Morning Thoughts

Happy New Years Eve. Have you got big plans for tonight? Have you written out you resolutions? Can you even believe it’s almost 2020? It still sounds like science fiction to me. And yet, time just keeps marching on, doesn’t it? It is one of those curious facts of life that as you get older, time seems to speed up.  And sometimes we get so caught up in our big, new plans for the coming year we forget all about God would have in His plans for us.  “Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil.” ‭‭James‬ ‭4:13-16‬ ‭NLT‬‬ But the great news is God’s plans for us far exceed any...

Happy Monday! The countdown is on for 2020. As I left church yesterday I heard someone say “That was the last church service of the decade!” And so here we are—at the end of a decade. When you think back over the last ten years, how has it been? Ups and downs? Good times and bad? I saw a movie the other day that had a good line in it. A dying mom told her 18-year old son that life would sometimes knock him down to his knees. But he needed to remember that if he could just take a minute, breath, get back up and take a couple of steps, it would get better.  We have been talking for a month about the four attributes of Christ: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. But even though we may be saved, there are times we just don’t feel one or all of those. We may not feel like we are worthy or we may just feel isolated and alone or maybe life has knocked us to our knees. But regardless, all of us at times have problems feeling the hope, peace, joy and love of Jesus.  “For everything that was wr...

Happy Friday! Have you enjoyed or exchanged all your gifts yet? I do love gifts. I think mostly I love the idea that someone thought of me and picked out something they thought I’d like. I don’t really care if it cost $1 or $100–for me, it’s all about taking a little time to think about me.  Then, I think about how God sees me and how He gifts me and it takes my breath away. Evidently it amazed David as well.  “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!...When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. Lord, our ...

Happy day after Christmas. I hope you had a wonderful time with friends and fmIly or if you haven’t been able to sync schedules yet, I hope you are able to do so soon. The Hudson’s managed to stretch the holiday out as long as possible. I do believe I can skip eating until February and I should be just fine!  This fall my children lost both of their grandmothers. One was 92 and one 96. They had lived good long lives and finished their course. Then, just after losing the second one we found out we were getting another baby in the family. It’s funny how that circle of life works. People are born and then get old and die and then more people are born. All except for that one baby. He was old when He was born.  ““You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”” ‭‭John‬ ‭18:37‬ ‭NIV‬‬ When Jesus was born, He was born very di...

Merry Christmas Eve and love has come for the world to know and experience. The angels sang the mightiest chorus to the lowest people in society when the God of glory, who is full of mercy sent His Son into this world! Yes, what a sight that must have been! That’s one of those things that when I get to Heaven, I want to see a re-play of, you know? I’ve got a list.  Sometimes I look at my little dog Boomer and think how little he realizes what I do for him. Now Boomer likes me—I’m his person. He wants to be close to me and in the same room and usually on top of me. But he has no clue that I buy his toys or make sure his bed is clean or that I buy the right food so his tummy won’t be upset or that I make sure he has water, and so on. He just assumes it’s all going to be there and be good. He wants extra food and more snacks than I give him, but I know it wouldn’t be good for him.  Are we a little like that with God? No clue what He really does for us? How many times He makes sur...

Good Monday to you and it is the week to celebrate that love has come for the world! This weekend, we had some of the family Christmas and as I looked down the table, I though of the old cliche, “All because two people fell in love…” And when I think of the four kids, and the four spouses and the soon to be 10 grandchildren... we talked quite a bit about the new baby and we all love him or her every bit as much as the ones that were there running around and the one serving in Hawaii who just got a tattoo on his arm. All I can think of is Wow! That’s a bunch of people and a lotta of love going from 2 to 20 in what seems like a short time.  This year, more than ever before, it has resonated with me over and over as I have studied that Christmas is about so much more than the baby in the manger. It is about that great love God had for the entire world coming to earth. Right after Jesus explains to Niccodemus about being born again, John tells us “For God so loved the world that he gav...

Happy Friday. Do you remember as a kid how long it seemed to take for Christmas to come? And now as an adult, it seems to come a little quicker every year! As a child, I remember it seemed like it was the greatest morning ever! And watching childrens’s faces still makes it a pretty great day. The definitely delayed gratification was (and is) always so worth it.  Especially now, in this fast-food world we live in, when we don’t like to wait for anything delayed gratification is almost a foreign concept. The idea of saving to buy a car or for a big purchase. Waiting for something better. It’s hard for us, but if we could wrap our heads around even a bit of what awaits us in heaven, we would live with boundless joy—the ultimate delayed gratification!  There are incredible realities in our everyday walk with Jesus in the here and now, but the joy of heaven to come can give us perspective and purpose when life gets tough.  “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in...

Happy Wednesday. Yesterday, my daughter-in-law sent a video of my youngest grandson trying to help her vacuum. It was just funny and I laughed out loud. My most genuine laughs are not when someone tells a funny joke, but with those I share a relationship. I can laugh so hard I cry at my kids and grandkids and friends. My sister can say or do some of the craziest things that crack me up! Yet, a stranger could say the same thing and I might not even smile.  Do you ever think about the God of the universe laughing with us? Or smiling from pure joy at us? It’s hard to imagine someone who is all-powerful just enjoying watching and being with us, but that’s what the Bible tells us about God. That He "reJOYces" and He rejoices over us.  “As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭62:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬ The Bible uses some amazing descriptions of how much joy we give to God, using...

Happy Tuesday to you. It was cold and slick and icy here yesterday and today we woke up to snow. Schools are closed for the second day but it is supposed to be warmer and sunny today. As you probably know, I am not a fan of the cold. But after I came home from work yesterday, I turned on my fireplace, my electric blanket, and fixed a cup of tea. Boomer and I snuggled down and took a nap while a Christmas movie was playing. It was pure bliss.  I’ve been doing a little research on joy as we study it this week and C. S. Lewis surprised me with his definition. He says this idea of joy is not a satisfied desire (like warm weather) but rather an unsatisfied desire, a deep longing for God, a hungry pursuit of God’s heart that never ends but is more satisfying than any earthly happiness. In his autobiography, “Surprised by Joy”, he tells of experiencing an other-worldly joy─a specific joy that is almost the opposite of how we normally think of it.  He explains three different and seem...

Happy Monday. This week begins the week we concentrate on the joy the Savior brought to the world. I have been sick all weekend. I’ve had a cold that has really stopped my in my tracks. I’ve spend the past two days in my pajamas sleeping or watching Christmas movies. You may think my joy would have left me but the truth is, joy is what is left when happiness leaves the room. It’s not just a one-day thing, but an every-day thing. Our happiness IS dependent on our circumstances but our joy...well, it depends on something much more solid.  “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexp...

It’s the Weekend! And we are getting close to the day we as Christians celebrate the first coming of our King. Last night, when I took Boomer out I was noticing all the shadows everywhere. It reminded me of one vivid memory I have as a child when I was about three. My parents were up drinking coffee and their shadows were huge on the wall. (Well, huge to a three year old) I couldn’t see them, only the shadows and they were talking quietly and I was afraid. I stood there for what seemed to be a long time because I was afraid to go around the corner to see the “real thing”.  The book of Hebrews is about Jesus coming to replace the shadows of the Law. He didn’t just come to fit in and be an earthly priest but he came to fulfill the law and put an end to the whole system. He is the real thing. And just like I was afraid to see the real thing, many of the Jews at the time were afraid to see Jesus for what He really was. “Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such ...

Happy Friday! We are only a dozen days from Christmas.Have you got your shopping finished? I think I’m close to done. I think I just have a couple more small things to pick up. ! It’s quite the process, isn’t it? This thing we do called “Christmas” that really has very little, if anything, to do with Christ. Don’t get me wrong, i love this holiday—the gift-giving and the friends and family times, the holiday cheer, Santa and even eggnog. But unless we are very intentional, Jesus is mostly an afterthought—a nativity set on a shelf somewhere in the background.  I’ve been trying hard to read the story every night to keep it fresh in my heart. Last night I read Matthew’s accounting and it is the most historically detailed accounting I think. He makes sure to point out the exact number of generations between Abraham and the Messiah.  “Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Me...

Happy Thursday. Today is my oldest child’s birthday. In some ways it doesn’t seem very long ago that our friends were waiting at the hospital with us to see the long awaited baby. Our little girl was beautiful, chubby and had a head full of hair and had an immediate roomful of admirers.Babies have such a way of bringing friends and family together. When Jesus was born, He was able to bring all sorts of people from opposite ends of life together and still today, 2,000 years later, He is still bringing the most unlikely of us together at His table.  Usually at Christmas we read Luke’s accounting of the Christmas story. It’s rooted in historical facts—we tie it to reality (taxes, census, Agustus) and we like it like that. It’s easy to understand and we can relate to the characters.Mary and Joseph were real, normal people. The shepherds were just working people who were afraid when they saw angels (normal, right?) But when we read John’s accounting, we find it rooted in eternity. I don...

Yesterday, I watched a little bit of a show my sister recommended about a town somewhere in the northwest set on a river. The clear, cool river moved at a lazy pace and reminded me of many of the ones in Colorado that you’re not quite sure if it’s a big stream or a small river. I sort of obsessed over that river and backed it up a time or two. I kept thinking about that old song “I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river..” It never made a lot of sense to me before because I thought of white river rafting and rapid rivers (not so peaceful) but those slow moving, gently flowing rivers are pretty peaceful. Peace, like a river.  “Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭48:18‬ ‭NLT‬‬ And we know that true peace was not to be had until Jesus came and brought with him the possibility of peace for mankind. There are few feelings worse than distre...

Happy Tuesday and Shalom (Peace) to you. One of the things I love about the holiday season is the candles. I like burning them but I absolutely love the led candles that glow. I liked them when I got the first ones with a little remote, but when I learned to set the timers, they became amazing. The living room just starts glowing bout sunset and I can go to bed knowing they go out all on their own.  What is it about light that draws us? We gravitate towards it because we don’t like the dark. Even my puppy leaves a room when I turn out the light. Light signifies all that is good, clear, showing us what’s around us and shedding light on the darkness of the enemy.  “Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭1:78-79‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Jesus came to bring light and peace to this world of darkness and chaos.i have nightlights all ...

Happy Monday and this begins our Advent week of Peace. It is a time for us to remember that “Peace is not found in the absence of difficulty but in the presence of the Divine.” Last night, I attended our Advent service where we spent an hour in an extremely peaceful setting with candle light talking about the peace of God. Then, I went directly to our office party. We had a good meal and a fun time of gift exchange, but then, we played a crazy game. To say it was chaotic is an understatement. In the midst of it all, Adam said “This is so stressful!” And I thought, “It is certainly a departure from the calm!” But maybe not a departure from our peace.  “But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly ho...

It’s the weekend and if you are a college football fan, it’s a biggie! If not, it’s a great me to finish up your shopping.And if you don’t like football and you’re not doing any shopping, life may not be great this weekend, what can I say!  My sweet little great nephew is about 11 years old. He’s in chess club this year for the first time. The other day, he beat another boy so fast, the boy started to cry. Little Gabe quickly said “Don't worry, life is just like that sometimes it’s not always good.” And for sure, life isn’t always good. After Jesus was born, the Bible tells us that Mary and Joseph did all that was required by law. Which means they took him to the temple on the eighth day to be circumcised and they purchased an offering. They didn’t have enough money for a lamb so they took the offering of the poor—two birds. When they handed the baby Jesús to the Priest Simeon, he was overcome.  ““At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and dev...

It’s Friday of this week of Hope. How has the first week of Advent gone for you? I hope you have taken some time to renew and refresh yourself in a few basic truths: our desperate need for a Savior; before heaven and nature can sing, every heart must prepare Him room; once you’ve made room for Him, you should begin to have a hunger and thirst for Jesus and for the things of God; and that will drive you into the scriptures of the Advent and you will inevitably begin to memorize some of the passages as you read them over and over with the Spirit revealing ever deeper truth.  Yesterday, I got tickled at my puppy because his habits are starting to be formed. He has a certain place in the yard he likes to do his number one and another place for the other and when he’s finished, he runs his little legs off to get to that door as fast as he can. Then, when get there and open it, he runs again straight to his bowl. He knows it food time! And when I tell him it’s “night night, he goes into ...

Happy Thursday. Today, I'm on my way to meet my sister and enjoy a couple of hours with her. We are praying that before too much longer we will get to live in the same town and these little times together won’t have to be so rare. Yesterday, I stubbed my toe and it has turned black and it’s not comfortable to walk. Sissy said just buddy tape it to another toe because no silly old toe is going to ruin our shopping trip!  But isn’t it crazy how one toe CAN ruin a day for you? A toe is seemingly such an unimportant, inconspicuous part of your body until you run into your stepping machine when you’re still half asleep! Then, it’s all you can think about. Doesn’t it make you think of the tiny baby Jesús, such an inconspicuous Savior, and then once we encounter Him, He’s all we can think about? I love that song by Rascal Flatts speaking from Joseph’s point of view, “Now I'm not one to second guess what angels have to say, but this is such a strange way to save the world.” I think I l...

Happy Thursday. Today, I'm on my way to meet my sister and enjoy a couple of hours with her. We are praying that before too much longer we will get to live in the same town and these little times together won’t have to be so rare. Yesterday, I stubbed my toe and it has turned black and it’s not comfortable to walk. Sissy said just buddy tape it to another toe because no silly old toe is going to ruin our shopping trip!  But isn’t it crazy how one toe CAN ruin a day for you? A toe is seemingly such an unimportant, inconspicuous part of your body until you run into your stepping machine when you’re still half asleep! Then, it’s all you can think about. Doesn’t it make you think of the tiny baby Jesús, such an inconspicuous Savior, and then once we encounter Him, He’s all we can think about? I love that song by Rascal Flatts speaking from Joseph’s point of view, “Now I'm not one to second guess what angels have to say, but this is such a strange way to save the world.” I think I l...

Happy Wednesday of the week set aside to remember Hope came to us in the form of an infant. Yesterday, Shelby and I were talking about babies and she said “I just love babies!” All day, I kept thinking about that and wondered if there were those who didn’t. But I do know for sure, God loves babies. Whenever He is about to do something big, He always seemed to start with a baby; Isaac, Moses, Samuel...and when God himself put on flesh, he came as an infant. His cousin who was to be his herald also came as a miraculous infant. (““And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord. You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭1:76-77‬ ‭NLT‬‬). Our God who Interweaves theology with obstetrics must think that this thing of babies and birth is a pretty special thing.  Babies are born every day, every minute, every second, but every one of those ordinary births is a miracle of li...

It’s Tuesday as Hope has come. Are you an early shopper? I usually start early, have great intentions but than I shop right up until time to open gifts. This year however, I had most everything bought a few months early. Now the biggest problem with that is (if you know me you can finish this sentence) is remembering where I hid them! Alas, this year was no exception. Over the years, I found shoes for Tal after he had outgrown them, I found sweaters in June, and everytime we would move, all sorts of little stocking stuffers. The kida thought it was hilarious. But this year, I’ve been proactive and I’ve been searching early and so far, I think I have found it all.  I’ve spent the last couple of days reading Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55). Clearly this little girl gets it. She understands that God is getting ready to do something huge here—alter the course of mankind. It has always amazed me that a simple, child really, grasps what is happening here yet thirty years later, when it ...

It is Monday and we are fully into Advent. Yesterday began this week of remembering how Jesus brought us hope. The word “Advent” means coming in Latin and as Christians, we use these four weeks before Christmas to help us prepare for and remember why Jesus came the first time to earth. We also remember that because He came once, He will come again.  My pastor gave an illustration yesterday about how hard it would have been for us to find Jesus if He had not come here to find us. All I could think of was how many times I lose my phone. I leave it in the most ridiculous places: On an obscure shelf in the closet, on top of a clothes basket, in my make-up drawer! There are times I could look for a month and never find it, but praise God, I have a magic watch! There’s this cute little “ping” button that makes my phone call for me no matter where it is. And it keeps calling until I find it. Jesus did the very same thing for me. He kept calling and calling and calling until I found Him. N...

It’s officially the first weekend of the Christmas season, and so far been a cool, cloudy, windy one where I am and that truly is not my favorite kind of weather. I’d really like to just get in my car and start driving south until it was warm! But alas, I have a few promises and commitments to keep.  Friday night when I got home, my puppy did not want to go outside. It was cold and it was raining and then it thundered! He didn’t like any part of any of it. It’s really hard to potty-train a little guy when the weather scares them. We went under the eve of the house and stood there and I got him covered as much as I could but the thunder was scary and it was wet. Finally he relaxed enough to “go” and then he hurried back to safety!  I wish I could have saved a dry place where it would be perfect for him to run out and not get wet or hear scary noises. But to go outside, it’s not always perfect. The world outside is sometimes sunshine and the perfect temp with dry grass, but most...