60 SECOND LAINE-GET THE GRIME OFF, O HOLY NIGHT

The picture I drew of the winter wonderland landscape was done. The title...mmm...O Holy Night.
Mariah Carey plays in my head. What a beautiful song. The choir hums...A thrill of hope...Oh, night divine.

Imagine standing in a field and the angel appeared...of course we know what happens...but just look up one night alone...look at the sky at the huge star that lights it up (the glory of the Lord)...that divine night.

Our tired, work-out, sin sick body, needs this baby. Do you realize the ramifications of this baby being born? Gracious!

Mariah, tells us to fall on our knees...hear the angel voice...cried out do not be afraid...then suddenly a host of angels appear praising God...and then it happened......the child was born...one extraordinary baby...laying in a lowly place.

I suggest you play the song and read this magnificent Christmas story (Lk. 2:8-20).

A new and glorious revival of the heart. Revive our hearts oh God, we need more of you and less of the hectic.

Prepare your heart...Yes, it was divine!
.

Well we have to go...go see for ourselves!

Why?
We fall short of the standard of our glorious Father. Get the grime off, be cleansed.

I was at camp and the at the field games everyone was filled with mud, but they all cleaned up pretty well too! WOW!

Things get messy on our insides too, like jealousy, craving what someone else has, critical of others, and talking bad about someone.  Just like those kids, we can all get cleaned up, Jesus gets the grime out of us.
Pray:  Father in heaven help me...I need you Forgive me. Thank you. Amen.

60 SECOND LAINE-THE DANCE OF SORROW, LOVE, PEACE

With such love and compassion they were saying their good-byes. They sat with her till she took her last breath. Oh God, what words can you comfort them with? Knowing God was with us, I recited Psalm 23. The words of this amazing Psalm never gets old, Our shepherd is with us, as we walk through the darkest valley, He comforts, we will dine with Him (think about dining with Jesus), goodness and love follow us on earth, and when we take our last breath we will dwell, in the house of the Lord. 
In John 11, Jesus arrives to raise Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus already was dead for four days. Jesus grieved and wept with Lazarus' sisters, Mary and Martha, he felt their pain. Jesus had real human emotions. He grieved with them. Let us imagine this great miracle. Jesus shouted "Father, thank you for hearing me. (He thanked God first!) You always hear me (He points out God always hears.), but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here (At the end of life God is concerned for the souls of the living and the dead . Think about that when planning a memorial service.), so that they will believe you sent me. Lazarus, come out!" (Jn. 11:40-43)

Daily we swirl around in a dance of  love, sorrow, and peace.

At end of life situations what else could we need? Really everyday.
Our strong shepherd, picture it, His job is take care of His sheep (We are His sheep.). If one of us wanders, He goes to any length to bring them back into the fold. 

The comforting words of Christ "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (John 14:27).

Before a leave dies,

it is beautiful. God gives each of us His light and beauty on earth and then we return to our Father in heaven. Let us rest assured that as children of God, He gives us peace. Sometimes we could be in a conflict and yet we have a peace. Do you know what I mean?

Let us pray:  Father take my worries (name them), direct my path, thank you for your peace. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Dancing with peace!

60 SECOND LAINE-SAY NO

"If you cannot say no, then you are not in charge of your time. You've given that right to whoever wants to interrupt you. This is not a friendship based on equality. True friends will respect your wishes. You don't have to apologize for being in charge of your life. It's okay to say no. Give up the need for excuses. Don't assume that you have to explain or defend your response. Saying no for your own reasons is often enough."

Hi Friends:

Do you ever have trouble saying no to people.

I saw these quotes in a  Becoming a Master Student , (Ellis, D. 2015e), book. I think in this new generation that discovery, intention, action and success helps us form new habits, and skills with the idea to consistently get what we want out of life.


Taking care of yourself is not mean or being a bad Christian.

60 SECOND LAINE- SURPRISE

Standing in a market place, she appeared before me. "I am writing a paper and I need to interview someone", she blurts out. This is a young about 16 year old girl who proceeds to ask me "What are you doing in Boston?" My favorite question.

I was in Boston telling my faith story to four groups. The girls continued on by asking me to tell her my faith story. I graciously told the story to her, when I got to the end I asked her if she has a faith story. She said as a matter of fact I do and she shares her story with me.


Refreshing...reassuring.

I can't explain what it is like to be standing in a market square, 928 miles away from my home and be able to tell my faith story. I can say "Only God." Oh I forgot to mention that a young man overheard the story and it opened up conversation with Him. We, the young girl and I, encouraged Him to seek out this guy name Jesus and explore a relationship with Him. We both reassured Him that it will radically change his life. He briefly mentioned that he doesn't know about this "religion stuff". I said good, because I am not talking about religion but about relationship.


Friends, Jesus last commission said to go out and train everyone you meet, I'll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to till the end of age (Matt. 28:20 MSG).

Surprise! You never know what a day will bring. Go forward, pray, God's got your back forever and ever. Amen.

A gift! Celebrate!