I stay forever in the stream." — Mary Oliver

PREFACE

The Ordinary and the Almighty

is a celebration of the Christian

journey in devotional and

poetry form. Each day,

my prayer is that you will be

encouraged to lift your eyes

to Jesus, to find in Him your

every heartbeat, strength,

purpose, and joy.

I chose small portions

of scripture so that you and I

might meditate on His word

one bite at a time, letting it

seep into our very souls and change us.

To Him, the ever-transforming

one, be the glory forever and ever!

Amen, amen, and amen!

THE ORDINARY AND THE ALMIGHTY

January 1

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)

Oh Lord, may I live with this in mind.

I am the ordinary, and you

are the Almighty.

The ordinary can just make it through the day—

trudging along, and do okay—

survive in a flickering candle

sort of way,

but the Almighty can make the day

brand new and bring life.

The ordinary can see as everyone can see,

but the Almighty tells me to

walk by faith, and not by sight.

The danger comes when I forget

that I am ordinary—

when I think it all depends upon me.

Oh, no. You made it clear.

Apart from you,

I can do nothing.

Nada. Zilch.

But, oh, the flip side!

I can do all things

through Christ who strengthens me.

All things.

I would rather be ordinary every day

so you—the most almighty one—

can do the extraordinary

through me.

PERIPLE

January 2

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. (Heb. 12:1–2a)

Periple in French means journey.

Today the journey begins.

Today, I want to throw off

one weight—

one of those that Hebrews calls

encumbrances, in other words,

sins that entangle us, catch us in

traps, and weigh us down.

The NIV phrases it to "throw off

everything that hinders."¹

What first comes to mind today?

What troubles me persistently?

What hinders me?

Worry over money?

Worry about my adult children

and their journeys, their choices?

Marriage stress?

Hebrews goes on to say

that we are to also lay

aside the sin that besets us.

Sometimes it is a hindrance, and sometimes

it’s a sin that weighs me down.

And then we are told how to do it.

We are told to "run with endurance the race

set before us."²

The metaphor of the runner is clear.

I am not meant to run carrying a suitcase or

wearing a backpack,

but to run and never, ever give up,

fixing my eyes on Jesus.³

For He is with me—really with me—

wherever I go on this

adventure, this journey.

He is with.

JOB’S WIFE

January 3

Then his wife said to him, Do you still hold firm your integrity? Curse God and die! But he said to her, You are speaking as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we actually accept good from God but not accept adversity? (Job 2:9)

She held them all close—

all ten beautiful babies

who grew up—such wonderful

kids. Her husband,

godly, caring. Her life, good—

wealthy, really. All was

as it should be. Until the

great wind—maybe a tornado—

and all ten —all of her beloved

children, killed. Then, the wealth

disappeared, and Job—he was

so sick. How had they angered

God? Thus, a dark cloud of

despair covered her soul as

a blanket. She could not see.

She uttered the words, "Curse

God and die!"⁴ We fault her,

and yet, have we not at times

accused God? Doubted His love?

Job’s wife needed encouragement in her

suffering. For suffering can

blind us, and loss lies to our

very souls—trying to convince

us that God no longer cares—

that maybe we messed up,

losing His love and approval.

But God loved Job’s wife. He could

have wiped her out with the great

wind as well, but He didn’t.

And, as we know, He gave

this dear couple ten more

children—twenty in all—and restored

everything. Can God handle

our despair? Yes. Can He restore

our parched souls and bring us

joy again? Oh, yes! As He

loved Job and Job’s wife,

He cares for you, for me.

Oh, that we might believe in

the middle of our losses that

He is able to restore more than

we could ever dream! That we

might hold fast to the Anchor

of our souls and not doubt!

Oh, may we learn to say,

Blessed be the name of the Lord.

SPARROWS

January 4

Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. (Matt. 10:29–31)

I sit outside an industrial building in

the San Fernando Valley.

I have left college to take a year off to pay debts.

I feel like a failure—

working at a credit card company, answering complaints.

I work very slowly, and for the first time feel

like I am getting D’s and F’s when trying my best.

I am not very good at this.

I don’t fit in here.

The strange old woman, a coworker,

sits at her cubicle,

waiting for me to walk by.

She says loudly, "If it wasn’t for that

apostle Paul, there would be

no Christianity."

Her way of mocking.

Somehow she knew

of my faith.

But she is wrong.

God was God long before

he made Paul.

He would have found a way

to find us.

He always does.

On my break, I sit outside.

I see a dead bird covered by a trail of ants.

It could be a sparrow.

Then I remember that God

sees every sparrow fall.

In LA, in the middle of the concrete,

in this industrial place.

He saw this bird.

He sees me.

And I knew that I could walk

invisible to all around me,

or seem unimportant, underachieving.

But I am seen by the

almighty God of the whole universe!

Who loves little sparrows.

Who loves me.

MIGHTY OCEAN, MIGHTY GOD

January 5

More than the sounds of many waters, than the mighty breakers of the sea, the Lord on high is mighty. (Ps. 93:4)

One of the things

that most uplifts me

is to walk by the

spraying, foaming, ocean.

I stop and want

to spread my arms out wide!

My God is an awesome God!

He made this!

This water teeming

with fish, great and almost microscopic.

This power untamable.

The ocean is

not in our control.

Nor many things.

Yet God is greater than

even this mass

of blue joy

in storm or in calm.

The tide rolls in.

Massive waves

burst against rocks.

My God, the God

of every creature,

of all creation,

made this.

And if He can do this?

Can you imagine

what else He can do?

Now let’s talk about the stars!

STAR NAMER

January 6

He counts the number of the stars; He gives names to all of them. (Ps. 147:4)

You created the wild and

wonderful ocean.

And you created the stars,

pinpoints into heaven.

You know how many stars

there are—all galaxies too.

You call them all by name!

How incredible,

and how I would love to know

the stars’ names.

Someday.

But think of how powerful

God is!

Not one of us

could count the stars,

name them, know them.

Not one of us

could number the grains

of sand on the beach

or the hairs on our heads.

It would be a futile task,

but it is easy for God.

So, that said,

is God able to handle my day?

My sorrow

or sickness or

deepest pain?

Is God able to

illuminate my darkness?

Yes! One billion times, yes!

God who said, Let there be light!

That God, loves me, loves you.

That God.

The Star Namer.

Wow!

PETER

January 7

And He said, Come! And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, Lord, save me! (Matt. 14:29–30)

I am thinking about Peter today.

I love Peter. Don’t you?

His raw impetuousness,

his heart to do more

than he really can,

until he learns

that it is through Christ,

not his own willpower.

Lord, Peter intends to follow,

but he denies you three times.

He leaps out of a boat

to walk on water,

and he does,

until he looks at the waves.

Lord, I look at the waves,

and I, too, am overwhelmed.

Waves of hurtful words

and actions of others,

waves of stress or sorrow.

Help me to lift my eyes

from the impossible,

from all that would sink me

in this moment,

and to believe that

you can give me power

to do what I can’t.

I look at you, and

I can forgive even the

worst offenses.

I look at you, and I can swim

when I would sink.

I look at you,

and I can.

TO KNOW YOU

January 8

But let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things, declares the Lord. (Jer. 9:24)

Dear Lord, through all

of the Old Testament

you longed for people

to know you,

to follow and love you,

and to make you known to the world.

This has not changed.

You want me to do the same—

to walk with you each day,

to reflect you in my

attitudes and actions.

How incredible it is that

we are called your friends.

And what do friends do?

Hang out together,

share our hearts.

How often do I hang out with Jesus?

I want to,

but I get distracted by my busy world,

by my own pursuits,

by problems that I suddenly think

are too big for Him because I don’t ask

for help until things become impossible.

Impossible?

Not for God.

Forgive me, Lord.

It is simple, really,

to love you, to know you,

and to make you known.

NATHAN

January 9

Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies. (John 11:25)

It was the hardest of sorrows—

the suicide of a student—

drowning himself at the cement ship

near Santa Cruz.

No, Lord.

I could not believe it.

Not Nathan, my student

just the year before.

Nathan who talked about many things,

but not the dark things.

I didn’t see it coming.

When he was missing—

in my heart—I thought he was okay.

But he wasn’t.

Afterward, for some time

I found it hard to walk down by the

cement ship—

that tomb, and symbol of pain.

Then my church announced

baptisms in the ocean right

near that place where Nathan died.

Reluctantly, I went.

Then I saw—

person after person

dipped into the cold ocean

and raised symbolically

to new life.

My soul understood.

Life! Life! Life!

with every baptism.

You, the resurrection!

You, the life!

I was restored.

Oh Lord,

grant me eyes to see

the next Nathan

before it is too late and

a heart to pray for all

who hurt so deeply that

they may find true healing

and worth in you.

HUNGER AND THIRST

January 10

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. (Matt. 5:6)

Lord, we walk around

spiritually dehydrated

with little to no appetite for

spiritual food.

And we don’t know

that we are unhealthy,

living this way.

The more we drink of you, your presence,

talk to you, listen,

the more we chew on your word,

the more our thirst is quenched,

the more our hunger is satisfied.

How dangerous it is

to be thirsty and hungry

and try to satisfy that

with everything else.

Junk food for the spirit.

It makes us feel a little sick,

worldly, fake food.

It fills us up but leaves us empty.

It is Turkish delight.

It is the lotus flower.

Everything that distracts me from you

can deceive me, really.

Oh, to run to you

for what is real

and never look back.

For the more I know of the real,

the more I despise the false.

When I am filled with you,

I am never empty.

THE BAD VACUUM CLEANER

January 11

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

We got it on Craigslist,

and I love Craigslist—so no offense

to that organization.

From it I have happily outfitted

half of my house. But anyway,

we saw the vacuum cleaner,

an amazing brand, very old, but no matter.

So we thought! We brought it home,

and it worked pretty well.

It turned on when plugged in.

It sucked up the basic dust.

It did the job.

And on and on we went,

vacuuming in ignorant bliss—

until a nagging feeling and

basic dissatisfaction with the

general look of the carpet

prompted the purchase of

a new one.

I plugged it in, vacuumed the rug,

and gasped. Unbelievable amounts of dust

sucked up in seconds! It was one of those

see-through canisters, and boy did I see

a lot of dirt!

In fact, it almost filled up!

I had been going through the motions

but living in a very dirty home.

I was fooling myself.

I had the right brand

but the wrong vacuum.

And this is how it can be, isn’t it?

Trying hard to clean up our lives,

trying hard to be good, to say, "Yes,

I am a Christian if I am good enough,

religious enough." But that is

something like saying, "My house is clean

if I vacuum enough." The truth was

I could never vacuum enough

with that bad vacuum.

And the truth is we can never be good enough

no matter how hard we try.

So then,

what can scrub away our sin?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.⁵

It is His redemption that makes us clean,

and good, and whole.

His death, His resurrection, His new life

in me, in you.

Not my effort, not all my trying,

no matter how hard I vacuum.

YOUR PRESENCE

January 12

I fear no evil; for you are with me. (Ps. 23:4)

What if we really believed that you are with us

at all times, every day, every minute?

Would that be a fearful thought

or a secure one?

Would I try to hide from you?

Sometimes.

But no matter what I believe

at any given moment—

if I feel absolutely alone—

if I feel abandoned,

you are with me.

It is absolutely true.

Nothing can happen to me

unless you allow it.

Nothing.

And you are always good.

What happens isn’t always good;

I might not understand, but

you said not to lean on my

interpretation of life’s events.

And you did tell us there would be trouble

in life. Sigh.

So I must redirect my thinking

and contemplate you, your word,

what is true.

I don’t have to handle any problem

without your wisdom and strength.

Your presence keeps me honest;

it reminds me that you hear my words,

but you don’t condemn me

when I fail and fall, skinning my soul

instead of my knees.

You forgive me.

Your presence gives me confidence

to love those who hurt me, those who

are hard to love.

Oh, that I might walk through every door

remembering

I do not have to be afraid.

because you are with me.

SPECULATIONS

January 13

But we are destroying speculations, and every lofty thing that raises itself up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. (2 Cor. 10:5)

Speculating gets me in trouble.

I worry way too much.

What if? What does that person think?

Why did that person hurt me

with careless words?

Doesn’t God see?

(This is God we are talking about!)

Or maybe I speculate about the future,

if I do this or this, then that or that

will happen.

Speculation is about control, isn’t it?

I want to control how others act

toward me.

So I avoid hurt.

I want to control my present

and my future.

And it is as futile as trying

to control the wind.

There are two ways

I can look at this.

Either I am a victim,

blown here and there by

everything life throws at me,

or I am in a hot air balloon,

piloted by the God of the universe—

carried, directed, through the winds

of all circumstances!

Either God is in control,

piloting my life,

or I am helpless in this

wildly unpredictable world.

I choose to believe what God says.

Every day of my life

He planned.

Everything He works together

for good.

I need not speculate.

Today is the day I have been given,

and strength for today.

THE TRAPEZE MOMENT

January 14

For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Cor. 5:7)

Sometimes, we are in trapeze moments.

Picture it!

We have to let go of one secure swing,

and before we can grab another,

there is that moment of complete

faith.

Faith that there is another swing.

Faith that there is a purpose.

Another direction.

Another secure place to hold.

It is walking by faith.

Not faith in gravity or physics

but faith in obedience to God.

Sometimes, God calls us to let go

of the secure thing

and take the chance

that He is calling us

to something else.

And the trapeze moment

can be the scariest!

But what is the worst thing

that could happen?

Where could we go or fall, ever,

that God is not there?

Where can we go from His presence?

What could possibly

separate us from

His love?

If He calls us,

will He not provide for us?

Even if we die,

we are with Him forever!

So let it go.

And in the trapeze moment,

trust. For really,

He is the net

beneath the trapeze.

SOME BIRDS SING AT NIGHT

January 15

The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime; And His song will be with me in the night, a prayer to the God of my life. (Ps. 42:8)

I don’t know what they are called,

these different types of birds

that go against the bird crowd

and sing at night

instead of in the day.

It is a little