Inspirations

I look around me and I see uniqueness in everything in heaven on earth and in the sea below is unique on some level.  I love the fact that when God created the world He didn’t use cookie cutters and make everything and everyone the same.  We can celebrate our uniqueness and praise God for the differences displayed in each of us.  At Christmas, many of us recall another Christmas that was “perfect” and we try to recreate that time; or we look at what others call a “perfect” Christmas whether it’s baking cookies, or shopping, the tree, carols and we try to make our Christmas a carbon copy of their Christmas.  How silly is that?  We feel that if we can’t spend money on gifts that Christmas is ruined; or if we have a fake tree or no tree at all that we can’t celebrate Christmas.  A friend said, “Nowhere in the scriptures does it say, ‘thou shalt decorate the Christmas cookies.’” I love it!!   This year, let’s allow Christmas to be less ...

A few weeks ago, I received some coasters as a Christmas gift.  I love it because the person made them just for me.  No, they aren’t expensive but I know that when she made them, I was on her mind.  She was making them special, just for me.  They were the best gift I could have been given.  A few years ago I received a mug from my older daughter.  She hijacked pictures of the family and them put on a mug.  Every time I use that mug I look at those pictures and smile.  Score one for the daughter who knew that mom would love to see those pictures whenever she sat down for a cup of “joe” (coffee).  There have been other gifts that, over the years, have meant the world to me because I knew that the person giving the gift had chosen it with care and love.  They were thinking of me.  They didn’t grab the first thing off the shelf and call it good enough.  No, they deliberately picked the one thing they knew I would love....

“Christmas needs to be farther away from Thanksgiving.”  Have you ever heard that?  Maybe, like me, in a moment of frustration, you’re guilty of uttering those words yourself.   As I was lamenting, ok whining, about this very thing recently, God took me in another direction and showed me a different perspective to this situation that, up to this point, I had not considered.  I know that Thanksgiving gets practically swallowed up in Christmas. Often there is Christmas music and lights and people are talking Christmas before Thanksgiving arrives.  If you turn the TV on, you are inundated with Christmas commercials telling you everything you or someone you know needs or wants for Christmas eons, it seems, before Thanksgiving Day. It seems that no one pays attention to, or cares about Thanksgiving.  We even start Christmas shopping on Thanksgiving Day, in fact sometimes the food has not even digested and the family is still gathered around the ta...

Today, I had a Thanksgiving meal with the family then hurried home so I could be at work at 5:00.   So I could make sure that people got their "Black Friday" sales.  More and more it seems as though Thanksgiving and Black Friday seem to run together.  People barely have time to have a  Thanksgiving dinner before they hurry off to the department stores for the "Black Friday" deals. As Thanksgiving and Black Friday run together, I would like you to think of what really matters, and the legacy you leave.  Will they remember the times sitting and chatting, playing games, laughter, and having fun on the holidays or will they remember that you hurried Through a dinner so you could get to the mall and push and shove to get the new I-phone, laptop or whatever was on sale that you simply felt you had to have.  Don't misunderstand me I do love a deal, but not at the cost of my family.  I seriously doubt that anyone will remember or care about that "big tic...

In Acts 9 we read about the conversion of Saul.   The same person who was persecuting the church came face to face with God and everything changed.   God gave Ananias the impossible assignment of going to Saul and praying for him.  His prayer would restore Saul’s sight.  Ananias had no idea what to expect.  Saul had a reputation as a persecutor of Christians.  He knew that it was entirely possible that Saul would kill him once his sight was restored.  It was likely that Ananias had some serious concerns about going into the “lion’s den”.  Undoubtedly, it took an amazing amount of trust to follow Gods instructions.   It was one amazing “trust fall” into the arms of God.  He had to believe that God knew what he was doing even though he could not understand the plan.  We can look back and see the whole plan but Ananias had no such luxury.  He had to believe that God had spoken and that God makes no ...

The disciples message was simple, Jesus; that’s it, only Jesus.  They had no great theological reasoning.  Instead, they preached Jesus.  The very same Jesus they crucified and buried, rose again was indeed the God of the universe.  Wow!  What an amazing thought.  God used a bunch of unlearned “common” people with the simplest of messages to change the culture and turn the world upside down; the message of Jesus.  They could have spoken brilliant theological arguments but instead they spoke of Jesus. The simple message “that Jesus is the Christ” on their lips powered by the Holy Spirit changed the world.  Today the truth remains God still only needs ordinary men with the simple message of Jesus to change the world.  We don’t need to wait until we have more knowledge God can use us right where we are.  When we are faithful to speak the simple message of Jesus the Holy Spirit take over and people come to Christ.  The beau...

Come to Christ, they said; your life will be perfect, they said.  If your life is all messed up, follow Christ and your life will be perfect.  How many times have you ever heard this?  All of this sounds great, but unfortunately it doesn’t always work out like this.  Our life does not become instantly happy because and lovely just because we put our trust and faith in Christ.  In fact, often our life gets harder.  Instead of life on easy street we feel like we go straight from the frying pan to the fire.  Instead of everything getting easier, we find ourselves facing opposition, being ridiculed and persecuted.  Saul was on his way up the religious ladder.  He was persecuting followers of Jesus, for him, everything was looking up.  He met God and he was changed.  In an instant, he went from the persecutor to being persecuted.  For him, everything got suddenly harder.   In fact listen to Saul/Paul tell us...