Christmas Eve Candlelight

We just got back from the candlelight service. It was just what we all needed. How easily we become distracted by the little things going on in our lives, that we forget about the excitement of celebrating Jesus's birthday. My heart was pierced when Pastor George said something about all the cranky people out shopping. Just this morning I was waiting in line for a last minute gift, I became irritated at the clerk. I was that cranky shopper.
My husband, our adult son, our daughter, and her fiance hadn't been all together at church for some time. I'm glad it was tonight. The message of the Good News brings such joy, comfort, peace, & God's extravagant Love into our hearts to those who believe. Tonight I feel His love for me and His love in my family. I saw Jesus's love in Pastor George as he hugged us all so tightly. The wonder of the star that shines so bright in our hearts is born in Bethlehem. What a friend we have in Jesus. You came so you could save us & reconcile us to you & to one another, forgive us of our sins & not condemn us, & to give us a life of purpose & passion. Tomorrow morning as I open the first gift, I will be reminded of the gift you continually give to us, is always open. You will never let us go....you go with us. There is no other gift on earth that can or will ever last like that. Happy Birthday Jesus!

Proud Parent

Our son will be going to a University in just a few short weeks! We are so proud of him. He will be the first in my family to complete college. He's also going to school where my husband graduated from. My son & husband went a few weeks ago and got it all arranged and we are all so excited for him. My son has completed all but 3 of his basic courses and is on his way. The Lord has taught him something early on about persistance and enduring when things get tough & faced with adversity. It's a long story I'll tell sometime. I just know what he went through back when he was in 10th grade, changed the course of his life. He found a miracle in himself and he could do it with God's help.

Precious moments making precious memories

Other than getting sick last week and diagnosed with vertigo, the moments have been so precious. So many good things are happening on the home front. Blessings come in ways we least expect and certainly not in the way we'd ever even think could come.

My husband's last day of work was on friday. He'd waited almost 4 years for this day to happen and it has finally come. Gone are the days of the familiarity and security of the job he has had for 20 years. God is writing a new story and we are caught up in the adventure....at least I am!

Last week our daughters fiance moved in with us....another new story. It is truly a blessing to see these two young adults grow. We all wait in anticipation of their baby to arrive and of the change and joy this "gift from heaven" will bring into all of our lives.

We also met with my family for our Christmas celebration. There was about 40 people there. It was so good to see everyone. Each year as we gather I see so much more how it is not about the things we have in this life, but the people we have in our lives in this life. All the wonderful food & gifts don't mean anything compared to seeing one of my brothers or sisters....or nieces or nephews, cousins, brother and sister in laws. My Dad was so funny and didn't fail in making everyone smile and laugh. Although, as I write this I'm looking over at the lamp one of my sisters gave me that day that use to belong to my mother. My Dad had given this special lamp to Mom many years ago. So, things we have can serve as visual reminders of something or someone very dear to us. My mind is wondering off now as I think about the trip to Israel this spring and all the visual reminders of Jesus that I will once again see. Yes, visual reminders are wonderful! But, they cannot replace or compare to the relationship within that we have with Him. Just like we can get wrapped up in the gifts, lest we forget the gift giver.

You are so good to me

Nothing works or stirs our hearts deeply more than the words of Jesus. You just never know who, when, or how He's going to speak to you in the many ways He does and will. I got my paycheck today and I got that piercing love down deep. It caught me off guard. You can feel it travel down your throat into your heart and then back up to your brain! No, it wasn't the paycheck amount.....it was his word on the paper that did it. What a gift to my heart it was & it blessed me also to know & feel at the same time the power of those words written are true! For the many things I'm thankful for; (like my boss and all the people that work there... )you can't buy with money.
My sister in the Lord....my boss had written on my paycheck these words from Psalm 126:3
" The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy."

Money comes and money goes, but the word of God gives us life. I am blessed to have the money, don't get me wrong....true happiness....more than happiness..for it is circumstantial).

..JOY comes from the Lord!

The Wind

My husband & I took a long walk today with our 2 dogs. The wind was so strong that it was hard for our old dog to walk straight. He was getting pushed over and sometimes tripping off the sidewalk. We walked through the park and sat on a bench and watched the wind blow on the little pond in front of us making little ripples all across the surface. We observed the leaves getting swept along.

My husband said that the wind was God's way of dusting off everything; that the wind was what scattered the seeds so that young plants can start on their own and receive light from the sun. He went on to say that the wind removed the dead leaves from the trees & birds could "ride the wind" to warmer climates. The wind is apart of the eco-system. Wind normally travels west to east. This day it was coming out of the north, but it wasn't cold. He also said that if God hadn't created the wind, he imagined that plants and trees would die. Wind creates pressure along it's path and thus produces thunderstorms.

I found this conversation stimulating. My mind when off a trail and saw the similarities to our lives. God creates wind in our own lives to dust us off to make us more like Him, to scatter seeds of love, to create pressure hard enough for us to change. All the while not being able to understand his ways, but to see the results of His ways produced in our lives...especially during and after a thunderstorm. ..after the wind dies down there is calm....and during a storm the dust is being removed! When our Lord walk on water in that horrific thunderstorm, He was calm. Let's trust God to give us the calm in the midst of the thunderstorms of life! The wind is producing in us a glory that far outweighs them all...we can't physically see Jesus but we know He is there. We can't see the wind either, but we know it is there. The affects are Life Changing!

Undivided Heart

I was reading in the book by Matt Redman called "The Unquenchable Worshipper" about the example of Christ's Undivided Heart for His Father. He NEVER EVER got distracted. That is just unbelievable for me to fathom. I'm distracted all the time! Distractions are everywhere.....but distractions were not in Jesus. His heart was pure. He was totally committed to His Father and to do His will. Everything He did was to give God glory and pleasure . The Lord DEFENDED His own heart from all that would try to stray Him off course.



QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:

Define what it is that causes me to stray off course (get distracted) from living a life of praise to my Father in heaven. I can't change what I don't acknowledge.





There's something more here. ....Jesus lived from the inside out...His focus was on ... Something far more permanent than what was happening around him. It was what was happening in Him. It all comes down to uninterrupted times of devotion.



QUESTIONS .... that Mark address in the chapter are:



Do I have any impure practices that distract me from pure woship?

What temptations are there that take away my focus from Jesus?

How will I defend the Father's will from every assault?

Is there anything that consistently weighs me down on my spiritual walk with Him?

What do I need to do to balance my time so that I can have uninterrupted times of devotion more consistantly?

A few points Matt makes are:

It is the lie of the enemy that we can't have simplicity in our worship because we are to busy with too many responsibilites, so therefore our walk with God is not near as close as it was back when we were younger with more spare time on our hands.

Secondly, that sometimes the things that pull us away from the feet of Jesus are in themselves good things.

As undivided worshippers we are called to have untainted hearts...live in defense of distractions & live in attack mode by striking out for the honor of God's name when and where we find the opportunity. Like Jesus did when he turned over the tables in His Father's House because of the traders and money changers greed for financial gain. He lived his devotion outloud. When Peter tried to dissuade Jesus from the suffering that was to come, Jesus defended His Father when he said to Peter "Shall I not drink the cup my Father has given me?"

James 1:27 for an example of these two types of worship-attack and defense working together: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."