In walking closely with the Lord all these years, I have discovered that there are many times when He likes to surprise us with a "new and improved" version of the blessings He bestows on us.

Case in point - my recent dishwasher adventures. When God blessed my husband, Joe, and me with the nicest dishwasher we ever had in our 40+ years of marriage, we were elated. For six months, we enjoyed our fancy new appliance, before it began malfunctioning and causing us frustration. After almost a year of headaches and heartaches, our state's Attorney General's office forced the manufacturer to replace our defective dishwasher for free.

Joe and I would have been more than happy with a comparable replacement, but that wasn't good enough for our God. He had the manufacturer pay for an updated model that worked even better than our original one did.

With our first dishwasher, we couldn't use the detergent dispenser because it wouldn't open early enough in the washing cycle to dissolve properly, and our dishes always came out with a sticky film on them. With our new machine, we can use our dispenser and have all of our items come out sparkling clean.

Whenever anyone brushed up against our old dishwasher, it would immediately turn on and start filling with water. Our new appliance has all of the controls "recessed," so that they can't be turned on by mistake.

Our original dishwasher never thoroughly dried our dishes, while our new one has an "extended dry" feature that works amazingly well.

God could have easily replaced our old dishwasher with a new one just like it, but He didn't. He gave us a new appliance with "new and improved" features that made our old one look inferior. And even though He enabled us to get our first dishwasher at a great price, He provided us with the new one at absolutely no cost to us.

God tells us in His Word, "I will do EVEN MORE for you than I did before. Then you shall know I am the Lord." (Ezekiel 36:11 TLB) God has "new and improved" blessings in store for you in every area of your life. He wants to do "even more" for you than you could ever hope or dream. Trust Him. Seek Him with all your heart. Give Him first place in your life. And lay hold of the "even more" blessings He has in store for you!

Prayer: Lord, I praise You for the "new and improved" blessings that You have in store for me. Help me to live my life in such a way that I will never have to miss out on the fullness of Your blessings. When I face adversity or injustice, remind me to turn to You first, and to put my wholehearted trust in You and Your promises. Thank You that as I keep my eyes on You, You will right my wrongs and restore what I lost - and give me "even more!"