Hello!
Welcome back to the Dorie's Stories {devotional} Blog!!!
Today's brand new devotional story was inspired by my deep love of orange juice. I used to believe the OJ commercials when they would poke a straw straight into the orange that they just picked off a tree in Florida. I may or may not have tried to do this myself.
Don't worry if you don't share my affinity for this breakfast beverage. There are also rubber bands and coconut flakes in this story. Surely, you like one of these things.
A future chapter from my currently unnamed next book . . .
Chapter ?: Orange Juice, Rubber Bands, and Coconut Flakes
I didn’t know it was even possible to drink orange juice out of a tall glass until I was almost fifteen years old.
I grew up believing orange juice was a delicacy of sorts, ‘a golden nectar’ if you will, and could only be served in the set of free shot-sized glasses my mom collected from the gas station.
We weren’t poor — we were frugal.
We didn’t waste things.
We liked free things.
Free hotel breakfasts were not something we missed. Hungry or not, we were getting in that buffet line...and having unlimited refills on orange juice.
Side-note: I remember the dawn of the age of the self-serve waffle iron. It revolutionized the free hotel continental breakfast industry. Something about flipping your own waffle is very exciting.
We liked ‘kids eat free’ restaurants and we now joke that my mom would ensure that we would only order water as our beverage by yelling the word “water!” into her napkin when we tried to order a soda. There might also have been a small kick under the table involved.
This frugal trait may or may not have carried over into my adult life.
I realized that I don’t allow myself to buy rubber bands. I have convinced myself that I need to rely on finding them. I collect them from places like vegetable purchases at the grocery store, but without buying newspapers anymore, rubber band sightings are scarce.
I love ziploc bags, but I would only buy the sandwich size — the gallon size was only for the rich and frivolous. I used to buy the ones that needed to be folded over rather than zipped closed, but I guess even I had standards when it came to plastic storage.
I tried to make my own baby wipes. I do not recommend this. I did not try to make my own diapers. My kids are grateful for that.
Frozen yogurt places give me small panic attacks...the fro-yo places where there are three million toppings and you are charged by the ounce. You should hear the pep talk I give my kids (and husband) each time we visit these death-by-scale establishments.
It goes something like this: “you are getting just the light toppings — learn to love the the toasted coconut flakes!”
I have seriously considered bringing heavy toppings in my purse... gummy bears, whole chocolate-covered strawberries, cheesecake bites.
I am that person who wipes off the scale before I put our bowls up there. Why pay for the partial ounce of yogurt splattering on that metal surface?
. . .
I’m so grateful that God isn’t frugal with His love for us. He is no cheapskate in the love department. He doesn’t measure it out. He lavishes it on us in all of His abundance.
The psalmist describes God’s love and favor for us by comparing it to immeasurable things like the heavens, clouds, mountains and oceans in these verses:
“Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O Lord. How precious is Your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of Your wings.”
Psalms 36:5-7 NLT
I love how he includes “all humanity” in these verses...not just the ‘good’ ones...not just the ones who ‘deserve’ His favor. We are all recipients of this kind of extravagant love.
He wants to spoil us with His love. He’s not holding anything back or only sprinkling coconut flakes in your bowl.
God‘s love for us can’t be weighed — and He definitely uses all the heavy toppings.
. . .
Reflect & journal:
Have you ever thought that God holds back on His love for you because of something you have done or because there is some limitation on the amount of love that can be given out? Picture His love as the stars in the heavens and the clouds in the sky and like large chocolate-covered strawberries on your frozen yogurt bowl — draw a picture of that image as a reminder of His extravagant love for you!
. . .
I hope you enjoyed the devotional excerpt! Feel free to share it with someone you think would enjoy a devotional story involving fro-yo toppings and God lavishing His love on us!
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With hope & joy, Dorie Mclemore