Joy In My Heart For Christmas

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There is a movie, I’m not going to tell you which one, but I’ve always loved this movie.  I watched it every year growing up, at Christmas time.  I’m going to tell you a little about the movie, you may guess which one I’m talking about, but it really doesn’t matter.
     
Like in a lot of movies, there is a villain, who isn’t doing to well and a group of town folk, that have good lives.  This group of people are getting ready for Christmas, doing all the yearly decorating and wrapping of presents.  They are preparing for the big day,  cooking food and fixing up the tree.  They all seem happy and they love one another.
     
This villain has never felt love, or the happiness of Christmas.  He is sad, and he let the sadness turn into bitterness.  He comes up with a plan to ruin the town folk’s Christmas, by stealing everything that would make Christmas day special.  
     
Well, he gets away with his dirty deed, and just as the sun is rising and you think that these town people will be waking up to a ghastly day, you hear singing, instead of crying.  Yes, the town people are happy, they have joy in their hearts and they are singing.  
     
This villain is confused and he doesn’t know what has happened, then he gets it, in my story, anyway, he knows that they don’t need things to be happy, they don’t need special food, special trees, or decorations, they have all they need right there in their hearts.  The hope of everlasting life with God, with Jesus Christ!  And they are singing!
     
The villain changes his ways.  He goes to the town people and begs forgiveness, and of course they forgive him.  He gives back all that he has taken, and they all celebrate together.  They didn’t need the special food, the presents, the decorations, but they got them back and that made the day all the better.  What a glorious day!  Christmas day and a bad person saved, and all is well.
     
That’s not exactly how the movie goes but it’s how I imagined it in my mind all these years and it is the basic way to look at being a Christian. 
     
So as you go about your Christmas planning and preparing, remember what this day is really about, A baby born, in a manger so that we can give our lives to him and have our hearts filled with the Holy Spirit and joy, peace, goodness and kindness, and after this life is done, a whole new life with our Lord.  
     
Matthew 6:25 Jesus says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?”  Matthew 6:33 Jesus goes on to say, “But seek first the kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

The Worst Christmas

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My son, Joe, told me something so bright and right on that I will never forget it.  He said that he used to imagine how a party, or get together was going to be for weeks before the event.  He would envision the party in great detail, what would happen and how much fun he would have.  Unfortunately his imagination was very good and reality never lived up to what he had conceived, in his head.
     
He finally learned that if he didn’t invent the day in his mind, if he just went with the flow, he would have a great time because he had no expectations.  
     
The worst Christmas that I can remember was the third year that I was married to my husband, Mark.  We had a sign business, and we just didn’t have any sign work close to Christmas.  We were so broke, but thank God, my mom called me to come over and she had a whole box of food that she gave to me, left over from the Christmas eve party that she was getting ready for.  She also gave me twenty dollars.  I took that money and went to a dollar store and bought four presents for our four kids,  I also got wrapping paper and tape.  
     
On Christmas eve, I placed a small glass Christmas tree in the middle of the living room table and put those four terrible presents beside the tree.  
     
The kids woke up expecting nothing, because Mark and I explained to them the money situation so they were happy to have a present each, until they opened them and five minutes later the presents had turned into junk.  The rubber band, balloon cars didn’t work, the gun with balls that were supposed to shoot out didn’t shoot out, the balls rolled out instead, and I don’t even remember what happened with the two girls presents, they were so cheep.  
     
The amazing thing about this is that today I was talking to my daughter, Christina and she told me that those Christmas mornings were her favorite, because we were all together and happy.
     
What is wonderful is that we really got an opportunity to look into the hearts of our kids.  They made me proud then, and they still are making me proud.  If you take money out of the Christmas equation, our time together was warm close and happy. 
     
I have learned from Joe, not to have great expectations when the holidays come around.  I have learned from my other children to be happy in all circumstances.  With our sign business, sometimes we had money for things and sometimes we ate noodles for weeks at a time to get by.  Again, this isn’t something that came naturally, I have learned with the help of my children and the Holy Spirit, to be happy.
     
Philippians 4:12, Paul says, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in every and any situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” 

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!  

Connie

The Blood

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In May of 1995, my husband, Mark went to see a doctor because he had swollen legs and headaches.  The doctor told him that his blood pressure was very high and after testing his blood, we were told that he had hepatitis C.  I was pregnant at the time, so my doctor told me to come in and have a blood test also.  All these blood tests got me thinking about how important the blood is, and about how there are so many scriptures that talk about the blood.  

There are approximately 363 verses that talk about blood in the bible: Blood of the lamb, take this blood, your brothers blood cries out to me, do not eat the fat or the blood.  Deuteronomy 12:23 and Leviticus 17:11 tells us that the life of a creature is in the blood.  Acts 3:25 tells us to have faith in His blood, and Acts 5:9 says that we are justified by the blood.
     
Blood is mans transport system of the body.  A blood test can be used to check on the health of the major organs as well as on the respiratory function, hormonal balance, the immune system and the metabolism.  Analysis of a sample of blood gives us information on its cells and proteins and if there are any chemicals or antibodies in your body.
     
DNA are the genetic instructions used in the development and function of all known living organism.  DNA is like a set of blue prints, a recipe or a code.  DNA is the principal carrier of genetic information in almost all organisms.
     
Chromosomes are an organized structure of DNA.  it’s a simple piece of DNA.  Chromosomes carry the inherited genetic information that directs the activities of cells and thus the growth of functioning of the entire body.  Chromosomes determine physical characteristics such as sex, hair color and texture.  Skin And eye color, nose shape, height and mental abilities.  Also the personality.
     
Immune serum globulin is a sterile solution of globulins derived from pooled human blood that contains antibodies that are normally present in the blood of adults.  Immune serum globulin is used to prevent and sometimes treat infections diseases,  it works by passing on antibodies to them.
     
Blood plasma is mainly water, 95%, with salt content very similar to sea water.  Also sugar, fats, vitamins and minerals.
     
Blood holds the keys to many mysteries in the body and in the bible.  We are learning new things every day.
     
Could communion just be symbolic?  The blood is important and real, and when you take the blood of Jesus into your body, remember this, Jesus was the only perfect man, that means his blood was and is perfect.  We are to take his blood in remembrance , but it is more than that.  Spiritually this is his blood and spiritually it is filled with everything that is Jesus.  All of his antibodies and every perfect thing.  
     
So when you take communion, take it to remember Jesus, and what he has done.  But also take it as you would take a vaccination, to keep you from getting sick or a shot to heal sickness that you may have.  Then thank Jesus for his perfect body and that he has shed its perfect healing blood for us. 

The Golden Calf

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In the story of Moses, the Israelites made themselves a golden calf.  Exodus 32:4 says, “He took what they handed him, and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf.  Fashioning it with a tool, then they said, these are your gods o Israel who brought you up out of Egypt.”  Were the Israelites worshiping the one true God?  If they were, they were worshipping God in an acceptable way.
   
I’ve been going through some really hard times lately, and wondering why?  I became a Christian at the age of thirty.  Soon after, we started attending a Church where we began doing everything we could think of, to help that Church.  My husband Mark and I were tithing regularly, we started a prayer line in our home and prayed with anyone from the Church that would call.  We got on the board at the Church.  I worked in the nursery, and Mark played on the worship team.  We took bible study classes, and volunteered for anything that came up.  But still, things were so bad.  After reading the story of Moses and the golden calf, I started to think that maybe we were being cursed instead of being blessed.
   
Deuteronomy 28:15 says, “If you do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today all these curses will come upon you and over take you.”  I read down the list of curses, “Confusion, diseases, being defeated before your enemies, at midday you will grope about like a blind man in the dark.  You will be unsuccessful in everything you do, day after day you will be oppressed and robbed with no one to rescue you.  The sights you see will drive you mad.  You will sow much seed in the field but will harvest little, because locusts will devour it.  The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher but you will sink lower and lower.  He will lend to you but you will not lend to him.  He will be the head but you will be the tail.  The Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing and a despairing heart.  You will live in constant suspense filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life.  This will be upon you because you did not serve the Lord your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity.”  These are just part of the curses listed.
   
Was I serving God the way He wanted me to serve Him, or was I serving him the way I thought I should serve him?  I started to think that maybe I wasn’t serving God at all.  Some how I had started to serve the church instead of serving God, and I made a golden calf of my own.  I didn’t even stop to ask, “God, what do you want me to do?”  Instead I just made up my mind and did what I thought I should be doing.
   
We were having financial trouble, I felt unstable, confused and I just wanted to give up trying.  My family was sick, and I felt like everything that could go wrong, pretty much was.
   
I kept thinking, “Where is God?”  I’m in so much trouble and where is God?  I felt that I was far from him.
   
I read more in Deuteronomy 30: “And when you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you.  Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back.
   
Deuteronomy 30:19 says, “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.  Now choose life so that you your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, Listen to his voice and hold fast to him for the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
   
I know that a lot of things have changed with the coming of Jesus.  I know that there is grace, and I am righteous through him, and not because of how good I am.  I had put myself back under the law.  I knew the truth, but somehow I started to think that by doing good things I could earn God’s blessings, and I can’t.  The only way to be blessed by God is to totally submit to Him.  Pray and listen for his voice, then follow.  Only then, Jesus in me will help me to please God, Jesus through me will produce good fruit and I will be blessed.
     

Home Town Theater

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I must have been about nine years old, my sister, Carmen who is ten years older, worked in our small town theater.  Unlike most of the theaters of today, which are relatively small, this theater was huge.  It had a large stage from which the host of the show would stir up the audience, giving away prizes at the Saturday afternoon matinees.  
     
There was a balcony with plenty of room to accommodate all of the children and parents that would come to the matinee.   This theater had a gigantic screen, and a massive red velvet curtain that would slowly rise as the lights began to dim and the movie would start.
     
I had been to these matinees many times with older members of my family , but this Saturday I went with my younger brother , Bob.
     
Hansel and Gretel was the feature movie of the day.  Carmen bought us some candy.  Then she lead us down to some seats close to the front, where Bob and I settled in.  It was early and the theater was almost empty.  Before Carmen left us she told us not to worry, she said she would be working at the theater entrance taking tickets.
     
Bob and I were happy excited and waiting for something good to happen.  Watching the people file in was even exciting, at first, but as the crowd and the noise level started to grow, Bob and my anxiety started to grow.  I looked toward the door at the back of the theater every little while and I noticed Bob doing the same.  Our excitement turned to fear.  “Where was she?” , we asked each other .  “Why isn’t she here sitting with us?”
     
It seemed like we had been there for ever , and the longer we waited the worse we felt, until both of us in a panic, started to cry.
     
A lady sitting near us asked us if we were okay.  In tears, we told her that our sister was lost.  The lady took us by the hand and led us to the big door in the back of the theater.  She opened the door to the lobby and there was Carmen, just outside the door, working.  We ran up to her, our faces wet with tears,  “Where were you?” we asked, trembling.  “I’ve been right here the whole time.” she answered.
     
She had told us that she had to work, we knew it , but we let fear get a hold of us and take control.  She knew where we were and if we would have just stayed in our seats we would have been fine.
     
After she calmed us down, Carmen wanted to take us back into the theater, for the show, but we were still feeling fearful and upset, so we didn’t want to stay for the rest of the movie.  Carmen called our dad to pick us up and take us home.  
     
Later that day, I felt stupid.  I missed something that I would have really enjoyed, because of fear.  And there was no real reason for it, everything was under control, Carmen had been there, she told us what to expect, but because we didn’t see her, we panicked.  
     
In Hebrews 13:5, God said, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”  In the theater that Saturday afternoon my brother and I were afraid because we thought Carmen has left us.  At times, as a Christian I have had those same feelings about God.  It’s at those times fear has a chance to take control, and has kept me from the good things God has planned for me.
     
That afternoon, Carmen gave us the option to go back into the theater, and watch the movie.  We didn’t because of fear.  
     
We can’t always help feeling fearful, but we can remind ourselves that God is there with us.  And we can make the decision, not to walk away from the good things that are waiting for us.

Fruits

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Many of us have good works, Christians and non-Christians.  But do we have good fruit?  Colossians 1:10 reads, “And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work.”  In other words, when I help someone, “Works,” what is my perspective, or  “fruit?”  Galatians 5:22 tells us, “The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control.”  The scriptures above show us that works and fruit are two different things.  Works are the good things that I do and fruits are the evidence of the Spirit working in me.
     
John the Baptist and Jesus tell us what will happen if we don’t have good fruit.  Jesus also tells us how to tell who is a false prophet.  In Matthew 3:10 John the Baptist said, “The ax is already at the root of the trees and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”  In another passage Jesus warns us to, “Watch out for false prophets.  They come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.  By their fruits you will recognize them.  Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?  Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Thus by their fruit you will recognize them.”
     
It’s important to know that I shouldn’t just be doing good deeds, but also I should have the right perspective, or fruit.  Being patient, kind and loving, having peace and joy, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control show that Jesus is working in me.
     
In John 15:1-5 Jesus tells us, “I am the true vine and my father is the gardener.  He cuts off any branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.  You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.  Remain in me and I will remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself, it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”  This scripture points out that works, or good deeds, done outside the vine, or outside Jesus are, are fruitless.
     
Have you ever seen a branch produce a piece of fruit laying on the ground, apart from the tree, and the roots?  The branch alone doesn’t produce the fruit, the fruit is produced through the branch, just as Jesus produces fruit through us.  As this example of the branch and the tree indicates, the only way that I can produce fruit is by staying in Jesus and keeping him in me.
     
Taking the time to examine ones self is important.  If I give to someone, “works,” do I do it in love, “fruit?”  If a friend also asks me for a favor and I decide to help, “works,”  and is this favor done with kindness, and patience, “fruit?”  Am I gentle and self-controlled in a tense situation, or do I easily lose my temper?”  Am I faithful, or am I only a friend in the good times?  Am I filled with joy and peace, or am I filled with uneasiness?
     
If I want a life filled with all of the good fruits that the scriptures tell me about, then I should spend time reading and studying my Bible, and take the time to memorize scripture.  Talking to friends about what I’ve read, and letting the words become my thoughts, help to renew my mind.  I like to worship God by singing songs, and as I pray, I keep in mind that Jesus is with me, listening.  Stay in him and He will stay in you.

The Rock Tumbler

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When my dad died, in his 80’s, he and my mom had been together for 60 wonderful years, well, I can remember a few bumps along their road, but all in all, they were very happy.  

My husband, Mark and I have been together for almost 25 years, and I know there were times when we almost called it quits, but something or someone kept us together.  It seems like marriages are like fast food these days, even Christians are getting divorced on the drop of a dime.  

Somehow Mark and I have made it through some unbelievable things.  Through these things I realized this morning that I have learned patience from living with Mark and I know that he has grown patience because of his life with me.  Kind of like a rock tumbler, knocks the hard edges off of  jagged rocks.  

This morning I looked at the clock at 4:00 am, the usual time that I wake up these days.  Mark doesn’t even have to set his alarm anymore because I am his alarm.  At 6:30 I woke Mark up for the first time, “Honey, it’s time to shower.”  Mark said okay, then he was back to sleep.  I know after all of these years I need to be patient, to wait and to give him 15 more minutes before gently trying to wake him again.  

Sometimes he is right up and sometimes he waits until just before he has to leave for his dialysis, at 7:45.  The whole process used to really bother me but after 25 years I know he’s a big boy and he doesn’t need my nagging, just a bit of help, in the morning.

Our circumstances are a little different than a lot of people, Mark is very sick, and I have to be more patient with him for his health.  He also has to be patient for his heart.  

I said earlier that marriages these days are a lot like fast food, and we are all on this fast food diet, we want things quick, tasty and more than we need.  We tend to get upset when the consequences are that we have no energy and are getting fat.  

Romans, 8:22 and 23, “ We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of child birth right up to the present time.  Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.  

If we all would let this patience develop in us and not have an ADHD appetite, where we eat whatever pops into our head, without restraint.  When I am talking about food here, I am talking about spiritual food.  So what we need is less of the world and more Bible to become spiritually sound in mind or soul.  So wait on the lord and let him use what ever He needs (marriage), to develop your patients.  

Also, know that if you are going through a hard time in your marriage, it could be the tumbler effect, and there are others, you are not alone in this race

Isaiah, 30:18 says that blessed are all who wait for Him.      

Giant

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Doing everything right all of the time just isn’t possible.  Being a Christian doesn’t mean, being perfect.  But what we have to be is willing to listen to, and do as God tells us, when He tells us to do it.
     
Our finances were bad.  Rent was over due and we didn’t have any of it.  We had bills that we weren’t able to pay.  My three kids and Mark’s son were all coming over for the next six days.  We were painting signs at the time but there was no work in sight.  Mark was tired all the time and having terrible headaches, that was the first giant, in the land.  
     
Elijah was a baby and he had just gotten over a cold.  My mom and Dad would baby sit when we had work so my mom got the cold from Elijah while babysitting.  Because of her age and because she had contracted mono, before, and it hurt her immune system, she asked me not to bring Elijah over any more when he was sick.  That was the second giant in the land
     
Mark’s daughter, Melody, called and asked to stay with us for the weekend, because she had just moved into a new place and they didn’t have any gas for heat.  That wouldn’t have been bad but she said that her kids were also sick, and I was afraid that Elijah would get sick again and then we wouldn’t be able to leave him with my parents if we got some work.  That was giant number three.
     
We were up against a lot, just like the Israelites were up against a lot when they were in the desert, before they were to enter into the land of milk and honey,  
     
God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, He led them through the desert with fire at night and clouds during the day.  He gave them everything that they needed.  God led them up to the land that he was to give them,  God gave the land of milk and honey to the Israelites, but the Israelites grumbled against God saying, “The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us.  Where can we go?  Our brothers have made us lose heart they say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are;  the cities are large with walls up to the sky.  We even saw the Anakites there.”   The Anakites were compared to giants, or Nephilim. The Amorites were a very wicked people and their cities were fortified, and the Israelites were very afraid of these people.  
     
God said that he would carry the Israelites as a Father carries a son but they were still afraid, they did not trust God.  So, God said that only the children and a few others would make it into the land.  The Israelites, then decided that they were going to fight their way in, God told them not to try, God knew they would not succeed, but they did it anyway, and without God’s help, the people failed.
     
I’m no better, God has promised me so many things but all I see are giants.  Not enough money for my bills, or food for my kids.  Sickness and threats of sickness.  If I want that promised land then I’m really going to have to trust God and that doesn’t mean giving up, or complaining!  God also showed the Israelites that they have to do things His way or they will not succeed.  I need to trust God but I also need to do things when He wants them done and the way He wants things done then and only then can I, enter and face those giants!    

He Walked Away

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Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Sin is wicked and in 1 Corinthians 6:9 the Bible says, “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”
     
In Matthew 19:16, a rich young man came to Jesus and asked how to receive eternal life.  Jesus told him to follow the ten commandments.  The rich young man said that he did that, and asked what else he had to do to receive eternal life.  Jesus said, “If you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven.  Then come, follow me.”  The man walked away sad, because he had great wealth.
     
Jesus didn’t send the rich man away or say that he couldn’t come with Him, The man walked away.  
     
God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, in Genesis 22.  Abraham bound Isaac and put him on an alter, He was ready and willing to do what God told him to do.  He completely trusted God.  Abraham knew that what ever happened, it would be the best thing.  An Angel of God stopped Abraham at the last second and God provided a ram for the sacrifice, instead.  
     
Have you ever shut your eyes and let yourself fall back into someone’s arms?  It is a hard thing to do.  You really have to trust the person that will be catching you.  God wanted Abraham to do just that, and he did.  Jesus wanted the rich young man to do just that. But he walked away.  He wasn’t sent away, he made up his own mind, he made his choice and that choice was for his money.  
     
Romans 2:9 says, “God will give each person according to what he has done.  To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.  But for those who are self seeking and reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.”  Abraham had faith in God and because of his faith he did not walk away when God told him what to do, and so he did not sin.  The rich young man could have followed Jesus but instead chose his money, and in doing so, sinned.  
     
Sin is addictive and given a choice, some will pick sin.  Money isn’t evil, but the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.  The choice you have to make is, you can obey the Lord, trust Him, believe in Him, put Him first in your life, and receive eternal life or you can choose your sin, what ever that may be, and walk away.
     
Jesus told the rich young man to get rid of his sin; love for money, then to follow Him.  So just laying our sin down isn’t enough, we also have to have the faith to follow Jesus or take him as your Lord.  Romans 10:9, says,  “Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead and you will be saved.”  It may sound complicated but it’s simple; listen to God, lay down your sin, take Jesus as your Lord and be saved.