With Christmas now behind us, it is easy to forget the spirit of the season as easily as we dismiss the debate between Merry Christmas versus Happy Holidays.  Having just left this time of “holiday spirit” I have to wonder in earnest on the true giving aspect.  I know there are those who truly give of their time, whether at a soup kitchen, charity project, or other form of service.  I also know there are those who have no time, but instead give in a gift of some sort.  This covers the angel trees, bonus donations in the offering for a couple weeks, ect.  But why are we so intent on this concept of “give a penny, take a penny”?  To be more clear, why do so many today (including myself at times) have an ingrained mentality that if I give of my time or gifts, then I should GET something too.  Why can’t we be trained to just GIVE without any attachments?

Since I’m on the topic and have already riddled myself into using popular phrasing, I have also heard that when your hand is open in giving it is thus open also to receive.  Now this isn’t so bad.  Some people close themselves off and think that every fool should pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.  Reality, everyone needs help at some time or another.

I have been reading 1 John this week and my thoughts culminated on this subject once I read the following verses:

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for one another. ¹⁷
If any one of you has material possessions and sees a brother or sister
in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in you? ¹⁸ Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 16-18)

Despite the hard workers at the ACLU, Christmas is still a national holiday and it is still (ultimately) about the coming of Jesus Christ to save the world.  Yet in all of the mubo-jumbo of “Happy Holidays” being the politically correct phrase to say, how can we possibly miss that JESUS CHRIST LAID DOWN HIS LIFE FOR US.  John tells us that “this is how we know what love is.”  Not lust the fills the soul at the shot of the most recent Victoria’s Secret model or the the condemnation of a man standing just of the exit of a highway with a sign saying that he is hungry and God bless.  Love, in it’s truest and untarnished form is sacrificial.  Now, how many can say that they would die for that man off of the highway?  No?  Jesus did.

Just like that.  Thats all there is to it and yet, that all there is to it.  It is by far the hardest task that anyone has ever asked of us.  To love in a sacrificial manner that people will know who we are by our actions.  But why is it so difficult for us to do this?  Why is it so hard to simply love one another as Christ first loved us?

I received a notice today from a friend of mine.  She is involved with a new non-profit called the Greenhouse Project.  This organization is based through an orphanage in Uganda, striving to survive in a country that has been torn apart by civil wars for longer than these children have been alive.  They are using funds from an art grant to go to Africa, teach the kids art, bring back those pieces that the children create, and sell them as support to keep this safe haven alive.  For some, it is a chance to have their voice heard in a world that seems determined to shut them up.

As soon as I saw that my friend was still raising funds, I asked my husband how much we could send.  I wrote the check in that same sitting.  I am so proud of her heart.  She has a heart for those who need help and she is doing something about it.

That is Christianity at work.  My friend taking the summer to assist and determine where the need is in this orphanage is a step of faith.  She is being the salt of the earth and light in a dark world.

“Christian” has quickly become an adjective as opposed to the verb that it is.  How we can sit around as the world crumbles on all fronts is beyond me.  I suppose this is why I find myself at such peace right now.  I don’t have a job, I live in an apartment complex whose prices raise significantly each year, etc…there is a plethora of “stuff” that I could easily allow to drown me in sorrow, worry, and depression.  But I have my hope in Jesus my Lord.  I have a home.  My husband has a good job.  We are blessed to have friends and family who love and care for us.  Even our puppy brings a smile to the faces of the passersby as he appears to always have one on his.  Now, I have a friend who I have seen go through the trenches, also known as high school, and has come out, a semester from graduating college with a degree in theology, and has focused on others–loving and caring for those who are considered unlovable.

That is peace.

I joke about the unrest in Israel, asking my family if they are ready to go home.  They smile and say ‘better believe it.’  How about you?  Each one of you has a choice.  Choose Jesus or Choose hell for eternity.  Jesus=peace, hell=well, hell, eternal suffering and unrest.  Simple choice, simple answer.  The unrest, the deteriorating of morals and of “Christians” standing for tolerance rather than Jesus and the Bible…it is a very clear sign of the second coming of Jesus.

But for anyone who has not made the choice for Jesus, beware, in the twinkling of an eye, he will be here and gone.  When you go to work or to school and see the empty chairs, the missing people, you can no longer say that you were never warned.

Jesus is coming and this time, the devil is going to be allowed to take over and put hell on earth-unlike any destruction and misery that you can ever imagine.  I would suggest choosing the peace now, but that is just my opinion.

Prayer is something that churches talk a lot about but talk a lot to. In other words, “PRAY for the afflicted”
“PRAY for healing” “PRAY for answers and wisdom.” These are pertinent to the Christian walk, but what does it actually mean?

Jesus said it like this when his disciples when they asked how to pray, “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tel you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go to your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. This, then, is how you should pray:

Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.”

First of all Jesus isn’t saying you can only pray kneeling next to your bed with the door locked, all by yourself. He is saying not to be a show. So many have decided to, rather than being a light for others through how they LIVE, but to “witness” by being a Bible basher, screaming condemnation from the street corners and by praying loud and extensive prayers that people have to take notice of.

We are called to be the “salt of the earth” and a “light in the darkness.” This involves LOVING EVERYONE BUT HATING THE SIN. This involves living the lives that we would want Jesus to be proud of. This involves being not of this world. The Bible also commands us to pray continuously, which can (and should) be done without needing to create a stage for yourself, putting yourself in the limelight.

The second part of what Jesus was saying in Matthew is what people call the “Lord’s prayer.” In fact this is more of a students prayer, not to be recited word for word each and every day. It is a guideline of what can be said. One this that can be noted that we just read right over is the very beginning. “Our Father.” In the Greek, the word that was used is ‘Abba’, better translated to ‘Daddy.’

Years ago, my sister and I gave my dad a plaque for father’s day that read, “Any man can be a father, but only a special man can be a dad.” There is a distinct difference between these two names. It’s not the formality, it’s the relationship. A father gives his DNA to his child, a Daddy gives his heart and his life. Our Father in heaven created us to have an intimate relationship with him, like a DADDY and his child who he would give his life for (and he did on the cross at Calvary).

Now, the easiest way to pray is to talk like you would to a daddy, in conversation and the best part is not having someone to talk to, but someone who talks back. Just yesterday I prayed that my fiance’s flight would not be delayed much longer (he had been waiting for about 4 hours and they still had an “unknown” departure). This may sound like a petty prayer to be lifted up to the creator of the universe but he was tired and worn out, just wanted to be home, even if only for the night. My heart ached for him and I knew that there was only one who could get the pilot there so they could take off. Not even 5 minutes after I said the prayer, I got a call saying they were loading the plane and getting ready to take off. My prayer was answered.

This is one of endless examples that I could give of answered prayers. Some claim these are “coincidences” but I can guarantee any individual who had a lump in an MRI and then it miraculously disappears in the next doctors visit would call it far beyond a “coincidence.” What is overlooked by so many is that while they claim to believe one thing, so many worship idols.

It doesn’t have to be a golden statue to be called an idol. Worship is whatever you give your attention to. Money, clothes, popularity and fame. These are all idols that people worship. Jesus once had a rich young man ask him how to get to heaven and when the rich man was faced with giving up his wealth he found himself in a predicament that could keep him from the Glory of God. It isn’t about having money, its about having such a hold on it that not even the golden streets of heaven will get you to release the clutch on the check book. In this story, money was the idol.

So, you heard my story about how my God answered my prayer, as simple as it was. Now, when was the last time your check book or your famed movie star that you “idolize” or even your popularity answered your deepest need? Whether it was healing your dying mother or getting you to your plane on time, there is only one God that can talk back and change your life.

Prayer is alive and active conversation with a living God who desires a relationship…who answers you when you cry out?

I received this in an e-mail and encourage you all to take the time to read it and hear what this one person is saying.  Continue to pray as a person of such influence is leading so many lost astray.

Most people are at least familiar with Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you…” It is printed on every graduation card known to man and written in every graduate advice book ever published, but what about the rest of the 65 books or even the rest of Jeremiah for that matter?

We focus all of our energies on this one verse hoping that it will somehow hold all of the answers and when we feel lost and confused we can’t seem to understand why God’s promise to Jeremiah no longer brings us hope and promise to our future.

It’s not because God has left us. It’s not because the promise has changed. It’s because we have become so short-sighted on this one verse of promise that we fail to see where exactly it is that God is leading us in our future.

Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to “trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” In our own visions and ideas of the future, we are in control; we know how to handle every situation that we face. But, if we were to let go of our strong hold on life and truly lean on God in trust and faith beyond what we know, then God would lead us straight past what we plan for ourselves and into some much greater.

David said something similar to Solomon as he knew he was at the end of his life. “Get to know the God of your ancestor. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and with a willing mind. For the LORD sees every heart and understands and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him you will find him.” (1Chronicles 28:9). We don’t serve some ambiguous God, disconnected and uninterested. We serve a God who loves us enough to die on a cross so each and every one of us can not only have a plan and a purpose, but so that we can spend eternity with him once we have lived out that plan he created us for.

I don’t believe that we were necessarily created for one thing, perhaps thousands of little things that affect lives beyond our scope. But whatever it is that we have as our purpose, we will not only change other people’s lives, but have our life changed. From a doctor who saves a life to a teacher who changes a child’s heart to a sales associate whose smile brightens the day of someone stuck in depression.

Lives are changed everyday by you and by me beyond what we see.

The plans that God has for us will be revealed as we seek him, love him and live for him day by day.

Christmas is my favorite time of year.  There is a sense of love and family in the house ad the smell of cookies and scrumptious goodies wafting through the air.  In Florida you get used to not having a white Christmas, in fact, you get used to having an 80 degree Christmas in shorts and a t-shirt, but it’s still Christmas,  Family is together and love is abundant.  It almost seems as for the day at least, time slows down and we become like children again.  We find joy in each other and the simple things.  We listen to carols and eat cinnamon twists and mini sausages with orange juice.  The cookies that we spent hours decorating are arranged in baskets or plates to be distributed as gifts to extended family and friends and all is well.  This year has been a little different.

Due to work, I only helped with a couple batters for cookies and they were out of the house before Christmas came.  Gifts are still under the tree, but no one is there as we are all spread around the nation this year.  Amazingly I got a white Christmas this year, snow fell in Denver, CO this morning leaving a beautiful fresh powder for us to trample through, making snow angels.  I love it and its been a beautiful and wonderful day with my future in-laws, but it doesn’t feel like Christmas.

Christmas is celebrating the birth of Christ and all that he has done for us through that humble beginning and humble death on the cross.  It also is about family, coming together and celebrating together in a special way (though different for each family) and remembering that birth together.  I return tomorrow and I have begun to realize that Christmas is not something that must be done a certain way or on a specific day.  It’s a feeling of love and remembrance of the birth and life of Jesus.

So, while I cherish and love the traditions that are very much a part of my Christmas, there is so much more that I love above all of it.

Merry Christmas everyone, and God bless you all.

I take offense to every man and woman who decides that it is now “uncouth” to say “merry Christmas” and force me at work to say “Happy Holidays” for fear of losing my job or other retribution.  I take offense to every person who decided that suddenly we are no longer allowed to sing carols in schools or hang Christmas decorations, such as a tree, at the risk of a child who doesn’t celebrate Christmas feeling intimidated or pressured by the greenery or pleasant music that most people have waited all year to hear.  I take offense that suddenly the holiday that I celebrate as the birth of my Savior, which had already been commercialized and celebrated by the majority of Americans unless Jewish or otherwise religious (in other words, not the ones complaining) is just now offending people that grew up celebrating the same holiday and will probably receive presents and get a Christmas tree (not a holiday tree).

I take offense that Christmas is now a political issue rather than a spiritual issue.  But most of all I take offense that it doesn’t matter what offends me, because I am Christian.  I take offense that my rights are not the same as atheists, agnostics, scientologists, or whatever else people want to call themselves.  I take offense that I am told to keep quiet about my views but am expected to hear others shouting profanities where my children are playing and learning.  I take offense that 5 year olds come home saying the f-word having learned it at public school from a classmate and I am told by others that it is simply freedom of speech, despite how I would want a child raised.  I take offense that I have to lower my morals to meet everyone elses.

I weep for this country that I love because when the men that created it wrote our constitution, they PRAYED TO GOD for guidance and for direction.  I weep for this country that I love because that same constitution is being walked all over by judges who have decided to overstep their boundaries and start creating laws (because our elected officials aren’t doing it anyway).  I weep for this country that I love because I see it falling to pieces and crumbling before my very eyes.  I weep for those who are lost and yell to throw me in jail because I speak against homosexuality (I don’t hate the homosexual..I hate their sin…the act of their lifestyle, I love them as persons and if that is worthy of a hate crime then I am guilty).  I weep for those who are lost and yell that they not only hate this war but hate the soldiers who hate been risking their lives to fight for their freedom to yell.  I weep and cry out to God to come save us from this and yet give us more time to save those souls who are so incredibly lost.

So here I stand wishing everyone a politically incorrect Merry Christmas, praying for the lost, and weeping for my country that is so lost in the sea if sin.

“To wait on the Lord is to demonstrate confident expectation. The Hebrew word for wait may also be translated “hope.” To hope in God is to wait for His timing and His action”

Psalm 27:14 reads…

Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

So many times this summer I prayed for guidance and direction. I also prayed for patience (which I greatly lack) that I may have hope and “wait upon the the Lord.” The peace and assurance that I live with today and a result of living in God’s plan and will for me and a result of answered prayers for that guidance and direction. Today I was reading Jude (a nice short read if you only have a minimal amount of time) which then took me Daniel 10.

This is one of Daniel’s final visions and concerns him to the point of fasting and praying. For 21 days there was no answer and then an angel comes to him telling him, ““Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven.”

Now there is more to the story but it was that verse that struck a chord with me today. He told him that from the very day he had begun to pray for understanding and to humble himself before God, his request was heard. Not after 7 days or after he had performed the correct rituals. Not from anything but humbling himself before God and submitting his prayer before the the Almighty.

How awesome is our Father that he loves us so much that as soon as we cry out to him he hears us? Think of a young child who has fallen and begins to cry. From inside the house his daddy hears his cries and runs to see what has happened and what he can do to make it better. Sometimes he can mend the cut with medicine the eases the pain while other times all he can do is hold his beloved child hurting deep inside because the wound needs to heal on its own and there will be some pain involved. That is God. When we cry out he hears us and holds us tight, sometimes he can do something to ease the pain while other times He knows that the pain will bring about strength, healing, and wisdom that we wouldn’t be able to gain without going through that hurt. But all the while, he holds us close, whispering in our soul “I love you this much” and he stretches out his hands as wide as he can and there on both hands are the scars of love that he bore on the cross to save us.

I found that waiting on the Lord provides me with peace and assurance. I still struggle sometimes but ultimately it comes down to listening for God’s guidance and trusting in His ways (which are so much better than my own). When you wait upon the Lord he will renew your strength (Is 40:1). Love Hope and Believe.

I started running again.  Not outside (still too hot for that), but my parents invested in an elliptical machine and I am fully taking advantage of it.  I currently run at a 10 minute mile pace, granted that is only being able to run one mile but hey, its a start.  Oddly tonight I am reminded of my high school years when I ran cross country (it was an interesting time to say the least).  I would never claim to be a good runner, in fact, I’m pretty bad at it if that is possible.  Even after an entire season in cross country, running 5Ks and going to practice after school every day which included a 1 mile warm up run (those insane people), I still never broke a 30 minute 5K.  I was in shape, I had lost some weight that was thought could help (basically I trimmed up), but I just didn’t have the discipline to run a full 3.1 mile race without stopping and walking at some point.

That isn’t what is coming to mind tonight though, but the background was needed to make sense of anything else.  What is on my mind is one race in particular.  My dad came to every single race I ever ran, cheering me on even as I was whining and complaining that I couldn’t do it anymore.  He was there.  We had a race very early one morning in south Florida that ran down a road, over a bridge, by some soccer fields, and around a fence that hid the finish.  Following this race I had to leave immediately to go to a band practice for a competition and so it was a full day and there was no exception to my dad being there to any other race.

Prior to the start of the race my dad gave me a little piece of paper that had a single verse written on it,

“but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. 

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” 

Isaiah 40:31

Now, that wasn’t my best race.  I think I finished in 33-34 minutes, but as I got tired I told myself, “run and not grow weary, walk and not faint…” Over and over, and yeah, I did walk, no I didn’t break any amazing time records (I was one of the last to finish), but it was a good race that I felt good about.

    What the verse is applicable to is waiting on the Lord; trusting in God to be there for us when we need him.  My dad wrote it for me to use during a literal race, but also to use in the race of life.  Tonight he and I discussed some issues and fine details with my living at home (finances, expectations, ect.) and as I continue on in life I know that he is still there cheering me on (as is my mom).  This race is tough and sometimes I stop running, panting, whining and crying out that I can’t do it.  That’s when God calls us to cry out to him.  I am blessed to have amazing parents who are there for me no matter what, but even when they can’t be there for me, God is always there.  Sometimes he calls us to be patient and “wait upon” him but he also promises that if we are faithful he will “lift us up on the wings of eagles” to heights that we could never imagine.

ok…(grumble, grumble) I got a new page up (yea!) but it is still under construction so the format isn’t quite what I want yet but the idea is there.  I have listed some of my favorite verses for you and I did have (until it was erased about 3 times) an explanation for each verse as well.  SOOOO, needless to say, that will be added and the pictures will be adjusted but, nevertheless, IT’S UP!!!