Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays are ways we all express greetings to one another during Christmas. But merry and happy don’t really adequately express the true feeling we should be experiencing during this season! Of course, it’s not bad to wish people a merry or happy Christmas but the emotion behind those two words fall so short of what God wants us to experience. Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent. Today, let’s ponder on the true meaning of joy at Christmas….
Sunday Scripture
THE GREAT BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT
Like all proud parents, God was excited to announce the birth of His Son. But never had there been such a birth announcement and never will there be again. Let’s go back to first century Israel, in a shepherd’s field at night and listen to the real Christmas story. Let’s strip off all the tinsel and trappings and fa la la and see an even more beautiful picture of the love of a Father for His Son and for you and me! Meet me in Shepherd’s Field in Bethlehem. …
KEEPING A THANKFUL HEART FOR THANKSGIVING
My sweet friends, Thanksgiving is less than a week away. Does that make you feel happy, anxious, sad, nervous, harried? As women, we often carry the Martha-like burden of making sure all the moving parts are in place and everything is ready for Thanksgiving day! I really understand that! Today let’s talk about keeping a thankful heart for Thanksgiving……
BEAUTIFUL FALL GRACE BEFORE MEALS PRINTABLE
As I was thinking of all the bounty of fall and its beauty I was thinking how gracious and creative and good our Father is. And how we need to be mindful that everything was created by and is a gift for us to enjoy. Today I created a Fall Grace printable for you. Such a touching prayer to say before your meals! You can print it out, frame it and enjoy it this Autumn season!…
A LESSON FROM MY FRONT PORCH
If you were to stand on my front porch and look across the street you would see a huge corn field. The tops of the corn are tasseled and the color of staw. And in just a couple weeks every stock of corn will be the same gorgeous color. I love corn at harvest time. When the wind blows through the dry stalks it sounds like the rustling of a taffeta ball gown….
HIDDEN IN YOUR HEART
I have been blessed in the last 22 months with three adorable grandbabies! Anderson, Emma Kate and our newest addition Alexander. Since the day these my precious little ones were born I have sung “Jesus Loves Me” to them as many times as I can in a day. I am no singer, believe me, but I don’t think God cares very much about that and either do my babies….
HOW ARE YOU SPENDING YOUR LIFE?
I recently had the opportunity to hear Bruce Wilkerson (a best selling Christian author) speak. His message was so profound and so thought-provoking, I was going to write about it today… BUT, why write about it… when you can see and hear it! Bruce is talking to the student body at Liberty University at a convocation service. As Bruce addressed the students, pretend he is talking directly to you. Now here is my challenge…HOW ARE YOU SPENDING YOUR LIFE? Click HERE to listen to this powerful message. …
OUR TRUE SHELTER
I am a “shelter” blogger. A term used to describe bloggers who write about anything related to home. And I think it’s a pretty accurate title. For me, the word shelter speaks of all things home, a sanctuary away from the world and protection all that is harmful. I spend most of my day almost everyday immersed in the beautiful world of home decor. And I love it. I hear readers and clients talk their forever home. StoneGable is not my “forever home” Today, let’s talk about our true shelter…our true forever home….
WAITING FOR SUPERMAN
If you were in dire trouble and needed to be saved by a superhero who would you pick to come to the rescue? I would pick Superman! Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound… He can fly in the sky like a bird and his hair is never messed up! He fights for truth, justice, and the American way! Strong, fast, powerful. A real hero! He is the perfect package of good looks, brains, brawn, and compassion! Yes, I would feel pretty safe in the strong arms of……
HIDING GOD’S WORD IN OUR HEARTS
This weekend my sweet little 12 month old granddaughter and her parents came for a visit. Not an unusual thing. I’m very blessed to have my children and their families within driving distance of StoneGable. Emma Kate is so so sweet and dainty and girly and giggly! And just such a joy! And she is getting chatty. Oh, a chatty little girl. I love it! And this darling little one caused me to remember a very big precept of God while she splashed in the baby pool on our patio! Literally out of the mouths of babes……
WHAT IS YOUR HEARTSONG?
Almost every morning… just before daybreak… I am awakened to the sound of a Mockingbird singing his little heart out near my bedroom windows. He sits on the top branches of our weeping cherry tree and shouts out his song. It’s not even that pretty! No obvious melody… just strings of squawks and calls and shrill whistles. He doesn’t seem to care at all… he just belts it out with everything his dear soul has. It is his heartsong! …
OMG… STOP SAYING THAT!
You would probably not ever want to go shopping with me. I am not a “let’s go shopping together” kind of girl! I really don’t like to shop! I shop at a handful of stores, but that’s it! If a store has the words pottery or crate or Home or vintage in it… well, bring it on! Other than that, I am a lone wolf shopper! If I have to shop, I hunt down my merchandise prey alone. That way I have time to think and strategize about the mission! In… attack… out! No fooling around. Precision and quick strikes!……
GREETING GOD EACH MORNING
When you open your eyes each morning how do you greet the day? More importantly, how do you greet God? Factoring God into our day can have a major impact on it. Let’s talk about the habit of spending time with God each morning… …
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE WORRIED
Do you know someone that is a worrier? Maybe you are! I’m somewhere in the middle of the road. I don’t worry much except when I feel there is a real danger or problem that is far beyond my fixing. For many people, I think worry is just a very bad habit. It can be a “default setting” in life! I’m sure you know that worry is a useless and a very negative reaction to any situation! Worry never changes anything for good, it turns our emotions on end and cannot solve any problem. Let’s look at what God says about……
A FACE LIKE FLINT
While traveling in the Negev (southern Israel) our teacher took us on a “wee little walk”. Because we had been with her for over two weeks our small group knew exactly what that meant! Something hot and rocky and long and treacherous. But we also knew that this “wee little walk” would reveal sights we had never seen before and God would reveal a deeper level of His word to us as we struggled along….
FAVOR FROM THE LORD
I loved picking up my children from school. It was just a little nicety I did or them and it would spare them the bus ride home. I especially have very vivid and precious memories of picking them up during the middle school years. Middle schoolers what a bizarre and funny lot, right? So what do God’s favor and middle school pick-ups have in common? Oh, more than you might think……
FINDING LIVING STONES, PART II
Today is part II of my quest to find the Living God at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Please take the time to read part I HERE. I turned from the hot holy stones… exhausted. I was a puddle. Melted by the heat and the emotion of being stood up by God! How do you pick up a puddle… How does it walk or continue a tour… or write in its journal. Can a puddle eat lunch or make small talk… or even breathe? How does a puddle put it’s heart back together… …
FINDING LIVING STONES
It’s been almost a decade ago since I studied in Israel. It was one of the most life-altering and profound experiences of my life. I walk in the footsteps and across the land of prophets and kings and the King Of King, Jesus Himself. I wandered and learned from the northernmost tip of Israel to deep in the Negev. And spent time in beautiful, gritty, divided Jerusalem the eternal “city of peace”. It was there that I had one of the most meaningful spiritual meetings of my entire life. Today and next week I would like to share……
A THANKSGIVING BLESSING
As we get closer to Thanksgiving I like to plan ahead and get things ready for this special All-American holiday. It’s a time for family and fun but it’s primarily a time for remembering to thank God for his goodness, grace, and lovingkindness to us. And that comes in more ways than we can count. Today I have a THANKSGIVING BLESSING you can print out and use during your Thanksgiving festivities!…
FALL SCRIPTURE PRINTABLE
Sometimes it’s good to remember that everything… and I mean everything… has a God ordained time. And both the good and the bad (in our eyes) have a season, a time that does not last forever and a purpose to fulfill because they are created by God Himself. So remember to savor the good times and give glory to our Father and know that the bad times will have an end and glorify Him too. …
HOW TO HANDLE TROUBLE, PART 1
I am NOT a drama queen! NO, NOT ME! I try to avoid stress and strain in life. However, sometimes it finds me. We have all had trouble of one sort or another in our lives… God calls them trials. The The Bible is VERY clear about how to handle trials and get through them. And not only get through them… God promises that if we go through a trial HIS way we will not only get through them but come out better and more mature… more complete… than before the trial! What a promise!!! Doesn’t that……
WHERE WILL YOU SPEND ETERNITY?
John 14:6 is a scripture that holds the very essence of the way to eternal salvation! Jesus and He alone is the way to the Father and to eternal life! Do you know THE WAY to heaven? …
WORLD PEACE AND LESSONS FROM FIRST GRADE
You may not know this about me… I am a news hound! I could watch the new 24/7. World events fascinate me. I am very political and think I could probably run the world so much better than most of today’s leaders. It’s simple really. I know this because I was a first grade teacher. Believe me, if you can teach first grade you probably can do almost anything!!!! I think before a leader want’s to step onto the world’s stage they should have to repeat first grade… at least once!…
WHAT WE SAY SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT US!
I have something my family calls my “driving word”. Although I have not used it for many many years… my children still remember it… This off-color word only came out when I was driving. It welled up from inside me and spewing out of my mouth when someone would be passing me on a double yellow line… or when an insane driver would cut me off… or when a driver was just being plain crazy! One day when my two little ones were safely strapped into their car seats and we were happily singing……
A CALL TO NATIONAL PRAYER
Our country is in trouble! Not only because of the shutdown or the impending raising of the debt limit… again… or the childish, abhorrent behavior of most of our leaders. Our country, the country I love, is sick! Our country has fallen into grave and serious sin! Most of us, if we would search the depth of our souls, know it! It stares us in the face from the tv set and the computer every day! Our ears are filled with it… just walk down the hall of almost any high school or listen to what is playing on……
AN UPDATE ON MY SON AND THE POWER OF PRAYER
I just can’t say this enough… THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART! Many of you are still praying for Christopher and asking how he is doing. I still get lots of emails and messages every week asking me to update you on my son’s recovery. So today, 10 weeks out from surgery, I thought I’d let all my StoneGable friends know how my son is doing! I am sure prayer played a huge role in his recovery and will continue to do so in the final outcome of his long road back to perfect health……
GOD AND ETERNITY
When my son Christopher was about four years old he asked a very funny question… “Mommy… is Pop-Pop older than God?” I had a little giggle and answered, “No son, God is older than anything… even Pop-Pop! Christopher, God is eternal”! How do you explain eternity to a four year old. Christopher’s length of days were not even a blip on the timeline of history! Almost everything was older than him! Under all that sweet and cute innocence was a very profound question… one that has been asked throughout the ages… just how long has God……
DID MERCY MAKE YOUR TOP 10?
If I were to ask you to make a list of 10 things you could not live without, what would be on your list? Food, money, health, home? All great things to put on a top 10 but did you ever think that mercy… God’s mercy…. should be on that list and pretty close to the top? Mercy is something that we cannot live without! So, it we can’t live without real mercy… what is mercy? Let’s explore this deep and wide word… …
WHAT IS BAPTISM?
Two weeks ago I was so honored to be present as an adult member of my family was baptized in a local steam. The day was gorgeous. Church was held along the banks of the stream and a huge fellowship meal was served! After the meal, my dear relative along with 13 members of his church were also baptized. I know, in some Christian circles, there is great discussion about infant baptism versus age of understanding baptism. I thought it would be a good idea to look at what the word of God says about baptism… what it is and……
STANDING STONE
When I was in Israel I learned many lessons about God. In a way they were taught by what I saw around me. Concrete object lessons right from the very land that Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Jesus walked. The dessert told me stories of great spiritual truths as well as the rushing “living water” that would tumble and bubbly from the base of the mountains! And everywhere I went there were rocks and boulders and stones! Even the very stones cried out their God lessons to me!…
