Inspirations

he will crush [ b ]  your head,      and you will strike his heel.”  Genesis 3:15 As we begin the Christmas season,   I think it's appropriate to look at the beginning of the Christmas story See, the story begins way back in the  garden of Eden when Eve introduced sin into the world, God had a plan. A plan to correct the sin problem that we all have. We see it in the promise he made in this verse.  "H e will crush   your head,   and you will strike his heel.” I love that, God, knowing we would sin, set a plan in motion.   But the plan, though set in motion in Eden, spanned thousands of years. Things had to be just right, and the timing had to be perfect.  His plan was simple a sinless man, taking on the sins of the world. Adam and Eve had long since died, and there was no sign of a plan. nothing to even hint that God had even remembered the plan or the promise. D...

God’s plan to save the world, came with a promise,  and the promise brought hope.   Years before the baby was born, the promise was bringing hope.    They knew that God kept his promises,  so there was hope.    In the darkest of times,  the words spoken by the prophets were  a glimmer of light in the distance that kept them going.   The sign was not yet fulfilled,  but they knew it would happen.   That must have brought comfort to their weary souls.   Then, amid choirs of angels,  and the din of a stable,  and under the light of a star,  and the racket of a crowded town,  God made his entrance into the world he created.   He came not as an adult but as a baby.   His first cries, as all births do, brought hope.   But this birth brought hope not just for...

As we go through our day, we are often faced with things that irritate or annoy us. Someone steals our parking spot Washing the dishes McDonald's messed up our order We spill our drink We lose our keys again We lock ourselves out of the apartment/house We get a flat Shoveling Snow These are all things that can annoy us and make our day sad if we let them. Tonight after work I went to get my jacket only to discover that it was missing.   That in itself is not a problem.  Don't misunderstand me, I like the coat, but I rarely form attachments to articles to things.   However, my keys were in the jacket pocket.  Having no keys meant that I would have no transportation home.  Did I mention it was cold?  It was freezing.  It was irritating because I had to call my husband and have him bring another set of keys.   I was irritated until I put the situation in perspective. The fact that my keys were missing means I have a ...

When my daughter was home, she drove our car to visit a friend. When she got home, she informed me that the brakes on the car did not seem to be working right. So, I took the car to the garage, and had the mechanic check it out. Since we have not had to change the breaks in a long while, I was sure that I would be paying for breaks and maybe springs or shocks. I was calling the car squeaky. After about an hour, the mechanic returned and said that the back breaks were frozen. We had been driving the car with only the front breaks. Yow! I was prepared for him to say they were worn, but not that they were not working at all. I am thankful that, with all of the extra driving, God was protecting us even when we did not know, we needed protecting. Yes, I can recount many times when I know that God was protecting me and my family; bears jumping the median, driving too fast on a dirt road, and driving with no back...

Some days are rough. Things seem to start  out bad and go downhill. I am thankful that, on days like these, We can rest in your loving hands  knowing that not all days are bad, and tough times don't last. They are but a moment, like a cloudburst  that lasts a short time and passes on.  Sometimes, if we look, we can find a beautiful rainbow on our not so good day. We can find a promise of better days. I am also thankful that because of the bad days,  I can appreciate the good days even more. After all, how would I know good days if there weren't some bad days? for the days when everything is as it should be. 

I am thankful that God offers forgiveness.  When my sins loom in front of me, and I'm faced with a mountain of guilt I can take it to God. He is the only one who can cancel our sentence. Because of that, I can  offer others that same forgiveness  when they hurt me. I am thankful that there is nothing I can do that God will not forgive when I ask. There is no pit so deep that God's hand is not deeper still, to lift us out of the hole of sin and hold us close to his heart.

I am thankful for each new day. Each day is a chance to start over. Yesterday, with all of its problems and struggles, is over, gone, poof. I may have made a mess of things yesterday, but I can try again today, and tomorrow, if necessary. When I am having a bad day, I am thankful that I have hope that tomorrow will be better. I have the privilege of making today the best day it can possibly be. With each day I can choose to; laugh more than I did yesterday, Be kinder than I was yesterday, love more than I did yesterday, dream bigger dreams than I have ever dreamed. What a blessing that Yesterday does not define today. No matter how bad yesterday was, today may be different. I don't have to live in yesterday's failures. Each new day offers hope that things will be different than yesterday, and it will be because no two days are ever exactly alike.