ADVENT DAY 23: "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus!"

Just a little note today...there may be some people in "high places" who feel that we have no hope...but I beg to differ.  We, the children of God, have EVERY reason to hope...not only in our nation and homes...but deep within our hearts.  I pray that you have this great hope in you as well!

Open this window to embrace the Hope of our "Long- Expected Jesus"

One of many lovely Christmas cards received from friends in previous years.

As the days of our lives grow shorter and shorter...as we see the distress of all the earth groaning and waiting for the return of the Messiah..we have great hope...as did the prophets of old...read here what the prophet Isaiah said about the first Advent of our Savior:

"And He will destroy on this mountain

the surface of the covering cast over all the people,

And the veil that is spread over all nations.

He will swallow up death forever,

And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces;

The rebuke of His people 

He will take away from all the earth;

For the Lord has spoken!

And it will be said in that day:

'Behold, this is our God; 

We have waited for Him, 

and He will save us.

This is the Lord;

We have waited for Him;

We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation!"

Isaiah 25:7-9

Isaiah was watching for the Messiah to come 800 years before He actually came to earth the first time. Can you imagine the longing that filled his heart...he was yearning for a Savior...and even though he wrote through the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit, Isaiah never got to see the Messiah come to earth.  But he had great hope...great expectations.  

When I read those verses, I have the joy and privilege of knowing the Jesus about Whom Isaiah was writing.  No, I've never actually seen His face physically here on the earth, but I know Him personally, I know that Jesus has fulfilled every aspect of Isaiah's prophetic passage above.  I know that He has "swallowed up death forever"...and that He has wiped the tears away from my face many times.  I know that He is the Lord...and He has saved us!  

Now we are awaiting His return to earth...no longer as a baby...but coming to set us free...to deliver us...to reign in us forever...and to  "raise us to Thy glorious throne..."

"Come Thou Long Expected Jesus"

By Charles Wesley

"Come, Thou long expected Jesus,

Born to set Thy people free;

From our fears and sins release us;

Let us find our rest in Thee.

Israel's Strength and Consolation,

Hope of all the earth Thou art;

Dear Desire of every nation,

Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,

Born a child and yet a King,

Born to reign in us forever,

Now Thy gracious Kingdom bring.

By Thy own eternal Spirit

Rule in all our hearts alone;

By Thine all sufficient merit

Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

Amen."

Another Christmas card from Christmas' past.

Yes, "Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus!"

4th Sunday of Advent: Spread the Good News! (Updated)

Today  was the fourth Sunday of Advent...the Sunday prior to Christmas Day. As we lit the fourth candle, the question was asked:  "Why do we light this candle?"

And the response was:

"Today we add the Shepherd's Candle.  It reminds us of our responsibility to share what we have seen and heard.  The Galilean Shepherds, who received the first announcement of the Savior's Birth, left their task and went with haste to see the Christ child, and then returned to tell others about the earthshaking event.  Sharing the Good News required no special talent, simply telling others what they had seen and heard with the conviction of personal experience."

Then we read Luke 2:1-20

"Now when they (the Shepherds) had seen Him (the baby Jesus),

they made widely known the saying which was told them 

concerning this Child.

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.

Then the shepherds returned,

glorifying and praising God

for all the things that they 

had heard and seen, as it was told them."

Luke 2:17-20

We were reminded that, like the Shepherds, we too should go out from this Holy place and spread the good news.  What IS the good news?  That little Baby that was born in the manger came to save us all from our sins.  He came to change the world....Click Here for "Mary Did You Know?" by Pentatonix

May the Good News of this little Baby fill your heart with joy and peace and the strength to carry on in the New Year, no matter what may come your way.  I am so thankful that I know this little Baby, Who grew up to save us ALL.  I hope that you know Him too.  No better time than now. And if you DO know Him, let us join with the Shepherds and spread the Good News throughout the world. This Little Baby Jesus, Who grew up to die and save us from our sins, didn't stay in the tomb.  After three days He arose from the grave, and conquered death once and for all. As He ascended into heaven, we were promised that He would return for us someday...

"And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up,

behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,

who also said,

'Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven?

This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven,

will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.'"

Acts 1:10-11

Jesus told His disciples in John 14:18-19 ~ 

"I will not leave you orphans;

I will come to you.

A little while longer and the world will see Me no more,

but you will Me. 

Because I live,

you will live also."

Just before Christ ascended into heaven, He gave His disciples (and us) this "Great Commission"...

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you,

and lo, 

I AM with you always,

even to the end of the age.

Amen."

Matthew 28:19-20

And that, my friend, is truly GOOD NEWS!   EMMANUEL, "God WITH Us", will be with us until the end of the age...and then He will come again and take us home to heaven to be with Him forever.  What better message could we share with the world than this?

Let us go and do as the Shepherds did.

Let's Go!

Pictures from our Advent Candle Lighting service today, 12/18/2016...our friends Marion Hill and Maura Masterson lighting the candles, and our son Benton read the scripture readings.  

Following our service today we had our Home Bible Fellowship Christmas dinner....  Here is the table being prepared the night before....

And here we are today enjoying a wonderful ham dinner together...

And here's "Nanny", my 93 year old mother in law...enjoying the fellowship and good food and her after dinner snack of peanuts and a piece of chocolate...something she seems to be craving these days and we have to limit or she'll just eat that and nothing else!  Yes, never a dull moment...

I pray that you and yours are having a blessed Advent season...preparing for the celebration of the birth of Christ next Sunday!  Now, Go Tell it on the mountain...that Jesus Christ is born!!! 

Hallelujah!!

Friday Foto Friends...Unexpected Little Things That May Be the Bigger Things!

So, today is Friday Foto Friends again (Click HERE for the link to our friends)...where we share our favorite photos from the recent past or maybe even from a long time ago...but either way...it is a fun way to connect with friends and give each other a glimpse into our homes or lives.

A little over a week ago I told you about our search for the "perfect Christmas tree"...and how I believe God led us to find it...(Click here for that story)....but you never got to see the finished product (unless you happen to be one of my Facebook friends).   So here are some pictures our "Charlie Brown Florida Cracker Christmas Tree"...(Click HERE for more about THAT story!)

Here's a few pictures of the events leading up to this finished product:

My sons are bringing in this monster tree, and trying to determine if it is even going to fit in our house! We did end up cutting more off of the top so it could stand up straight...

Okay, it is standing...

and thankfully my son helped put on the lights as I was sick with a cold and just couldn't manage it; And besides...this tree is huge...

 My 93 year old mother in law supervised the whole proceeding...telling us which way to turn it and what branches needed to be lopped off...She was really enjoying this whole process...which was quite a surprise to me because she usually doesn't get this enthusiastic about so much activity going on disrupting her routine and being displaced from HER chair (she's sitting in MY chair here).  I truly had hoped to have had this all done before she came for the weekend because I knew it was going to be challenging for us with all of the mess and fuss and taking care of her issues as well...(don't be deceived by that beautiful smiling face...there are issues!)  But it appeared as though this was exactly what the doctor ordered for her. She truly seemed to enjoy all of the festivity of  the boys setting up the tree and then watching as I decorated it.  She liked hearing me tell about each ornament, where it came from, etc.  It seemed to unlock the child in her and she became more animated and joyful as the day went on.  That was a gift to me...and a relief from some of the stress I had anticipated.

So here is the finished product...you can see some of the lopsided branches of our "Charlie Brown Florida Cracker Christmas Tree".  This type of sand pine has very weak branches, and many of the ornaments are too heavy, so they had to be hung on the main bigger branches closer to the center of the tree....

 So, now that it is up, we are enjoying it every day.  It may be lacking in perfect shape and style, but it is perfect in the truer sense that it has been a family adventure that has seemed to delight everyone, from the youngest to the oldest...perhaps especially the oldest!  And that makes me feel good inside.  It was worth all the effort to see my mother in law truly enjoying this special time with her family. We don't know how many more Christmases we may have her with us...and judging by the way a lot of things are "breaking down" in her body from week to week, we realize that this could very well be her last Christmas with us...at least being able to be in our home and participate with the family in a meaningful way.  So we treasure these times together and thank the Lord that He has allowed us this special time.

So, what about you? Have there been any unexpected special moments that have surprised you as you have gone about your Christmas preparations? Perhaps we need to pause in the midst of our busyness and take a moment to recognize the hand of God working in the "little things" that may be truly the "bigger things" that matter most.

Christ's birth might have seemed a "little thing" ...just a baby boy being born in a manger to couple of ordinary people...a carpenter and a young woman...certainly it was unexpected that the Messiah would come to earth that way...but oh wow!!! That baby was no ordinary child...He was the Son of God...and He came to change the world!!!

Yes...we need to pay attention to those "little things"....God is at work in our midst. And that's definitely a "Bigger Thing"!

Advent Day 10....With a Surprise (again!)

I know if you followed my Advent Calendar last year, (and the year before) you may see that I have repeated a few here and there (more than a few).  But...sometimes it is good to repeat things year after year...because we humans tend to forget and need to be reminded!  So, here is last year's open Advent Window for the 10th day of Advent (and THIS year, 2016, today is the 19th day of Advent!) .  I love this particular window because it has a special surprise tucked into the scripture readings...so be sure to click on the verses when you come to them.  I find as I read from God's Word these particular verses I always break out into singing them the way I've heard them sung so many wonderful times before. I wish I could say that I sound as good as these musicians...but it is the melody in the heart that matters, not the quality of the vocalist.  So, as you read along, please feel free to sing along with me! Might as well practice! Someday we will be in the heavenly choir where we will ALL have voices like the angels! Won't that be grand????

Okay, Open this window and enjoy...
Due to busily preparing for Christmas, (I've been shopping non stop for the past three days...) I've been too busy to write about the preparation!  Oftentimes that is how it goes with us humans...we get so caught up in our whirl of activities that we forget the whole purpose and meaning of the activity we are pursuing.

This Christmas card says it all...This is what Christmas is all about...

I pause in the middle of my hectic pace to remember the true meaning of Christmas...and to reflect on ways that I can be more like the Christ of Christmas...

• More willing to give than to receive...
• To be a cheerful servant rather than expecting to be served...
• Never doing things just to please myself...but to give of myself so that others might have a pleasant life.

Today's scripture readings reinforce these thoughts: (Click on each section of verses for an Advent Surprise:)

"O Zion,

You who bring good tidings,

Get up into the high mountain;

O Jerusalem,

You who bring good tidings,

Lift up your voice with strength,

Lift it up, be not afraid;

Say to the cities of Judah,

"Behold your God!"

"He will feed His flock like a shepherd;

He will gather the lambs with His arm,

and carry them in His bosom.

And gently lead those who are with young."

Isaiah 40: 9, 11

(The above links are compliments of George Frederic Handel and the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus)

I hope you enjoyed this little mini-concert.  For the complete concert, click HERE

May this help set the tone for your Advent mid-season.  Only 17  10 days until Christmas!  Take some time to relax and enjoy...and pass on the blessing to someone else.

Friday Foto Friends - Close Encounters

This will be a departure from my usual Advent posts these past couple of weeks.  Today is Friday Foto Friends (Click HERE for link to other friends),  where we post our favorite pictures of the week or from wherever we've been lately.  So, these are a few of my favorite nature posts from the past week. If you are one of my Facebook friends you may have already seen some of these photos...so "bear" with me...(no pun intended...or maybe it was intended...read on)

Some things are not always what they seem...

At first I thought this big green spider was protecting her catch in her very intricate web...but on closer look I discovered that the huge sack behind the spider is actually a sack of baby spiders!!! Yikes! I almost walked right into this very disturbing web!!!  Shew! That was a close one!!!

NEXT:

As I walked down the road I noticed that there were two sets of footprints in the sand...

kind of reminiscent of the poem about the Footprints....where the Lord was walking with the man...

Well, in THIS case, it would appear that something was walking with the man...but it definitely wasn't the Lord!  (Or perhaps the Lord was there...carrying the man...)

Look closely...you will see that on the left are the footprints of a BEAR, and on the right

are the footprints of a human...Hmmmm....were they walking together??

Well....after seeing this fella outside my kitchen window later, I can assure you, it wasn't ME walking next to that bear!  

Please don't fear, I was definitely inside my house when I had this close encounter...safe and sound behind concrete block walls.  When the bear saw me, he took off into the woods quite rapidly: (hence the blurriness of this photo)

Okay, enough disturbing photos.  Here are a couple of cute ones to finish off the day:

This cute little squirrel was nosing around the fountain in our memorial garden, when he had a close encounter with the resident "Froggy" statue.  Then he jumped on the bench and started moving forward...and had a close encounter with ME:

Hello!  Or perhaps it is time for me to say "Good-Bye"....until next week!

I hope you have enjoyed these close encounters and little nature break from whatever busyness you are doing right now...most likely Christmas shopping, decorating, baking, working, all the "stuff" that goes along with the Merry Christmas season.  Whatever you do, take time to enjoy the close encounters with God's world around you! There's always something (or someone!) out there to take your breath away, if you just take a moment to notice!

Have a blessed and happy week!

The Twelfth Day of Advent My True Love Gave to Me...

On the twelfth day of Advent my true love gave to me...an eight foot tall Christmas Tree!

So, for those of you who have been following our search for the perfect Christmas tree saga, (click on that link for previous story)  our search ended today.  Yep, we went back to the woods in search of the perfect Christmas tree again, 

and my first thought as we began our trek into the woods was, 

"So many trees, Lord! Lead me to the perfect tree for us, please!"

and as I wove my way around through the scrubby bushes and trees, trying to avoid the cactus and other danger spots,

I continued to pray..."Lord, I know this may seem like a silly thing to You, and I know You have much more important things on Your mind today, but I just need a little direction here and I'll leave You alone so You can take care of the real issues that matter."

My hubby tried to keep up with me as I darted through the maze of woods hollering, "I'm over here! I'm headed that way..."Watch out for the cactus! Okay, I'm going this way now..."...and finally there it was....the tallest, fullest, prettiest tree I could see...

So hubby hurried to catch up with me, agreed that it would be the perfect tree, and proceeded to cut it down before I could change my mind!

And then we looked around us, and looked at each other and said, "Now, how do we find our way back out of here???"  That's when I realized that we had wound around so many different pathways and trees that we really hadn't noticed how far off the real path we had gone...so I had to whisper up another little prayer to the Lord..."Help!  We're lost and need Your direction to get back out of here!"

Hubby picked up the tree and just started walking in the general direction from which we had come,

and I picked up the top end of the tree and tried to keep up with him, tripping over stumps and bushes and avoiding the cacti, and praying he knew where he was going...and eventually, God helping us, we made it, safe and sound back to the car and on our way home!!! Hooray!  When we got home, we measured the tree, and realized it was going to be at least a foot too tall for our living room...but, well, it IS the perfect tree...and we'll figure out what to cut off tomorrow when we set it up.  For today, it needs to stay outside and let the bugs fall out before we take it inside.... (we live in Florida, so that is probably a good idea!)

So, after that ADVENTure, I decided I needed to have a cup of tea and calm down for awhile...

One of our Thanksgiving guests had brought a hostess gift of a box of "Scripture Tea", so I thought this would be a great opportunity to open it and try it out...

and then I took a closer look at the scripture tag on the tea bag, and this is what is said:

"Be anxious for nothing!

Let your requests be known to God!"

Philippians 4:6

And I thought, "How like our God!"  Here He was confirming to me that it was perfectly all right to ask for His assistance in looking for the perfect Christmas tree today!  He wants His children to look to Him for all things, big and small, because as we see Him work in the small things of life, it increases our faith to trust Him more for the BIG things of life.  He doesn't want His children to be anxious and stressful and worried about any of the details of life...and I, for one, am most grateful for His enduring patience and love toward me, His little child.

How about you?  What lessons in faith and trust are YOU learning during this ADVENT season?  Pay attention to the small things that God helps you with, and it will help you to trust Him more with the really BIG things in your life too.

More Advent Delight!

"Delight yourself also in the Lord, 

and He shall give you the desires of your heart."

Psalm 37:4

As we fully enter into the Christmas season we look forward to more ways to celebrate Christ's birth and share His good news of love and salvation to others.  One way of doing that is to encourage our fellow sisters (and/or brothers) in the Lord as many have issues that can easily detract from the joy and weigh us down with anxieties, fears and sorrows.  Many people are carrying burdens that are extremely difficult to bear, and adding to that the stresses of the holiday can often exacerbate an already overwhelming situation.

Our Lovely Ladies of the Lord meeting for prayer and
study from the Bible

So, today our "Lovely Ladies of the Lord" prayer group met for our monthly time of prayer and fellowship.  I consider this monthly gathering to be one of the ways that God gives me the desire of my heart... as we come together we are all delighting in the Lord, by sharing His Word and lifting each other up in prayer. 

Today's message came from a devotional reading for December 7th found in "Streams of the Desert"...and it was a blessing to each of us in a powerful way.  The verses shared were from 2 Kings 3:17-18 KJV,  which says:

"For thus says 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. 

And this is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord;

He will deliver the Moabites also into your hands."

Now, you may not grasp the powerful message of this little passage, but to a group of ladies who each have their own personal and family issues that appear to be overwhelming and impossible on the surface, the little phrase encased in this passage, 

"And this is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord" 

offers great hope and encouragement, bolstering our faith in ways beyond what the naked eye can see.  

The devotional reading for this passage goes on to say:

"To human thinking it was simply impossible, but nothing is hard for God."

Where have we heard that before?  How about in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 1, when the  angel Gabriel is explaining to a virgin maiden how she was chosen to become the mother of the Son of God...and Mary asks the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" (verse 34), and Gabriel tells her that 

"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God." (verse 35) 

and in verse 37 he says:

"For with God nothing will be impossible!"

Think about the message of hope that the Christmas story offers...Jesus, born to a virgin maiden, the very Son of God, came to bring salvation and hope and eternal life to a world lost in sin. He offers comfort and help and strength to us when we are feeling alone, fearful and weak. He tells us in the Gospel of Matthew 11:28-30 ...

"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.

For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

Ah, yes! That IS the Christmas message, is it not?  The prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah found in the book of Isaiah 40:11 says:

"He will feed His flock like a shepherd;

He will gather the lambs with His arm,

and carry them in His bosom,

and gently lead those who are with young."

He will carry His lambs in His bosom...He will take our burdens and give us rest...He will comfort us and gently lead us. 

Dear friends, if you are feeling the effects of "too much" during this Christmas season...or at any time...I hope you will cast your burdens on the Lord, and let Him carry them for you.  If you are weary or sick, or if you have loved ones who are suffering and you feel helpless to be able to render them aid, if you are lonely and heartbroken, or just feeling down because you can't make ends meet one way or the other...please look to Jesus.  Put your trust in Him. Let Him carry your burdens...better yet, let Him carry YOU.  Have faith in God.  Why?  Because...

"This is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord"   and...

"For with God nothing will be impossible!"

Enough Said! I hope you will take this message 

to heart and be blessed today.

Now, after our ladies met at one of our local churches for our time of prayer and Bible study, we moved on to the local diner for lunch and fellowship and more delight:

It appears that I am always talking...and we had a special "guest" at the next table, one of our wonderful local officers of the Sheriff's Department. We all thanked him for his service and care for our community.

And here's another special "guest":

Jolly Old St. Nicholaus was there to greet customers as they entered...Ho! Ho! Ho!  A jolly good time was had by all!  

Merry Christmas my friends!  

I hope you will be delighted in the Lord today!!!

2016 Advent Day #9: Joy Comes in the Morning

(This is a reprint of an Advent post from 2015, but the message still rings clear....)

Here we are again...and I can still say, "Yes, Joy DOES come in the morning!" We just need to learn to trust in and wait on the Lord to hear our prayer and attend to our needs. He always comes through, just in the nick of time...His perfect timing!

This particular story was written back in the 1970's...at a time when my husband and I and our two very young sons (before son #3 made his entrance) had left our loved ones behind and moved to another state so that my husband could attend graduate school and prepare for the ministry.  We soon found out that this would be a time of great testing...perhaps a way to determine whether or not we were really serious about this "calling" or not.  The narrative below is a portion of a larger book that I hope to complete someday, telling the tale of our journey into the ministry.  

Just prior to this excerpt, difficult circumstances made it necessary for us to leave the position we had as "house-parents" at a home for boys and move to an apartment closer to the school my husband was attending.  We did not have any "visible means of support"...and our faith was being tested severely.  Read on:

Ephesians 3:20-21  “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

We knew that we could not continue to expect our friends and relatives to come to our rescue each month to pay our rent and bring us food.  God had used them this time because our need was urgent.  We just didn't know what to do next.  John still had about six months of school left for the year.  Our experiences with finding employment hadn't worked out very well.  We needed money for groceries, gas, and utilities.  And Christmas was just around the corner! It was already December, and I hadn't even thought about Christmas for the children! Before we had left our home to come to school we had paid off what few credit cards we had and had let our accounts lapse with the local department stores.  I thought, “Well surely since we had good credit with those stores, there would be no problem in getting our credit cards reinstated in time for Christmas shopping.” 

 So I went to the local department store and filled out an application for credit. I handed it to the credit manager and she looked it over and then called me back up to the counter.  She asked me to please complete the section regarding place of employment and salary.  I explained to her that we had just moved into the area and at the present time we did not have a place of employment.  She looked over her glasses at me and responded rather disgustedly that they could not give us any credit if we did not have any visible means of support. 

I asked her to please check our credit history and she would see that we had excellent credit and all of our bills were paid off. She said it really didn't matter how good our credit had been before. She could not at present extend to us any further credit since we had no source of income!  By this time I was near tears, and yet was also fighting mad…not a good combination in a redhead! I blurted out that I hoped that SHE would have a very Merry Christmas! And with shame stealing up on my cheeks, I turned and fled out of the store.  I cried all the way back home.  John tried to console me, but all I could think about was that we wouldn't be able to buy any gifts for our children for Christmas, and that it was all that lady’s fault!!  I blubbered out that I was certain that SHE would have a good Christmas for HER kids, so why should SHE care about us? 

  Joy in the Morning Psalm 30:5  “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning!”

My faith in humanity and God were at an all time low!  Why was God allowing us to go through so many trials anyway?  Didn't He know that we were only trying to do His will?  It was because of our faith in Him that we had gotten into this mess in the first place, and then our baby had been almost killed. (For more about THIS story click HERE) Now our children were going to have to miss out on Christmas!  It just wasn't fair!  I carried on like this for some time even while I tried to fix some lunch for the family. 

One of our neighbors happened to stop by, and before I knew it we were telling him our sad tale of woe.  He was very sympathetic and understanding.  But inside I was feeling some resentment toward him too! After all, he was attending school on the G.I. Bill, and had quite a nice savings account in the bank as well!  His family wasn't going to have to suffer on Christmas!  Oh, how the bitter feelings were rising to the surface and depriving me of any joy or peace!  Perhaps it was just all the weeks and months of struggle, disappointments, and stress that were beginning to take a toll on me.  Whatever my excuse, the Lord understood my heart.  Even though I was acting like a spoiled child crying because I was being deprived of some treat, God looked down and had compassion on me.  In a few moments after our friend had left our apartment, he returned with an envelope.  Inside was $60.00 in cash.  He said very lovingly, “Here, please take this as a Christmas gift from us.”   I was so ashamed for the way I had felt inside, and for the way I had acted outwardly.  I really couldn't receive his gift.  But he insisted, and we very humbly accepted.  God had provided again, and I knew in my heart that I didn't deserve such a gift.  But isn't that just like God?  Doesn't He always give us what we don’t deserve?  Hallelujah! What a Savior!"

Now, I suppose some of you are wondering how $60.00 could make much of a difference on Christmas when you have two young children, along with other financial responsibilities looming.
Here are some pictures from that Christmas morning so long ago:

Christmas Eve...

As you can see...the $60.00 went pretty far.  The tree looks a little lopsided, but it was a happy little tree.  "Happy Hobo" was smiling and ready to play...

Christmas Morning:  First Look at what "Santa Claus" brought....

Oh wow! Is all that for me????

Can't believe how small our sweet little boy was...but he sure gave the "Happy Hobo" a real workout!!

Look what we found! A NEW CAR! Only problem...there was only one...and there were TWO boys...

But when all was said and done they both had a wonderful Christmas, and never knew how close they came to not having such a wonderful day....God knew exactly how to take care of us...in more ways than toys for the kids...

Precious children our son Matthew on left, and Benton on right.

 And our Advent message for today?  Listen to these verses that God directed me to this morning in our devotions:

"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed

that I would see the goodness of the LORD

In the land of the living.

Wait on the Lord;

Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the Lord!"

Psalm 27:13-14

Don't lose heart dear friend!  The Messiah IS COMING!  The Babe in the Manger came to bring us hope...to strengthen our hearts...and to answer our prayers.  He is still living and working on our behalf today! And He IS coming again to take us home to be with Him forever in heaven. So carry on...have faith..."BE OF GOOD COURAGE!  WAIT, I SAY, ON THE LORD!"

Don't Miss Out! An Advent Message

This morning as I was getting dressed to go somewhere, my adult son was calling to me from the front room saying, "Mom, come look at the deer!"  I was busy brushing my teeth or washing my face or some other "important" activity, and I didn't hear him.  Finally, he came to the door of my bathroom and said, "Mom, you missed it! There were five deer running across our lawn and walking down the road in front of the house!"  So I grabbed my camera and my shoes and my sweater and ran out the door to see if I could see them, but they were long gone by that time. All that I could see were their hoof tracks in the road, heading back into the woods.  Thankfully, my son was able to get a few pictures...not of all the deer at once, but enough to get the idea:

The more I thought about it, the more it seemed to be a good message for advent..."Don't Miss Out!"
Don't get so busy being busy...you know...shopping, decorating, baking, stressing over details...don't get so busy doing all the stuff, and miss out on the real purpose of Christmas!  Don't start fretting over this list and that list, and this event or that event, this gift or that gift...and totally overlook the beauty of the season...

• the Christ child in the manger...God in the flesh come down to earth...
• the innocence and beauty of His mother Mary...the virgin girl who trusted God even when she didn't totally understand how this could happen...
• the obedience and kindness of Joseph...who believed the angelic messenger and trusted God
• the shepherds watching their flocks and seeing the angelic choir announcing His birth
• the songs the angels sang..."Glory to God in the Highest!"
• the star that led the Wise Men
• the gifts the Wise Men brought from afar
• the prophets of old foretelling His birth in Bethlehem
• and on and on and on...

Don't be like the Jewish religious leaders who doubted that this could be the Messiah, because He didn't come to earth like they thought a king should come...and they missed it...they missed the beauty of God's wonderful gift to them...they overlooked this little babe in the manger because they were expecting something else...or they were just too busy at the time to care...

So, if there is any message in these deer running across my lawn this morning...it would be..."don't miss out!"  Pay attention to the things that are really happening around you. Listen to the messages that God is giving you.  Don't miss the significance of Christmas and what it really means to you personally...Jesus came to earth seeking for you!

"From God's heaven to a manger,

from great riches to the poor,

Came the holy Son of God, a little Child;

From the azure hall of heaven

to a lowly manger stall,

Jesus came, and here He gave His life for all.

Chorus:

Redeeming love, a love that knows no limit;

Redeeming love, a love that never dies;

My soul shall sing throughout the endless ages

The adoration of this great love on high.

From a loving heavenly Father,

to a world that knew Him not,

Came a man of sorrows, 

Jesus Christ, the Lord;

In my wandering Jesus found me,

Touched my life with His great love,

And this Babe has grown to be my sovereign Lord.

Chorus:

Redeeming love, a love that knows no limit;

Redeeming love, a love that never dies;

My soul shall sing throughout the endless ages

The adoration of this great love on high."

Redeeming Love, written by Gloria Gaither/William Gaither

So...as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ anew, think about those deer running across my lawn... and "don't miss out!"