As I contemplate leaving 2009, a year which has been troublesome for me and many others,

God is challenging me to remember the words of the psalmist in Psalm 34:6,

This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.

Do we have not because we ask not?  I would encourage those who have experienced a difficult 2009 to cry out to God as we enter 2010 and ask for His rescue from our current dilemmas.

Are you poor financially–cry out to God!

Are you poor in spirit–cry out to God!

Are you poor in health–cry out to God!

Are you poor relationally–cry out to God!

Whatever your area of poverty or lacking is–as you sit contemplating the end of another year–admit that deficit, grieve that trouble and cry out to God for resolution of your distress.  He promises to hear you and He is the only One who holds the power to save you from all your difficulties.

I don’t know about you but I want a 2010 that is a much easier year than the past one.  I realize that the trials of life enrich our faith and bring character but I also know that the process is not meant be arduous, crushing or devoid of hope.

We are meant to feel His abiding love carrying us and saving us from our difficulties.

It is my prayer in these waning hours of 2009–that no matter what your area of distress might be–you would be able to call out to God and lay your troubles at His feet.  And I am confident that as we humble ourselves before Our Father–that just like the psalmist–we will know He hears us, we will feel His presence and we will be assured that Our ultimate rescue is on the way.

Reach out to Him and may your 2010 be a year of greater blessing than ever before!

Happy New Year!

Maryellen Stipe

Do you relate to this simple reminder to humble ourselves and cry out to God? So many times we forget the obvious, we know God sees but we neglect to communicate with Him and share our frustration or pain.  What is your “poor man’s” prayer for rescue as you enter 2010? Don’t be shy, please comment. We would love to pray with you!

How should we celebrate Christmas?

Well, if you are not a Christian, the best way to celebrate is by becoming a Christian, that is, by believing in Jesus as your Lord and Savior and asking him to come into your heart.

But if you already are a Christian, how is Christmas best celebrated?  There are many different views on the topic, but as I meditated on the Gospel accounts of Christ’s birth this season, an obvious theme regarding celebration jumped out at me.  I believe that by looking into the Scriptural accounts concerning the angels, Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds some valuable clues and some good examples of celebration can be found.

First and foremost, the angel Gabriel came to the shepherds with the great message that: Christ the Lord—the Savior of the world—had been born in the city of David.

“Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men” the multitude of heavenly host praised!  So what was the response of the angels toward the events of the first Christmas?

“GLORY to God”, they  shouted!

The basic meaning of the Hebrew word for glory; which is kabod is: “heavy in weight.”  To give glory means to, “to give weight to, to honor.” “To give glory” is to praise, to recognize the importance of another and to give weight to the role one carries in the community.  And one of the main jobs of God’s people is–to praise Him and to glorify Him.

We are to recognize the essential nature of His Godness–his goodness; that which gives Him importance and weight in the human community and report it back to Him.

I believe that as we celebrate this time of year one of the best things we can do is to take a tip from the example of the angels and their celebration at that first Christmas.  One of the best ways Christmas can be celebrated is by giving the gift of praise—to God.  As I have studied the passages of the nativity story I have found some great examples of how praise was accomplished at the first Christmas.

I have taken the liberty to utilize the first letters of the principles that I discovered in the story and I have arranged them as the key words in an acronym, of the word praise.  As you are considering ways to celebrate Christmas this season it is my hope that use might use this simple acronym and the accompanying Scriptures to inspire you.

P            ponder

And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.  But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:18-19

R            recognize Him

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.  He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.  John 1:10-12

A            acknowledge Him

Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!  Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits. Ps. 103:1-2

I            interpret your thoughts and feelings into words

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. Mat. 12:35

S            say it, sing it aloud

Let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Heb 13:15

E            express the truth to all

And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.  Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. Luke 2:16-18

“A Christmas Dream Come True” is the title of our upcoming Women’s Christmas Tea and Holiday Celebration.  This year “The Women at Crossroads” will host two sittings for tea with accompanying “Holiday Celebration” performances.

In addition to the traditional “high tea” served in an English style, the celebration part of the event, includes a program of about one hour in length–featuring music, drama and inspirational Christmas entertainment.

The 2009 dates for these popular events are Saturday December 5th at 12:30 P.M. and Saturday December 12th at 12:30 P.M. The seating is by reservation only and the ticket cost per person is $17.50, (for those interested in purchasing an entire table) each table seats ten.

Tickets will go on sale Sunday November 1st before the 9:00 A.M. service at the Women’s Ministry Counter on the east side of the main lobby at Crossroads Church of Denver. The ticket counter will open at 8:30 A.M.

This year the Holiday Celebration of “A Christmas Dream Come True” will feature vocal performances by Kory Brunson and Angela White; two gifted young artists familiar to Denver audiences.  The Kory Brunson band will supply the music with vocal support provided by The Crossroads Worship team.

The event will also feature a menu of superb tea delicacies supplied by Fancy to Fantasy Catered Affairs with impeccable service provided by the men and youth of Crossroads Church of Denver. Semi-formal Christmas attire is suggested for those in attendance.

Last year all tickets for this event sold out well before the performances, so we advise purchasing your tickets early.

We hope to see you there!

What is Thanksgiving all about?  In approximately three days time we will all have a day off of work and celebrate a national holiday called Thanksgiving.  Most families in our nation will hold some type of holiday gathering but the majority will not really spend any of that time doing the activity for which the day is intended.

What about you?  How do you spend this contemporary feast day?  Do you know the specifics of the origin of Thanksgiving?

During the reign of Elizabeth I, queen of England, a sect of Puritans separated from the new Protestant Church of England and after much persecution took refuge in the Netherlands. They finally determined that the ultimate answer to their search for a peaceful residence for their families was to immigrate to America.  On September 16, 1620, these Separatist “pilgrims” became part of a group numbering 102 men, women, and children who left Plymouth, England, for America on the Mayflower. On November 21, the Mayflower dropped anchor in the sheltered harbor off the site of present-day Provincetown, Massachusetts.

It was in this vicinity that the Puritans met up with Squanto, a Patuxet Native American. Squanto was a unique individual who had encountered Europeans as early as 1614 in what is now Massachusetts and had aided the English in their early exploration of the American continent. He learned the English language and served as a ships guide and interpreter for expeditions from Britain.  He had even survived a kidnapping at the hands of rogue Englishmen who had attempted to sell him as a slave.  Upon meeting up with the British Puritans he taught them how to catch eel and grow corn.  He also served as an interpreter for them and it is thought that without Squanto’s help none of the Puritans would have survived their first year in the New World.

As it was the first winter took a demanding toll of life on the Pilgrims and between the time of the landing in November and March of 1621, only 47 colonists survived the diseases they contracted on the ship and the adversity of the new continent.  After the first harvest was completed by the Plymouth colonists in 1621, Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving and prayer shared by all the colonists and neighboring Native Americans.

The same Governor Bradford of Massachusetts made the first “Thanksgiving Proclamation” three years after the Pilgrims settled at Plymouth and declared.

“Inasmuch as the great Father has given us this year an abundant harvest of Indian corn, wheat, peas, beans, squashes and garden vegetables, and has made the forest to abound with game and the sea with fish and clams, and inasmuch as He has protected us from the ravages of the savages, has spared us from pestilence and disease, has granted us freedom to worship God according to the dictates of our own conscience.  Now I, your magistrate, do proclaim that all ye Pilgrims, with your wives and ye little ones, do gather at ye meeting house, on ye hill between the hours of 9 and 12 in the day time, on Thursday, November 29th of the year of our Lord 1623 and the third year since ye Pilgrims landed on ye Pilgrim Rock there to listen to ye pastor and render thanks giving to ye Almighty God for all His blessing.”

This proclamation instituted what would come to be the first Thanksgiving festival celebrated in the New World.  It was this early celebration of Thanksgiving by the British Puritan founders of our country that began the tradition of a November Thankgiving feast.  These historical events represent the origins of our current national holiday of Thanksgiving.

Today is my thirty-seventh wedding anniversary. For nearly four decades I have been married to my best friend.

I am among the most fortunate of people because I have endured the adventure of life and find myself still in relationship with my original team-mate.

You might ask me, what makes a strong Christian marriage?

And, my answer would be, two good Christians, and by this I mean two people who both love the Lord Jesus Christ with all their heart.

It is my belief that a strong marriage must have as its foundation two lives where Jesus is the priority. If this foundation in place then you have the ability to faithfully, together, pursue a path of obedience to Jesus Christ and His plan for your lives.

Marriage is first a commitment and then it grows into a deep love.  And, the base of the commitment in marriage, is first of all, not to each other, but to Jesus Christ and His will.

Centuries ago the prophet Malachi warned those who had cast their marriage commitments aside,

You cover the altar of the Lord with tears,
With weeping and crying;
So He does not regard the offering anymore,
Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.
Yet you say, “For what reason?”
Because the Lord has been witness
Between you and the wife of your youth,
With whom you have dealt treacherously;
Yet she is your companion
And your wife by covenant.
But did He not make them one,
Having a remnant of the Spirit?
And why one?
He seeks godly offspring.
Therefore take heed to your spirit,
And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.
“For the Lord God of Israel says
That He hates divorce,
For it covers one’s garment with violence,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
“Therefore take heed to your spirit,
That you do not deal treacherously.”
You have wearied the Lord with your words;
Yet you say,
“In what way have we wearied Him?”  Mal 2:13-17 (NKJV)

Marriage is, first and foremost, a covenant before God and as soon as you get married, Satan will come after you.  He will target you because the bottom line is–he would love to destroy the covenant that you have made and the family that you have established.

In the end, the best way you can protect your marriage, is to develop a deep personal relationship with Jesus Christ as the bedrock for your own life. A marriage between two people with Jesus Christ as the true center is the best protective insulation you can have against the assaults of this world.

Screwtape encountering his "righteous" victim

Have you been the unwitting accomplice of any demons lately?

Hmmm…church ladies…could it be Satan?

The capability of church people to spew forth guile and judgment never ceases to amaze me.

I hate the contemporary versions of the “religion of the pharisees” that I see run rampant in the Church of Jesus Christ.

John Wesley, seeking to put a name to the critical judgmental attitude he experienced among the Christians of his era wrote,

“Sour godliness is the devil’s religion. It does not owe its inception to truly spiritual people.  I suspect that sour godliness originated among unhappy, semi-religious people who had just enough religion to make them miserable, but not enough to do them any good.”

Sour godliness, (i.e. bitter piety) could it be described any better and it is as prevalent today as it was over two hundred years ago…or for that matter over two thousand years ago.

What is so ironic is…

Jesus fought against “false perceptions of godliness” judgmentally perpetuated by those who viewed themselves as “the righteous” of His day.

Jesus battled “the Pharisees” those He called “the sons of devils” and had no qualms about declaring them in league with Satan himself.

Jesus was not at war with the sinner, he was at war with the self-righteous.

And alas, in the end, they won…it was their same false judgments– kindled to a bonfire and ignited by the devil–that were used to murder Him.

And…What is so scary to me is…

The same demons that were alive back then are still around today.  Those same evil entities that whispered in the ears of the Pharisees are still deluding, deceiving and encouraging those puffed up with their own “errant pious” inclinations to do their dirty work.

C.S. Lewis, in his classic, “The Screwtape Letters” aptly pictured these demons schooling one another in the talent to tempt vulnerable Christians into “religious unholiness.”  Lewis with his words paints a picture of the Senior devil Screwtape in a Speech before the “Annual Dinner of the Tempters’ Training College for Young Devils.”

Screwtape slithers to the stage and exhorts his underlings of the underworld…

“It will be an ill day for us if what most humans mean by “religion” ever vanishes from the Earth. It can still send us the truly delicious sins.  The fine flower of unholiness can grow only in the close neighborhood of the Holy.  Nowhere do we tempt so successfully as on the very steps of the altar.” — quoted from C.S. Lewis’ “The Screwtape Letters”

Fellow Christians, let’s be wary of falling into Screwtape’s trap–let us beware of enlisting ourselves in the pursuit of “unholy religion” practiced at the very foot of the altar.

This week in my home church we are studying, Luke 23, the trial of Jesus before Pilate.  In this passage, Pilate–the secular ruler of the time–would have let Jesus go free finding no fault in Him, but in the end the cries of “the unholy religious” of His time dictated Jesus’ death instead.

Could you be allowing “sour godliness” to rule your soul?  Evaluate yourselves and hear Jesus’ counsel, “beware the leaven of the Pharisees!”

Informed Christians should understand the origins of Halloween as they assess their level of involvement in celebrating what is actually a “pagan” holiday.

According to Wikipedia,

Halloween is typically linked to the celtic festival of Samhain which is derived from Old Irish and means “summer’s end”. The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the “lighter half” of the year and the beginning of the “darker half”, and is sometimes regarded as the “Celtic New Year.”

The celebration has some elements of a festival of the dead. The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family’s ancestors were honored and invited home while harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces. Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames. Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual.

Another common practice was, divination which often involved the use of food and drink.  The name ‘Halloween’ and many of its present-day traditions derive from the Old English era.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

The Bible doesn’t speak directly about Halloween, but some biblical principles apply. One overriding principle is clear — all pagan practices should be avoided. Witchcraft, occult practices, sorcery, etc. are strictly forbidden in the Bible (Exodus 22:18; Acts 8:9-24; Acts 16, 19). It is obvious that a small child dressing up as a character to go trick or treating isn’t involving themselves directly with witchcraft but what are the boundaries that a responsible Christian parent should set up?

Parents, the decision is up to you, but do not proceed in your decision from a place of ignorance.

If you decide Halloween is something fun for your children, it is probably most important that they are kept far away from the evil aspects of Halloween. When believers participate in anything (even Halloween), their attitudes, dress, and behavior should glorify Christ.

I have lived in the Denver area for thirty-three years and this is a new one for me.

This amount of snow in October is just plain scary!

Whatever happened to global warming?

Anyway, I am trying to decide whether I should attempt to hold Bible study for the brave hearts that will traverse the roads tonight?

Do you think that I should cancel?

If you have an opinion please comment.

I will make the decision some time around noon, Thursday, October 29 and post it here.

Please feel free to weigh in on the matter!

After much discussion, it has been decided. We have opted to be safe rather than sorry.  The men’s and the women’s Bible studies scheduled for Oct. 29th at 6:30 P.M. have been CANCELLED due to snow! Stay in and stay safe!

Friday morning Women’s Bible Study will proceed as usual!

Today in Denver we had a snow storm and too much time on my hands always gets me into trouble.  I was perusing You tube and came across this video.  Many of you know how much I love Lucy Van Pelt the independent and always right nemesis of Charlie Brown. Well, she got the best of me, the psychotherapist in me could not pass watching this video and now I must pass it on to you.  Lucy is a little too much like many women I know Let’s have a little mercy girls!!!

When the topic of love letters is brought up among women there is always a mixed reaction.  For some lucky women they can remember back to a time when an enthralled lover took the time to meticulously compose his admirations for them and send it off.

However for others, you can see the “but I’ve never received one” look of disappointment in their eyes. In this day and age that is so far from the romantic times of days gone by–many women have missed the chance to receive a real love letter.  They have failed to experience the exhilaration of reading a letter painstakingly written and sent to them by the one who loves them.  In a time when each young man has at his disposal a cell phone from which to verbalize his affections or quickly text his feelings–alas, love letters it seems have gone out of style.

The good news is, that all women have received at least one glorious love letter they can boast about.  God has sent each of us a very elaborate love letter that virtually drips with His care. The Bible is a love letter sent straight from the heart of God to each person and it magnificently explains the parameters of His divine affection.

It is rarely enough for any truly creative and inspired author to merely write “I love you” and the Creator of the Universe is no exception.  God has placed in our hands a collection of writings supernaturally infused and filled with the perfect embellishments to melt our hearts.

Now to be sure, some parts of the Holy Writ warm the heart more than others, but there are within the Book certain passages that literally cry out to be read over and over.  By definition love letters are filled with passion, and of all literature, love letters are the words most often kept, treasured and memorized.  Similarly, God’s love letters are also passion filled and memorable. Indeed, within God’s wonderful love anthology there are some verses that veritably deserve to be inscribed on the recipient’s heart.

One of the wonderful things about God’s love letters to us are the things that they reveal about Him. If we were given the life-time correspondences of any person, we would probably move first to the love letters, knowing that incased in these we would find the most intimate and candid portrait of the correspondent. And likewise, as we consider the Word of God, it is especially within certain “love passages” that we receive a special illumination of the Lover of our Soul.  A collection of love letters written over time is always especially revealing, each letter exposing a different aspect of a multi-faceted affection. And God’s love correspondences with us are like that; one a letter of declaration, the next of affirmation, another speaking of His needs and supplications and best of all those that envelop revelation—and the Lover’s plan and dream for our future.

So why exactly does anyone take the time to write a love letter when they could just as easily speak their love? And why would God in Heaven see fit to leave us with such a catalog of written expressions of His love? One expert on the subject has delineated some reasons I believe provide some interesting insights into the topic.

“We write letters because we want to be close to someone who is physically absent.”

“We write letters to allow for graceful expressions that might be hard to deliver in person.”

“We write letters because they are more potent than verbal declarations and because it is a considered thing that time spent on a love letter allows for refinement towards perfection.”

“We write letters because they last, to be read again and again.”

And finally, “we write letters because we know someone wants them.” (quoted from Love Letters by Michelle Lovric).

In closing, no one can hear often enough that they are loved, or be reminded frequently enough about the delight that the one who loves them finds in them.  We are all made for relationship and the Bible teaches that loving expressions and affirmations provide for a healthy psyche.  They are literally like enriching food or healing balm for the soul (Prov 16:24).

Humans thrive on loving messages and there is no one among us who should deprive themselves of the sustenance that expressed love supplies.  And the fortunate truth is there is no need that anyone should go without.  The “love letters of God” are there waiting for anyone who will pick them up and read them and His loving messages provide the finest feast of all.

 As the temperatures descend and the evenings get chilly most of us move indoors.  Fall leaves fly and the center of family life changes from the backyard and the patio grill to the family room and the entertainment center.  It is a natural change but beware the subtle fall-out that fall may bring to your family nest.

Fall-out is a term that was invented in the nineteen-forties to describe a phenomenon connected to the after-math of a nuclear blast.  Fall-out is the word used for the slow descent of minute particles of toxic radio-active debris into the atmosphere. “Fall-out” expands outward from the site of an atomic explosion and becomes largely invisible, extremely poisonous and can lead to a slow-death for those who come in contact with it.  While the metaphor is admittedly a bit overstated, the sad truth is that the effects of a fall-winter-and-spring spent tied to an entertainment center, can produce its own version of a deadly fall-out—a deadly fall-out that leads to what can only be termed “life-decay.” 

Today the number one form of leisure activity in the United States is T.V. watching.  According to the Kaiser Family Foundation “American children and adolescents spend 22 to 28 hours per week viewing television more than any other single activity other than sleeping.  By the age of 70 they will have spent 7 to 10 years of their lives watching T.V.”  Former president George Bush on C-SPAN in an interview about American T.V. consumption stated, “They put an off button on the T.V. for a reason.  Turn it off…I don’t watch much T.V.  His wife Laura Bush an ex-librarian and reading advocate categorically stated, “Children cannot learn to read by watching television.  Television is just background noise and a distraction.”  Prominent voices seem to agree that too much T.V. watching is not a good thing.  

If the inordinate amount of wasted time spent by children and others watching were not enough there are other deleterious effects linked with excess T.V.  It should be pointed out that—for every hour spent in front of the tube—over fifteen minutes of that hour is spent solely in the viewing of advertising.  Commercials are the centerpiece of programming and are meant to penetrate our minds with thoughts of consumption, need and greed.  Jerry Mander, an expert on media and its effects on society explains, “While watching television, the viewer is not seeing the world as it is.  He or she is looking at a world created by advertising.  Television programs are put together with the conscious attitude of promoting a consumer society.  The fall-out of television advertising overload is a spirit-poisoning, self indulgent attitude that subtly begins to creep in and controls us.  The consequence for our society is an ever-expanding consumerism that keeps us all knowing exactly what we must obtain next if we are to be truly happy.   

Consumerism isn’t the only kind of harmful fallout American families who are glued to the tube are susceptible to.  The harmful fallout from T.V. watching is not limited to the effects of overdosing on advertising.  In 2009, the number one type of T.V. programming was “Reality T.V.” a popular style of programming with its own set of dangers.  “Reality T.V.” is that genre of T.V. that has no real story, no content, it is just watching someone else experiencing some part of life while you sit back and voyeuristically observe. 

Millions of people each night settle for living life vicariously through others while life passes them by.  They watch the loves, the losses, the adventures, the successes, of strangers on the small screen while experiencing little “true living” themselves.  Reality T.V. is a type of video entertainment fraught with serious fallout. We are on the verge of becoming a nation who “loves to watch” above all else.  We put on hold our emotional, our physical and our spiritual interactions—in order to spend hours watching—and the result is a numbing slow death to what it means to be human beings created in the image of God with a plan and a purpose.

 This fall as you move indoors consider the invisible fall fall-out your family becomes vulnerable to as you face off with the entertainment center once again.  Pay attention to how much time you spend in front of screens—inactive and focused on “synthetic life” with its demands and absorptions.  As the leaves fall why not consider turning over a new leaf and make each hour of each day more productive and full of living and giving.  You may need to schedule some alternative activities to fill the vacuum left by fewer hours in front of the T.V.  Why not take a walk and talk to God, prepare a home cooked meal with the family and catch up on small talk, attend a small group fellowship with friends, go for a Starbuck’s with your spouse and have some “couples time”, or get creative and start that home improvement project you’ve been putting off.  Experience LIFE that’s what living is all about!

Contemplate the reality that we are all God’s workmanship created for a life time of living out good works that He has planned for us (see Eph. 2:10).  I don’t know about you but I don’t want to miss out on the abundant life God planned for me because I fell numb under the effects of video fall-out, a life-decaying—death—by watching.

It is fascinating to me in our contemporary culture,  how easy it can be for an individual to foist a reputation that is based on very little true substance. 

Our current society feasts on the fluff of evaporating charisma while it starves for the true grit and moral fiber that is needed to shape history.   It has become simpler and simpler to manufacture a reputation with little or no personal foundation to back it up.  

At every venue in society–the media, politics and even in church– bigger than life personas grab center stage with very little conscience about their ability to back up their act.  Things that used to matter, like character, authenticity of heart and a call to serve others have fallen by the wayside and are being negligently overlooked. 

In short, in my opinion, character is very different than reputation.  Below, in the remainder of this post, I have put together some quotes to stimulate thinking on the subject.  Please feel free to comment and add your thoughts about the differences you observe between character and reputation.      

Do You Have Character or Reputation?

Reputation is seeming; character is being.

Reputation is manufactured; character is grown.

Reputation is your photograph; character is your face.

Reputation is what men say you are; character is what God knows you are.

Reputation is what you need to get a job; character is what you need to keep it.

Reputation is what comes over you from without; character is what rises up within.

Reputation is what you have when you come to town; character is what you have when you go away.

Reputation is what is chiseled on your tombstone; character is what the angels say about you before the throne of God.

Quote by Robert Stuart MacArthur, Quick Truths in Quaint Texts

1.         Blogging allows you to meet interesting new people that you would not ordinarily meet and it is a great tool for introducing yourself to others.

2.         Blogging is a great way to get attention to the cause of Christ and share information about your personal mission.  In less than one year (9 months) I have had nearly 16,000 visitors to my blog and with each one I have had the chance to share insights about my personal relationship with Jesus Christ. My blog has greatly enhanced my personal ability to be a witness and share the testimony of my walk with Jesus Christ.

3.         Blogging is a means of self documentation.  A blog helps you document many of the facets of your personal life.  It is a tool to help you express what you are experiencing, believing and feeling at a given point in time.  I value my blog because it is a valuable personal resource and an online record of my life that I can easily go back to and reference later.  

4.         Blogging helps you leave a legacy. I write because I love writing will survive allowing my kid and grandkids to see a different side of me. I wouldn’t mind writing a book someday, but until then my blog is something I am proud of that is a compilation of my beliefs, experiences, thoughts and creativity.

5.         Blogging can be a team sport: you can get a lot of people in a community involved in blogging and when the interaction starts it can be really fun. Blogging is simple to do and doesn’t require a lot of technological genius to get started.  A great side benefit is that it is easily accessible to a wide range of people. When I started blogging I was not very computer savvy, but in no time at all I had learned the ropes and I was reaping the benefits.

6.         Blogging helps you become better at using words. Writing is much more comfortable than speaking for a lot of people.  When writing we can think without the pressure of  having “the immediate right words” to say.  The written word, plus current technology gives us the opportunity to go back and edit statements.  In my life the opportunity to undo and amend my thoughts before communicating them has been a big plus

7.         Blogging is a vehicle that can be used to declare your personal dream or vision. What I blog tends to be a declaration of what I believe is the right attitude to have, the right way to behave or the right thing to do.  My posts reflect what I am dreaming of and the way I wish things were.  While writing is much easier than doing, recording things in an organized way is a definite step towards pin pointing and actualizing the dream that is in one’s heart.

8.         Blogging expands your personal horizons. Blogging not only allows you to share stories about your expertise, but it also gives you the opportunity to post photos, videos, and audios fairly easily and the creative options are endless. Blogging has given my readers a multimedia experience with me!

9.         Blogging gives you an audience of supporters and detractors. If your mission, dream or vision has a passionate edge to it, a blog has the ability to join you with supporters, which validates your cause.  And on the other hand a blog also supplies you with access to a pool of detractors giving them a place to voice their concerns and opinions. It is important to be in touch with supporters and detractors because this can only serve to hone your focus and sharpen your reasoning abilities and skills.

10.       Finally, blogging will cause you to have to learn more. It is a richer life when you are constantly on the lookout for more opportunities to learn, more insights to be gathered and more wisdom to be shared.

These are some of the reasons I blog.  How has blogging been beneficial to your life?  Please feel free to comment.

Today is a day for honoring fathers.  I have a wonderful Christian father.

And a wonderful Christian husband who is the father of my children.

 I am doubly blessed!

 My husband is not perfect but in building a family and raising our children he has always sought the wisdom and power of the Lord and I couldn’t have asked for more.

 Many years ago he wrote this stanza in a song called “Family Ties” and it sums up his humility and dependence on Jesus.   

I’m not good at walk’in on the water,

Or turning water into wine,

But I’ll keep a family fed,

With the help of the one Who did.

Two hearts make a family tie.

I am grateful that my husband knows the True Source of life and all wisdom and I honor him today for his solid uncompromising commitment to our Savior.   Tom’s focus on following Jesus and putting Him first has been a wonderful example and made him an awesome father for over thirty-five years.  Thank you, honey for a job well done!

The Bible makes it clear that we should honor our fathers.  Commandment number five of the Ten Commandments is: “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. Ex 20:12 (NIV).

Today we celebrate a national holiday for dads, but it has not always been that way, the history of a day set aside to honor fathers is only about a century old.

 The History of Father’s Day

 The first known celebration of Father’s Day was on July 5, 1908 in Fairmont, West Virginia, where it was commemorated at William Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South – now known as Central United Methodist Church. Grace Golden Clayton is believed to have suggested it to her pastor after a deadly explosion in nearby Monongah in December, killing 361 men.

 It was also during a sermon in 1909 that Sonora Smart Dodd became inspired by Mother’s Day. After the death of her mother, Sonora and her siblings were raised by their father William Jackson Smart, a Civil War veteran. Sonora wanted to show how thankful she was to her father and, because William was born in June, she worked to have the first Father’s Day celebrated on June 19, 1910.

In 1924, President Coolidge recommended that Father’s Day become a national holiday.

President Johnson designated the third Sunday of June to be Father’s Day in 1966.

It was not until 1972 that President Nixon instituted Father’s Day as a national observance.

Info for this section was taken from history.com– for more on the history of Father’s Day and inspiring storys of contemporary dads follow this link: http://www.history.com/content/fathersday/history-of-father-s-day

Happy Father’s Day

Feel free to comment and share why you honor your Dad!

I don’t want to get too personal but do you ever pray?

In the last two years I have prayed more than at any other time in my entire life.

Yet, the challenges just keep on coming. 

This Sunday I heard a sermon on the value of persistence in prayer and the biblical text examined was Luke 18.   

The Holy Spirit convicted me even more about the necessity of  ”always praying and not losing heart.”   

I could use some encouragement.  How has long term persistence in prayer paid off in your life?  Are there any testimonies out there?  Please feel free to comment!

I took some much needed time off this week. It was a brief respite away from home and my daily grind but it yielded great benefits.

Given a few days away, I began the gradual unwinding process that is always needed and required for me to find true rest.

Today, I am back at home and I am much more in touch with my need for rejuvenation and restoration and the need for us all have to have Sabbath-rest for our souls.  As a result of contemplating the topic of rest, reminding myself of the basic info and doing a little research; I came up with the following post.

The Bible orders us to rest.  In fact—one of the “big ten” in terms of commandments is the charge “to remember the Sabbath rest and keep it holy.”

Ex 20:8-11, tells us, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”

The root idea of Sabbath rest is simple.  It is as simple as the changing of seasons and as basic as the inhale-exhale process of breathing— living things were designed by God to flourish only with a pattern of regular rest and rejuvenation. 

The Bible specifies the need for one day of rest out of each seven day interval.  And a day in Scripture is always measured from one evening to the end of the following day-light period. Gen. 1:5 states, God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.  In accordance with this the Jewish Sabbath began in the evening and ran from sunset to sunset. 

Jewish tradition also dictated that the weekly “rest interlude” was always preceded by a time of preparation.  Beginning at 3 P.M. every Friday the faithful would prepare their food for the next day and perform all labors which were forbidden on the Sabbath and yet had to be done. Before sunset they would bathe and purify themselves, dress in their festive apparel, set their tables, and light their lamps.

The observance of the Sabbath always began with the Hebrew family partaking of the pre-prepared Sabbath meal followed by prayers and the compulsory call for the whole household to sleep.  The arrival of night and the opportunity to sleep was not only a necessity but symbolically it provided a natural relinquishment of control.  A good night’s sleep broke the cadence of work and set a rhythm for the entire Sabbath rest period. When we are sleeping, we cannot be working, we cannot direct anything, or control anything and we give ourselves temporarily over to God’s care.  A believer shuts his eyes and believes that the Lord will take care of him through the night.  Appropriately the first hours of Sabbath observance were spent sleeping.

Sabbath rest is a time that is supposed to be sanctified or set-apart for God’s use in our lives. However in our present day American culture few of us have really understood or appreciated the concept.  What we don’t seem to understand is the fact that Sabbath rest is not just discretionary free time.  It is not just a block of open time to be utilized as we see fit.  Sabbath rest in actuality is to be used in a deliberate manner for rest and restoration of body, soul and spirit.  And in remembering the Sabbath, we are to put aside work but we are also to put aside our own time agendas and even the act of creating.

Many people miss the importance of taking into consideration the Sabbath that God Himself modeled for us.  God initiated Sabbath rest first and foremost by resting from creating.  In Gen 2:3 we are told “And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”  If God needed to rest after creation how much more do we also need to be re-created after our creating? Working wears us out and creating pulls from our pool of resources and literally empties us out!  We do not have unlimited resources as God does and as humans beings our finite resources are limited and must be restored.  We cannot be creative, fruitful, and productive or reach our long term potential without Sabbath rest.

One of the largest obstacles to true Sabbath-keeping in contemporary life is leisure.  Leisure competes with the concept of Sabbath and is what Sabbath-rest tends to become when we don’t know how to sanctify our time.  The definition of leisure is “vacant time without occupation to be used at one’s will.”  Leisure is an attempt at Sabbath rest without any focus on the sacred aspects.  One author has rightly stated that “the Golden Rule of Sabbath Rest is to cease from what is necessary and instead embrace God and what truly gives life!”

Some present day believer’s may bristle under the call to Sabbath rest because they believe it to be an antiquated Old Testament ritual. The necessity of rest however is not just an Old Testament pronouncement; the need for rest is emphasized throughout the entire Bible.

Jesus promised that knowledge of Him would bring rest for the soul. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”   Matt 11:28-30 (NKJV).  And He insisted that his disciples should rest. The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. ³¹ Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:30-31 (NIV)

The Bible proclaims that a pattern of sanctified rest is a vital and needed practice because it supplies us body, soul and spirit with what is needed to survive and thrive as humans.  The Bible teaches that rest it is an important vehicle for “making contact with God.  God tells Moses in Exodus 33 that rest and His presence go hand in hand, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”  Psalm 46:10 states clearly, Be still, and know that I am God.   The central nature of rest is underlined for us in psalm 23.  In the familiar psalm David speaks of the Good Shepherd’s dogged determination to make his beloved sheep rest, He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; Psalms 23:2-3 (NKJV). 

Rest is a physical reminder that we are not in control of everything and that at the end of the day; we are not the ones who have the power to hold it all together.  After all, ultimately managing things—being in control– is God’s job and we need to remind ourselves of that regularly (say at least once a week).  During busy times it’s easy to be distracted from our relationship with God and treat our work as if it is our God.  We must not however fall prey to work-worship for very long.   If we make work our God we can in an incredibly short time find ourselves reaping some very serious consequences. 

Work-worship has the ability to take an incredible toll on a human being and can jeopardize our physical, emotional and spiritual health.  As Christians living in this incredibly stressful era we must repent and hear the clarion call back to one of the most basic principles of life and give God the time that is due Him. When we practice sanctified rest we focus back on God and allow Him to restore us—and that is a very good and necessary thing.

What are the culprits in your life that keep you from realizing the divinely ordained benefits of Sabbath rest?  Have you fallen victim to inserting leisure into the place of Sabbath rest in your weekly routine?  What is your opinion about the priority you believe Sabbath rest should play in the lives of contemporary believers?  Please feel free to reply to these questions or any other question this post spurs in your mind.  As always any comments are encouraged and welcomed!

I come from a family that will always remember a great loss.  My uncle Ted Morton was killed in action in Korea in 1951 and was MIA for seventeen months before they located his body in a shallow grave on a Korean beach.  He was an infantryman in the army and had been killed rushing from a troop carrier onto the beach in the heat of battle.  He was 19 years old when he died. 

I was not born until a few years after his death but my childhood was touched by his memory and I especially remember the on going grief of my grandmother.  My younger brother Ted Morton George is named in honor of my uncle.  Because of my family’s loss and the losses of so many other families I think Memorial Day is a holiday we should all remember.

The history of Memorial Day goes back to the years following the civil war when our nation was desperately trying to mend after a horrific war that had taken a great toll in terms of American lives.

The history.com gives the following account of the history of Memorial Day.  http://www.history.com/content/memorial/the-history-of-memorial-day

Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day because it was a time set aside to honor the nation’s Civil War dead by decorating their graves. It was first widely observed on May 30, 1868, to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers, by proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of former sailors and soldiers. On May 5, 1868, Logan declared in General Order No. 11 that:

The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form of ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.

During the first celebration of Decoration Day, General James Garfield made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, after which 5,000 participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried in the cemetery.

This 1868 celebration was inspired by local observances of the day in several towns throughout America that had taken place in the three years since the Civil War. In fact, several Northern and Southern cities claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day, including Columbus, Miss.; Macon, Ga.; Richmond, Va.; Boalsburg, Pa.; and Carbondale, Ill.

In 1966, the federal government, under the direction of President Lyndon Johnson, declared Waterloo, N.Y., the official birthplace of Memorial Day. They chose Waterloo—which had first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866—because the town had made Memorial Day an annual, community-wide event during which businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers with flowers and flags.

By the late 1800s, many communities across the country had begun to celebrate Memorial Day and, after World War I, observances also began to honor those who had died in all of America’s wars. In 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday to be celebrated the last Monday in May.

Today, Memorial Day is celebrated at Arlington National Cemetery with a ceremony in which a small American flag is placed on each grave. Also, it is customary for the president or vice-president to give a speech honoring the contributions of the dead and lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. About 5,000 people attend the ceremony annually.”

This year Congress has called for a moment of relection at 3:00 P.M. to show unity and a return to the sacred nature of this holiday.  CNN reported,

“The time 3 p.m. was chosen because it is the time when most Americans are enjoying their freedoms on the national holiday,” according to the White House Commission on Remembrance. Congress established the National Moment of Remembrance.

“The Moment does not replace traditional Memorial Day events; rather it is an act of national unity in which all Americans, alone or with family and friends, honor those who died for our freedom,” the Commission on Remembrance said on its Web site.

“It will help to reclaim Memorial Day as the sacred and noble holiday it was meant to be. In this shared remembrance, we connect as Americans.”

Has your family suffered a loss of a loved one in the service of our country?  Have you been touched by the death of a brave member of our armed services?  I would like to know of your loss and give you a chance to remember.  Please feel free to leave a response or comment to this post.  In tribute to all those who have served or are serving I have included the following video tribute.

At times I grow weary of the way Christians posture themselves with one another.  

Sometimes it seems to me that the main objective of evangelicalism has degraded to being all about “correctness.”

Rather than shining forth the characteristics of Christ and being a beacon of love, peace, mercy and humility to each other and to a hurting world; I find that more and more Christians are consumed with being ”right.”  

I don’t know about you but I don’t want to be known for pride, arrogance and condescension.  I want to follow Jesus and to be his ambassador to those around me.  Today my prayer is Lord make me like you one who is “meek and lowly of heart.”

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Matt 11:28-30 (KJV)

A Word For Today

From Morning and Evening

by C.H. Spurgeon

Entry May 16th Evening Verse

“And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches. For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye and your cattle, and your beasts.” 2Kings 3:16,17

The armies of the three kings were famishing for want of water: God was about to send it, and in these words the prophet announced the coming blessing. Here was a case of human helplessness: not a drop of water could all the valiant men procure from the skies or find in the wells of earth. Thus often the people of the Lord are at their wits’ end; they see the vanity of the creature, and learn experimentally where their help is to be found.

 

 

Still the people were to make a believing preparation for the divine blessing; they were to dig the trenches in which the precious liquid would be held. The church must by her varied agencies, efforts, and prayers, make herself ready to be blessed; she must make the pools, and the Lord will fill them.

 

 

This must be done in faith, in the full assurance that the blessing is about to descend. By-and-by there was a singular bestowal of the needed boon. Not as in Elijah’s case did the shower pour from the clouds, but in a silent and mysterious manner the pools were filled. The Lord has His own sovereign modes of action: He is not tied to manner and time as we are, but doeth as He pleases among the sons of men. It is ours thankfully to receive from Him, and not to dictate to Him.

 

 

We must also notice the remarkable abundance of the supply –there was enough for the need of all. And so it is in the gospel blessing; all the wants of the congregation and of the entire church shall be met by the divine power in answer to prayer; and above all this, victory shall be speedily given to the armies of the Lord.

 

 

What am I doing for Jesus? What trenches am I digging? O Lord, make me ready to receive the blessing which Thou art so willing to bestow.

 

I felt the Holy Spirit as I read this entry from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening devotional today, so I decided to post it. If after reading it you feel it is fitting for the situation you are in or your church is in or if you have an insight or opinion please take the time to comment.  

Many of you have commented that you just can’t get this song out of your head.  It is a good one by a young gal named Francesca Battistelli.  She won the dove award this year for best new Christian artist.  I love it, we should all be “Free To Be Me.”