Morning Thoughts

 Good Monday to you! And here it is, the last day of 2018. The years certainly seem to go faster as I get older. Last night, I was at the sweetest wedding. The bride and groom truly spoke from their hearts to each other when they said their vows they had written and it was beautiful. You could see on their faces that they were listening intently to every word from each other. They were completely tuned in to their new partner.  The Bible tells us that we are the bride, but do we hang on every word from Him like a bride? Do we listen like that for God’s voice? Do you remember the last time God spoke to you? Were you listening intently and tuned into Him? We know that God is speaking and when we can’t hear Him, it’s our ears and not His voice that has a problem. we need to simply say, like Samuel, “Speak Lord for your servant is listening.” Listening makes all the difference. When you’re serious about hearing God, pray before you read from His word. Ask Him to direct you and to...

It’s the Weekend after Christmas and when I gave gifts this past week, I heard lots of thank you’s. It’s easy to be thankful when someone cares about you and buys things for you. But what about when someone doesn’t do something nice for you? What about when they are rude or just mean to you? Did everything go perfectly for you this week? Of course not, but were you thankful even though things happened that shouldn’t have? Are you thankful when bad things happen? When things go from bad to worse? When your critics are watching every move to catch you when you slip up? Amazingly enough, Jesus was. Before He went to the cross, Jesus took the cup that represented His blood that would be poured out for many and He gave thanks. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,...And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name  which i...

Happy Friday! Yesterday, I was back at Silver Dollar City with a different group of kids! And once again, I was in awe of the amazing light display that takes over that place at Christmas. This year there were 6.5 million lights! And after dark, you don’t need any big streetlights, because there are so very many of the little lights.  Looking at all of it, I just thought about us, as Christians. Do we light up our little spot and work with others to light up an even bigger spot or do we tend to tuck ourselves in behind something so that we don’t shine too brightly and get too much attention standing for Christ?  ““You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:14-16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Let your light so shine...I lo...

Good Thursday. Is your holiday season going well? Have you been keeping your family traditions? When my kids assemble for holidays, they like to work puzzles. So after dinner, the table is cleared and the selected puzzle comes out. The edge pieces are the first pulled out and then each piece is sorted by color. It’s a fine art of puzzle working. While they are working with the pieces, you couldn’t begin to say what the picture might be, but when the puzzle is completed, the picture is complete.  How much is that like our lives? When we first start out, it is impossible to tell what our journey will look like, but as we go along and more pieces are added to our picture, you start to see a pattern appear in different areas. When we finally leave this life, our picture is complete and it’s clear what our lives were. Was it a life lived for oneself? A life lived in service to family and friends? A life lived to store up treasure? A life dedicated to a profession? Or a life lived subjec...

Good Wednesday and I hope you had a great Christmas with family and friends. My group came back together for one last holiday hop-rah.  I’ve been listening to Christmas music for the last few weeks and the song that kept playing in my head after I went to bed was “I bring an offering of worship to my King. No one on earth deserves the praises that we sing. Lord I bring an offering to you.” And that’s my prayer—that we can all bring that offering of praise to the King throughout this next year in all we do. Because truly, who does deserve our praise if not the one who destroyed death for us? “but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” ‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭1:10‬ ‭NIV‬‬ Through His appearing, life and immortality are ours simply by asking. What more could He do? He is Jehovah-Sabaoth (the Lord Almighty) who is the sovereign God over all the powers of the universe. ...

Merry Christmas. My wish for you is that today is more than just nostalgia and gift giving. I hope you love Christmas because it’s the day we can really celebrate Jesus coming to us at the perfect time. God became man to pay the sin debt for us all. And yet He was Lord at the moment of his birth.  “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “ Abba, Father.”” Galatians‬ ‭4:4-6‬ ‭NIV‬‬ Long the world laid in sin and error pining until He appeared and our souls felt their worth. A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, for yonder, a new and glorious morning breaks. Jesus came to display the glory of the Father. “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father”. He came to tell and to show us how much God loves us. When He came as a man, God himself was speaking t...

Happy Christmas Eve. We had our Christmas yesterday and let me tell you, I ate too much! We ate all day and 1/2 the night. We opened gifts and played the gift game with the Saran Wrap ball. And since we have little boys, there were nerf bullets flying through the air all day and they were everywhere!  But one of my gifts was a set of go-cups that you can’t hardly knock over. They are pretty amazing—you have to pick it straight up when you want it. I looked at that cup as everyone kept hitting it and thought that cup refuses to budge. 23 should be so strong. “I shall not be moved!”  “I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons. I have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope...You will show me the path ok f life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” ‭‭Psal...

It’s the weekend and it is probably going to be a busy one for most of us. I do think I completed my shopping yesterday—all my gifts bought. In a very real way, gifts are what this season is about. When you get a card that someone took time to address and mail that’s a gift. When you eat a cookie or a piece of candy that someone took time to make, that’s a gift. We buy and make all sorts of gifts for all sorts of reasons, but mostly I think we give gifts that come from our heart for one another. I think at the heart of it all, we love to be givers.  Christmas is about God giving (and maybe we like to copy that in small ways). He gave to us the best Gift of all because He knew we couldn’t live without it. It truly comes from the very heart of the Father and is given out of His amazing and overwhelming love. This Gift changes your life forever.  The God of the universe gave this present to every person in every generation. The prophet Isaiah foretold the wonder of it all. “For a...

¡Feliz viernes! Estas listo para. ¿Navidad? No he terminado del todo, pero ayer salí de compras y, mientras estaba, vi este letrero. “Habla de tal manera que los demás te escuchen. Escuche de tal manera que los demás quieran hablar con usted ". La mayor parte del tiempo nos preocupamos demasiado por lo que tenemos que decir cuando quizás deberíamos prestar más atención a cómo lo decimos. Las amables palabras habladas en el amor llevan a un corazón que escucha. En oposición directa, muchos de los comentaristas de noticias simplemente gritan por encima de quien no esté de acuerdo con ellos. No es un indicio de que escuchar y gritar no hace que nadie quiera escucharte. Como cristianos, debemos hablar palabras de vida y verdad en amor. ¿Cómo pueden saber si no escuchan y por qué querrán escuchar si somos rudos y tan indiferentes que no los escuchamos? “¿Cómo, entonces, pueden recurrir a la persona en la que no han creído? ¿Y cómo pueden creer en el que no han oído? ¿Y cómo pueden escu...

Happy Friday! Are you ready for. Christmas? I’m not quite finished but I was out shopping yesterday and while I was, I saw this sign.  “Speak in such a way that others will listen to you. Listen in such a way that others will want to speak to you.”  So much of the time we overly concern ourselves with what to say when maybe we should take a little more care of how we say it. Kind words spoken in love leads to a listening heart. In direct opposition, so many of the news commentators just yell over the top of whoever disagrees with them. Not a hint of listening and screaming doesn’t make anyone want to hear you. As a Christian, we must speak words of life and truth in love. How can they know if they don’t listen, and why will they want to listen if we are harsh and so uncaring that we don’t listen to them? “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preachi...

Happy Thursday! Yesterday I got a shot in my knuckle and yes...it hurt. In my haze, I could hear the doctor saying “Are you alright?” But alas, I made it through and my finger is already better this morning.  The Wise Men after they had truly worshipped Jesus and experienced the joy of it all, heard God speaking to them while they were sleeping. I find that really interesting. “And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭2:12‬ ‭NIV‬‬ First, these were pagans from Arabia who were the scientists of their day. I imagine them to be used to analyzing facts and data to make decisions. But instead of any sor of logic, they are hearing the God of the universe speak to them in a dream. And maybe that’s not the strangest part of the equation—they actually listened and obeyed Him.   Isn’t that the way it is though? The more we practice true worship, the closer we are to God, and the closer we get to God, the eas...

Happy Wednesday. Can you believe Christmas is less than a week away? This year, let’s follow the path of the Magi who fell on their faces in real worship to the Christ Child. He was probably babbling away and toddling around, but these advisors to the King, learned men, worshiped at those little chubby feet. These well respected men who were know for solving the mysteries of their world, did not care about formalities. They were filled with the wonder of it all and fully worshipped this little boy, the Savior of the world.  “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Matthew‬ ‭2:11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ True worship means a change in position. The wisemen didn’t care about their exalted positions—they fell down, kneeled down, or bowed down (depending on what version you’re reading). When we realize we are in the pre...

Happy Tuesday and I hope you are doing well. Over the past few days, I’ve seen nativity scenes in all sorts of places. The wise men are always depicted with their gifts and camels even though they probably rode horses, they didn’t go to the stable, but to a house, and Jesus is referred to as a child rather than a baby, so he was probably closer to a toddler. Yet, when I see the scene, I don’t think about all of that—I think about them rejoicing “with exceedingly great joy.”  “...and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Matthew‬ ‭2:9-11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ These learned men, the Magi were not Jews, they were pagan astrologers....

It’s Monday and we have begun the countdown to Christmas. Yesterday, Cooper, Amelia, Ozzie and I went to Silver Dollar City. We attended church there and then rode roller coasters and swinging ships and all sorts of other crazy things. As the day went on, the park began to fill up. By dark, it was shoulder to shoulder as we all ooh-ed and ahh-ed at all 6.5 million lights. It was simply amazing.  With so many people packed in, we occasionally heard someone that was losing their Christmas spirit and in a crowd of that size, you wonder how many know the real reason we celebrate.  After Jesus was born, wise men from the east came looking for Jesus—they had been following a star for sometime. When they stopped to ask King Herod where was the baby that was born King of the Jews, he became very curious and requested another meeting with them. He told them he wanted to worship the new baby too and to come back when they had found him and tell him where he could find this new King....

Happy weekend. I hope you’re doing well and working your way though your Christmas lists. “Don’t be afraid.” The angels were such a big part of the Christmas story, showing up several times and each time telling a different part of the story. But the thing they always said was “Do not be afraid!” “But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭1:13‬ ‭NLT‬‬ ““Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭1:30‬ ‭NLT‬‬ “Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭2:9-10‬ ‭NLT We don’t know if the appeared in long flowing robes with halos and wings but we can be assured that angels, in all their glory, must be a completely o...

It’s Friday already! How fast time seems to be moving. Yesterday, I was reading about Daniel and I read Daniel 9 where he prayed God’s words back to Him. Daniel was clearly a student of the word to use it as his prayer. And God answered Daniel’s prayer. And I thought of Mary’s Magnificant (her song) where she praises the Lord God—using phrases from Psalms. (Luke 1:46-55) Mary, even though she was a mere girl, clearly had hidden God’s word in her heart.  Praying God’s word, claiming His promises, is powerful. When we pray, we can have our Bibles opened and ask God for a promise and then pray that promise back to Him. We can’t really pray Gods word though if we haven’t been reading it. Reading God’s word gives us listening time to see what he wants to say to us. When we speak to God, it’s important that it’s a conversation where we don’t do all the talking, but we listen as well.  “During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from reading the word of the Lord, as revea...

Happy Thursday and I hope you are doing well and not overly stressed about the coming holidays. I’ve probably been too relaxed and not done enough preparation. I wonder how prepared Mary was when they took off for Bethlehem.  It was about an 80 mile journey for them and since she was full term, they couldn’t go very fast. It probably took them at least a week. Here this little teenage girl was trying to get ready for a 3 (or more) week trip and she could barely walk. How could she be adequately prepared when all they had to carry their belongings was a donkey who also carried her. How could she pack enough food? Water? Blankets? Baby items? And over that barren, rocky land, their feet must have been a mess.  “He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lo...

It’s Wednesday and it is 12 days until Christmas. Do you have all of you shopping and decorating finished? This time of the year is chaotic, isn’t it? I went to the mall yesterday and I didn’t think I was going to find parking. Inside it was crazy with people everywhere.  Do you think that’s how Bethlehem must have been when Mary and Jospeh got there? Bible scholars tell us that there could have been as many as a million people crammed into that little town. Can you imagine the lines at Walmart if a million extra people crammed into your town? In my little town, traffic would be at a standstill! And people would be camped on every empty pice of ground.  “At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire...All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of ...

Good Tuesday. “This is the day the Lord made, we will rejoice and be glad in it!” Even though this may be a non-descrip Tuesday, we are told that everyday is a gift from our Lord and we should be in praise everyday...even those days we really don’t want to be rejoicing, those days when we just don’t understand what’s going on.  If anyone had a reason to have much doubt and confusion, it was Mary. I wonder if that’s what drove her to run about 30 miles to see her cousin Elizabeth (who was having a baby at 80-some years young). Everyone needs that prayer partner, the friend on whom you can count on to pray and rejoice with you and Elizabeth was that for Mary.  When Mary arrived there, the Holy Spirit gave Elizabeth the knowledge of who Mary’s baby really was. And when she told Mary, Mary broke out in a song of praise to God.  “Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the moth...

Good Monday and I hope you had a great Sunday in worship. Yesterday, our pastor asked “Has God ever disappointed you?” And if you’ve walked with God for any length of time, the answer is “yes!” I can name 3 or 4 occasions when I knew God could have fixed something, but He didn’t and I was left with more than disappointment.  Do you think Joseph felt disappointed with God? Here he was, at one of the happiest times of his life, being engaged to his sweet Mary and the worst thing he could imagine is happening. Do you think before he knew the whole story, he may have asked God “Why? Why couldn’t I just have a nice wedding? I deserve that don’t I? Why did you let this happen to her?” “The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary wo...

It’s  the weekend and I am looking forward to being in worship service with fellow believers! Especially during this time of the year, it’s important to remember why we celebrate and to remember and fully understand the fact that “nothing is impossible with God.” “In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin’s name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her: Good morning! You’re beautiful with God’s beauty, Beautiful inside and out! God be with you...She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, “Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus. He will be great, be called ‘Son of the Highest.’... Mary said to the angel, “But how? I’ve never slept with a man.” The angel answered, The Holy Spirit will come ...

It’s Friday and where I am, the weather forecast is for rain and snow mix this weekend. Yuck! I am so thankful I have a house that is warm and that I have everything I need to get through a couple of days!  Yesterday, I didn’t feel very well and I found myself just crying and I again thought about heaven. No crying there and if we are able to enter with tears, we are told that God will wipe them all away, just like a sweet mama with her child.  “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands...And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter ...

Happy Thursday! Last night was the last night of our GriefShare class. I have learned so much while taking this class, and I’ll be forever grateful that Casey talked me into going. Tonight we had a lesson on heaven and it’s wonders. Even though John gives us vivid descriptions of heaven, the splendor of it all surely “breaks the back of words” as Hank Hannegraft says.   We know that no eye has seen nor ear heard what God has in store for us, but we do know that we all long for more that this earth. Something in our very soul longs to be with the Lord. We are spiritual beings with an eternal destiny wrapped up in flesh and bone.  “Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11:16‬ ‭NIV‬‬ I wonder if that longing is part of the reason we celebrate Christmas with such zeal—because God came to be with us right here where we live. The idea of that brings such j...

Wednesday is here and it’s going to be a good day. Yesterday I was with my sister while we were taking care of some business for our mom who is in the late stages of Alzheimer’s. We talked about how strange it is to be in the role reversal of caring for a parent, especially one who may or may not know who you are.  Sometimes, we are challenged to understand why we are in the situation we find ourselves. Most of the time, it’s about decisions we make, but there are time when we are just there—in the middle of a mess that was not of our own making.  Living life with God does not mean a life of unbroken happiness nor does it promise that all your dreams will come true like a Hallmark Christmas movie. There is almost always a price to be paid by those whom God chooses to use.  God chose to use Mary, a young, uneducated and inexperienced girl in His grand plan to save the entire human race. Mary had a life planned with Joseph but all those plans changed because Mary found fav...

It’s Tuesday and I hope today finds you well. Yesterday, my son-in-law sent me a picture of my 12-year-old granddaughter—one who is the most girly of girls. She is standing by a big cow (or bull) and he said “look at the farm girl!” (Never mind she is wearing skinny jeans and white Chucks with no socks!) Needless to say, she didn’t really look the part, nor does she fill that role very well.  Elizabeth had never been a mother, but when she was told she was going to have a son decades after she first prayed for one, she began to prepare for that role. The Bible tells us that a soon as she found out she was going to be a mom, she went into seclusion. Even though at that time it was a common thing later in the pregnancy, we aren’t told why she went immediately.  I think maybe she wanted extra time with the Lord. I’m sure she spend a great deal of time going between “God thank you for hearing me and granting this miracle” to “God, are you sure my old body can hold up under all of ...

Happy Monday. I hope you had a good weekend and were able to spend some time in corporate worship and perhaps had a little fun as well. I went to a wedding on Saturday. It was just beautiful with the bridesmaids in red with white fur wraps and the bride was breathtaking. But I have to admit, when the bride makes her entrance, my eyes go straight to the groom. I want to see his expression when he sees his bride—it is almost always a precious sight. Saturday’s groom smiled and began to wipe the tears from his face—he was just overcome with love for her.  As I looked at his beaming face, I thought about the bridegroom of the church. When Christ returns, what will His face look like? Will he be beaming and crying because He is so excited too see us?  “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding...

Happy Monday. I hope you had a good weekend and were able to spend some time in corporate worship and perhaps had a little fun as well. I went to a wedding on Saturday. It was just beautiful with the bridesmaids in red with white fur wraps and the bride was breathtaking. But I have to admit, when the bride makes her entrance, my eyes go straight to the groom. I want to see his expression when he sees his bride—it is almost always a precious sight. Saturday’s groom smiled and began to wipe the tears from his face—he was just overcome with love for her.  As I looked at his beaming face, I thought about the bridegroom of the church. When Christ returns, what will His face look like? Will he be beaming and crying because He is so excited too see us?  “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding...

It’s the weekend! And I’m spending mine rocking a baby. While we were snuggling yesterday and he was sleeping so well, and since it’s the Christmas season, I kept thinking of Elizabeth—who was so excited to be having a baby. She and Zachareias had prayed for years for a baby and nothing. Their disappointment must have been overwhelming at times especially when their friends were having babies and even grand babies, but they remained faithful and blameless before God.  The Bible describes Elizabeth and Zacharias in the most perfect of ways—the way we’d all like to be described: “They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.” Luke 1:6 I’m not sure I respond quite so well to disappointments. We have all sorts of “remedies” for ourselves when the disappointments of life are large. We go shopping, we overeat, or we may take vacations to escape our disappointment. Sometimes we just like to complain about it to anyo...