First let me wish you all a blessed Christmas!  Can you even fathom that first day?  When Mary and Joseph were relinquished to a barn?  I mean, the smell, first of all…Joseph must have cleared a space, swept away cobwebs, nasty hay and dirt, probably lay down his cloak so his beloved Mary, already in the pains of labor, could at least have some semblance of cleanliness.  If this had been your first experience giving birth, would you do it again?  Yet she went on to have others from her own eggs, and Joseph’s own seed…and I pray that her subsequent birth experiences were better than the first!!!

 

I have all three kids here…Colin, 19, is sound asleep in his room, which must be such a blessing for him as he normally sleeps on the daybed in the family room at his dad’s house.  Now, before you make any judgement, he was offered his own room…but as he told me last night, it was too “Beth’d out” meaning that his dad’s wife had claimed the spare room as her own and he didn’t feel comfortable.  At the same time, he sat on the piano bench looking at the tree last night, and it was apparent he didn’t feel like he belonged there anymore.  He is at that point where he isn’t happy anywhere, doesn’t feel a part of anything, and, as his mum, I hurt for him so badly.  I want to reassure him that someday he will feel awesome and giddy…but because it isn’t in the here and now, he won’t believe it.

 

My Rosemary and Cuyler have opened their stockings, and are also playing with their air hockey set that the picked out themselves, so I let them go ahead and use it.  Cuy has already eaten one Nestle’s Cookies and Cream candy bar, but, it’s Christmas, and it is only once a year when your mum says to eat your bacon THEN have your candy.  Rosemary discovered her new Betta Fish (you’ll remember the passing of Aqua) – he is a pink crowntail Betta…very beautiful, she is thrilled.  The dogs are eating their dinosaur bones that were in their stockings, and both kitties are eating the gourmet food that was in their stockings!  Even Louis, the guinea pig, had citrus treats in his stocking.

 

I received the Turning Point newsletter via email today…and it talked about those who are missing at Christmas…the missing laughter, the longing for the touch of a vanished hand…I lost it.  I wanted my mum back in the worst way.  This is the 15^th  Christmas without her…it seems impossible I have made it through without her.  That my daughter and my youngest son know her only through my memories.  My mum and my daughter would have been the best of friends.  It tears me apart to think she can never ever know her.

 

I have also lost my sister, my brother, and my Daddy.  I wish I could hear their laughter again.  See their smiles, watch them open their gifts.  I also wish I could say they are in Heaven, but for them, I am not sure at all.  They exist in my memory.

 

One blessing – my brother’s first wife (the good wife) contacted me recently, wanted to reconnect, and she said that she is blessed this Christmas because she has me in her life again.  I, too, am blessed!

 

Last night at the Christmas Eve service, we had some guest musicians – they really made such a difference! I sang “Oh Holy Night” accapella, and Rosemary sang “Silent Night” which has become a tradition at our church.  Most Wednesday nights I miss Bible study at my own church because I end up at work til at least 6:30…but our musical guests were from a church I pass every day/night on my commute…I asked if I could join their Wednesday night study since I never make it home in time for my own…they were thrilled !  So was I !!  So after the new year, I will start going to Bible study there on my way home.

 

The kids are still playing air hockey – they are laughing – the dogs are still chewing their bones, it’s not even 9AM yet…

 

May you all be blessed today, tomorrow, and into the coming New Year, may you find Christ in your heart which is where He wants to reside,  the joy will be overwhelming !

This is actually shamefully stolen from my Pastor – he gave an amazing lesson a couple   Sundays ago that I will never do justice to, but felt very much that I needed to share.

 (anything in italics is from me)

 

It starts off with I John 5:18-21 –

“We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.  We know that we are the children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.  We know also the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true.  And we are in him who is true – even in his Son Jesus Christ.  He is the true God and eternal life.  Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.”  (NIV)

 

Guard yourselves from idols because we have a LOT of idols that we will go towards…we have things that keep us from being blessed.

 

However, we also have a great WEAPON – The SWORD OF THE WORD OF GOD – make sure to apply it to whatever it is we idolize.  When satan brings depression, cruel thoughts, greed, etc, to us – use the WEAPON against him!

 

We don’t have to sin so we shouldn’t!

Ø      Satan knows every one of our weaknesses

Ø      Tempting = exploitation of our weaknesses (temptation NEVER comes from God!)

Ø      Testing = showing and growing our strengths! (testing comes from God)

 

Hey, we KNOW we are different from the people “of this world” BUT do not judge the people of the world --Satan has them.

WE KNOW that Jesus revealed the truth of God to us and helps us understand Him giving us eternal life.  Not everyone knows this!  Be kind, be caring, be forgiving, and SHARE this vital message!  You see, we, as children of God, have been emancipated from Satan!  (word of the week:  emancipated ) Remember, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4) ( if you haven’t started memorizing Bible verses, let me recommend this one as “top ten”)

 

Let me use depression as an example.  Depression can be a sin.  Think about it – Didn’t God get you out of this situation/feeling, etc before???  Do we really think He can’t do it again?  Remember God’s promises…this is ONLY a test…we may not like our current situation…too bad!  We are exactly where we are supposed to be!!  So…we can’t change our situation, but we sure can change our ATTITUDE about it!  It’s easy to grumble about our current situation… STOP!  Find joy through God who will give you VICTORY!  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.  And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.  We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ’s behalf:  Be reconciled to God.” (II Corinthians 5:17-20)

 

A new creation, able to leave the old things/ways behind…not necessarily on our own strength, but ask God for HIS strength…He provides it abundantly to those who ask.

 

I hope you have been as blessed by this message as I was.  I think it was the “we may not like our current situation…too bad!” that did it for me.  I can choose my attitude.  I have been doing a lot of choosing lately and have found blessings in the choices!  I also tend to be very self-centered…I see things as they relate to me…guess what?  The world really DOES NOT revolve around ME!  And even better?  PRAISE God it doesn’t!!   That is a very liberating realization!  Ok, did I really think in the literal sense that the world revolved around me?  Of course not, but I tend to take things that happen very personally.  Once I started taking a deep breath and saying, “Does this really relate to me or is something else going on?” I found it was 99% of the time…something else!  So I need to spare myself from all the bad feelings I put upon myself!  Here I am driving the stake deeper into myself when there is no stake to even hammer!

 

Sure, life isn’t how I would have designed it for myself…but God has designed it…who am I to fault the universe’s greatest architect?  I am finding great joy, probably for the first time in my life, in the design God gave me…because I have CHOSEN to do so!

 

I pray you all have made joyful choices with your lives…and if not…GO FOR IT!  God is right there waiting for you to recognize His support/love/victory.

http://www.dayspring.com/movies/view.asp?moviename=thejoy.swf   Please click on this link so you may, too, share in God's Son's love for you.