I put my talking alarm clock in the kitchen pantry because it wouldn't tell the right time and it wouldn't shut up. The punishment hasn't worked though....it's still boldly speaking out the wrong time. Guess I'd better let it out... and change it's battery! LOL

My dog Frank drives me nuts when he gives himself a bath! That sound! I try to ignore it, but find it impossible. When I pick up my Bible to read or start my morning prayers, he's always there with his big, slurpy tongue licking and cleaning himself.

So, I pray harder, thinking, “This is ridiculous”! Poor Frankie is getting so much satisfaction out of this bath and I am being selfish by not over looking it. I'm having this battle right in the middle of prayer, no less!

Finally, in desperation, I cry out, "FRANK, STOP LICKING" and he does. One day, I half expect to hear an answer....."MY NAME'S NOT FRANK AND I AM NOT LICKING!" Yep, maybe there's a good object lesson here......(O:

Good news ...... I conquered my elephant today!  (O:

You know how sometimes, things we go through in life become such attention grabbers that they   steal our focus and keep us distracted? We try to forget about them and let go, but there they are waiting for us around the next turn!  It's like, as the familiar old saying goes, "having an elephant in the room"!

How awkward is it, trying to navigate a small room which you are sharing with an elephant? You become very familiar with and tired of looking at ….. elephant parts! Imagine my surprise when I realized that my elephant was not within the room. It was within me! Woah!

God in His grace was trying to show me something and I was not yet quite ready to understand. Certain things in my life were "butting up" against reality. My stubbornness was bringing me grief and yes I was tired of it, but had never claimed responsibility. As I saw it, the elephant was trespassing and needed to get out!

Moral to this story is, I like my elephant now ..... we have become good friends. When things begin to get tight, I remember that it is probably me and not the elephant, after all. (O: 

A Family Named Jones

There once was a family named Jones

Spread out over several time zones.

They bought them a Lexus

And drove it to Texas -

Then on to Nebraska

Where it felt like Alaska -

And finally to California

Where, well, gosh and gol darn ya,

They just had to turn and go home!

Why Celebrate Christmas?

 

 

A bright star appears and a small baby cries...
A young Mother smiles, a Father sighs.
A growing boy becomes a man
Committed to His Father's plan.

 

A dreaded cross on a hill called, "The Skull"
Defines my salvation like nothing else ever will.
Because, this old rugged cross stands in the place
Where love and sin meet face to face.

 

As a grieving Mother kneels and cries,
Relentless pain .... closes her young son's eyes.
Friends and loved ones walk away
To them, it has been a most hopeless day!

 

Then, the Son of God lays His grave clothes aside ….
(While hell's cryptic gates shake, moving aside)
And demands the keys to sin and death ….
(As a humbled darkness, holds it's breath.)

 

In the presence of Unspeakable Authority and Heaven's Grace
Hell's darkest knight turns his face.
A once cursed tomb becomes alive
As our Risen Savior steps outside.

 

So tell me, what is the Christmas story and how far does it go?
Does it end with the Wise men over 2000 years ago?
Does it include the cross and the empty grave?
Did Christ come to reign, did He come to save?

 

The Word became flesh, this I know
For the Bible tells me so.
He is my Savior and He is my King
To me.... He is my Everything.

 

 

This pretty well sums it up with me. God's gift to us was SACRIFICE, from the very beginning. Though the celebration of Baby Jesus has brought joy to many hearts here on earth .... it broke the heart of both Father and Son to carry this out. God the Father and His Son (are/were) very close (read John, chapter one) and this separation was painful and agonizing for both. OBEDIENCE, RESPECT and COMMITTMENT though, were the gifts which Jesus gave to His Father (and us) as He walked out "The Plan" from start to finish.

 

Sacrifice, obedience to God, respect and commitment ..... it all came in such a very plain package that first holy night .... who would have known it's value? Only a few but their lives were never the same! This year, may we understand that the gifts that really matter cannot be bought .... or wrapped. They come at a much greater cost and we are not so happy to give them. But they will stand the test of time and bring real joy to those we love.

Blessings to you all. You are so kind to take the time to read my rambling thoughts.

I am finished with New Year's Resolutions.

A New Year's REVOLUTION is what I need!

Webster's dictionary gives us an interesting comment under the term rebellion.  It

     says,  history shows, rebellions are likely to fail, while revolutions succeed. We 

    can rebel against anything we want  but if that is as far as it goes, if it goes

     no farther than a rebellion, our efforts will most likely fail, or fizzle

    out.  Why is this?  To rebel is common.  We find a cause we 

     do not like and take a stand against it.....  But how

 long and how hard we stand depends on

  how deep and how wide 

  our convictions 

are.  We may

just give up

 if our cause

 seems too

  

 demanding. 

Here in is the
  

  problem with a 

      mere rebellion.

  It just doesn't 

 go far enough!

To revolve means 

 to make a complete

 turn around. This requires

   movement and change.  It is a means

         to an end but not an end in itself.  Here's to a

      Successful New Years  REVOLUTION for us all,  in the

   year 2015, and may our hearts be turned to our Creator, God.

   

  



Merry Christmas!

A friend of mine pointed out that the word Holiday came from the base "Holy Day" and embraced both secular and religious holidays. That just started me thinking how easily we can move away from the personal relationship with God to the ritual, or religious traditions .... and celebrate the day, without regard to the One Reason it all began.

  Will there come a day when we will be discouraged from flying the American flag on the fourth of July, America's Birthday, because some may find it offensive? Will it become known as "Unity Day" to "celebrate" our new diversity? I have a personal history and relationship with America and that would not be acceptable for me.

  My personal relationship with Christ leads me to celebrate Him on this day set aside for just that. Everyone can choose to celebrate, or not. I just don't believe others should "hijack the true meaning of Christmas" and take away our rights to celebrate it as it is, just because they do not see it.  

I know some believe it is a "pagan holiday" and that we should not participate.  I don't know any of these pagans of which they speak.  I love celebrating the birth of Christ.  Is a celebration of Christ's birth scriptural?  Well, God threw the very first "Birthday Bash" for his Son.  He lit up the sky, sent out special invites to foreign Kings, commissioned the angels to deliver a message for the Shepherds ..... and they all attended. 

 The time of year and the fact that we do not know the exact date is of little importance to me.  What others celebrate this time of year, I cannot control.  God became a man, taking on human flesh.  I celebrate the babe in the manger as well as the man on the cross.   It is only a small part of God's timeline, I know, but history and my life will never be the same.  First, because He came.  Secondly, because He died and rose again.

I say to those who find Christmas offensive, figure out what you believe and make your own special holiday ..... celebrate to your heart's desire. But hands off Christ's Birthday celebration. If Angels, Shepherds and Kings celebrated it with joy, I will too!