Is It Over Yet

Is It Over Yet? Like many, when I think of this year, I shake my head. But thankfulness comes to mind even if Christmas ornaments wear colorful masks and jokes dominate Facebook about the chaos we call 2020! Our new vocabulary includes “social distancing,” and big Xs point the way to our destination in grocery stores, pharmacies, and hospital procedures. Yes, 2020 deserves all the bad press that comes its way, but my mind goes back to last year at this time. I was still basking in the blessings of our 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration. I renewed vows to love my best friend for as long as I live in front of our whole family. That has not changed! We proclaimed that our God Jehovah was indeed our guiding light and Savior, and that certainly remains true to this very day. Have we had bumps along the way, yes but God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Early in the year, we learned that Missy’s cancer had returned, and she was in for the fight of her life. I had to return again and again to the final song we sang at our anniversary celebration. “Because He Lives,” the voices of my family rang out as they joined us in singing this beautiful promise. “Because He Lives I can face tomorrow.” Missy never turned her back on this God who accompanied her along this journey called cancer. She could not “social distance” herself from this long and hard road she found herself on. Still, her trust was in His sovereignty and love. I have seen many prayers answered this year, as well as His protection in automobile accidents, surgeries, and significant falls that could have been deadly turn out a few bumps and bruises. I have seen big moves happen, Oregon to Illinois with the safety of the Father’s hand, big decisions made, and Oliver turn 1, a signal that life goes on even in a crazy year! God did not turn away from us on January 1st, 2020; in fact, the bible says that He bends down to listen to us, and He requires no mask or social distancing. Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath! Psalm 116:2 Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. Philippians 4:6

Yes, Kelly, It Is Christmas Here!

Yes, Kelly, It Is Christmas Here? This Christmas has been different for us! We packed our clothes, locked our house, and left our Christmas adorned home to come to San Diego, CA, for our grandson’s graduation and spend Christmas here with my daughter and her family! What a change! Palm trees instead of pine trees, temperatures in the 70s instead of the crisp 9 degrees we left a few days ago. I drank my coffee on their deck as the bright sun threatened to give me a bit of a suntan. Oh, how I enjoyed myself as we took a long walk. Seeing a beautiful view of the ocean brought feelings of the power and presence of its creator. It made me praise God for his beautiful creation and remember His power afresh. But my daughter asked me a question that I have been pondering. She wondered if it seemed like Christmas since I was California rather than Illinois. A beautiful Christmas tree stands in their living room, lovely garland drapes their mantle, and Christmas dinner is ready to prepare in their frig. Just like at home, sometimes Christmas seemed far off. But then again, it does every year until I settled down and got the real meaning of Christmas into this harried heart. As I turn to Luke 2 to again soak up the Christmas story, I find that I see no pine trees or snow or even palm trees draped in lights in this reading. I see no Christmas trees with gleaming ornaments or brightly wrapped gifts under the branches. Even though I love these things, I see only a babe wrapped in cloth lying in a feed trough. I rejoice with the shepherds as the glory of the Lord shone around them. Even as they were scared to death, the angel said, don’t be afraid because I bring you good news. My mind cannot imagine this. The angels were singing and praising God, saying, Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace to those whom his favor rest! Shortly we will go home to frigid Illinois, take down our Christmas decorations, and put them in boxes until next year, but I will keep Luke 2 always in my heart! Silent night Holy night Christ, the Savior is born! Christ, the Savior is born! Yes, Kelly, it is Christmas here! Sent from Mail for Windows 10

One Vote

One Vote How much is one vote worth? One vote! My vote! In my years of voting, I have felt this my only source of action to voice my opinion. My one chance to change what I might see as wrong or, at the least, not in the best interest of our precious democracy. We are told to change things at the ballot box. My Dad fought for that right for me. During World War 2, he spent twenty-six months in a POW camp, where this strong man of large frame was reduced to 135 pounds. He didn’t talk of his experiences, but neither did he complain or regret giving his all for his country. While being a captive, his mother and father both died, and the family farm was lost. Two of his brothers were committed to mental hospitals for what they called then “Shell Shock.” My brother would serve in Viet Nam, along with many in my family. My dear husband would board a plane headed for Viet Nam with a line of MPs in place to keep any from fleeing, but this man would not even think of such a thing because he was willing to die for the freedom he believed in and for my ONE VOTE! I prayed today for God’s favor again on this country and offered a much-used prayer, GOD BLESS AMERICA! Honor our Veterans this day!

It’s Christmas At My House

It’s Christmas! It’s Christmas at my house anyway! It started in October because of an upcoming surgery that would render me non-weight bearing for six weeks. This would make it very difficult, if not impossible, to put up my vast collection of Christmas decorations. During these weeks of decorating, I have been reading Christmas devotions, I blare my Christmas carols from my Bose speaker, and indeed I adore the One who brings this celebration. As I turned on my trees in the early morning, I thought of something that lifted my soul’s heaviness in this disturbing time. Though the election brings debate, it’s Christmas at my house. I can still proclaim Joy To The World, and the one I celebrate fills me while the darkness still lingers outside. When a pandemic threatens to bring our country to a halt again, the lights on my trees remind me of the Light of the World that bids me, “O Come All Ye Faithful”! It’s Christmas at my house. Bethlehem’s manger sits in its traditional abode upon our desk, clear lights illuminating each character of that blessed group. Mary sits beside the baby Jesus gazing at his beautiful face and ponders all these things while shepherds recall the words of the angel of the LORD “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill toward men.” It’s Christmas at my house! Away In The Manger sums up my prayers in tumultuous days, “Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask you to stay.” It’s Christmas at my house! Come Let Us Adore Him! ““Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭2:14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Don't Spill The Beans

Don’t Spill The Beans! When my granddaughters, Jenna and Evie, were just preschoolers, they liked to play a game called, “Don’t Spill The Beans.” This little game has been around a long time; in fact, the game’s 1960s version used real kidney beans. It has been a favorite for many years. There is a tipping bowl that players place beans into until the bowl tips over and spills out the beans. The unlucky one who puts that last bean in receives all the beans into his pile. The object of the game is to get rid of all your beans. I thought of this game when I read a verse in The Book of Revelation that I had not read before. This verse says that our prayers are collected in a Gold Bowl. Can you even fathom that? Our prayers are so important that they are collected and wait in a Gold Bowl as incense or a fragrant smell to the Father. And Elders fell before the Lamb. Each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. Revelation 5:8 NLT Our prayers are as fragrant to the Father as incense. I think of the prayers offered at this confusing time in history. Prayers for healing both physically and culturally. Prayers for our leaders, with all the issues that surround them. Prayers for our economy and people hurting financially. We pray for our churches that they may be awakened from sleep and go forth with the Gospel. Why would these desperate prayers of a fallen world fill a special Golden Bowl? Because of God’s everlasting love for His people, the bowl when full tips and the answers fall to earth in immeasurable blessings. Unlike the whimsical game when the bowl is tipped, we are not the losers but winners, the victors, and conquerors that stand as warriors for our Lord.

Eyes To See My Own Heart

This year I have done one of those "check off the list" things. As an older person, there are just things that come along typically with age and need to be taken care of. I found my eyesight failing, especially at night, which was a sign that I needed cataract surgery. My doctor agreed. Many, including my husband, told me that color would appear brighter, and I would see much better after the cloudy lens was removed. They were right about the color popping and better vision far off, but I had an unintended result that has changed since the surgery. Before the surgery, I only rarely needed readers to help me see the print on a page, but I can’t see without them post-surgery. Therefore I have to have glasses with me everywhere I go. Can you relate? I can see a car in the distance quite well, but it is impossible to read a label in the store without glasses. I find this to be a truth in life and with my relationships with people. I seem to see the faults in others looking at them from afar but fail to see my own faults, which are upfront and personal. My far-sighted view puts me in danger of judging others. To put it biblically, I might try to remove a speck from my friend’s eye while all along, I have a log in my own eye, as written in Matthew and spoken by Jesus. I need God’s readers to see correctly. “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First, get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. Matthew 7:3‭-‬5 NLT So, my prayer today is to have eyes to see what is in my own heart before I attempt to see what is troubling my brother or sister. Help me, Lord, to rid my heart of anything that would hinder my testimony. Holy Spirit, grant me perfect vision as I look at my own life, and may I stop squinting to critique others. No readers needed!

Jesus Knows Me This I Love

One of my fondest memories is the tradition of taking our newborn babies to the church’s front to have them dedicated to the Lord. The creator of the universe had given us the privilege of raising this little one so fresh from heaven, and this was an opportunity to promise the Lord as well as our fellow Christian that we would bring them up to know our Lord, Jesus. Many times after the ceremony, the congregation would be led in a familiar children’s song, “Jesus Loves Me.” As we returned to our seat, baby in tow, the familiar words rang out as we passed the smiling faces wishing us well, Jesus loves me this I know for the bible tells me so. Such simple but true words. Loving this song and the beautiful words made it easy to love a little phrase, a play on the words if you will, that tells of yet another part of Jesus’ wondrous character. “Jesus knows me this I love” was the words that added depth to my already great love for Him. Just think about it. When others might seem to “not get you,” as they say now, our Lord does. The bible tells us that He knows us whatever we are doing or wherever we are. The Psalmist even asked the Lord to “search” his heart. O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. Psalms 139:1 NLT There have been times when even those who love me most did not know what was in my heart. In some situations, that is not bad because the heart can be deceitful, and my thoughts not so pretty. Then there are those times when my thoughts are pure even though some do not perceive that purity of my heart and so, judge me wrongly. But the Lord sees all and knows me. Those who are not dog lovers can’t see why I would feel comforted as my furry friend sleeps next to me this morning as I write and study. Ordinary people can’t see why I put Christmas trees up in October, but the One who came on Christmas Day does. Some might not understand my determination to awaken when the sky is still black to be with my Lord. Only my fellow journalers understand the closeness I feel to my creator when I record my thoughts in my journal. Others do not know the urgency that propels me to pass this love on through my writing, but the One who counts the hairs on my head knows my thoughts. While I was being formed in my mother’s womb, the one who saw me knows my motives and hears my prayers. What glorious ponderings the Lord has given this girl who could never deserve such love. Jesus loves me this I know!..... Jesus knows me this I love!