Mama's Pearls: Thoughtful devotionals about everyday life through the lens of Scripture

By Diana Brown

This book started out as an advice-and-answer column for the young adult women at church. I was amazed and humbled by their insights and questions about life. We decided to keep a dialogue going through e-mails they aptly named "Mama Said," and I became their MamaInResidence. Sections of a few of their letters and my responses are included in the book. In the months I didn't receive questions, I wrote stories about my experiences as fillers. In another discussion, a young lady commented that the Bible wasn't relevant to today's issues, only "the old times," with no bearing on our lives. I hoped to debunk that notion with stories infused with scripture and a skosh of mother wit. It also occurred to me that these stories could help other Christians spark conversations about how God's Word is working through their everyday experiences too in very real and practical ways they just hadn't thought about yet.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9781098010287

Diana Brown

Diana Brown has been designing interactions and software interfaces for over a decade. She has spent a good portion of that time talking to end users and finding ways to encourage them to talk to her. Much of the rest of her time has been spent talking to her development teams and finding ways to encourage them to talk to her. She continues to be amazed by all of the cool things that software can do.

Book preview

Our Work

Father,

As we grow in grace,

May our works adorn this space?

For share we must, our thoughts to sow.

In faith develop and talent grow,

Lord,

Speak to those whose charge we keep,

And all who enter,

Gaze and grow with us.

Diana Brown

Skokie Valley Baptist Church quilt project: 2006

Respect

Creator made versus man-made

Mama said, Be careful how and when you use God’s name.

Aretha Franklin was on to something when she penned, R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means. Respect means different things to different people. While much is tied to culture and tradition, it’s common courtesy to bestow honor through established social graces to parents, elders, high-ranking officers, and royalty. Then there’s God, the Creator!

We’ve read about but can’t fully digest all that He is from Moses’s report (Exodus 3:13–15) and mountaintop visits; David’s description of His rarified majesty and power (Psalm 8); or His holy, exalted standing as the coming Messiah (Isaiah 9:6–7). Scripture repeatedly declares that His name is greatly to be praised! Let me go on record echoing: Give Him His propers. See Him high and lifted up!

Our Sovereign Lord is without peer (2 Samuel 7:22)! There is none like Him anywhere! What’s frightening is how the casual attitude and lifestyle today has infected our view of sacred things with blatant disrespect—like the pictured license plate. Perhaps, quite by accident, we’ve wandered into the territory of the world’s mindless unfiltered chatter that insults His name (Exodus 20:7) with phrases like, OMG, Holy moly, to express surprise. For A name so sacred, the ancient Jews wouldn’t even say it! Flippant fillers like O Lordy, I swear to God, and girls hit your hallelujahs are irreverent. Also disturbing is when we cheapen His perfect attributes, describing common man-made things as awesome and divine—completely at odds with who He is. When did we forget His name is hallowed (Mathew 6:9), above all others (Philippians 2:9)? The only name worthy of worship, respect (Psalm 66)? The angels in His presence worship His magnificence 24/7. Let us do likewise.

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD (Psalm 150:6)! Amen.

Diana

MamaInResidence

Everyone should be respected as an individual, but no one idolized.

—Albert Einstein

Carried

Mama said, Take the Lord along with you everywhere you go (old gospel song still relevant today).

My grandchild was nestled in my lap as I read Rena Grossman’s book Carry Me. She is absolutely enchanted with the photos of all the beautiful global babies (her peers) carried on their mothers and fathers’ bodies in packs, wraps, and baskets. Each snapshot captures the parents’ warm affection and their cherished cherubs dependence and security. My grandchild depends on her parents and grandparents’ carrying her everywhere too.

It isn’t just babies that are carried. We adults carry a variety of objects that tell others something about us. Out of habit, we tote important and nonessential items: IDs, keys, phones, candy, etc. We might also have paraphernalia with spiritual overtones—reminders of God’s presence and our dependence on Him. Some people have tassels, caps, religious symbols, and bookmarks. But the odd bits and pieces I cart around include a prayer card from my daughter’s years away at college, a marble Pastor Brown used to illustrate that no one will be able to snatch you out of God’s hand (John 10:28–30), a Bible stashed in my car door, and a Ziploc bag with sermon notes and Scripture verses that anchor and recharge me. The thing is, like those parents in the book, He carries us (Isaiah 40:11).

Dear Father, thank You for teaching us to stay safe by staying close. Amen.

Diana

MamaInResidence

Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.

—A. A. Milne

Getting Ready for Christmas

Mama said, It’s not a Christmas celebration without Christ!

It was late November when I started looking for Christmas cards. I wanted something real, not steeped in holiday myths or rituals. I sifted through a glut of Santas, trees, and winter landscapes, but cards with nativity scenes or messages about Christ were in short supply. I kept looking and eventually spotted a couple of single-word cards—Joy and Peace—but the inside read, Wishing you a holiday season filled with joy (peace).

I don’t mean to throw shade, but where is Christ? Shouldn’t He be the headliner for His birthday? You’ve probably noticed that in the last twenty years or so, He’s all but vanished from the Christmas movies, songs, and decorations! It’s had the opposite effect on me, though; I delight in watching Christmas pageants with children robed in ancient garb and Christmas (Eve) services where we sing carols like O Holy Night.

Eventually, I did find one with images mentioned in the sacred Christmas story: Baby Jesus lying in a manger (Luke 2:12); outside, the star beams over the stable (Matthew 2:2). Despite the lowly staging, Christ’s birth, heralded and attended by hosts of angels, has never been surpassed! Today, we still celebrate God’s greatest gift to humankind, the only One who inspires hope (Luke 2).

Dear Father, we glorify the Child born to redeem us. Amen.

Diana

MamaInResidence

For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulders. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

—Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

Gatekeepers

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipM07i1pKxuI2jz8bCRjMxa6kZAVwDzHqJdIZQR9=s512-p-qv=p4ufi7ehqh4ggn1asejtf830hsqnuoga1,m=1a9f2c4eb459bdd96c4d0c7f8aba6b64,x=,t=25-iv9032?key=bHh4b3pvU2VZLXdUbmVRNWR5YnhmR2FILTlmWE9n

Mama said, God keeps watch over us.

I was reading the book of Ezra when the word gatekeeper jumped out at me. King David and Samuel appointed the first (Levite) gatekeepers to guard the tent of meeting gates and treasures. Safeguarding was, for them, a sacred assignment. Nehemiah names six gatekeeper clans among the officials who rebuilt Jerusalem’s walls. Ancient societies’ survival depended on their ability to maintain order and keep alert for signs of trouble. A lax gatekeeper could cause a city’s destruction!

Today, the word gatekeeper figuratively describes a mishmash of people and tools—editors / media platforms that filter messages to the masses in newspapers, broadcasts, and Internet posts; secretaries who control who gets access to CEOs; primary doctors to specialists; oversight groups; firewalls, computer security software that locks out intruders; and parents, principals, and police in their role of protectors.

God is the ultimate protector. Our refuge, strong tower, very present