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I hope this blesses your socks off! Merry Christmas!

Kindness and Christmas

Today's scripture comes from Titus. Focus on the word kindness as you read.


Titus 3:3-7

3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.


Kindness of our Savior. Let's strive to be kind to others today as a way to celebrate Christmas.

[Official Video] Mary, Did You Know? - Pentatonix

This is one of my favorite songs. No matter where I am when it plays, I stop.

In Luke, Mary asks for clarity. How? She's a virgin. The angel answered, and Mary replied...

Luke 1:38  “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Merry Christmas

Nine more days until Christmas. Here are two more verses.

1 Timothy 1:15-17

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.


Isaiah 9:6

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Vince Gill at the Ryman, O Holy Night

“An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.” ~ Proverbs 12:25

Does this sound familiar? It's how I ended my last post. We're coming up on Christmas, and while this should be the happiest time of the year, we often feel anxious.

One way to lessen our anxiety is to focus on what Christmas is truly about. Jesus came to save us from our sins so we could spend eternity with him.

Isaiah 9:6 ~(KJV) "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, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace."

Keeping our eyes on Jesus will help lessen the big and small frustrations we face everyday.
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” ~ Matthew 6:34

I hope you have a minute you to spare and can enjoy this song. I think you'll be blessed.

Behold

I've always thought of angels when hearing the word behold.

Last week our pastor, Steve Fairchild, preached on the word behold. I started thinking about this word.

Merriam-Webster defines behold like this:

1 : to perceive through sight or apprehension : see
2 : to gaze upon : observe It was a pleasure to behold the beauty of the sunset. The enormous crowd was a sight to behold.

When God uses behold in the Bible, he's trying to get our attention. It's not just a fluff word. Pastor Fairchild suggested when we see the word behold in the Bible, we need to stop, listen, pay attention and look at what God wants us to see.

Luke 1:26-31

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed[b] to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

Matthew 1:20 says, " But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit."

John 1:29 says, "The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Luke 2:10 says, "And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people."

Good news and great joy! How awesome is that? I hope your Christmas is full of great joy! Merry Christmas!

Advent

Today is the beginning of the Christmas season. It is a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the birth of Jesus.

Isiah 11:1-10 says:

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. 2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD— 3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; 4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. 5 Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist. 6 The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. 7 The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. 8 The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest. 9 They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. 10 In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.

I'd like to challenge us all to not forget what Christmas is all about. Let's keep our focus on Jesus.

What special things do you do during Advent to focus on Christ's birth?

Life Without God is Senseless

In Psalm 127, King Solomon warns us that life without God is senseless.

Unless the Lord builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain.
2 In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves.




As I dove deeper into Psalm 127, it occurred to me everything we do is senseless without God. Big and small. Homes, families, careers and places we choose to live. None of it makes sense if God's is not part of our plans. Our work is in vain if God is not our foundation.

God sent Jesus at Christmas to save us from our sins. It seems like a good season to consider if God is our true foundation. I'd love to hear how you keep your focus on Jesus in the days leading up to Christmas.

The First Noel by Chris Young & Brad Paisley

We hear the word Noel around this time every year. I thought it referred to Jesus' birth, but I decided to look the word up and I went to Merriam-Webster dictionary. They said it means a Christmas carol or if it's written with a capital N, it means Christmas. Merriam-Webster goes on to say:

English speakers borrowed the word noel from French. It can be traced further back to the Latin word natalis, which can mean "birthday" as a noun or "of or relating to birth" as an adjective. (The English adjective natal has the same meaning and is also an offspring of natalis.). Noels were being sung in Latin or French for centuries before the word found its way into our language in the 1800s. The earliest known musical use of noel occurred in the text of a Christmas motet called "Nova vobis gaudia," which was written in the 1400s.

I hope you have a moment to enjoy The First Noel performed by Chris Young and Brad Paisley.

Advent-Jesus Arrival into the World

Do you struggle to keep your focus on Jesus' birth during Advent?

This year I decided to try harder to keep my eyes on Jesus. Many of you know we're in the process of trying to sell our home in Kentucky so I can join Tim in South Carolina where he took a new job. It would be so easy to stress over the house not selling and lose focus on what this season is all about.

In my quest to focus more on Jesus, a few days ago I attended "Journey to the Manager" presented by Asbury University Equine Center. It was a cold night but well worth attending.



The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. John 1:14 NIV

This week I've also done a little Christmas decorating.



I've turned the TV off and listened to more Christmas CDs.

I also attended the children's Christmas program at church that focused on Jesus' birth. There were shepherds, angels, sheep, stars and kings.



I'd love to hear how you focus on Jesus during these busy days.

Christmas in the Bluegrass State

As I've traveled down Harrodsburg Road, I spotted a horse wreath on a farmer's fence. Sunday after church Tim pulled of the road and took pictures for me. I love these wreaths so much, I wanted to share them with you.

The family had more than one wreath on their fences. I'm not very creative, and I can't imagine how much time it took to make these, but I'm impressed.





Isiah 9:6 KJV

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.

Merry Christmas!

Special Christmas Decorations

Do you have a favorite decoration you like to set up or put on the tree? Today I want to share a few Christmas decorations from my friends.

Janet Ferguson, one of my amazing critique partners shared this with me. Janet said, "I never buy Christmas items for myself. I don't have matching holiday decor that would please a decorator. Most of my ornaments and other Christmas miscellaneous have been gifts. My mother loved to buy each of us an ornament every year. Friends have given me various platters, candles, etc. over over the years. And ever since I moved into my neighborhood, some twenty plus years ago, the ladies have had an ornament swap. I've participated in swaps with other groups, as well, like at my church. I think my neighborhood one is my favorite because I realize many people don't know their neighbors these days. I was lucky in that before we located there, some nice ladies organized a neighborhood bunko. I really don't care about playing the game, but once a month I get to see my neighbors, and at Christmas, we play the dirty Santa ornament swap game. I received these two birds this year through a bit of strategic stealing, but all in good fun. The mercury glass fowl will join my mismatched collection of ornaments and fun memories."


Another one of my amazing critique partners is Misty Beller who writes historical romances. She shared this ornament, and it just made me smile.

Misty said, "My grandparents brought this ornament back from California for me when I was a girl. It's more eclectic than my usual traditional style, but it captures two of my loves. The girl is dressed like a cowgirl, which is much the way I dressed during most of my childhood. Hanging from her arms are musical instruments, which I have always loved. So much so that I was a music major my first year in college."







LeAnne Bristow is another of my amazing critique partners. She shared her nativity set that her daughters gave her when they were little. They saved their money and surprised her with this set. She said she'd always wanted one, and it's now her favorite decoration.

Hope

Christmas is the season for hope. For weeks now, I've been looking for signs of hope.

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I went down to Athens, Georgia. We went to the Georgia vs Kentucky football game. A family sat behind us cheering for UK. The kids screamed and cheered like crazy. I'd hear them talk to their dad. They hoped UK would win the game, and they played a great game. I was so impressed with the children though, because UK had a bad season. If Georgia won they'd be the SEC East champions. I'm a Georgia football fan through and through, but I enjoyed the kids hope through the game. UK's players must have hoped to win too because, as I said, they played a good game.

The Georgia fans hoped we'd win the game. So Stanford Stadium was full of people hoping for a win, but at the end of the day, only some of us left with our hopes fulfilled.

When we place our hope in Jesus, we'll all see our hopes fulfilled. He's the true One to trust and be worthy of our hopes.

I hope you all enjoy the Christmas season!