Dark Days and the Ultimate Christmas gift

In dark days like as of late with evil running rampant, why do some get mad at God and cast blame on him, asking him or his followers, 'Why does a good and loving God let these things happen?' My question is why do we not recognize who is truly to blame, who is truly at work? It is Satan, the Devil, who is at work. God sent Jesus to die for our sins and to conquer Evil, which he has done. The devil is still the ruler of this dark world and he is at work every day trying to turn us away from the truth that can save us. God gave us free will to choose, Him or sin (which is of Satan). I beg of you, in love for you, choose God and his son to be the ruler of your life. Do his will. Do not give the devil a foothold in your life. And let us remember this Christmas this gift of our Savior, that God gave to us all. Pay this gift forward and spread the good news and His love. 

Some verses from God's word that are on my heart in light of recent events in our world. Please read them, let them into your heart and let them work in you. 

^{Romans 1: 28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.} 

^{(This is one of my most cherished chapters from God's word.)}

^{Romans 12: 9} Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹ Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³ Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

^{Ephesians 6: 10} Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

^{Hebrews 2: 14} Since the children have flesh and blood, he too (Jesus) shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—¹⁵ and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

^{James 1: 13} When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴ but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

¹⁶ Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 

^{Romans 15: 13} May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

In closing I would like to say, if we stop living our normal lives because we are afraid from events that the devil has caused, then his plans are gaining a foothold. What we need more is to continue to lead our normal lives, despite our pain, and not be afraid but keep our awesome fear of the God of heaven AND earth. 

a Christmas Song (or two) on my Heart ~ from me to you

Baby It's Cold Outside and I am Dreaming of a 

White Christmas, Dashing through the Snow along the City Sidewalks Dressed in Holiday Style. 

The Jingle Bells are Ringing, Ring-a-Linging 

while we are Rockin Around the Christmas Tree and the kids are seein Mommy Kissing Santa Claus underneath the Mistletoe. From our family to yours, 

We Wish you a Merry Christmas 

and a Happy New Year 

and 

Joy to the World.

Inadequacy, a pumpkin and the bible =

Oh how I hate this feeling! 

I really hate this feeling of inadequacy  Feeling like I do not have anything I am really good at. You know, when people say, "I need this." 

or "I want one of those." 

or "I need help with..." 

or "I bet so-in-so could make me one of those." 

the first person they think of is you to get that thing or to make something perfectly special. I struggle with, time to time, this feeling of inadequacy,  talentlessness and/or failure. 

HA! Who am I kidding? From time to time! More like most of the time. Sometimes I cry out to God, as my heart is aching and my stomach is sick, "What gives!? Why these feelings?" 

uggg I sigh.

 I realize I need to get back to the Good Book and let Him remind me of how good and perfectly made I am by Him. 

No, I am not perfect; yes, I am a sinner. 

Yes, I will struggle, my whole life, with feelings like this and more. But He is always there to return to. To reassure me that this fallen world He has conquered.  That this sinner is forgiven. That I do have gifts that He has given to me and, with faith in Him and some hard work, those gifts will soar and maybe change a life. 

Well, at least bring a smile or a warmed heart; a feeling of importance in someones life. 

Just maybe.......

Maybe these feelings are given to us for a reason, to remind us of where our gifts, our talents, come from. 

God. 

Given to bring Him glory, not us. We are made perfect, perfectly imperfect. What a beautiful thing imperfection can be! As Thanksgiving comes up, what perfectly imperfect gift or talent has God given you to share with others? 

Are you... sharing? 

Setting an Example for the Young

There is nothing like the proud feeling you get as a parent when you see your children serving the Lord and his people. It is also oh so humbling. At church yesterday, as I was trying to hurry my kids out of church to go get breakfast, my son runs a way as he tells me to wait. "What are you doing?" I yell after him impatiently. I take a few steps toward the sanctuary doors to see him grabbing a couple bibles to hand out. You see, we were in between services and people were starting to make their way in. He wanted to serve and I could wait. After being taken back by this, my child, my dad whispers in my ear, "He is learning from example." My dad's example as a matter of fact. He hands them out when it is needed and my boy was watching. I hurried to get out my camera to take in this beautiful moment. The pictures may not look like much but there is no art more beautiful than love in action. I captured it and while doing so, baby girl learned from big brothers example, grabbed the two little bibles on the bottom shelf and went out on her own mission. 

 Titus 2:6-8 ~ ...encourage the young men to be self-controlled. In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned....
 











1 Timothy 4:11-12 ~ Command and teach these things. Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

I wonder..... was God smiling as big as me that morning at such a beautiful sight? 

Welcoming Autumn

The countryside surrounding Vezelay, France in October.

Autumn is here, my favorite time of year. 

The leaves change colors and fall. 

The days grow shorter as the night comes quicker. 

Crisp air brings about cozy blankets and sweaters. 

On the breeze there is a scent of smoke from fires warming cuddling people. 

Fog greets us in the morning with a silent hug. 

The pumpkins and corn grow big and tall, getting ready for the harvest.

Fall surrounds me and brings with it a smile and a wonderful peace to my heart.  

Remembering

My mom came in my room and woke me up. I knew by the way she was acting something was wrong. We watched it together in her room as all the horror unfolded live on the t.v. I was in a blood shot-puffy eyes-horrified daze all day as I worked as a teller at 1st Independent Bank. I was a very quiet day there and, when we did get customers, there wasn't a whole lot of chitchat. I am not sure if any of the lives lost that day is some one I know but that doesn't matter. For those lost and for those who lost, I cry for them all, every year.  And I try to take time to remember what that flag stands for. FREEDOM 

Leaving a Legacy of Unusual

Unusual:  noticeably different from what is generally found or experienced; being out of the ordinary

        Synonyms: curious, extraordinary, funny, odd, peculiar, rare, singular, uncommon, unique, exceptional, irregular, notable, noticeable, particular, remarkable

        Antonyms: common, ordinary, plain, usual, expected, predictable, normal, regular, typical, familiar, ordinary, everyday

For some reason unknown to me, the comment my 8th grade U.S. History teacher wrote in my year book came to mind this morning. Here is the comment he wrote to me, 

"You have a great character (a little unusual) and you will go far in life." 

For a long time, the part of the comment in parentheses had somewhat irritated me. And it hurt a little bit. Ya know. I mean 'unusual'. Being 'unusual' never seemed like a good thing. At least, not to a kid that was going into high school after that summer ended. That place of the popular kids and everyone else. To me, it read that I was the ugly duckling or the black sheep or something close to those characters. So, irritated and hurt and offended, I put it out of my mind.

Then this morning, I thought about that comment and went looking for it. I read it again. 

"You have a great character (a little unusual) and you will go far in life." 

Now, as a parent with a kid off on his first full day of kindergarten, I am pondering this comment. I think about all of it now, not just the part in the parentheses. And as I think about all of it, including that part, it makes me smile. I appreciate it now. It is something that I realize now is a good thing and something that I have continued to be. I see it in me now as a strength and I want to embrace it; to continue to mold that part of my character into something good, something to leave to my kids as a legacy. 

What would a legacy of unusual look like? Well, just look at those synonyms. Funny. Curious. Remarkable. Rare. Exceptional. Notable. Those are terms I can get behind and encourage my kids to strive for in their lives. Is being like all those that are 'popular', all those in the media, like all those images that are pushed on us by marketers and big corporations, all the influences of our modern culture and society; is being like all that unusual? I say, no. I want for myself and for my kids a great character of the unusual sort. Not of the common or expected or familiar.

So just imagine what leaving a legacy of unusual could do...