Christmas boxes and stories....

Christmas boxes/stories...

These  stories crossed my desk this morning and they are so related...gifts...heart tugging gifts..

Each worth watching...I am  not selling coca cola, but the smiles brought by families with a gift from Santa blended well with the boxes we send for the Samaritans purse...

The Christmas boxes given in Jesus name cross all lines of culture and ages..to find the hearts of children around the world... Someone cares...God loves them ....and not only Sent Jesus for them, but a tangible gift to bring a smile .....Only God knows all the stories behind those boxes and how it affects the lives of those children and their lives in the future...

Plus, the bonus to the givers ...cheerfulness and prayer goes with each box packed to give...

Thank YOU for the gifts You freely give, help us to freely give as well..with love, prayer, happiness to others...with our hearts are open to give and receive your blessings wherever You call...

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/faith-from-tennessee-brings-smiles-in-iraq/

"Dear Friends... Today was the Christmas Gift Box project delivery at the School in the mountain. The children had a BIG smile on their faces! The Lord multiplied the gifts and we were able to delivery to 74 children and a gift & Bible to the teachers!  Also we got extra gifts, which we will be sending to an orphanage in Mae Sai. Two International School's Bible classes and our Football School have helped donating the boxes!   (There are videos and more pictures on the facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/ChristmasGiftBoxThailand"

Coolestone.com/media/13705/a-bridge-for-Santa 

Or

a bridge for santa coca-cola - youtube

Psalm 112:6-9 Surely the righteous will never be shaken;they will be remembered forever. 

They will have no fear of bad news;their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord. 

Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.

 They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor,their righteousness endures forever;their horn will be lifted high in honor. 

Proverbs 18:16 A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great. 

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

2 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 

Cedar doors and glass knobs...

Glass knobs and cedar....

Every Time I visit one of my daughters, I walk into sensory memories...they live in a very updated 1940's home...but there is still some of the 1940's ambiance in the home...there are the clear glass knobs on doors and drawers...and still the 1940's cedar doors through out the home...

Those two things, the glass knobs and cedar doors take me back to my grandparents home...they had built a new home in the 1940's...it was called the "new house" all of my growing up years. My father was a teenager when they built and moved  into it...it was maintained well..and still is in the family..it was to this home that my father moved  after my mother passed away 70+ years later...he remarried my widowed aunt who lives in the "new house"....

But the smell of cedar and the look of the doors and knobs bring back so many memories ...little things...like stone fireplaces, manzanita Christmas trees, ribbon candy, "new" whipped cream in a can, canned hams, treadle sewing machines, Christmas villages on the piano, walnuts and oranges in our Christmas stockings, hot summer days, turtles in the creek, feeding cattle off the back of a truck, riding horses with my grandfather, the noisy cattle guard, my grandparents love and laughter, family gatherings..

Now, here I am so many years later..and those memories are so distant, but they could have happened yesterday...the years have flown by and generations are grown up and have their memories of the "new" house...I hope they will each stop and take time to smell the cedar and feel the smoothness of the glass knobs...all the while making new memories for themselves...

Thank YOU for filling my mind with wonderful memories...that overshadow the not so wonderful ones...thank YOU for the sensory gifts you give us that are tied with emotions...help us to put the bad memories behind us and move forward with new ones....

Psalm 111:2-4 Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever. He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate. 

Miracles of the season....

Miracles for the season....

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PURToRRq7gM

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rC61WXMN_XY

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aKSU9Dbxvrw

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TOQRtYYERGo

Songs and videos about this season...will touch our hearts as we read about the birth of Christ.  ".This Baby "...

Scripture  speaks eloquently...and relays the story of Jesus' birth...the Christ who came so humbly for the whole world...

Matthew 1:18-25 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. 

Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” which means “God with us”. 

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 

But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus. 

Luke 1:26-38  In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. 

The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. 

The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” 

Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 

Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month.

 For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. 

Luke 2:1-12 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 

This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone went to their own town to register. 

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.

 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. 

She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. 

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 

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.”

Blessings received....

Blessings received .....

Another Griefshare session ended last night...a message those who attended...

We have come through another season...we have learned more truths...we have deepened our walk...the pain is still there...the reality of loss is still there...but, we have continued on...and are continuing on the path set before us...we may still question...ask the "whys"... May be looking for the "good" as  Romans 8:28-29 states...trying to find our new identities, our new normals ...

You have been a blessing to one another, to me, and those around you who are watching your journey....we may not be to the "joy" yet, but just as the sun rises each day, it will come with  His time...and God's infinite healing...

Thank you for taking the steps forward..thank you for your diligence...in journeying this path and not ignoring the routes it takes you...

Blessings through this season with the celebration of Christ's birth...may it touch your heart as never before...that tiny baby's hand reaching out to receive the nails for our Salvation...

thank YOU, Father, help us to let Christ's message dwell is us "richly"...

Hebrews 6:7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God.

 

Matthew 25:20-21 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ 

Colossians 3:16-17, 24 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. 

It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 

Christmas is coming...

Christmas is coming....

The radio was on for background noise the other day, I was listening to Christmas music...then Focus on the Family came on interviewing Bo Sterns, whose husband passed away after a bout with ALS....

Then I finished a Bible Study by Jennifer Dean and her testimony was at the end of the book..her husband had passed away quickly from brain cancer...

Each of us, not knowing the other, but with much in common...we have lost our significant other after years of marriage...

We each had partners for life...

Our children lost their fathers...

All had been involved in ministry of some kind...whether full time or as a side line...

Each used their gifting to increase the kingdom...

Each husband faced death with "finishing well"...

Each husband will be  or are sorely missed this holiday season...

We had lost parents, children...loss

2 Corinthians 1:8-9 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. 

But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 

Paul wrote these words...under much distress ...and it fits these times of mourning..."to rely God"...

Someone told me that Jesus would become a deeper friend than I had ever experienced after my husband's passing...so true ..

Jennifer wrote, "I realize that the great wound inflicted on my heart has made me desperately dependent on God in a way I never would have known otherwise."  

Mrs. Sterns related the same sentiment.

As Christians, We are not promised life without pain, indeed, we are to expect suffering...BUT, we have a God who stands with us, in us, before and after us whom we can rely on to walk with us, carry us through to His amazing promises...His amazing comfort...

That little child...born so poor, the Creator in swaddling cloths, lying in a dirty manger, The Good Shepherd visited by amazed shepherds, the Light of the world proclaimed by Heavenly Hosts...did He write the Words which the Angels sang...did He hold on to Mary's finger to comfort her for future pain...did he cry for the pain He knew was in the world he was entering as a baby , for the comfort that only He could give...did the stable become a royal room, prepared as He is preparing our heavenly home...

Yes, our Christmas is coming...our celebration of Jesus' birth...thank YOU...help us to mourn as we should ...depending on You  in those hard moments, those miraculous moments....

Praise....

Praise...

Psalm 96:1-13 

Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. 

Sing to the Lord, praise his name;proclaim his salvation day after day. 

Declare his glory among the nations,his marvelous deeds among all peoples. 

For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. 

For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. 

Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary. 

Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts.

 Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness;tremble before him, all the earth. 

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.”The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity. 

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;let the sea resound, and all that is in it. 

Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. 

Let all creation rejoice before the Lord, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness. 

I just bolded a few select phases...the whole psalm could be bolded...if you just let your mind wander through the words, close your eyes and let them seep into your soul ...sing with your heart, declare, rejoice with all creation, give thanks for everything ....as we delve into this Christmas season, and all seasons of our lives we have to come back to this, praise in all things...through the rougher, hard times, the joyous times...praise and thanksgiving...because He is righteous and faithful...

Thank YOU, Praise Your Holy name...

Growing older...

Growing older....

This winter's first snow was deep, 12-18 " and drifts were deeper...shoveling was a job, to say the least...I used to do it with ease, shoveling sidewalks, porches, driveways,...we had plenty to do...and it felt good...plus we talked and worked together doing it...with some snow angels, snowballs and forts added for fun...those days are long past now...

now, the shoulders, arms, hips just don't respond as well or recover as quickly...hot/cold packs and maybe a trip to the chiropractor seemed to be in order...no more Angels, or snowballs, just finding the walkway and driveway asap is the goal...plus getting on someone's snow removal list...maybe I don't need to do it anymore...

http://buzz.viddsee.com/heres-loved-body-girl-teenager-mom-grandma/

The winter of life, the golden years, or whatever name we call it, getting older is sometimes freeing and at other times pure pain..as I watched my parents age, they responded most of the time with laughter and grace, resting when needed, working at a slower pace, knowing their limits and enjoying life to the end...my grandparents did as well...so I have choices to make and examples to follow..bitter or better, grumpy or smiley, service or served, sitting or walking, in-touch or out of touch, interested or insolation, fruit bearer or withered...And many more...

Ruth 4:15a He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age.....(spoken to Naomi)...

Psalm 71:9 Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone. 

Psalm 71:18 Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come. 

Psalm 92:12-15 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; 

planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age,

they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.” 

Thank YOU for your care...in the newness of life as well as in the aging process...You are there..help my spirit to be renewed everyday...