Grief During Christmas

 I have heard it said that everyone that experiences grief, does so in their own way. I certainly agree. It does not take any one path in the lives of those that go through it. 

Sometimes it hits all of a sudden when we least expect it. But I found the following this morning on a website that has some tips on how we can deal with it during Christmas.

Grief at Christmas can be eased by changing family traditions that normally would make you sad. If it is a parent you grieve, then make your holiday festivities different than what they were when he or she was alive.

I think this is true.

This holiday season has been the first without my husband who died unexpectedly in September. Thanksgiving was a bit different. We fixed our meal just a bit different. My adult son did a lot of the cooking, replacing my husband who had for the most part done it for the last several years. We changed the menu just a bit. 

My husband had always wanted the same foods fixed the same way just as his family always did it. After they passed away, for a few years, we went to his sister's home. And she fixed her meal just like they had always done. Eventually though, as our children got older, we did Thanksgiving with just them and it was just like the way it was done. With never any devastation.

But this year, for the first time it was different. 

This year my husband is gone. This year my son and his daughter now lives with me.

This year we did not make the pineapple upside down cake. We did not make homemade dressing like my husband always did it. This year we had green bean casserole that my daughter brought. This year my adult kids did just about everything for the first time. For the first time, I could relax and let them do it.

Small changes just in our menu that made the day a bit easier. 

However, no matter the day, the holiday or the event we are celebrating, let us not change the One most important. 

The One that does great things for us. 1 Sammuel 12;24

No matter how hard It is:

 This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118: 23

Things for coming by, Friends. God bless you.

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Some Christians Do and Some Christians Don't

 

Years ago, I went to a church that didn't teach or celebrate the birth of Jesus. They believed in Jesus. They just didn't believe in adding the Christmas trees, Santa Claus and all the other things we use in our celebrations.  And they believed it to be wrong to celebrate because His birth was not really on December 25th.

We don't know what the other actual date was or even the season. I have read different accounts over the years about when it could have happened. But that is something we will probably never know on this side of heaven.

Ok so a church does not celebrate the birth of Jesus with all of its glitter. And that is no problem by me. It is not for me judge them.

But not to celebrate or teach it at all?

As for the way I believe, for me I mean. I don't think there is anything wrong with adding in some of those things that are considered by others to be paganism. 

However, it is wrong to celebrate it without Jesus as the main focus of it all. 

I read a devotion on this today. And want to share it with you. Please read on:

Why Celebrate Christmas?

In Deuteronomy 11:18-21 God encouraged the Israelites to remind their children of the wonderful things He had done for them.  Remembering God's benefits is important for adults as well, and holidays are one way we can do it.

It's not important to know the actual day of Christ's birth, but it's critically important to remember how His birth changed the world and how it changed our lives specifically.

Jesus "who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!" (Philippians 2:5-8).

That's a truth worth celebrating. 

So let's use our Christmas celebrations to "tell of the kindnesses of the LORD, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the LORD has done for us-- yes, the many good things he has done for [His people], according to his compassion and many kindnesses" (Isaiah 63:7).

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Note: Some Christians choose not to celebrate Christmas. We should respect Christians to make their own decision and not accuse them of paganism on the one hand or legalism on the other (Romans 14, especially Romans 14:5; Colossians 2:16). Please see Christmas Confusion and Respecting our Differences.

Some Christians don't celebrate Christ's birth on December 25th because they feel historical records show He was born on another day. But is the day important? If we adopted a child without a known birth date, we would still choose a day to celebrate his/her birth because the date is not as important as the person. The same is true for Christ. I prefer to celebrate His birth at the time when most of the world celebrates, others may prefer a date they feel is historically correct. 

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Why not do a short study on this passage? You'll find it at Bite Size Bible Study. And see 5 Practical Ways to Keep Christ in Christmas.

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Indeed. Christmas should not be about Christians arguing over who is right and who is wrong in Christmas celebrations. And we should not be telling those that choose to celebrate it that it is a sin to do so. 

But that is a decision individuals should make for themselves. And a right to do so.

I choose to make it a celebration about the Savior that was born to grow up and take my sin on the cross. And focus first on Him.

And there are ways that we can do that outside of our own families. in which we can show Christ to others.

And then also, I feel that we can enjoy the other things that we use to celebrate it, without taking away from the real meaning.

But that is me.

How about you?

Thanks for coming by today, Friends

God Bless You!

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Where Is Your Hope?

The craziness of the world seems endless. There is much to fear. Crime. The economy. Wars and rumors of more war. The government and much of the greed that goes on in it. 

And so, the question is where is our hope if we concentrate on all the evil that is around me?

I read a devotion today on that subject, and I want to share it with you for this Season that we call Christmas.

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WHY YOU CAN HAVE HOPE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

This post contains affiliate links to products mentioned. For more information, read my disclosure policy.

 

In a world filled with hardship, how can we have hope?  The answer is the same today as it was 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem.  Read on to find out how we can have hope during the holidays…and year ’round!

 I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. Palms 130:5-8

Hope:  to desire or anticipate with the expectation of fulfillment, confident expectation.

For centuries, Israel had been hoping for the Messiah, waiting for Him, expecting Him.  After all, God had promised, and as Psalm 145:13 reminds us, “God is faithful to all his promises.”  Still, the Israelites had been waiting for a very long time.

Israelites had been waiting for a very long time.

No doubt many of them had ceased to live in expectation.

Perhaps all of the religious rituals they observed no longer kept many of them looking for the Messiah so much as doubting He would ever come.  Perhaps that’s why the vast majority of them didn’t notice when He came—they weren’t looking for Him.

It seems they had forgotten one simple truth:  God is always at work.

While they were bustling through Bethlehem, an innkeeper was turning away the very Messiah they were hoping for.  As they nestled snug in their beds, the Son of God came very near.  They just didn’t know it.

Of course, God is still working, though His people don’t always realize it.  He still fulfills His promises.  He still comes near and walks among us.

The question is: Are we looking for Him?

Do we expect to see Him work among us?  Do we watch for Him more than a night watchman waits for morning to come?  Do we long to see His face?

As Christmas approaches, we would be wise not to make the same mistake the people of Bethlehem made.  In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, we must focus our minds and hearts on Christ.

We must expect to encounter Him each day for He has promised “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)

Oh, let us seek Him this holiday season!  As we search for gifts and shop for presents, we must remember it is God’s gift to us that brings hope.

Without Christ, there is no Christmas.

See other devotions here: DECEMBER 6, 2017 BY MISSISSIPPIMOMM

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Indeed.

Are we still looking for him? Are we waiting for him? Are we longing for him? 

If not, we should be. Jesus didn't stay a baby. He grew up with a purpose. God his father had given him a job to do. And he did it for us. 

If we get all wrapped up in the holiday where we go about giving gifts and decorating our trees and forget that the end result in the physical life of Jesus here on earth, we may forget that that end result provided a way for us to have new life in heaven. 

And one day, while we are waiting, Jesus will come back. Because he will whether we wait for him or not.  

Let us not forget what that baby on earth did as he grew up to do for us as we now celebrate his birth.

 Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield for our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee. Psalm 33:20-22

Thanks for coming by, Friends. God bless you and yours!

 

He"s Here1

 Have you seen that tv commercial that has been playing recently with the boy that exclaims "They are here!" They are advertising toliet paper. (Sorry, I don't remember the brand.)

The brand is not important in today's post. It the excitement of the boy when he knows whoever he is waiting for had come.

Can you imagine with me how exciting it would be to open the door and find Jesus standing there?

December is such a busy month for a lot of folks. Parties, gifts, decorations and more wait on us to do what we normally do at this time of year.

Can Jesus be found anywhere among them?

How do we find time for He who God sent to a dark world to save us from our sin?

As a Senior, I am not involved in a lot during the Christmas season. But I remember how it was when our kids were growing. It had been quite hectic during those years, I assure you.

I think though that even in the business of the season, it is important to make sure that we do not neglect why it is we even celebrate this day ever year. 

Because without Jesus, we would not have this celebration. Jesus wants us to open up the door of our hearts to invite Him in to spend time with him. He wants a relationship with us every day.

And just because December comes with all the fun and activities that it does, it no excuse to leave Jesus out, standing on the outside waiting for us.

 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20

And just like the boy in the commercial, we should be excited and throw open the door of hearts to welcome Him in.

Jesus is what the celebration should be about.

Not forgotten, not left standing on the outside. 

But ready to meet with Him no matter what goes on in our lives. He is there waiting patiently for us. For you. For me. For the world.

How awesome is that ?!

Thanks for visiting today, Friends.

God bless you!

iS SEEING IS BELIEVING OUR ONLY CHOICE?

 Have you ever heard someone say, "Seeing is believing."?

Do you know just how wrong that statement is?

Look at what the following scripture says:

Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Hebrews 11:6

 Without faith, we can't believe that a baby boy was born to a girl that probably wasn't even close to being a mature woman yet.

But we believe it because God said it and we know that in faith that a miracle happened that night a few thousand years ago.

If we don't have the faith to believe it.

We have no salvation,

We have no redemption for sin.

We have no right to claim an eternal home.

However, God so loved us that he caused the miracle that no other miracle can beat. 

He sent us Jesus.

And that is One Miracle that we can take to the bank,

For those believers that have faith.

Thanks for stopping by today, Friends.

God bless!

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Have We?

I read an interesting article or devotion on Pinterest yesterday morning. I know that Christmas Eve is a few weeks away, but I think that this is something we can be thinking about until then, so I am copying and pasting it here for you.

Have You Found Christmas – Or Is It Still Christmas Eve?

 

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the land, the people walked in darkness and distance from God. Consider that first Christmas Eve. Only a few people knew something special was coming, but for the rest of the world, it was a day like any other. The shepherds were going about their work as normal. The innkeeper was busy tending to an abundance of guests in town for the census. The people of Bethlehem were doing their best to get through the day, just like any other.

The Old Testament prophecies of Jesus’ birth that fill us with such hope today, perhaps were sounding hollow. God had been silent for hundreds of years and, while the people would have known and studied the prophecies, how much hope would you place in something written so long before? Would you just be checking the box on going to church, but not truly putting your hope in the words said there? Would you still have hope in promises spoken 700 years earlier?

Oh, does that ring a bell?

Have you let faith become a ‘check the box’ activity, but not truly put your hope in the words spoken through scripture?

Have you just been going through the motions of everyday life, not expecting God to show up?

The Israelites hadn’t abandoned God. They were faithfully trying to follow all the rules laid out by Moses. They went to the temple, they worshiped God, they prayed, they read and studied scripture. Yet, Isaiah tells us they walked in darkness.

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:2

We can go to church, study the Bible, pray and try to live a good and faithful life, yet still be walking in darkness. We can know OF Jesus through the scriptures, yet not really KNOW Jesus. The Israelites knew OF Jesus. They’d read and studied the prophecies. Later, they even heard him teach, but they didn’t KNOW him. The light hadn’t dawned yet in their hearts.

Christmas doesn’t just come on December 25th, it comes when you encounter the miracle of Jesus and allow God to enter into your heart.

God doesn’t make grand entrances, doesn’t come in a roar of thunder, but rather He comes as a quiet whisper on the wind, as a baby born in a manger. Unexpected, unassuming, altogether missable if we’re not paying attention.

Then Elijah was told, “Go, stand on the mountain at attention before God. God will pass by.”A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn’t to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn’t in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn’t in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper. 1 Kings 19:12 The Message (MSG)

Are you still walking in darkness, still living in a Christmas Eve world?

Or, have you met the Messiah personally and let His light come into your life?

Have you heard His whisper? Have you seen him in the eyes of the baby Jesus? Have you let His light dawn in your heart?

–> For Mary, Christmas came through the pains of childbirth, in the first cry of her newborn baby.

–> For the shepherds, Christmas came in the surprise and fright of a sky filled with angels and a baby lying in a manger.

–> For the wise men, Christmas came after a long journey, following the lead of a star, but not sure of their destination.

–> For Simeon and Anna, Christmas came after a long wait, on an otherwise ordinary day when they saw the baby Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem and understood immediately that this baby was the Messiah.

–> For Peter, Christmas came on the shores of the Sea of Galilee when a man named Jesus stepped into his fishing boat and gently said, “Come, follow me.”

–> For the blind man, Christmas came when Jesus rubbed mud on his eyes and literally brought him out of darkness into light.

Yet for many others then and now, Christmas never comes. They never meet Jesus, never let the light penetrate the darkness in their hearts, never find the hope that entered this world with Christmas.

You can go to church, worship God, say your prayers, and go through all the motions, but still walk in darkness. Yet once you have your Christmas moment, you’re forever changed. No one who met Jesus and had that Christmas moment was ever the same.

How will Christmas come for you?

Have you found Christmas? Have you met Jesus and let his light dawn in your life?

Or are you still living as if it’s Christmas Eve?

If you still feel like this world is full of darkness, that your hope of better things to come is fading, that God has abandoned you and this world, then ask God for Christmas. Ask God to break through into your life and fill your heart with His light and love and hope.

I love this verse of O Little Town of Bethlehem:

How silently, how silently,
the wondrous gift is given

 so God imparts to human hearts

the blessings of his heaven.
No ear may hear his coming,
but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive him, still
the dear Christ enters in.

In this world of sin and darkness, Christ still enters in.

The gift of Christmas is often silent and unexpected, a gift for the heart to know Christ and be filled with hope. Yet we have to receive him and be open to him with humble hearts. Are you ready for your Christmas morning or will you continue to live in a Christmas Eve world

The people walking in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
    a light has dawned.
You have enlarged the nation
    and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
    as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
    when dividing the plunder.
For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
    you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
    the bar across their shoulders,
    the rod of their oppressor.
Every warrior’s boot used in battle
    and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
    will be fuel for the fire.
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.
Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty shall preform this.

 Isahia 9:2-

Prayer and Possibilities by Kathryn Shirey

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I feel at a loss for adding to this message. Kathryn Shirey has stated it so well. Our hope is more than in Christmas Eve. It is only fully realized on Christmas Day. However, Christmas day is not just a once a year event. It comes to us now the second someone comes to Jesus. Because then...

...We are born again. 

Thanks for your patience, Friends. May you be blessed and share the light of Jesus to a dark world that may know Him as we know Him.

How to let God be your strength

When I was younger and before marriage came along, I thought that being a Christian was to be an easy life. That just shows how naive I was. Because my family struggled with hardship all through my childhood and right up until those in my family passed on.

We think it should be that way. Perfect I mean. And why not if we are truly walking with Jesus, the one that we believed in and who had died for our sins on Calvary.

Is it fair that we have to struggle in life? God does promise to give us life. But not only that, but abundant life. John 10:10.

But along comes the monthly bills, the addictions, the marital problems. And sometimes heartache. 

And it's as if our whole world crumbles before us when we experience any of these situations. And we feel weak and helpless.

But its at these points that God wants to make us strong. And so the question becomes: How do we let God be our strength?

I believe the first thing we must do is to keep our eyes firmly on Jesus.

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

Are we any better than He that was despised and rejected during the time he was on earth, only to be put on the cross to endure a cruel death for our sins? 

No. He sure did not have a perfect life.

We need to remember that our weakness is made perfect by His grace.

 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9

But how do we do that when we are going through something that has or is having the wind knocked out of our sails?

Believe me. It is not easy. But Paul didn't just leave us there. Read what he goes on to say.

Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me

In a church years ago, the minister in his message of this scripture said that the Apostle Paul had demon spirits that were trying to attack him. But the Hebrew word or infirmities is:  An unsound or unhealthy state of the body; weakness; feebleness. Old age is subject to infirmities.

Looking at my own situations of the past, there have been many times I felt weak. Sometime too weak to handle things. Not always using a sound mind in dealing with them. 

And in most, not rejoicing in them.

But the night my daughter came to my door at midnight to tell me of her father's death, once her words sank in, and I began to try to process it, I honestly can say I said, "Bless you Jesus."

The days that came after were not easy and still are not. There have been days that I have not been able to stop crying. There have been days that I could not rejoice. But then there are days that I have been able to see God's hand in this situation and am thankful for the fact that my husband is with Jesus. And it's in those days, I feel His strength because I am not good on mine alone. And one day, He will wipe my tears away and every other believer's eyes as well. And we will worship Him in the Throne room of heaven, praising Him. The cares of the world as we know it now, gone forever.

I have been able to take comfort for those scriptures that I have hid in my heart for such a time as this. And one day I will be able to do this:

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

Maybe not today. Maybe not next week. Or next year. But some day, I will mount up with the might wings of God and run into heaven. Not on my strength. But on God's alone. 

Until then, I will have to keep doing the best I can. One day at a time. One step at a time. Maybe even just a crawl at a time. Depending on God my Father to get me to where he wants me to go.

For those that find themselves weak and going through tough time, go to God's word for your strength. It's the BEST place to be.

Thanks for your patience with me. I know maybe that you may be ready for me to move on to something else on this blog. And so, with Christmas coming, I am going to try to do that. I still won't be posting every day. But will as often as I can be. In the meantime, blessings to you and your family. 

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