There are millions of websites that attempt to explain the meaning of Christmas. There are droves of Christian websites that detail and break down what the Bible says Christmas means and how Christ came to be. There are websites that talk about the pagan rituals and the fact that many of the current things we do originate from these rituals. It seems like everyone has an opinion on the true meaning of Christmas. Just google the question and you will see.
The truth is that we don't really know the day that Christ was born. So why do we celebrate His birth on December 25th? Why not? Who really cares about the exact date of the birth of Jesus Christ. Does knowing or not knowing really mean anything? No. Sorry, but no. So why do we need to debate the subject? For the same reason that people debate the bible. For the same reasons well-meaning Christians will take a single sentence of the bible and turn it into a reason for them to be self-righteous or better than the rest of us. We are all more alike than we think. For every person who feels one way about the subject you have an equally number of those who oppose it.
I would rather focus on what Christ means to me. How His life's mission was simply to save humanity and how by doing that He also saved me. To me Christmas is a time to look back on the year and reflect. Was this a good year? Was I the person Christ wanted me to be? How can I do better? Christmas is a time to honor one another while we also honor our savior. To spend time as a family in celebration of life!
Sometimes our human nature is to overly complicate everything. To get stuck in these humanly debates about life and the meaning of it and the purpose of it and I think we all just need to disconnect sometimes. Turn off our phones, our computers and our brains and try to connect with God instead. Just be. Be quiet. Be still. Be with God. If you can do that successfully His plan for your life will be revealed in the silence. And the more you connect with Him the clearer you will see this plan. And the deeper your connection will become in the process!
Lord my prayer today is that You will save humanity. Not just on Sundays. Not just on Christmas. Not just on Easter. By every single day. Lord, let us worship you for this every day. Not just on Sundays, Christmas and Easter, but every single day. Lord I love you with all my heart and soul. Having You by my side is not only a gift that I treasure, it is something I could not live without. Thank you for coming to earth, regardless of when you arrived. And thank you for saving us! You give meaning to our existence. Thank you for that! AMEN!
Saturday, December 24, 2016
Monday, November 21, 2016
Thank You Lord!
I think sometimes life desensitizes us and it's really easy to get far away from God. If you are like me you call on God when life is kicking you in the teeth and you need a reprieve. Or maybe there are times when you just feel overwhelmed with Love and you thank God for loving you so much and blessing your life.
And then there are times when life will just get busy and you continue on your path and you give your savior a nod every once in a while, but you forget that His joy is your joy and He gave you life, but you also give HIM life when you worship Him with PASSION every single day. He is worth so much more than just a nod!
When I feel myself getting farther from God I like to listen to Christian music and write and remember how deeply in love I am with my Savior. Last year God changed my life forever. I didn't know it at the time and man it has been a journey, but I am reminded that God would not waste His time on someone He didn't love a LOT. I don't always feel worthy of this love, but I am getting better at that.
Today Lord I'm not just giving you a nod, I'm telling you thank you for loving me through my trials. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for coming into my life and giving me a purpose Lord! I love you so much! Thank you for allowing me to do something I love every single day. Thank you for my sweet girls and grand babies! But most of all thank you for never leaving my side even when my path is very winding.
And then there are times when life will just get busy and you continue on your path and you give your savior a nod every once in a while, but you forget that His joy is your joy and He gave you life, but you also give HIM life when you worship Him with PASSION every single day. He is worth so much more than just a nod!
When I feel myself getting farther from God I like to listen to Christian music and write and remember how deeply in love I am with my Savior. Last year God changed my life forever. I didn't know it at the time and man it has been a journey, but I am reminded that God would not waste His time on someone He didn't love a LOT. I don't always feel worthy of this love, but I am getting better at that.
Today Lord I'm not just giving you a nod, I'm telling you thank you for loving me through my trials. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for coming into my life and giving me a purpose Lord! I love you so much! Thank you for allowing me to do something I love every single day. Thank you for my sweet girls and grand babies! But most of all thank you for never leaving my side even when my path is very winding.
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Trust God's Unfailing Love
Have you ever been flying high in life, everything is falling into place and then tragedy strikes and you get knocked off your path? Like miles off your path? Well that is God trying to save you. I know it seems harsh and you might be left wondering how could this happen to me, but trust me God's plan for you is SO GREAT that even in the wake of despair you have to praise Him and thank Him for shaking you from your stupor. He can see the full view of your life from start to finish, so we have to trust that He has a really good reason for breaking you.
Last year I was knocked off my path in a big way. Instead of doing something crazy or falling into a depression I chose to honor God and trust Him. That was not easy and it didn't come to me right away. I did spend a few months licking my wounds, but today I am on the other side of this experience and I am here to tell you that God has a plan for your life and these things that happen to us are Divine Intervention.
Never think your sin is too big for God or that you are beyond saving and never blame God for your hardships. Instead you have to find the good in the lesson you are being taught. If you can do this consistently many things will happen. First you will build character. Second, you will become closer to God because you will constantly be thinking about what He has in store for you next. And last but not least you will grow in faith and let me tell you that faith is all you need. It can move mountains. It can crush your enemies in front of you.
Take it from one control freak to another, surrendering to anything is difficult. Surrendering to a God you can't physically see might seem insane, but I promise if you can do this and just blindly trust God you will not regret it! Just give Him all of your worries and fears. And the closer you become to Him the more you will be able to "see" Him in your life. Something will happen and you will think WOW that's a God thing. You see Him manifest in your life in this silent, yet unbelievably HUGE way and yeah you think I'm so not worthy God. But you ARE worthy! Never forget that.
In this life I have been made to feel inadequate, unlovable, criminal, unworthy and less than I truly am. By myself, by other people, by society, by my family and sometimes even by my friends. But when I see myself through God's eyes I see the exact opposite of all those things. I am powerful. I am formidable. I am worthy. I am loved. I am all these things to God, the most important being in my life. And so are you. No matter if you go to church every Sunday or not. No matter how big your sin is and no matter how far away you are from God at this very moment. You can change that today!
Last year I was knocked off my path in a big way. Instead of doing something crazy or falling into a depression I chose to honor God and trust Him. That was not easy and it didn't come to me right away. I did spend a few months licking my wounds, but today I am on the other side of this experience and I am here to tell you that God has a plan for your life and these things that happen to us are Divine Intervention.
Never think your sin is too big for God or that you are beyond saving and never blame God for your hardships. Instead you have to find the good in the lesson you are being taught. If you can do this consistently many things will happen. First you will build character. Second, you will become closer to God because you will constantly be thinking about what He has in store for you next. And last but not least you will grow in faith and let me tell you that faith is all you need. It can move mountains. It can crush your enemies in front of you.
Take it from one control freak to another, surrendering to anything is difficult. Surrendering to a God you can't physically see might seem insane, but I promise if you can do this and just blindly trust God you will not regret it! Just give Him all of your worries and fears. And the closer you become to Him the more you will be able to "see" Him in your life. Something will happen and you will think WOW that's a God thing. You see Him manifest in your life in this silent, yet unbelievably HUGE way and yeah you think I'm so not worthy God. But you ARE worthy! Never forget that.
In this life I have been made to feel inadequate, unlovable, criminal, unworthy and less than I truly am. By myself, by other people, by society, by my family and sometimes even by my friends. But when I see myself through God's eyes I see the exact opposite of all those things. I am powerful. I am formidable. I am worthy. I am loved. I am all these things to God, the most important being in my life. And so are you. No matter if you go to church every Sunday or not. No matter how big your sin is and no matter how far away you are from God at this very moment. You can change that today!
But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. Psalm 52:8
Sunday, July 24, 2016
Running
For the majority of my life I have run away from my problems. If I had issues at work I quit. If I didn't like the way a relationship was going I left. If I didn't like where I lived I moved. Instead of facing my problems and working through them I ran. The problem with this is that you never really learn how to work through your problems because you are too busy running away from them.
In September I will have lived at my current address for 8 years. In October I will have worked at the same company for 4 years which is the longest I have consecutively lived in one place and the longest I have consecutively worked for the same company since the 80's. My behavior of running away is changing. It is so much harder to stay and fight than it is to run away. I have had to do things at work that I never in a million years thought I would ever do, like apologize to a co-worker for being mean to them. And on the flip side of that I have also formed some really deep and meaningful relationships with my co-workers which rarely ever happens. I have gone from hating my boss to understanding him better. And that too rarely ever happens.
And this I think is the lesson God is trying to teach me. I need to work through things with people and I need to stay in this space for a while and figure me out and figure out where I need to be. I need to work on myself. Nothing in life is ever easy, so taking the easy way out by quitting and walking away is just not a good long term solution for life. And I feel like my character is so much stronger now that I know how to be in the same place for a while and endure things that normally would have driven me to run.
I decided to turn on Pandora and read some bible verses today so I could connect with God. I have missed these moments this year and I feel so guilty about that. And God showed up like He ALWAYS does! I was sitting here thinking of how I always run away from everything and I hear this song "Forever Reign" by Passion Worship Band. The chorus says "Oh I'm running to Your arms I'm running to Your arms..." . Get it? Running?! And then just to confirm that God was with me the next song I heard was "When God Ran" by Phillips, Craig & Dean. Of course that one made me sob like an infant. God always uses these amazing worship songs to connect with me and get my attention!
Life is full of change and I embrace change. I love change! In fact I love it so much that I made a lot of it by running away, but God has stopped me from doing that by creating circumstances that forced me to stay where I am and deal with my life and my issues and my mistakes and my failures instead of running away from them. I always say that I go where God leads me and right now He has led me to stay. And I trust Him!
2 Corinthians 2:14
But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.
In September I will have lived at my current address for 8 years. In October I will have worked at the same company for 4 years which is the longest I have consecutively lived in one place and the longest I have consecutively worked for the same company since the 80's. My behavior of running away is changing. It is so much harder to stay and fight than it is to run away. I have had to do things at work that I never in a million years thought I would ever do, like apologize to a co-worker for being mean to them. And on the flip side of that I have also formed some really deep and meaningful relationships with my co-workers which rarely ever happens. I have gone from hating my boss to understanding him better. And that too rarely ever happens.
And this I think is the lesson God is trying to teach me. I need to work through things with people and I need to stay in this space for a while and figure me out and figure out where I need to be. I need to work on myself. Nothing in life is ever easy, so taking the easy way out by quitting and walking away is just not a good long term solution for life. And I feel like my character is so much stronger now that I know how to be in the same place for a while and endure things that normally would have driven me to run.
I decided to turn on Pandora and read some bible verses today so I could connect with God. I have missed these moments this year and I feel so guilty about that. And God showed up like He ALWAYS does! I was sitting here thinking of how I always run away from everything and I hear this song "Forever Reign" by Passion Worship Band. The chorus says "Oh I'm running to Your arms I'm running to Your arms..." . Get it? Running?! And then just to confirm that God was with me the next song I heard was "When God Ran" by Phillips, Craig & Dean. Of course that one made me sob like an infant. God always uses these amazing worship songs to connect with me and get my attention!
Life is full of change and I embrace change. I love change! In fact I love it so much that I made a lot of it by running away, but God has stopped me from doing that by creating circumstances that forced me to stay where I am and deal with my life and my issues and my mistakes and my failures instead of running away from them. I always say that I go where God leads me and right now He has led me to stay. And I trust Him!
2 Corinthians 2:14
But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.
Saturday, July 2, 2016
Give And It Will Be Given To You
Sometimes I look back at what I write and I am inspired. Other times I am embarrassed. I get caught up in the moment sometimes and I write from a completely emotional in-the-moment place. It happens.
Recently in a moment of weakness I wrote about an old love that had returned to my life who is now no longer in my life. It is painful in some respects to read what I wrote about him and the hope I had for our relationship. But as time went on it became glaringly obvious that our relationship was never going to work out and reading about how I felt in that moment will help me remember what happened. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.
I am an extremely giving person. I enjoy giving. I love to do things that no one expects like grossly over-tipping a waiter or waitress. Just thinking about the look on their face when they see the tip amount brings me joy! I know that sounds crazy, but its true. I love picking up the check or treating people to a meal that they expected to have to pay for themselves. That too brings me a lot of joy.
I love to buy people things that they don't expect or send flowers or throw them a huge birthday party! I am a giver. So it takes me a while to realize when someone is taking advantage of me because it is in my nature to give. I give as part of my tithe. I give because I'm introverted and its how I show love to people that I can't always say "I Love You" to.
I give knowing I will get nothing in return, because people are selfish. I know this and I'm OK with it, but there is a fine line between giving and allowing someone to take advantage of you repeatedly and nothing hurts me more than being taking advantage of repeatedly. I may never tell the person that I am upset or hurt by it, but I will silently pull away from that person and never trust them again. I never said I was perfect! :0)
In closing let me say that I don't regret being a giver and I won't stop, no matter how many people take advantage of me because I love to make people smile. I love to surprise people. And I feel led to give!
Luke 6:38 says:
"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
Recently in a moment of weakness I wrote about an old love that had returned to my life who is now no longer in my life. It is painful in some respects to read what I wrote about him and the hope I had for our relationship. But as time went on it became glaringly obvious that our relationship was never going to work out and reading about how I felt in that moment will help me remember what happened. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.
I am an extremely giving person. I enjoy giving. I love to do things that no one expects like grossly over-tipping a waiter or waitress. Just thinking about the look on their face when they see the tip amount brings me joy! I know that sounds crazy, but its true. I love picking up the check or treating people to a meal that they expected to have to pay for themselves. That too brings me a lot of joy.
I love to buy people things that they don't expect or send flowers or throw them a huge birthday party! I am a giver. So it takes me a while to realize when someone is taking advantage of me because it is in my nature to give. I give as part of my tithe. I give because I'm introverted and its how I show love to people that I can't always say "I Love You" to.
I give knowing I will get nothing in return, because people are selfish. I know this and I'm OK with it, but there is a fine line between giving and allowing someone to take advantage of you repeatedly and nothing hurts me more than being taking advantage of repeatedly. I may never tell the person that I am upset or hurt by it, but I will silently pull away from that person and never trust them again. I never said I was perfect! :0)
In closing let me say that I don't regret being a giver and I won't stop, no matter how many people take advantage of me because I love to make people smile. I love to surprise people. And I feel led to give!
Luke 6:38 says:
"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
Friday, April 1, 2016
Strike All My Enemies
God WILL crush your enemies. It is a fact. All you have to do is believe. You may not see it happen and it might take months or years to happen, but it will happen. Some people call it Karma. It doesn't matter what you call it, the fact remains that God has your back. And I don't personally think He would consider someone who cut you off in traffic to be an enemy. I think it is someone who does something terrible to you for no good reason. Perhaps repeatedly.
Years ago I worked for a horrible boss. He was immature. He would spread rumors about his employees and plot them against one another. He was inappropriate and mean and underhanded. I finally reached a breaking point between him and a few others in my department and I got my bible out. I carried it to work every day. I started reading Psalms....Psalm 3 starts out "Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! .... Man could I relate to that.
Every day another Psalm and every day I felt more invincible. Some time passed and a colleague of mine arranged a meeting with our CEO to talk about our horrible boss. We laid it all out for him so he knew what we were working with. Afterward I felt free. Vindicated. And I felt sure that the meeting was the hand of God and that everything would be OK. Things calmed down after that and it wasn't long before I found a different job and moved on, but I will never forget the feeling that God had my back and He showed up for me at a time when I needed Him the most. After leaving there I learned that the CIO (my boss) eventually lost his job and struggled to find work. I didn't get to see it happen, but it happened.
Another story that comes to mind is about a father of 3 girls. He was abusive and basically made everyone feel like they owed him something. He lied and cheated on his wives (he had many) and treated them like dirt. Especially when they were pregnant with his children. This man has lived a life of despair. He has no real home to speak of and no real friends. He goes from job to job, mainly because he steals from all of his employers eventually. He feels unloved and depressed. His life has not been full. In fact it has been quite the opposite. An enemy to many, God continues to crush him.
It is not up to us to seek revenge or to retaliate when people wrong us. This is such a hard lesson to learn, but such a necessary one. It is not our job to realign the universe or to take action when a person lies about us or provokes us or takes credit for our work. Let God handle it. I am just a wimpy little girl. What can I really do? God created everything. We KNOW what He can do! I would rather move on and let it go and know that in time God will make it right. I have watched it happen and I believe with all my heart that God is working on my behalf at this very moment to produce the perfect outcome for me.
Arise, Lord! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people. Psalm 3:7-8
Years ago I worked for a horrible boss. He was immature. He would spread rumors about his employees and plot them against one another. He was inappropriate and mean and underhanded. I finally reached a breaking point between him and a few others in my department and I got my bible out. I carried it to work every day. I started reading Psalms....Psalm 3 starts out "Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! .... Man could I relate to that.
Every day another Psalm and every day I felt more invincible. Some time passed and a colleague of mine arranged a meeting with our CEO to talk about our horrible boss. We laid it all out for him so he knew what we were working with. Afterward I felt free. Vindicated. And I felt sure that the meeting was the hand of God and that everything would be OK. Things calmed down after that and it wasn't long before I found a different job and moved on, but I will never forget the feeling that God had my back and He showed up for me at a time when I needed Him the most. After leaving there I learned that the CIO (my boss) eventually lost his job and struggled to find work. I didn't get to see it happen, but it happened.
Another story that comes to mind is about a father of 3 girls. He was abusive and basically made everyone feel like they owed him something. He lied and cheated on his wives (he had many) and treated them like dirt. Especially when they were pregnant with his children. This man has lived a life of despair. He has no real home to speak of and no real friends. He goes from job to job, mainly because he steals from all of his employers eventually. He feels unloved and depressed. His life has not been full. In fact it has been quite the opposite. An enemy to many, God continues to crush him.
It is not up to us to seek revenge or to retaliate when people wrong us. This is such a hard lesson to learn, but such a necessary one. It is not our job to realign the universe or to take action when a person lies about us or provokes us or takes credit for our work. Let God handle it. I am just a wimpy little girl. What can I really do? God created everything. We KNOW what He can do! I would rather move on and let it go and know that in time God will make it right. I have watched it happen and I believe with all my heart that God is working on my behalf at this very moment to produce the perfect outcome for me.
Arise, Lord! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked. From the Lord comes deliverance. May your blessing be on your people. Psalm 3:7-8
Sunday, March 27, 2016
He Is Risen!
Three months of my life just flew by in the blink of an eye. How did this happen?!? It has been a while since my last post because I have been so busy moving my boyfriend from Kansas and adjusting to life as a couple after being single for far too long. You know how puzzle pieces just fit together? Well that's how Jeff and I fit. I've been putting a puzzle together for 10 years based on the wrong picture and based on the wrong pieces, but now the picture is clear and the pieces all fit and its as if we were never apart. The only way to describe my life right now is with one word....Bliss.
I have struggled for nearly 2 years with my workplace. I had a picture in my mind of what I could and should achieve and it just was not meant to be. It is in these struggles that I get messages from God. I feel like God is telling me to focus on me and my side business and not on trying to achieve anything at the company where I work. Just go to work and do your job and come home to your sweet man. That doesn't mean I won't work as hard as I have been or build amazing solutions, it just means that I have to let go of my mindset that I could grow professionally in that particular workplace. And I'm ok with that now.
You know that saying "Everything Happens for a Reason"? Well its like I can see the path I was meant to take as clear as day now that I'm on the other side. Things that devastated me happened for very specific reasons and in the end it all results in God providing the absolute BEST outcome for me. He never fails me.
So I'm sitting here today on Easter Sunday thinking of how blessed I am and how very much in love I am with my Savior! I'm so thankful that He died on that cross for me and gave me grace. I'm so thankful that He brought my Love back to me. I'm so thankful that He has opened so many doors for me and sadly that sometimes He had to shove me kicking and screaming through some of them! Through it all I have never lost my faith. I always knew God was working it all out for me and He still is. My story is not finished.
Dear Lord - Thank you for my life. Thank you for my love. Thank you for never giving up on me. And most of all Thank You for dying for me!!! - Amen
My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Psalm 62:7
I have struggled for nearly 2 years with my workplace. I had a picture in my mind of what I could and should achieve and it just was not meant to be. It is in these struggles that I get messages from God. I feel like God is telling me to focus on me and my side business and not on trying to achieve anything at the company where I work. Just go to work and do your job and come home to your sweet man. That doesn't mean I won't work as hard as I have been or build amazing solutions, it just means that I have to let go of my mindset that I could grow professionally in that particular workplace. And I'm ok with that now.
You know that saying "Everything Happens for a Reason"? Well its like I can see the path I was meant to take as clear as day now that I'm on the other side. Things that devastated me happened for very specific reasons and in the end it all results in God providing the absolute BEST outcome for me. He never fails me.
So I'm sitting here today on Easter Sunday thinking of how blessed I am and how very much in love I am with my Savior! I'm so thankful that He died on that cross for me and gave me grace. I'm so thankful that He brought my Love back to me. I'm so thankful that He has opened so many doors for me and sadly that sometimes He had to shove me kicking and screaming through some of them! Through it all I have never lost my faith. I always knew God was working it all out for me and He still is. My story is not finished.
Dear Lord - Thank you for my life. Thank you for my love. Thank you for never giving up on me. And most of all Thank You for dying for me!!! - Amen
My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Psalm 62:7
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