Love Never Fails

My plan for today is to get cards and a letter in the mail........I didn't have the time to do so before Christmas, and so......we will be sending out "Happy New Year!" greetings. As I was getting ready to type up the letter, and thinking over the past year, I was reminded once again of God's loving care of me, and of mine. God is such a loving and giving Father........not like anyone on earth......ever!
Is it as hard for you, as it is for me, to not "see" God as we do people? I have a tendency to think, and act like God is going to quit taking care of me, that He is going to get sick of me and my sin, that this will be the "last straw," and that He will be done with me. So often I attribute to God, what humans can do to me.........they give up when they have had enough, and I can't count on them to always be forgiving and loving and gracious,and some do not remain faithful. Of course, not all people are this way. And, if I am honest with myself, I will see that there are times when even I have been less than loving and faithful.
So often I think that God's love for me, is just a better kind of human love. But that isn't the case at all! God's love for me is a never ending, always reaching out, always wanting the best for me kind of love. He loves me totally and completely, never expecting anything in return.
So, as I get ready for the New Year, there is a sweet anticipation of what is to come.........A fresher awareness of the Father's love for me. There will be, I am sure of it, times of doubt ahead, times of sorrow, and of pain.......and there will be many times-more times than I would like, that I will need forgiveness and healing........but......Jesus is the same today, and tomorrow, and for always.........this I can count on.........for His love never fails!

Merry Christmas To All and To All.....A Goodnight!

Bells Across The Snow

O Christmas, merry Christmas
Has it really come again,
With it's memories and greetings,
With it's joy and with it's pain!
Minor chords are in the carol
And a shadow in the light,
And a spray of cypress twining
With the holly wreath tonight.
And the hush is never broken
By laughter light and low,
As we listen in the starlight
To the "bells across the snow."
O Christmas, merry Christmas,
It's not so very long
Since voices blended
With the carol and the song!
If we could hear them singing,
As they are singing now,
If we could but see radiance,
Of the crown on each dear brow,
There would be no cry to cover,
No hidden tear to flow,
As we listen in the starlight
To the "bells across the snow."
O Christmas, merry Christmas,
This nevermore can be;
We cannot bring again the days
Of our unshadowed glee,
But Christmas, happy Christmas
Sweet herald of goodwill,
With holy songs of glory
Brings holy gladness still.
For peace and hope may brighten,
And patient love may glow,
As we listen in the starlight,
To the "bells across the snow."
By: Francis Ridley Havergal

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope that you enjoy the blessings of family and friends this Christmas season, but most of all we hope that you know the love of the One who gave His life for you! You are the reason He came to earth, you are the apple of His eye, you are very precious to Jesus, and you are sweetly loved.

A New Adventure

"Write for yourself.......all the words that I have spoken to you." Jeremiah 30:2
This passage of scripture was "given" to me, by the Lord, over 10 years ago. It is embarrassing to admit this........I am just now obeying Him.
"It is time," the Lord told me in September, and so I begin to write.
May I say that I feel like a fish out of water, gasping for breath, because I am out of my natural element! I am not a writer, and to be quite frank with you, I don't really speak well either. Conversing with others is not my strong suit. Speaking to a group of women is not what I EVER wanted to do, I feel much better being behind the scenes. And yet, God has given me the spiritual gift of.........talking!" It is what I do for a living, and it is what I do for ministry. And now, He wants me to write.
So, I have begun a new adventure with my Lord.
I am still not quite sure if God wants me to write for myself only, or to write something for others to read; and so, I am praying.......and I have begun to write. I have numerous pages of random thoughts saved on my computer, but as I write, the one thing I know for certain is that God wants me to share my story with others. And so I prayed about starting another blog, and I am sensing that this is what God wants me to do......for now anyway. The blog is titled, "The Handmaid of the Lord." It is the story of my journey, thus far.
I am amazed at how the Lord uses me, and I am amazed at what He asks me to do. I pray that my story will be an encouragement to others, but most of all I want God to receive ALL of the glory and praise.

Ok on to the next stop on our grand Israel tour......We visited a place that I was excited to see....the site where King Solomon had his stables. The place where his many horses lived, and where his chariots were stored.
For you Bible scholars, you will remember that Israel's ancient kings were not to have a store of horses and chariots. They could have some, but not many. In those days, horses and chariots were a sign of great wealth, and of military power, and strength. God commanding them to not have horses and chariots was for a sign to them; and that was that God alone would be the one to protect his people, and that He would be their strength in times of trouble, and in times of battle be the One who brought victory, not the king or his army! It was to be a sign to the king of trust and of faith in God alone.
I know, being excited to see a place of disobedience sounds a bit off, but I loved the reminder of the fact that God means what He says! God wants pure and loving obedience from His kids; but also, that He has grace on mercy on us when we don't obey!
King Solomon was the wisest and richest king who ever lived, no one has ever come close to being like he was. It just goes to show that riches, and intelligence does not make one good,or sin free. At the end of his life, King Solomon trusted in his wealth and in his military strength, not in the Lord.
It is a reminder to me to always be checking where my faith is placed; in self or in others? Or in the Lord God Almighty? For only a changed heart can make for changed actions!

New Life Among the Ruins

Our tour to Israel earlier this year, included a most wonderful place, a place that I had not visited before. We went to see the ruins of an ancient city built on the site of Shiloh. You know, the place where the tabernacle was located, with the hills all around it. These hills are the place where the children of Israel lived their lives, and the Bible tells us that each person could see the tabernacle from his or her dwelling. The Lord told them to place the tabernacle in the midst of the camp, and He told them that He would dwell in the Holy of Holies, that was inside the tabernacle. You can stand there and still see all of the hills surrounding the area, and imagine yourself in a tent up on the hill, looking down into the valley and seeing the tabernacle, and being reminded that the LORD was with you.
The photo that I have posted here I have titled, "New Life Among the Ruins." It is an appropriate title, not only for this area, but an appropriate metaphor of my life! In the OT, the tabernacle was a "mobile" temple, and the children of Israel, during their wanderings, would "pack it up" and move it to each new place they went. When their wanderings were over, and they were in the Promised Land, Shiloh became the religious capital 300 hundred years before the temple in Jerusalem was built. I LOVED being there! We had a Bible study out of Joshua and it was very inspiring to me.
The NT likens Christians to the tabernacle, and so we are "a mobile temple" so to speak, because the Spirit of God lives in each Christian, and we take Him to the world as we go about our daily lives. And just like the red poppies that bloom all over the hills of Israel in the spring, I too am a "new life among the ruins"..........of my old life, and of the lives of those I come into contact with on a daily basis, those who do not know Jesus, and are living a life that is so far from what God desires for them. May I always remember that I take Jesus with me wherever I go, and may He use me to show others, that there is available to them a "New Life Among the Ruins."