Tis the season!

I love Christmas.  I love most things about it, including the lights, the music, and the joy of giving and receiving, Not the materialistic Christmas that is the spending exorbitant amounts of money on gifts, but I do find joy in giving meaningful gifts.  I love the Christmas that is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.  The celebration of the day that my Savior came to earth fully man, yet fully God.  I know that Jesus wasn't born in the middle of winter and that December 25th is probably not the actual date, but it is a mutual time that Christians can join together and celebrate His birth.

There are some things about Christmas that I do not like though.  Materialism is a big one and another is the complaining that happens each year as some people get up on their soap boxes and try to tell the rest of the world how they should celebrate "Christmas".

With less than 2 weeks to go until Thanksgiving, I've already seen numerous absurdities about Christmas.  This past week there was a lot of hoopla over a certain overpriced coffee chain and their solid colored red cup that they chose as their seasonal holiday cup.  All of a sudden, there were claims that the said coffee chain had waged a war on Christmas, although they sell advent calendars and a Christmas blend of coffee.  There was a video that encouraged Christians to lie to the baristas when asked for their name in order to get "Merry Christmas" on the cup...wait...WHAT?!

Then I saw a post on a social media site that claimed that they couldn't say "Merry Christmas" anymore or call it a Christmas tree because it might offend someone.  It proceeded to say that these are customs and if you don't like the customs then get out!  Then it encouraged anyone who would have the guts to agree with this to repost the status.  I refrained.  I do say Merry Christmas and call it a Christmas tree, but I am not going to hold it against someone who doesn't and tell them to get out.

As a believer in Christ, I know that we are to love others so they may see Jesus within.  Before joining in on the next rant of a war on Christmas or mindlessly sharing some post about how unfair it is that you "can't say Christmas", ask if it is something that will show others how Jesus loves.  When people hear petty complaints from Christians, especially at this time of year, it doesn't turn anybody towards Jesus, but quite the opposite!  

I doubt Jesus cares what the design is on the overly priced cup of coffee is, but he does care about if you're sharing the blessings He's provided you with others.  I'm don't think he cares if the cashier at the grocery store wishes you happy holidays or Merry Christmas, but I know that he cares how you've treated them as they have served you.  Aren't we supposed to care about the things that Jesus cares about? 

This Christmas, let's focus on loving Jesus, celebrating Him and sharing His Love with the world around us.  Then, and only then, are we doing something that Jesus not only cares about, but commands us to do.

³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”  Mark 12:30-31 (ESV)

Merry Christmas to you all!

Trick or Treat!

Trick or Treat!  ohhh...I'm a little late on this one, aren't I?
Over the last couple of days, this phrase has been said many, many times by young and old alike.  We encouraged our youngsters to don masks and costumes, soliciting treats from the neighborhood.  Children were excited to dress up as their favorite super hero or maybe even a witch or a ghost. At the end of the night, they returned with a bounty of chocolate, gummies and other various sugar filled treats. Many people have gone to costume parties with their friends, anticipating who would be the most creative, scariest or funniest character in attendance.  The end of October comes and goes every year with the same fanfare of masquerade.
It is the rest of the year that has been on my heart recently.  I had originally thought about the masks that adults wear every day, but it occurred to me that there are many children wearing masks also.  They come in about as many varieties as one can find at a Halloween store.  Some examples are: "I've got it all together", "things are great at home", "class (or office) clown", "victim", "air headed", "tough guy",  "bully", "obnoxious", and "helpless".  These are the social masks we may wear daily.  These masks are the ones that hide our insecurities with hopes of being accepted, even if it's not really ourselves who are being received.  They hide our pains, our shame, our fears, our sadness and our vulnerabilities.  They hide things that we naively believe nobody else has ever experienced.  Often times, we lack the confidence to allow people to know us for who we really are or what we've been through.  After all, nobody could ever welcome us...if they really knew...
I want to encourage you today to take off your social mask(s).  Take the first steps to uncover the person who lives deep within.  Dig down to your core and think about what masks you wear and why you wear them.  If you're not really sure, take some time in prayer and ask God to uncover the truth for you.  Remove the layers of your facade, and begin to enjoy your life being you, being who you were created to be!

the Protector Detector

BEEP!!!  BEEP!!!  BEEP!!!
What's that?!?  The sound of our carbon monoxide detector going off at 4 a.m.!  We were awakened from a deep sleep....thankfully!  That happened on an early Saturday morning a while back.  We got out of the house and waited as the firemen came, checked out the house and confirmed that there was, in deed, a problem with the air quality inside of the house.  They turned the gas off to the furnace and told us to have it serviced before turning it back on.  A repairman come to the house a few hours later and after turning the furnace back on, he couldn't find anything wrong with it or get a CO reading.  He proceeded to allow us into the house and told us it would be ok.  BEEP!!!  BEEP!!! BEEP!!! 2:15 p.m. and our detector went off again!  The Repairman got a return call and confirmed this time that he was getting a CO reading.  He determined that he would not be able to return until Monday with parts, so we went to a hotel for a few nights...  Monday came along and the repairman returned, replaced a seal, and gave us the ok to move back into the house.  Finally, we could move back home and get back to normal....or not.  BEEEEP!!! BEEEEP!!! BEEEEP!!! 7 p.m and the CO detector could be heard from the outside! ....wait, this wasn't supposed to happen again!  It was fixed, wasn't it?! *sigh* ...at least it's not 4 a.m.!  ...back to the hotel where they were beginning to think of us as family ;-)
The next day, we had new repairmen...yes, more than one...come to check our furnace.  They were both determined to get to the bottom of the problem.  Unfortunately, after spending the day in our basement and tearing the furnace apart and cleaning it, they came to the conclusion (after getting a CO reading of 15,000!) that the furnace needed replaced.
5 days of being displaced, and as we reflected on it, we were thankful...very thankful!  Our Carbon monoxide detectors saved our lives at least 3 times between Saturday morning and Monday night.  We were inconvenienced with having to be out of our house, but that's nothing compared to what it could have been!
It was easy to be thankful for the CO detectors and for the job that they did...they protected us from the danger that we had no idea was there.
I wonder if we had an alarm go off every time our Heavenly Father protected us or helped us, how much more grateful we would be...or how insane we might be if we actually had that alarm going off.  We rush around to get to an important event on time and end up delayed and frustrated... BEEP!!! BEEP!!! BEEP!!!!  Turns out if we were on time, we would have been in the accident that is now being cleaned up.  We apply for a job that we think would be perfect for us but we get turned down and get upset for losing the opportunity...BEEP!!! BEEP!!! BEEP!!!  we don't know that business is going to close down 6 months later.  We may sustain an injury that needs medical attention.  We are hurt and it cramps our style...BEEP!!! BEEP!!! BEEP!!! We find out that there is another, more serious ailment that may have been fatal if we had waited any longer to have it treated.
We don't have the luxury of always knowing when our Heavenly Father is shielding us of danger, as there isn't an alarm that goes off....there isn't a "Protector Detector".  We can rest assured though:  we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.  Romans 8:28 ESV
 
Be blessed!

Annie

I haven't written in a while.  At least not anywhere except in my head ;-)

A month ago, our family was involved in a local theater's production of Annie..  I played drums, my daughter did costumes and my husband acted as "Daddy Warbucks"!
If you're not familiar with the story, it's pretty simple.  Annie is an optimistic orphan who never gives up hope that her parents are going to come back for her someday.  The orphanage director, Miss Hannigan, is a mean lady and hates Annie (along with the rest of the orphans) and so, Annie runs away to find her parents but gets caught and sent back to the orphanage...
Annie then gets the opportunity to spend 2 weeks over Christmas with Billionaire Daddy Warbucks.  He falls in love with this adorable little red headed girl and wants to adopt her.  Unfortunately for him, she rejects the offer because she believes, based on a locket and hand written note, that her parents are still alive and love her so she wants to find them. As much as He loves her, Daddy Warbucks decides to try and help Annie find the wayward parents by offering $50,000 and hiring the FBI.  Miss Hannigan's brother finds out about this and inlists her help to deceive them into giving up Annie...but more importantly the money.  In the end, we find out that Annie's true parents are deceased, Miss Hannigan and company get arrested and Daddy Warbucks gets to adopt Annie.


So that is Annie, in a very brief nutshell, but underneath I believe there is a deeper story.  You see, Annie wanted to be loved, as do we all.  When she was first given the opportunity to be adopted, loved, and  to have a Daddy plus everything else she could possibly want, she rejected it.  She continued to look for the love that she thought was elsewhere.  It wasn't until she found out that her parents had passed away that she was willing to accept the love of Daddy Warbucks.
Isn't that how we are with God?  He loves us greater than any human ever could.  He gave more than $50,000 to show his love...He gave His Son, His life!  He wants us to be filled with His Love.  He wants us to look to Him to be our Daddy.  Yet often times, we reject his love.  We go searching elsewhere for the love that only God can give.  Some people try to get fulfillment through drugs or alcohol.  Others search for love through lust and sexual gratification.  We often try to be satisfied through material goods.  But alas, none of these things can compare to the love that God is offering us.  He wants to adopt us as His children.  To care for our every need.  To love us as only a perfect parent can.

Will you reject his offer and continue to search elsewhere or will you accept and receive the love that only He can give?

Romans 8:31-32  
Contemporary English Version
God’s Love

³¹ What can we say about all this? If God is on our side, can anyone be against us? ³² God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won’t he freely give us everything else?

Someone is coming!

SANDY! SANDY! SANDY is coming to town! Have you prepared for her? Do you have water? Batteries? A generator? Propane??? Seems like strange items to have for Sandy, but this isn't just any "Sandy", this is Hurricane Sandy and she's packing a punch! For a week now we've been hearing about Sandy. She is bringing in quite a bit of wind and water from the ocean and if she meets up with any of the other storms, we could have a huge snow storm. Are you prepared?
As I've heard all too often these last couple of days, we all need to be prepared for the storm that is coming. Don't get me wrong, I believe that we should be prepared in case of the impending doom of no electricity and lack of water, etc. I also believe that I may finally catch up on sleep without electricity to distract me from going straight to bed and that ever invasive alarm clock waking me up in the morning ;-)
Something else struck me this past week though. As everyone is flurrying around trying to be prepared by buying up all the possible items they think they may need, are they the least bit prepared for those storms that come unexpectedly? Those storms that can shake every bit of our well being and emotional stability? Many times there are no things that can help you through the storms of life. There is something though...Someone... who can help. People buy bottles of water, but He is the Living Water. People buy batteries for flashlights, but He is the true Light of the world. People buy generators for energy, but He gives us more than energy, He gives us life! Who is He? He is my Jesus! Turn to Him and He will prepare you for, and carry you through the true storms of life.