Merry Christmas 2011

Well, another Christmas has come and gone.. It’s just been kinda weird for us this year.. I am still recovering from my “simple” surgery and this past week both James and I have been sick with coughing and sore throats... ugh.... We did not decorate nor did we put up a tree. Sad, yes, and neither of us feel like it’s been “Christmas”...

So, I asked James, “what is Christmas suppose to ‘feel like’ anyway?”  What a thought to ponder... And ponder I have...

 

As a child, Christmas meant "presents"..... cold weather, Christmas carols, Dad decorating the outside of the house with lights while mom "gave some direction"... It meant having the neighbors over to share in a HUGE feast, from which we would eat for weeks to come, or so it felt.

 

As a parent of young children, Christmas meant staying up late on Christmas Eve (reading the directions....ya know what I mean?) and getting up exhausted EARLY on Christmas morning to the excitement of our children's voices..... Quickly packing food in the car and heading to "grandma's house".  (Just a side note... why is it that we always called it Grandma's house when Grandpa lived there as well?)  Okay, so off we would go for a fun filled day with family!

 

Now, as a certified "adult" (65 years old qualifies me for that title) the grands are all scattered about and our Christmas day had become so much, shall we just say "quieter"..

.

So this brings me back to my question, "What does Christmas feel like?"

 

I will start with today... Christmas Sunday.. We began our day with prayer, then off to church to enjoy the blessing of a young couple dedication their infant son to God....then came the Lord's Supper..... Always an awesome experience... Hugs from friends, and a wonderful feeling of peace on earth... All reminders of what and why we celebrate CHRISTmas in the first place....

 

This night, as Christmas draws to a close, I can tell you that Christmas feels like "peace, and with that comes hope and the assurance that the  promise God made to us over 2000 years ago, is still good today... He sent His Son, Jesus, to save us from eternal separation from Him... a promise that is eternal... That, my friend, is what Christmas feels like..

 

Living By Grace,

Marti

 

 

 

DAY 30 - THANKFULNESS

A day of reflection.... When I began this "30 Days of Thankfulness", I had no idea where it would take me. My first thought was of how many times we tend to say that we are thankful for "this or that", with no real thought given into just how much we take for granted. I'm not discounting any thing that God does for us, nor am I discounting what seems to be the smallest blessing. What I am doing is sharing with you just how much I have looked into my own heart...just how deep I have allowed my own self to dig, to remember, to reflect upon.

As I sit and type, I've had no idea where my thoughts would lead me.....and now, on day thirty, I look back and am in awe of all that God has done for me without my every truly saying "Thank You".

So, today, I want to say "THANK YOU GOD"....for sixty five years of Your protection, Your guidance, Your forgiveness, Your love....and yes, I am thankful today that God is not finished with me yet...

Thank You God!

DAY 29 - THANKFULNESS

Ask the blind man, he saw it all!
Sometimes we may be the only one to "see" what God has done in our lives.... for example, I know first hand how God delivered me from who I was; I know first hand the small and sometimes insignificant things that have happened in my life, all and only, because of God. Things that no one else would ever see or even know about.
If I see myself as the "blind man" (John 9:25b) then I may be the only one to every really "see". But the truth of the matter is this: Once I "was" blind, but "now" I see!
Thank You God for "sight"....Thank You for allowing me to "see" the things that You have done, are doing and will be doing in my life...
Today, on this 29th day of Thankfulness, I am thankful for both my physical and spiritual site....

DAY 28 - THANKFULNESS

Our first freeze of the season... I woke up to the sweet smell of wood burning as my James already had a fire going in our wood stove.  On some occasions fire can be our enemy but in this setting it's like a long lost friend who has come for a visit.
Today I am thankful for that "friendly fire" that provides an area of warmth and comfort in our home. A place where I can get comfy in my chair and read, or simply reflect on "things"..... There is another fire that warms my heart as well....that being the fire of the Holy Spirit that reside within me.

Yes indeed, I thank You God today for the warmth of the "fire".

DAY 27 - THANKFULNESS

Isaiah 30:21....Your ears will hear a word behind you, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right or to the left. 

How many times have I heard God's still small voice (1 Kings 19:12 KJV) and ignored it.  Not understanding, not wanting to submit to His authority, not trusting Him... And at the same time, needing Him so desperately....not knowing which way I should go....what choice should I make?
But now, fifty two years later, I can honestly say that "now" I hear His voice and I am joyfully ready to listen!

Therefore, today, I am thankful that God STILL speaks, and I am thankful that when I obey Him, it's ALL good...

Thank You God for loving me enough to still speak in a  whisper.....