No Room at the Inn

We have been discussing how our situation is similar to the first Christmas. It feels like God overlooked some details in planning our move to York, but we know that’s not true. We know that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers and rulers in high places.

But I called Kenneth Copeland Ministries just now and had a prayer counselor pray with me. He prayed for wisdom from God to let us know where our house is. He said that we have the victory. And he said that we will have a good Christmas. It was very encouraging!

I read the following article on a pro-life site, Father Frank Pavone’s Blog, and it reminded me of the observations that we’ve been making about our situation.

No Room at the Inn

“She laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” The fact that there was no room for Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in the inn at Bethlehem on the first Christmas should make us wonder. The birth of Christ was planned by God from all eternity, and the details of His birth and life were announced by the prophets. How could God forget to make room for His only Son, the Child who owns the world, and every inch of room in the whole universe?

Obviously, God did this on purpose. There was no room in the inn because God wanted to show that His Son comes as a Savior, to reconcile a world that is at enmity with God. Today, He does not seek an inn; He seeks room in our own hearts and lives.

 

We are in much prayer today.

Thank you for praying with us.

P.S. Our friend and my dad are on the way here in a moving truck with our furniture and stuff. They’re coming from Ohio. Nelson has a sprained ankle and is walking with a crutch, so when my dad saw his condition, he decided to come with him and help him drive. So they will be here tonight and will stay at this hotel, too. Then we need a place to unload our stuff into tomorrow, with the Lord’s guidance and provision.

Christmas at the Inn

Here’s the Christmas tree that Kelsey, Anna and Patrick decorated. We heard that it has been knocked down and blown down since they did it, and the hotel clerk had to re-do it, but it’s a tough tree, and for all it has been through, it still looks pretty good.

Fiona was sad because we took her away from Snow Buddies to take this picture.

I don’t know why the pictures are blurry. Maybe it’s because I was shaking so much with excitement. 😉

This is our only Christmas decoration in our hotel room. I got it at Goodwill for 97 cents.

Our Christmas is turning out pretty similar to the first Christmas, except I’m not having a baby.

Marble Art

Garrett really wanted a bag of marbles he found at Dollar General, so we got them for him. He said he wanted to play with them with Morgan. I don’t know how he knew it, but he was right. Morgan loved them! He played with them for hours and made some nice pictures with them. Here they are:

This is the artist responsible

A Prophetic Word that Hits the Mark

This prophetic word comes to my inbox every day. There have been so many times that it has been scary accurate. Right after we lost our house to foreclosure back in 2005, the first time I was able to go back online, I checked the “Small Straws” for the day we had to leave our house. It said something like, “See, I told you things were going to get crazy!” It went on to say that God was still with us even though it didn’t look like it. And to keep trusting and believing Him, for He was going to be with us through it all.

And He was. We kept trusting Him and believing Him for miracles of provision and for better days to come. And He was faithful. We have a history with Him. He has done impossible things for us in the past. He will do them again.

Once again, it has “hit the mark”, and our faith is very encouraged.

SMALL STRAWS IN A SOFT WIND by Marsha Burns — 12/17/2010:

Maintain strong faith, and keep moving forward taking one step at a time in the strength and power of My guidance. I will not lead you astray, but like an arrow shot from a bronze bow you will hit the mark and achieve the goal. Refuse to waver through fear and unbelief. Trust Me in all things, says the Lord, for I will direct your steps on a straight and narrow path.

Isaiah 42:16 I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, and not forsake them.

Website: http://ft111.com

God’s People Are Here

We have met some of the nicest people here. Almost every house we have looked at is owned or has been shown by a Christian. We have met Christians and seen Christian bumper stickers every where we’ve gone. I commented on this to one of the homeowners whose house we looked at, and he said, “Oh, yeah, Jesus is Lord here.” I was amazed! I liked the sound of that.

Last night we were invited to the home and family Christmas party of a wonderful couple with an amazing ministry of giving homeless and troubled people a temporary home while God is dealing with them. Many people who have stayed with them have ended up getting saved. They let us come to their beautiful home and soak in the decorations and trappings of a family Christmas for the night. They heard my message and called me right back and invited me without stopping for a moment to think about it. They just knew that they wouldn’t want to be in a hotel with 10 children at Christmas time, so they blessed us with a change of scenery and a change of diet. Their names are Morgan and Joyce Ilgenfritz. Morgan even came to pick half of us up in his van since we turned the rental van in Tuesday.

They told us bits and pieces of their story, but then they gave us two books that have been written about them. And they gave us a book that their daughter-in-law wrote. She has 16 children. So, guess what I’ve been doing today? I’ve been reading about these amazing people who opened their home and hearts to us.

They have had 411 different people stay in their home over the past 30 years. The books about their ministry are called I Was A Stranger and… by Anthony J. Bachman and Divine Appointments by Bonnie S. Grau. They call their house the Lighthouse. It is a house with 19 rooms that God gave to them through Joyce’s job as a personal nurse to an elderly man who happened to have a huge house and a very bad disposition so that no other nurse could handle him. He asked her to move into his house with her family and take care of him as long as he lived. It was a very trying time, but it ended up providing the means for the ministry they would have for the next 30 years. God just sends people to them. They never advertise or try to get anybody to come to them. Their story is full of divine appointments and God’s provision as they obey Him every time He tells them to reach out and help a needy person He puts in their path.

They told us they weren’t afraid of large families because they have a son who has 16 children. They told us a little about them. In fact, two of the 16 children are living with them right now. One is 22-year-old Hannah who is attending nursing school at the college 4 blocks from her grandparents’ house. So she is able to save money and spend lots of quality time with her grandparents while getting her education.  The other is Esther.

Joyce was a wonderful hostess and gave us gifts for our children even though she had only heard of us one hour before we showed up at her house. Morgan was a generous host, too. We enjoyed our time with them. The kids have been playing with the puzzles they gave us and writing with the Christmas pencils and eating the yummy food they sent with us.

We watched a movie with them, “Christmas Child” by Max Lucado. It was really good. Megan Follows and Stephen Curtis Chapman were in it. Then Joyce loaded us up with gifts and Morgan took us back to the hotel. What an amazing couple with a wonderful ministry!