The Wait Is Over

Have you ever had to wait on the birth of a child? It is a bundle of emotions unlike no other. There is excitement in the hopes of what is to come, there is fear in the "what ifs" or in the unknown, there is also anxiety, joy, amazement and probably many more. The anticipation of not knowing the exact moment a baby will be born is sometimes overwhelming. For those of you who have children or grandchildren you have experienced this waiting first hand. For others of you who might not have children of your own you have probably experienced the excitement of a loved one who has waited to give birth. Some of you might be waiting for a phone call to hop on a plane because your beloved child might be ready to be birthed in another state or country! Others of you might be in the painful midst of waiting to have a child of your own. Yes, we have all waited in some way for a child to be born.

Can you imagine waiting on THE Christ child to be born? Can you imagine living on this Earth with the anticipation of your Savior being born? Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection were all prophesized in the Old Testament. Micah 5:8 even tells specifically where Jesus will be born.

"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you, one whose origins are from the distant past."

I just wonder what it was like to WAIT on HIS arrival. The only life I've ever known has been a life knowing Christ as my Savior. I've never had to go before a high priest here on Earth for atonement for my sins. I've never had to sacrifice my most prized lamb to wash my sins away. No, all I have ever had to do is believe, accept and talk directly to my beloved Jesus to ask for forgiveness. Can you imagine living back during the days of Jesus' birth? If you were a believer and you were accustomed to making sacrifice after sacrifice after sacrifice as well as seeking out high priests to ask forgiveness for your sins, can you imagine the joy in your heart once you heard that a Savior was on His way? A Savior! Someone who could wash all your sins away with His blood once and for all. I imagine you might have a hard time believing it to be true. Someone is coming to be born only to die for something YOU have done! What a scandal this is! It is true my friends, as difficult and hard as it is for our earthly brains to fathom. Jesus was born, fully God yet fully man, to walk on this Earth to seek and SAVE the lost! PRAISE God for the ultimate gift that was, is and is to ever be given to anyone! The gift of eternal life, forgiveness and love all wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger! The best part of this gift is that you do not have to wait! We celebrate December 25th because OUR SAVIOR IS HERE! He is BORN! The waiting is over!

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

PRAISE GOD and Merry CHRISTmas to each one of you! May you be filled with joy celebrating the birth of your Savior each and every day of the year!

Dearest Heavenly Father, Thank you for sending your precious Son, Jesus! I praise you for His humble beginnings and His scandalous death. Father, please forgive me when my focus drifts towards the busyness of decorating and gift giving our world has placed above the actual celebration of your precious son's birthday. I cannot thank you enough for the life you have given me through Your precious Son, Jesus and it is in His name I pray, Amen!

A Different Time, A Different Place

Have you ever wished you had been born in a different era? How about a different place? I've always had a fondness for all things old! I love antiques and historical buildings. I often imagine what the people were like who once owned these possessions. I've wondered what it would be like to live on a farm having to work from sun up until sun down surviving off your own hard labor in the fields. I have dreamed of a more simple life where there were no means of quick transportation, TV, computers, internet, or shopping malls. I have wished that my children did not have to grow up in this scary world filled with predators lurking around every corner. Living in the information age you can invite someone into your own home without even knowing it via the internet. I have worried over the mistakes my children will make in their youth and how quickly those mistakes can go viral and forever be public. I've questioned why I was born in the year I was to raise children in this particularly difficult time and place. I'm sure at some point we have all pondered why we were born at exactly the time we were as well as why we were born in the specific place we were. Then there are other days where I just can't believe how lucky I am to have been born in a time where God's word is at my fingertips. We have the ability to travel the world and see all of God's creation in only a matter of hours. I don't have to labor in fields all day to be able to provide food for my family. I have all the amenities that this modern day and age can offer like dishwashers, washing machines, refrigerators and the list goes on! Not only was I born in one of the most abundant countries but also in a state where its foundation was laid by forefathers who put their faith and trust in The almighty God. I mean I have grown up in the Bible Belt! How easy it should be for me to believe in my almighty Heavenly Father! What about those who did not have this privilege? What about those who literally have been born into a different time and place? Those who have been born into poverty, third world countries and have lived to the age of 30 and never heard the mention of God's name? On these particular days I find myself again questioning why. Why me God? Why am I so blessed while others face much greater daily challenges than me? But...what if...what if God knew exactly what it would take to draw me closer to Him? Scripture tells me that God knew me before He formed me in my mother's womb! “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5. That means He knew before He even created me that I would choose to follow and love Him. Knowing all that God knows, is it possible that He placed me exactly where I am because He knew exactly what it would take to draw me closer to Him? He knew it would take providing me with Christian parents who would first introduce me to God and His Holy Word. He also knew that it would take years of disobedience before I would finally fall to my knees to hear Him. He ultimately knew it would take me becoming a wife and mother to make me realize I NEEDED Him! For others, it might take completely different circumstances. Some of you were not raised in Christian homes but you heard the precious gospel from a friend, teacher or complete stranger. Some of you might not be a parent but maybe have found that you needed a savior through trials at your job. Sadly others of you found God while in the midst of great tragedy while some might still be searching for The Savior. I know for certain that whatever the circumstances are God tells us this, "And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for 'In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’" Acts 17:26-28 What a comfort to know that God knew me before he even formed my inward parts! What a comfort to know that for my children as well! He knew that we would live in THIS time and in THIS place and that brings me such joy that I was meant to live in 2013! I was meant to raise my children in the information age, as scary as it can be at times. He also meant for me to live in this awesome time period where everything is at our fingertips, including God's word! God is not far from any of us. What will it take for you to seek God? If you know Him then you have experienced His blessing in your life however, if you do not know Him you could very well be missing out on all that He created you for! Dearest Heavenly Father, oh how my heart sings that I have found my way toward you! Thank you Father for blessing me, for creating me and determining the allotted periods and boundaries of my dwelling place! I praise you for all that you are and for making me your offspring! I love you and pray that I can bring your name honor and glory all the days of my life here in this world, in THIS time and in THIS place! Amen

Are you a Griswold?

My dad has an amazing sense of humor. At times he can have a sarcastic quality which I think he passed down to his daughters and I am certain he attained from his own mother, my sweet grandmother. My dad has always enjoyed slap stick comedy and as a result of his influence, and being a product of the 80's, I grew up watching some of the great comic actors like Leslie Nielsen, Steve Martin and Chevy Chase. Now that the Christmas season is upon us it is about that time for my dear old daddy to dust off his VHS tape of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I do think he actually owns a DVD copy now, no doubt a gift from my sister or me. I am assuming everyone has seen this classic Christmas movie but if you haven't you might want to check it out sometime. The main character is Clark Griswold, played by Chevy Chase. The Griswold’s have high expectations for their big family Christmas but despite Clark's best efforts those high expectations quickly turn into disaster. I don't think anyone can say it was as a result for lack of trying on Clark's part. Sometimes the best laid intentions are simply that, intentions that never amount to what you envisioned in your head. I think the reason my dad and I both love this movie is that at heart we ARE the Griswold’s. My dad is notorious for dreaming up the most picturesque scenes in his head of how a family outing will occur. Like father, like daughter, I too have carried on the tradition of having high expectations when it comes to making plans for my family. Just recently, on a whim, I decided it would be fun to take the kids to visit the Billy Graham Library. Our family had never been and if you haven't either, it really is something to see! Right now it is Christmas at the Library and they have lots of activities that "should" be fun for the whole family. Maybe I ought to mention the ages of our children are 6, 4 and 2. My husband and I started off our trip by putting everyone in the car and building up the excitement by explaining there will be horse drawn carriage rides, Christmas lights, a live nativity scene, hot chocolate and possibly sweet treats. They were SO excited...until we got there. Not more than a minute of being in line for the carriage ride our youngest goes tearing through the line knocking over the ropes causing our oldest to fall down and start crying and my husband stumbling trying to recover them all. I, however, am trying to stay very calm all the while continuing to envision us having the best time sipping hot chocolate while riding in a horse drawn carriage and each one of the children quietly singing Christmas carols! Can you picture it? I know as parents you've all experienced this kind of "hoping for the best" mentality! To save you the entire account of the evening I will just say that the highlight was not my goal of teaching our children about this willing man God used to do great things but instead, one willful child having a complete crying meltdown involving a peppermint stick while another bounced off the walls like a wild animal who we should have dropped off at the live nativity scene! I tried my very best to give my family an enjoyable Christ filled evening just like Clark Griswold tried his best to bring his family together for Christmas. My point is, things don't always go as we intend. God has blessed me with a family that I love and cherish. HE has called me to instruct them in the way they should go and to love the Lord their God with all their heart. I can't seem to find any scriptures telling what God calls us to do will be easy, nor can I find any that say it will go as WE expect it to. What I CAN find is “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9 I have no idea if anything we taught our children that night will stick. I do know that if my best laid intentions are trying to serve and honor the God I love then although it might not go the way I wanted it to, I will trust that my God will work it together for His good and glory! "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." Romans 8:28 Dearest Heavenly Father, Lord, I thank you and praise you for your thoughts! I am so grateful that you know far more than I ever can and that your ways are higher than my own! Father, please help me to fix my eyes on you and to make my daily intentions to serve and follow out the will you have called me to do. Please do not let my failed attempts of having perfect family gatherings make me stumble in accomplishing your will. Father, Your will be done! In Jesus' precious name I pray, Amen!

Who Can Melt A Frozen Heart?

Disney released its latest animated fairy tale this past week and according to the NY Times it brought in over $93 million between this past Wednesday through Sunday. According to box office analysts Frozen was one of the best Thanksgiving debut movies on record! Many of you may have already seen it. I was able to go see this movie along with my mom, sister, my three nephews and my son this past Friday. It was one of the cutest movies we've seen in a long time! Another Disney favorite in our family! Spoiler Alert. Don't worry, I won't divulge too much information and promise not to take any fun away from seeing the movie yourself! The main concept of this movie is that only love can melt a frozen heart. What a novel idea, right! I mean it makes sense doesn't it? I wonder who came up with that original idea. I digress; the movie had everything a great movie should have! It made you laugh one minute and tear up the next! There was danger, excitement, laughter and love all wrapped up into one! My family and I all agreed it was a cute movie and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves! Ok so here comes my only criticism but I think it’s too important to be left unsaid. I think the wonderful writers of Disney left out a very important part to the story! We've seen this happen before, it’s not the first nor will it be the last. How many times have you seen or heard something a little too familiar, a great love story perhaps or a tale of danger and disobedience and you can't quite put your finger on it but you feel like you've heard this somewhere before. Could it be that its already been written? A tale as old as time maybe? No not an old Disney tale, I'm talking about our Heavenly Father of course! He is the author and creator of everything! He is the ultimate and supreme authority on the subject of Love! Have you ever met someone with a "frozen" or hardened heart? It’s not pretty is it? I know because my heart was once hardened, cold and ugly. Although I had grown up in church surrounded by Christians teaching me all about God's love, my disobedience prevented me from truly understanding or hearing. By the time I had reached the age of 28 I had almost lost all empathy or sympathy for those around me. I seldom cried for anyone other than myself. Do you think it’s easy to love someone with a hardened heart? If you've even walked one day on this Earth you know firsthand that loving others is sometimes easier said than done. Only God has the power to unthaw a frozen, hardened heart and only with God's help are you able to love such hardened hearts! There are numerous scriptures that talk on matters of the heart but one of my favorites is Ezekiel 36:26. "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." Oh PRAISE GOD! I have a new heart! Now I can almost cry at the drop of a hat for just about anything and everything. God gave me a new heart! My friends, I can tell you with assurance that only thanks to the Holy Spirit living inside me can I love others! "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35. We can love others because while we were still sinners, Christ died for us he loved us so much! With the power of the Holy Spirit you can love anyone, yes even those with frozen hearts! So to Disney, I commend you for giving us another great movie with a powerful message but parents, if you want to make this an even more powerful story then I suggest you talk to you children about HOW we are to love others! It is only with the help of our Lord and Savior that we can love one another! Amen! Dearest Heavenly Father, Lord, I PRAISE you and thank you for your ability to soften the hearts of your children. God, words cannot express how grateful to you I am that you have given me a new heart! I am a new creation because of You and I will forever love You and be grateful. Please God, help those who are still suffering from frozen hearts. Please God, only you have the power to soften them so that they may hear! Lord I pray for those that are lost, who do not know Your love. I pray that they turn and look towards you and welcome You inside their hearts of ice! Please help me to always remember to love others as you first loved me! In Jesus' holy and precious name, Amen!

A Joyful Heart

When my husband and I purchased our first home we knew that someday we would want something bigger as our family grew. After our first child was born we decided to purchase land in hopes of building a new house one day. Four years after purchasing our land we put the only home our small children had ever known on the market and within three months were looking for a new place to live. Instead of buying another home we decided to move forward with our dreams of building and moved our family of four, with one on the way, into a rental house close to where we would be building. After living one year in the rental home and six months with family, our house was finished. Within a short two year span we moved three times and had a brand new baby in the middle of it all. I felt like a nomad for two years, never wanting to settle ourselves because I knew we would only be moving again. For a woman who enjoys to "nest" this was extremely difficult. I've heard that the three most stressful events in a person's life are death, birth of a new child and moving. To say that I was stressed might have been an understatement. Most days I felt weary and defeated wondering if our lives would ever be simple again. I wondered if we would ever be organized. I felt as though I was missing out on important childhood memories for my children because I was so fixated in the details of building a house. I cannot describe the feeling I had when we finally were able to move into our new home. This home had been a distant dream in the background of our minds for almost 6 years and we had such joyful hearts when it was completed! Looking back it seems like such a silly thing to be stressed over really. God had provided for all of our needs and more than that, He was blessing us immensely by growing our family and always providing a place to live. There were days I was ashamed of feeling anything less than grateful. God didn't want my joyful heart only after getting what I wanted, He wanted me to be joyful during it all, experiencing the life He had given me! God used the entire experience of those six years to draw me closer to Him. He taught me lessons in patience, self control and being joyful. Although my husband and I did not wander around a desert for 40 years, the past 6 years reminded me that some days I had the attitude of the Israelites. God loves the Israelites, they are His chosen people; however, you often find yourselves wondering why they are worthy of such a great love. How are any of us worthy? They were constantly complaining while they were in the desert. Not only that, but they continuely had to be reminded to love the Lord their God! God doesn't want us to complain any more than you like hearing your own child or others complain. What He DOES want is for you to trust and know He has whatever is going on in your life in the palm of His hands. Although you can't see the end result, you CAN be joyful in the things you can see! The Israelites were getting ready to enter into the land of milk and honey! They might not have been able to see that land yet but they could look back and see how God delivered them out of Egypt, fed them and gave them water when they were thirsty. Philippians 4:4 tells us "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice." This doesn't say to rejoice when you finally get the things you've been asking for, we are to rejoice always! Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, I shout for joy to You, I worship You with gladness and come before You with joyful songs! I know that you are Lord, the God who made me and I am yours! I will enter Your gates with thanksgiving and Your courts with praise! I give thanks to You Lord for You are good and Your love endures forever! Your faithfulness continues through all generations! No matter what the day might bring, I ask for your unending help to remain joyful. Fill me with Your joy through Your Holy Spirit, Lord, and renew in me a joyful heart! In Jesus name, Amen!

Fight to Follow

"Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have confessed so well before many witnesses." 1 Timothy 6:12 Do you ever become weary some days trying to do the right thing? There was a time in my life that I thought it was easy being a "Christian". Sadly that was the same time in my life that I didn't really know who Jesus was. It wasn't until I actually chose to fall in love with Christ and started trying to live for Him that I quickly realized THIS IS HARD WORK! It can sometimes be so difficult continuing to do the right thing when you seldom see positive effects from your efforts, and often times even with the best of intentions you can end up misunderstood. The comfort I glean when I start feeling defeated is that Christ had to endure the same feelings of being misunderstood and far worse feelings of persecution than I ever will. Christ knows firsthand how hard it is for us to walk as believers in this world. Recently my husband and I had the awesome privilege of attending a Hillsong United concert. They are a praise and worship band but the cool thing about them is they don't consider themselves singers but instead "worship leaders", how awesome is that! In one of Hillsong United's song titled "Love is War" the lyrics say: "And I know Your love has won it all You took the fall To embrace my sorrows I know You took the fight You came and died but the grave was borrowed I know You stood again So I can stand with a life to follow In the light of Your name" and in the chorus it sings "I will fight to follow I will fight for love". Sometimes it feels as if we are fighting to follow, fighting to love. The minute I stepped out of the concert arena and back into the world the overwhelming high from worshiping so closely with God started to subside. The minute the world crept back in the less I felt God's Holy Spirit. It wasn't because God had left me, only that I had turned my focus away from Him and turned it back to the daily grind of the world. Hillsong United reminded me that sometimes we get caught up in fighting the world that we lose sight of the fact God has already won! "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." John 16:33. So keep fighting the good fight! Finish the race God has set before you! Why would we stop fighting a fight that we know we can win? Yes, keep fighting so that when that day comes you can say "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful." 2 Timothy 4:7

Fear or Faith?

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7 Have you ever stopped and given some thought as to what your "Achilles Heel" might be? The actual definition of an Achilles Heel is "a deadly weakness in spite of overall strength, that can actually or potentially lead to downfall". The keys words I think in that definition are "deadly", "potentially" and "downfall". I can tell you with assurance what my Achilles Heel used to be. It is probably the same for any parent. My biggest fear in life after having our first child was losing her. God knows firsthand what losing a child feels like. Not only did he have to endure the separation and loss when He sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, he also feels loss each and every time one of His children stray away from Him. So what do you think might be causing you to be lead astray? Could it be fear? I can tell you that fear is exactly what was standing in between God and me a few years ago. I had let the fears in my life consume me to the point of "potentially" being "deadly" to my personal relationship with God. Fear can keep us from experiencing all sorts of things in life. The fear of flying can keep us from traveling and seeing God's beautiful creation. The fear of public speaking could very well be keeping those God has called into ministry from answering. The fear of losing the thing you hold most dear in this world can stand in the way of you trusting in the One who loves you most! Can you grasp this? My friends if you continue to hold onto your fear and it leads you astray from your Heavenly Father it might very well be your eternal downfall. Your fear can actually be standing in the way of putting your entire trust in your Heavenly Father. If there is anything standing in between you and your Lord, Jesus Christ, I ask you to please pray for God to help you lay it down at His feet. For God has not given you the spirit of fear and timidity, but of LOVE! Let go of anything keeping you from trusting in the Almighty Savior and you will then be able to experience all the blessings God has to offer you, the blessings of power, love and self-discipline. What will you choose, fear or faith and trust in the Almighty God? "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10 Dear Heavenly Father, I praise you for your ability to take away my fears, and I thank you for wanting to. I pray Lord that I surrender my ALL to you which includes any fears I might be clinging to. I surrender my fears to you Lord. PLEASE take them from me and replace in me a spirit of power, love and self-discipline. In Jesus' precious name, Amen!

My Cup of Comfort

Have you ever stopped and thought about what comforts you in this world? Maybe not directly but we all have our little "go to" places and vices that bring us comfort in times of distress, anxiety or sadness. What are yours? My number one item of tangible comfort is a nice, aromatic cup of hot coffee. There are so many details that go into the perfect cup of coffee. For starters there is the mug in which to put the coffee. I personally love a large oversized mug that you can wrap almost both hands around. There is also the blend or type of coffee, the perfect amount of cream that brings it to that rich caramel color with just a touch of sugar. And then there is the comfy arm chair that is needed for me to curl up in to fully enjoy that cup of coffee. For some of you, you may prefer your coffee black while others may not even like coffee! Your item of comfort may be a warm blanket, a hug from a loved one or some sort of food like mac-n-cheese or chicken noodle soup. Whatever your comfort item may be I think we can all agree that we enjoy things that make us feel good, and what comforts you is highly unlikely to be the same thing that brings comfort to your neighbor. Although your item and my item may be different, ALL items of comfort in this world have one thing in common...they are fleeting. Yes, these items may soothe our souls temporarily but will that comfort last? Will it bring you the kind of comfort that will pick you up and carry you down the hall of a hospital when you have just found out your child has cancer? Will it hold you in the dead of night when you wake up scared and alone? Will it be there when you have discovered your spouse has been unfaithful or when you've lost your job and the bank forecloses on your home? No, my dear friends, there is no cup of coffee in this entire world that has the capability to bring you THAT kind of comfort. There is only one ultimate source of comfort, and that can only be found by a belief and a love for our almighty savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. HE is the ultimate cup of comfort, a kind of comfort that will last through all of eternity. "He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection." Psalm 91:4 Not only will God cover us, provide us shelter and keep His faithful promises, but He is the ultimate source of comfort to YOU as he is for ME! Forget about all the details that go into making my perfect cup of coffee, and forget about how my coffee won't comfort you as much as your heated blanket will. God will meet us where we are! He knows the exact amount of cream and sugar that I need! "And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 Dearest Heavenly Father, THANK YOU for being my ultimate cup of comfort! I praise you for your majestic ability to supply all of my needs! I also thank you for the little pleasures you have given us for temporary relief. Thank you for warm sunny days, hot cups of coffee and loved ones to give us hugs, but Father please help us to remember that YOU are our ultimate source of comfort. Only in YOU shall we find a peace that surpasses all understanding. Help us to remember to run to you in times of distress so that you can cover us with your feathers and provide shelter under your wings. In Jesus' name, Amen!