30 Days of Thanks

Years ago I worked at a Christian bookstore.  One holiday season, a turkey tapestry showed up in our store and I fell in love with him.  I was so afraid that someone would buy him before I could!  But that turkey must have been meant for me because no one else showed any inclination.  Ever since, I have hung him in my home 30 days before Thanksgiving and made it a priority to think of something each day that I'm thankful for.  Like an advent calendar, he helps me focus my heart and mind during this season on the "little" things in life that are most important.  Will you join me this year?  Let's light up social media with the joy in our lives!  #30daysofthanks

Day 30: convenience of scripture and Christian music on my phone

Day 29: cooler fall weather

Day 28: Nathan making coffee for me

Day 27: wonderful years with Grandma

Day 26: hubby let me sleep in

Day 25: Heidi & Patrick's friendship and proximity

Day 24: God is always there to listen, no matter how early or late

Day 23: that I can be a stay at home mom

Day 22: solo grocery shopping trip

Day 21: God's strength and patience 

Day 20: the colors of fall

Day 19: Friends who cooked dinner for us!

Day 18: Glenn, who loves Mere so well and introduced me to my favorite coffee

DAY 17: My sisters-in-law!

Day 16: Hot Earl Grey tea on a cold, wet day

Day 15: My husband who encourages me to get to the gym!

Day 14: My son's preschool experience

Day 13: Medicine for when my little guy is sick

Day 12: That my son feels better, and for my niece's 3rd birthday!

Day 11: A day of rest

Day 10: My mom friends and their kids!

Day 9: Time to make some cards

Advent

I woke early the morning we left to spend Christmas with family.  Grateful for the chance at a quiet morning, I slipped downstairs, turned on the Christmas tree lights, and made a cup of coffee with Peppermint Mocha creamer--a new favorite holiday treat.  I settled on the couch to read the last of my Advent Devotional; it was the first time in 27 days I'd been able to read in silence and solitude, and I felt myself relax as the coffee wafted over the words from Matthew.

Not a second before I finished, another word came from on high..."mama!  Maaaama!"  I reluctantly left my coffee, hoping I could rock him back to sleep.  Alas, the wish was in vain.  So I gave myself up to my sweet, where-does-he-get-this-energy, almost three year old (!) little boy and carried him downstairs to play.  And finish my coffee.

As we walked down the stairs he noticed the tree lights on, and asked in his curious little voice "hey! Why you turn dis light off?"  Thinking he meant "on," I explained that I love to look at Christmas tree lights.  But he asked again, as I carried him past the overhead light switch.  Reaching out to grab it, he repeated "hey, why you turn dis light off?"  Instinctively I replied, "because it makes the tree more beautiful."

As long as I can remember, I have loved to sit in a dark room, in the quiet of a Christmas season morning or night, with nothing but the light of a Christmas tree.  There is just something about that shining cone that quiets my soul and fills me with peace and joy.  

Christmas lights are beautiful, especially when they are the only thing to light the darkness of a room or home.  Which is why we have Christmas in the first place.  Not to light the darkness that falls as winter begins, but to alighten our souls with God’s love.  The anger and selfishness and all manor of sin tucked away inside each of our hearts…this is the darkness we live in.  Until, wrapped in a blanket, Jesus brought light to Earth, to shine into the darkest corners of our souls.

We can look pretty on the outside, decorated with shiny ornaments and sitting atop stacks of material blessings, but without the love of God through the gift of Jesus, we will remain dark.  Let His love and forgiveness light our hearts and souls this Christmas.

Sheep

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night."

~Luke 2:8

I never saw it before.  How many times have I read or heard this verse and not noticed?  The shepherds were LIVING in the fields.  Not hanging out during the day and then going home to be with their families.  LIVING.  Sleeping on the ground, hopefully not near sheep dung, out in whatever weather there was.  

Now, I like camping...and sheep...but living like that doesn't sound pleasant to me.  But they did it.  To keep their sheep safe.  Because they loved them.

All this going on right next to the place where God--Immortal, Invisible God--was actually becoming visible in the form of a baby boy.  He left His home, His throne, to LIVE among us. 

His sheep.  

Because He loved us.  Loves us still.  

Will we let Him?  Let Him love us and protect us from mortal danger, as sheep allow their shepherds to protect them?  We need Him.  We may not know it or see it (yet) but we do.  Let Him love you.  Let Him protect you.

"I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." 

~John 10:11 

He did.  He does.  Amen.

 

 

Sonshine for me!

I have been pretty crabby the last two mornings, for various reasons.  And while I know I can't perfectly keep my feelings from affecting my actions, oh, how my heart aches when my little man looks up at me in pain or even runs away in sadness because I've hurt him.  Yelling, rushing, failing to show compassion...these are not memories I want my son to have of me.  So  I prayed, I cried, I apologized and asked both God and my little man for forgiveness.  And when I put his loving little self down for a nap, I went straight to my Bible.  Which I really need to work on doing earlier in the day!

As the cloudy skies outside matched my grey mood inside, I decided I needed to read about sunshine.  Heading to my concordance I read over most every verse I could find.  This section stuck out:

“Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. ² But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. ³ Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty.

⁴ “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.

⁵ “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. ⁶ He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”

 Both judgement and promise, in the same verses!  I needed the reminder of God's healing love (v.2), but also of the consequences of sin (v. 1, 3, 5).  Lord, fill me with patience and right priorities!  Let me shine for You!

"Eye of the Storm"

"In the eye of the storm, You remain in control

In the middle of the war, You guard my soul

You alone are the anchor, When my sails are torn

Your love surrounds me, in the eye of the storm."

~Ryan Stevenson "Eye of the Storm"

The other day I drove home from western New York to Virginia.  I passed through several brief but powerful storms on the way, and it seemed like this song was playing either on the radio or in my head each time.  I love it when God is funny like that!