Wow, it's been a long time!

It's been a few years since I posted anything on this blog. Life has gone in a different direction - my hubs and I moved to the Pacific Northwest. Less snow in the winter, less humidity in the summer. Win!

C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S

Grades 3-6 will present a Christmas program the day after Christmas at church. I love to work with the third graders as they practice in our Sunday School class. There are always great songs, and of course wonderful verses. This year this one's been running through my head (we're probably going to have the kids sing it at our nursing home music program this year, too)

C is for the Christ Child, born upon that day,

H for herald angels in the night.

R for our Redeemer,

I for Israel;

S is for the star that shone so bright.

T is for 3 wise men, they who traveled far.

M is for the manger where He lay.

A's for all He stands for.

S means shepherds came.

That's why there's a Christmas day.

Prophecy:

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

~~~~~~~

Fulfilled:

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. Matthew 1

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Luke 2

Snow...

Winter means snow and cold weather. Duh. The older I get, the less my bones like the cold. But snow is so beautiful. Pictures of snowy places take my breath away. There's an interesting picture of snow in the Bible, too. Isaiah 1:18 says:

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

Interesting - says let's reason together. Our sins are as scarlet, crimson - stained deep within us. But God says they shall be white as snow and wool. Picture a snow filled field that has no footprints or any other disturbances in it. You're standing there looking at the field - do you hear the hushed sounds. Everything is softer and quieter with snow.

God offers us that. Our sins washed away through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ. "and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." Once we are cleansed, we have peace within - our fears and worries are hushed and still. Eternal life is ours, sins are cleansed, peace....

Come now, let us reason together....who wouldn't want that?

Salute to our troops

A friend of mine lost her son in Iraq in 2004 - just days after he arrived. He was with his unit when they were ambushed. His shooting enabled everyone in that vehicle to survive - except him. He had such a wonderful testimony. He knew God wanted him where he was, and was ready to die if need be. They filmed the funeral (the one in Iraq - the family had one here in US, too). It was really something.

His dad wrote a book about his son, about his salvation and his death - which was truly heroic. It has gotten into the hands of so many of the military! BJU did a dramatization about his life and traveled the country for a year performing it. We were thrilled when a church in the area had them come in - it was a chance to see his mom again (they moved from the area years ago) and the presentation was so powerful!I babysat him and his siblings some when they were younger.


To Jonathan and all the rest of our fallen heroes; to those who serve today: Thank you for your service. You have been unfairly vilified by many, you have faced horrendous enemies, you willingly put your life in danger - from the beginnings of our country to now. And I thank you. I honor your service and sacrifice for our country. God bless you.

Check out "My Thanks is Not Enough" http://www.brooksmonk.com/videos

Fresh Air...

Aaah! Spring has finally truly arrived! My favorite part of spring's arrival is opening my windows and doors. All winter long, the only fresh air that gets in the house is during the hurried opening and closing of the door as we go in or out. But when spring comes, that changes! Windows are raised and doors are thrown open...and sweet, fresh air flows through the house.

As I eagerly awaited the weather turning to the point when the furnace goes off and the windows go up, I began to think of a spring rite that women have participated in for ages: spring cleaning. And then a correlation began to run through my mind ~ spring cleaning our houses and spring cleaning our lives.

Just as the first step in spring cleaning is to allow refreshing air access to our homes, so need we to allow the Holy Spirit's refreshing access to our hearts and lives.

Something interesting about the wind ~ we can't see it...but we can see the results of its work. The same is true of the Holy Spirit. We can't see Him ~ but we can see the results of His work.

David said, "Create in me a clean heart, o God...(Ps. 51:10a)." God wants to that today for all of us.

If you've never turned to Christ for forgiveness of your sins, open the windows of your heart and soul and allow the Holy Spirit to breathe new life into you.

If you have accepted Christ as your Saviour, but winter has set deeply into your heart ~ throw open those windows and allow the freshness of the Holy Spirit to sweep away the staleness.

Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.

Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.

Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.

Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.

Let the spring cleaning begin!

Beulah Land

I'm kind of homesick for a country
To which I've never been before.
No sad goodbyes will there be spoken
for time won't matter anymore.

Beulah Land, I'm longing for you,
and some day on thee I'll stand.
There my home shall be eternal.
Beulah Land -- sweet Beulah Land

I'm looking now across the river
where my faith will end in sight.
There's just a few more days to labor.
Then I will take my heavenly flight.

Beulah Land, I'm longing for you,
and some day on thee I'll stand.
There my home shall be eternal.
Beulah Land--sweet Buelah Land.

Squire Parsons singing it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyYToQfFJbE

We had a funeral at our church yesterday. A godly lady went to be with the Lord after a battle with cancer. What a comfort to her family and friends to know that she is in Beulah Land now - free from pain and disease!

Abortion

For the life of me, I cannot understand how anyone can justify the murdering of a babe in the womb. But many people do. And they want to push the Freedom of Choice Act on us - even if they have to sneak it through. Many people have protested against FOCA. And pro-abortionists know that they cannot just push it...so...

Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, is quoted in the Wall Street Journal:
"We're going to be smart and strategic about our policy agenda to bring people together to make progress for women's health. The Freedom of Choice Act is very important . . . but we have a long list of things to get done that I think can address problems immediately that women are facing, that are really immediate concerns."

Smart and strategic...does that equal sneaky? I think so. What is that long list? And just how many tax dollars does that entail? Too many, if even $1.00 goes towards abortion "rights."

Fight this today by sending a letter to your representative, before Friday, February 13.
https://secure3.convio.net/aulact/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=133