Inspirations

We, my friend and I, were talking.  It was a while ago, so I don't even remember what we were talking about at the time.  It might have been something political or financial I am not sure.  What I do remember is that one minute we were having a nice conversation and the next, moment we were in the middle of an argument. I imagine most of us have been in that same predicament, at one time or another.  Later we wonder, "What happened?" It's true that some personalities just clash. But... not always. Sometimes it is more than just a difference in personalities that clash. It's worlds, ideas, and beliefs that clash. We see it in the political setting and the legal setting quite often. If you don't believe me, mention the word "abortion", or "homosexuality" there will be an instantaneous clash of worlds.  You can almost hear metal clanging against metal in the spiritual war that takes place. Usually, for most of us, t...

Love is in the air.  After all, it is February the time for love.  Everyone is getting flowers or candy. We buy mushy cards all in the name of love.   My heart always breaks around valentines day.   I see people who have been passed by, by "romantic" love,  people who find themselves, for whatever reason, alone on a day meant for love  and I hurt.  I see people who move from one relationship to another hoping that they will find "true love." ant I hurt. I long for them to know that there is a love that satisfies...   God. Only God's love can satisfy our deepest longing.   Yes, Romantic love is good but it also depends on feelings and feelings can change.    The love of God can never change.   When we love others as God loves us, it changes everything. Our children are loved even when they just drew on the freshly painted wall, our spouse is loved even when we have repeated the sa...

It's Saturday night.  We're in the middle of the weekend.  Many of you were doing things last night or today with friends or family.  They were intentional plans.  You planned to go out to dinner, see a movie, work out or just hang out with someone important to you.    But I wonder, How many of us are going to be intentional tomorrow morning? We all know that church is important. We want to be in church But we can't make ourselves get out of bed. We resolve on Monday that next Sunday we will be in church. But by next Sunday, we will be lying in that comfy bed with no thought of Church at all. So what happened to all our great ideas about being in church?  Well, to be honest, they fell by the wayside like many other grand thoughts because we made no other plan to see that we carried out our idea. We were not intentional.  We do not approach going to church the way we approach a date with a spouse, a friend, or anyone else, for tha...

Today was a lesson in perseverance, keeping on when I want to quit.   My daughter and I decided to make oatmeal cookies.  Oatmeal raisin cookies to be exact.  My husband loves them so I thought I would make them as a treat. for him.  This would be a quick and easy treat.  We went on the "net" and found a recipe that looked promising. As we were mixing the ingredients, I told Abby to get the brown sugar.  She went to the cupboard and brought over a bag, looked and then said, "Wait, these are beans not sugar.  Back she went to correct the mistake.  A few moments later, I opened a can of milk, only to discover that the milk was sauerkraut.  I caught the mistake before I dumped the sauerkraut in the mix.  We moved on to adding the oatmeal.  I mean, you HAVE to have oatmeal in a oatmeal cookie.  I needed six cups.  I measured four cups and the oatmeal well was dry.  Yikes!! I searched and found some flavored oatmea...

It's 2016.  The New Year is a few days old.  For many, including me, the new year is a time of reflection and  evaluation.  We look at the year and revisit the resolutions that we made last year in order to see how we did, all in the hope of doing better this year than we were last year.   Then, we make more resolutions this year. For most of us, they went something like this: I want to get healthy. I want to do better with my finances. I want to lose 20, 30, or 50 pounds this year.   or perhaps I want to be a better person There is nothing wrong with these goals,  Sometimes they can be good.  However, I have a feeling that often these goals are selfish.  We end up focusing on what we can do; what we can get. This year, I want to suggest a different approach.  I want to suggest we focus on resolutions that will make us a better Christians; that will bring us closer to God. ...

It's Christmas!  Everyone is eagerly anticipating the gifts they will open.   There is so much activity. Even though no one HAS to be up, everyone is up early.  Today, I received many gifts that I will treasure and many that I wanted.  It was a wonderful, relaxing Christmas. The weather was unseasonably warm, so we even started a new tradition of taking a Christmas walk.  For me, this Christmas was magical.   However, I can not imagine the magic of that first Christmas; The day when Mary gave birth to God.  Because, in that moment, God, the God of the universe, set aside all the splendor of heaven and took on flesh and blood.  He set aside the perfection of Heaven to live in an imperfect world.  He lived in their neighborhood, went to their Jewish school, worked where they worked.  God was is with us.  For because of that one day.   God will always be with us because he lives in the hearts of those who choose...

Responses, we all have them.   It's how we act, or react, in a given situation.  In the Christmas story, There are many different reactions.  Mary and Joseph humbly accepted the news of the baby  Jesus without questions.  The story says that Mary was troubled- I think terrified would be an appropriate word- yet they submit to God's plan for them.  Mary "treasured all these things that happened in her heart."  She, as a parent, never forgot that day, but she thought about them.  I imagine, she wanted to understand; to see the big picture.   Herod heard the news of the birth of a king and was "greatly troubled."  His reaction was to kill all the boys in the vicinity that were under three years old.  He was upset, and he made everyone else upset as well.  He was not going to let someone else be king.  And what of the innkeepers, who had no place for the baby and turned them away; leaving Mary and Joseph to have thei...