Following the Lamb wherever he goes… Revelation 14:4
It wouldn’t be Christmas without Grandma’s fudge. Even though we’re 1000 miles apart, she still makes sure to spoil us with her delicious homemade fudge. After heart surgery a couple years ago and a knee replacement after that, she still manages to make fudge and send it to us. We sure do appreciate it! It’s one of the things we look forward to most about Christmas.
We went to a local park, and a friend from church, Mike Rovak, took our pictures for us. He was very patient with us and took as many shots as it took to capture some decent ones of all of us. The day was sunny and warm, about 63 degrees, and the kids complained about being too hot because of the sun shining on them and too cold because the rock they sat on was cold! But they were really good anyway. The little girls were done before we were really done. But they made it through to the end. It was a wonderful time for us.
Gary was home because he is still jobless at the moment, but we are enjoying our time with him. We know that God will provide the right job at the right time. We have no doubt that God will take care of us and provide every need that we have. We are excitedly looking forward to the next position that He has for Gary. We are expecting great things from God!
A post from Nancy Campbell at Above Rubies from her devotional 100 Days of Blessing, pp. 14,15.
All the Days of My Life
“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.” Psalm 27:4
David longed for the “house of the Lord.” But David could not be in the house of the Lord continually, as much as he longed to. He was king of a nation. He had battles to fight; administration to attend to. Dear mother, we have the opportunity to live David’s longing. Let me explain.
The house of the Lord is no longer one temple as it was in David’s day. It is not even a church building where we attend on Sundays or Saturdays today. The house of the Lord speaks of His presence. God wants your home to be His house where His presence dwells; a place where you abide in Him and He abides in you. The house of the Lord is your kitchen where you prepare the meals; the house of the Lord is your dining table where you feed your family and make every meal a love affair; the house of the Lord is any room in the home where you are working or interacting with your children.
In your home you can behold the beauty of the Lord. As you abide in Him and look to Him, He will impart His grace to you in your time of need. He will show you that He is the “God who is Enough” for every challenge and every situation. He is with you in your home and will never leave you or forsake you. No, not even when everything seems overwhelming and you feel like tearing your hair out! You are still in the house of the Lord at this moment. Instead of despairing about the situation, stop for a moment and realize that God is with you. He has promised that He will not fail you. Thank Him that He is with you.
In your home you can inquire in His temple. David had to go to God’s temple to inquire of the Lord. He faced battles, enemies and challenges; He needed God’s discernment, wisdom and strength. You also need God’s wisdom. You are desperate to know what to do. You cannot go on without His strength. Praise God, you don’t have to get into your car and rush off to a church building. You are in the house of the Lord right now. You can inquire in His temple right now. He will give you His wisdom right now.
All you have to do is abide – that literally means to live in His presence. It means to acknowledge that Christ is living within you and that you are in Him. You are inseparable. You are one. He is your life source. You can’t live without Him (well, I can’t anyway!)
Your strength wanes; you need His. Your wisdom is human; you need His divine wisdom. Your love runs out the door; you need His agape love. You are depressed and down in the dumps; His joy is greater than your feelings. You feel your life is worthless; you can only bear fruit to bless your family and touch other lives as you abide.
John 15:4-5 says, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
See your home in a new light. It is the house of the Lord and you can live in it all the days of your life.
PRAYER:
“Thank you, Lord, for showing me that my home is the house of the Lord. Help me to enjoy my home in a new way. Thank you that I don’t have to visit the house of the Lord. I live in it! Amen.”
Affirmation:
I am not a visitor but a dweller in the house of the Lord.
Today I read the first six chapters of One Wintry Night to the four “middles” – Kelsey, Morgan, Garrett and Fiona. This is a book written by Billy Graham’s wife, Ruth Bell Graham. It is about the Christmas story, but it is unique in that it starts with Creation and goes all the way to the Resurrection.
When I started reading it last year, it seemed to start out slowly, but this year it’s familiar, and I was able to fly right through these chapters.
The kids were engaged and responding to what I was reading. What was I reading about? Creation, Adam and Eve and the Fall of Man, and Noah and the Flood. She ties these stories to the first Christmas by showing how they are part of the rescue plan that God has been carrying out ever since that first disobedience and separation from Him.
Ruth tells it in such an interesting way that even though my kids have heard these stories a million times, they were actively listening and enjoying them.
This is a story within a story. The main story is about a boy who gets stranded in a snowstorm at the cabin of an elderly woman. He had sprained his ankle, besides being snowed in, so he has to sit still for a while. She entertains him by telling him the Christmas story. He ends up being there for a while, so she tells him the back story of the Christmas story. It is a great overview of the main story of the Bible, and God’s great plan of redemption for mankind. It also has beautiful illustrations by Richard Jesse Watson.
You can order it here at Amazon. It’s not too late!
I asked the Lord if He wanted me to say something, and I kept hearing “Without Me you can do nothing”.
I was reminded of two devotionals I just read. From Watch For the Light:
“Jesus observed, “Without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Yet we act, for the most part, as though without us God can do nothing. We think we have to make Christmas come, which is to say we think we have to bring about the redemption of the universe on our own. When all God needs is a willing womb, a place of safety, nourishment, and love. “Oh, but nothing will get done,” you say. “If I don’t do it, Christmas won’t happen.” And we crowd out Christ with our fretful fears.”
The other is from Nancy Campbell of Above Rubies’ devotional book 100 Days of Blessing (Day 1):
“God will strengthen you each day, “not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy.” (Colossians 1:11, Message)
Prayer (included in Day 1 Devotion):
“Father God, please help me to have an abounding attitude as I mother in my home – abounding in joy, fun, laughter, nurturing, sweetness, love and wisdom. Amen.”
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"Oh that God would give every mother a vision of the glory and splendor of the work that is given to her when a babe is placed in her bosom to be nursed and trained! Could she have but one glimpse in to the future of that life as it reaches on into eternity; could she look into its soul to see its possibilities; could she be made to understand her own personal responsibility for the training of this child, for the development of its life, and for its destiny,--she would see that in all God's world there is no other work so noble and so worthy of her best powers, and she would commit to no other's hands the sacred and holy trust given to her." -JR Miller
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