Years ago, my son told me his friend’s high school band would be going to a fabulous destination that year. My son was jealous. He wanted to go, too. I explained that the trip was a well-deserved reward for his friend. His friend had faithfully played for years in the band. He had consistently shown up to many band practices. He had practiced his instrument for countless hours.
While babysitting one day, my daughter observed the older child chiding his younger sibling. He opened the cabinet and said, “God is watching you!”
At the wedding reception of my daughter and son-in-law, friends and family united with us to celebrate. I hoped to acknowledge each guest personally. There were just too many people and too little time to visit. The responsibilities as mother of the bride pulled me away as well. The reception was a blessed event, but it was not a time to enjoy a good heart to heart conversation.
I thought my word for 2022 would be contentment. The more I contemplated, the more I realized my word would be discontentment. I am not content with staying where I am spiritually. I want to know God more deeply. I want to pray more intentionally for my nation and family. I want to increase in loving and giving.
We recently celebrated Christmas, remembering that Jesus came to earth from heaven to be born as a baby. Jesus grew to become a man. Around age 30 he began his ministry in Israel. Three short years later, Jesus died on the cross for our sins.
At the age of 18, I awakened in the middle of the night to God beckoning my soul. Lord, I’m not ready. He didn’t use any words, yet I knew He wanted me to say yes to Him. I didn’t know what saying “yes” meant, but the invitation was clear. I wasn’t ready to give up things I wanted to hold onto.
A new year is a good time to reflect on the past, make changes that improve life, and to honestly deal with any unconfessed sin. God is always faithful to forgive and remove it, but Satan sometimes has other plans for lingering guilt and shame.
Tomatoes, when they need pruning, have little growths (sucker shoots) that spring up between the stem and branches that becomes another stalk. This little shoot is in constant competition for nutrients with the original plant. It might result in more tomatoes, but each one will be smaller. The bigger the shoot grows, the more cumbersome it becomes and more effort it takes to keep it staked.
Rejection. Most people have experienced rejection in their lifetime. Some say that rejection is a regular visitor. Whether it is your teenaged friends leaving you out of the group, rejection from your mother, father, or a stepparent, an unfaithful spouse or friends that leave you behind when you experience a divorce.
It is no secret. The people of Judah experienced God’s faithfulness to his warning. If they departed from Him, He would bring judgement upon them. They departed. He destroyed. The Babylonians came in, crushed Jerusalem, ravaged the Temple, and carried the people off into captivity.
Just this week, I saw a Facebook post that feeling thankful lowers your stress by 23%.
It sounded good, but I wanted to check it out.
What I found excited me.
We used to think we could get more done by multitasking, but the latest research shows this to be false. According to numerous studies, multitasking causes more errors than focusing on a single task.
I don’t have a singing voice. In fact, I am somewhat tone deaf. I can’t carry a tune in a bucket.
While that sometimes stops me from singing now, it did not stop the 5-year-old me.
As a child, I felt special every time I took a bath at my Granny’s house.
At that time, Granny only had one bathroom. The tub, sink and toilet were probably 30 years old. The water pressure wasn’t that great, but I didn’t care about any of those things.
Christmas is about _________. Would you say Christmas is about presents, lights, families gathering…? Many words could fill that blank, but only one word fits that blank best—Jesus! Christmas is about Jesus!
On this Christmas day let us fix our eyes upon our unique Savior, Jesus.
My friend told me the story about her early Christmas present. Her mother bought a new car for her and her husband. At first I was struck by the generosity of this mother, but the rest of the story intrigued me more.
A few years ago, we had a most unusual Christmas day lunch. It was the “in-law Christmas,” and so, our girls and their families were coming the day after Christmas. I had been busy preparing food for the week and just didn’t have the energy to prepare another meal for Christmas day. Therefore, we went to eat at one of the few restaurants open.
It was an ordinary night. The shepherds were attending their sheep and watching for intruders by the light of the moon. They had grown accustomed to the darkness, accustomed to watching for shadows that might present danger.
Changes. The Christmas story revolves around changes.
Mary’s life was forever changed with the heavenly news she would bear the Son of God. Her response to this change was humble submission and praise to God. Joseph’s plans for an extended betrothal and later marriage were changed by the news his virgin fiancé was pregnant. He initially rejected the change, but later moved forward in belief. Lord, when unexpected change comes, help me be quick to praise You. Help me not reject the change but trust Your eternal faithfulness and move forward acknowledging Your goodness.
Our mature live oak trees suffered terribly during the severe winter last year. Barren and stunned by the record cold, the branches, which appeared to be dead, eventually began to sprout foliage in late spring and early summer. Green life appeared!
