Just thinking...

 Christmas Day is over but the joy and the celebration continues all year long!  Jesus is truly the reason for every season - every month - every day - all year long!  Here we go together in 2014!  Can't wait!

Commit Yourself to Enjoying a Real Christmas

I’m so excited – our season of celebrating the birth of Jesus is here.  Don’t let anything or anyone rob you of this month-long celebration.  As you start making your lists; shopping; baking cookies; decorating; and attending parties…commit yourself to enjoying Christmas.  Let me clarify that…commit yourself to enjoying a real Christmas.

What is a real Christmas?  A real Christmas keeps Christ in the forefront.  Celebrating a real Christmas means taking the time to revere God. A true Christmas celebration recognizes the significance of Jesus’ birth that night in the manger. An authentic Christmas season joins the angel chorus in worshipping the God Who sent us Jesus.

Luke 2:8-14 (HCSB)
⁸ In the same region, shepherds were staying out in the fields and keeping watch at night over their flock.
⁹ Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people:
¹¹ Today a Savior, who is •Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David.
¹² This will be the sign for you: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a feeding trough.”
¹³ Suddenly there was a multitude of the heavenly host with the angel, praising God and saying:
¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!,,

We have 22 days to set aside for praising God and offering thanksgiving for what he has done!   Here’s my suggestion for making an intentional effort to honor God this Christmas season:  Make a Glory to God in the Highest Vessel

1.      Use a Christmas Box, or a jar you decorate, or maybe you have a special container that you treasure…

2.      Each day write out a praise for a gift you receive from Jesus [Example: I praise you Jesus for your gift of forgiveness for my sins]; read it out loud; and put it in the Glory to God in the Highest container. (Trust me, you’ll find at least 22 blessings you receive from Jesus and the bonus is that…thinking of them helps you to focus on Jesus)

3.      Divide up the story of the birth of Jesus and read it in both books as a part of your “Real Christmas” celebration.  These are the Scriptures: Matthew 1: 1-25; Luke 2:1-20;      { Okay, let’s do the math…. 25+ 20 = 45 verses….you have 22 days to read these 45 verses  … this isn’t a big task…if you want, you can read just 2 verses a day}

Christmas is a wonderful opportunity to rediscover a holy reverence of God and the blessed reason why the baby Jesus was born!   It is possible to over shop, over spend, over eat, and over commit  but it is never possible to over celebrate the birth of Jesus – our Lord and Savior!

Some people will miss the mark and spend all their time and energy on traditions that might not lift up Jesus.  Please let us be deliberate and not miss the wonder of Christmas. If we leave Christ out of Christmas, we've lost the whole reason for this wonderful season of celebration.

Take the time to remember the mystery of God becoming man and meditate on the love of God who gave us the best gift of all – salvation through Jesus Christ!

Enjoy your family, enjoy your traditions, and enjoy the sheer wonder that God became man, born of a virgin, in fulfillment of prophecies. And that He was born to die, to take away the sins of the world and to rise again!

Joyfully,
Yvonne

HARMONY

Hi Gals!

I listened to a TV show speech the other night where the character talked about harmony.  It got me to thinking.  HARMONY … does my life exhibit harmony?  What is harmony?

According to Webster’s dictionary harmony is a pleasing arrangement of parts. In music  harmony means a group of chords that produces a melody.    So, a life lived in harmony would be a life lived with order and balance… for the believer it is a life lived in accord and agreement with God’s Word and His Ways.  What does God have to say about harmony?  Psalm 85 paints a beautiful picture of harmony.  Jesus’ life gives us the way to harmony.

Psalm 85:10-13 (NLT)
¹⁰ Unfailing love and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed!
¹¹ Truth springs up from the earth, and righteousness smiles down from heaven.
¹² Yes, the LORD pours down his blessings. Our land will yield its bountiful harvest.
¹³ Righteousness goes as a herald before him, preparing the way for his steps.

I love verse 10 in the New King James Version: Psalm 85:10 (NKJV) Mercy and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed.

The work of Jesus makes a life of harmony possible for us.  We are given righteousness,  peace, mercy, and forgiveness – the chords of harmony -  even though we fall short of the glory of God in our sinful natures. 

When we think of harmony we must remember that Satan’s aim is to disrupt harmony in our world.  Satan is the opposite of God and brings discord, imbalance, tension, and disturbance.  God brings harmony. 
In these verses I see three kinds of harmony. We have:

Rejoice and Be Glad

Hi Gals,

Summer … it’s hot, humid, and I become a bit lazy!  But, I don’t want to miss out on the days of summer – I don’t want to be so lazy and hazy that I become dull and stagnant.  Just like plants, I think I really need a lot of spiritual “watering” during the summer.

As I think about this I am brought face to face with God’s Word:

Psalm 118:24 (NCV)
²⁴ This is the day that the LORD has made. Let us rejoice and be glad today!

Each day is a celebration of our salvation in Jesus. It is important that in each day and every experience of our lives that we see Jesus in them. Jesus has given us an incomparable gift – not one we deserve but one that is ours – freely given. We are daughters of God – co-heirs with Christ. We are so blessed!  That is our cause for rejoicing and being glad….daily.

So, I say rejoice in every day. It is a gift from God. But it is so easy to slip into a lackadaisical attitude about our wonderful relationship with Jesus. The next time you hear someone say, “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it,” think about what that really means. God’s only son who was God made flesh died for you so that you could enter into His presence and live there forever! The day that He did that for the whole world is worthy of our praise EVERY DAY indeed!!!
In my Bible notes I have jotted down the following daily steps to go along with Psalm 118:24.  I don’t know where they came from; they are not original with me, but I want to share them with you.
Everyday is a celebration of life. Begin every day with this affirmation of faith: "This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it" (Ps 118:24).

Living Ordinary Lives Extraordinarily Well

Hi Gals!

Let’s ponder two words this week: extraordinary and common.  According to Webster, the meanings of these two words are as follows:

Extraordinary –going beyond what is usual, regular, or customary;  synonyms:  exceptional. Related Words :notable,  outstanding, prominent, remarkable, incredible,

Common – occurring or appearing frequently ;synonyms: normal, typical, everyday, familiar, ordinary,  routine, usual

 I am led to relate these two adjectives to the spiritual journeys we live each day. I truly believe God’s plan for His children is that we all live ordinary lives extraordinarily well…each usual day! I have two Scriptures which lead me in that direction:

Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT)  For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

And from Jesus we hear, John 10:10 (NIV) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Jesus wants us to live our everyday lives in a supernatural, extraordinary way.  Then why do so many of us live so many of our days in either a disastrous, frenzied state or with a hum drum “just get through it” attitude?  I want to live the extraordinary, uncommon day, how about you?

Take a close look at Psalm 37. If I were giving this Psalm a title, I would call it The Trust in the Lord Psalm. I’m just going to review the highlights. David gives us four steps we can put into action that will turn our ordinary into extraordinary.