25 Days of Christmas ~ Day 19

“When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.” Matthew 2:10

Christmas morning comes bright and early to homes where little children live. No one has to tell those little ones to get excited, or to be joyful. Their eyes sparkle as they dance and twirl before the glittering gifts waiting to be opened.

 

Our Father sent us the Greatest Gift of all when He sent His Son.

 

And those early players in the story of His birth were taken with great excitement as they watched the story unfold before them. 

The Shepherds REJOICED. 

The Wise Men were OVERJOYED. . . . 

to finish reading more of this post,

please join me over at

Purposeful and Meaningful 

where I am sharing with 

my friend Ifeoma Samuel

short devotions and activities

for your family.

May your Christmas Season be blessed!

~~~~~~~~

Today's #HolyHaiku prompt on Instagram 
is "Emmanuel." Come join

my friend Susan Shipe,

@hopehearthome 

for more 

beautiful Haiku this Season. 

Into the days of Holiday Busyness,

I found myself sitting

with the nurse

as she taught me the technique

for yet another injection

for new medication. 

Emmanuel?

Are you with me even here?

"Yes, my daughter, even here"

as His Presence

carried my heart,
and brought joy
in the midst of hard.

May you find Emmanuel,
the true Gift of Christmas,

in the midst 

of your days also.

I am linking with: 
#TeaAndWordTuesday 
#Sittingamongfriends 

25 Days of Christmas ~ Day 9

“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” John 1:17

We see the Baby in the manger. We watch the story unfold as the Angels sing, and
the Shepherds rejoice. We look with wonder at the Wise Men traveling so great a
distance to worship the King.

Yet even when we are filled with wonder over the miracle that came to be, do we
look deeper to see the true gift that the Father gave?

The world was changed when Grace and Truth stepped into our humanity. . . 

To finish reading this post

please join me at

Purposeful and Meaningful

where I am blessed to be sharing with

my friend Ifeoma Samuel.

We have prayerfully prepared short devotions

and activities for you and your family

during this Advent Season. 

~~~~~~~~

And the #HolyHaiku continues

with my friend Susan Shipe

@hopehearthome 

where today's prompt is "Mary."

Because of Mary's obedience to host

the Almighty,

the free gift of salvation

is available to all of us now,

just for the asking!

 I am praying for you today,

my friend,

to know the blessed freedom

that comes

when our Lord washes our hearts 

whiter than snow. 

I am linking with:

Brenda Bradford Ottinger, #ChasingCommunity 
Meg Weyerbacher, #TeaAndWordTuesday 

25 Days of Christmas - Day 5

“Look, there on the mountains, the feet of one who brings good news,
    who proclaims peace! Celebrate your festivals, Judah,
    and fulfill your vows. No more will the wicked invade you;
    they will be completely destroyed” Nahum 1:15

Did you know that God designed times for celebration? 
 
Sometimes we tend to think that people are the ones who dreamed up joy and laughter. We place God in our “serious box,” and set Him aside when we want to have fun.

But He tells us to celebrate the festivals! . . .

To read the rest of this post

please join me over at

Purposeful and Meaningful

where I am so blessed to be sharing with

my friend Ifeoma Samuel

for short devotions, activities, and prayers

for your family this Christmas Season.

Be Blessed!

And for another #HolyHaiku

today's prompt over at Instagram

with my friend, Susan Shipe
@Hopehearthome,

is "Still."  And since

this has been my #OneWord all year,

I was blessed when my husband and I

stopped by the lake close to our home

this past weekend, and saw

the beautiful still waters:

 

  

I pray that you are finding

moments both of stillness

and of celebration

during this Season

of Advent.

I am linking today with:

Meg Weyerbacher #TeaAndWordTuesday 

Jennifer Dukes Lee, #TellHisStory 

 

A Lasting Inheritance

Today would have been my Father's 95th Birthday.

Already, he's been gone to Heaven for 20 years,

and my Mother joined him there 7 years ago.

There are days still, when it feels like I could  

 pick up the phone

and hear their voices

checking in on my day, and my home here.

But their HOME has become so much more

than I can now realize,

FOREVER in the presence of Jesus.

Just one year before he left us, my Dad and my Mom

celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary.

They renewed their vows, and we celebrated with them

a love that had stood the test of time.

I longed to give them a meaningful gift,

and finally knew what it would be when I heard this Michael Card song, popular in the '90's.

I hand-lettered the lyrics and framed it specially,

and cried as I let the words sink deep into my heart:

(Thank you, Joy Lenton, for your wonderful post about Advent and Home
over at the Godspace Community that stirred my remembering this week.)


But as this current Season of Transition continues
to bring thoughts of transformation and growth
to my mind,
the looking-back that came through that song
has brought an amazing touch of 
FREEDOM
to my life.

If you had looked at my life as it related to my Mother, 
and if you had known me during any of those years,
you would have seen that ANXIETY
was ingrained,
and WORRY attached itself
to any and every conversation
held with her.

I carried a hidden shame, knowing that
I was required to be the peace-giver
to still those worries,
and take care of the issues
that held her heart in fear.

I carried a hidden shame, knowing that
I could be passing along those 
same weights of anxiety
to my own children.


But just as surely as God uncovers the hidden weaknesses,
He will bring the healing that is needed for
those broken places to be made whole.
And when I read the Bible Verse
given to me today for my daily verse,
my heart leaped in HOPE
because it was the very verse given to me
as I began the journey to pray for those
generational chains
to be broken:


  "Instead of your shame

    you will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
    you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,
    and everlasting joy will be yours"

Isaiah 61:7 NIV 


Today, my Dad's Birthday,
Today, the day I start physical therapy 
for yet another painful area,
Today is the day I can see the double portion
given to me:

A lasting inheritance to rejoice in!
My Mother and Father are free
in their FOREVER HOME,
and I have been blessed with the 
EVERLASTING JOY
of 
JESUS LIVING IN ME.

My parents gave me the Gift of Jesus,
and 
He brings everything
that I could possibly need:
every healing and
every freedom,
These are my Inheritance.

Can you still your thoughts
and 
ease your burdens down
and 
listen along with me?

What if we could see
during this time of Advent,
and preparing for Christmas,
that HE who came to dwell with us,
is really our 
HOME,
our INHERITANCE,
far more costly and pure
than anything else
handed down through the generations?


Home by Michael Card

"Home is a comfort and home is a light
A place to leave the darkness outside
Home is a peaceful and ever full feeling
A place where the soul safely hides

And being at home should remind you that still
There's a place that's prepared just for you
And I think that my home is just heaven's reflection
As long as my home is here with you

Home is where someone is waiting and loving
And happy to see you again
That half of your heart that somebody else treasures
The one who's your forever friend

But it seems that He's told me, the life that He's shown me
Is a life mostly spent on the road
But when the world's empty charm has done all of its harm
I know that His love waits for me in your arms

'cause home is a comfort and home is a light
A place to leave the darkness outside
Home is a peaceful and ever full feeling
A place where a soul safely hides

And being at home should remind you that still
There's a place that's prepared just for you
And I think that my home is just heaven's reflection
As long as my home is here with you" 



I am linking this week over at these great sites:
#TellHisStory, Jennifer Dukes Lee 
#TeaAndWordTuesday, Meg Weyerbacher 
#LiveFreeThursday Suzie Eller