A Baby Changes Everything~

Greetings,

The Christmas season is upon us, and I love it.  I enjoy crowds, I don’t mind long lines (it gives me a chance to people watch), and the decorations put me in such a great mood!  Speaking of decorations, my tree is already up, and it’s fun to discover new ornaments that I bought last year at 90% off that I had totally forgotten.  And then there are all the ornaments I have collected for over 30 years.  One, in particular, is so sweet.  It’s a little clay creation featuring Joseph, Mary, and Baby Jesus.  The inscription is simple: “A Baby Changes Everything.”

Oh yes, it does!  Ask my grandbaby’s parents.  No more sleeping whenever.  No more getting ready without one thousand and one interruptions.  And let’s not get started on the never-ending cycle of feeding, diaper changes, and trying to keep baby entertained, and the money they spend to accomplish all the aforementioned.  The weight of the responsibility can be overwhelming. And yet, EVERYTHING changes for the better. 

The depth of love and patience one discovers when a child is born is miraculous.   The joy at the smallest of accomplishments (i.e. rolling over, crawling, babbling…) is incalculable.  And never have I seen more happiness than when mom, dad, and baby are together and making each other laugh.  Most importantly is that this new mommy and daddy are learning to cover every aspect of my granddaughter's life in prayer. Even so, there’s only one baby Whose birth has had the most profound effect on human history – Who changed everything for everyone: JESUS!

Only He is the Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, King of kings, Teacher, and The Truth. Only He is the Bread of Life, Light of the World, and our Savior. 

Because of His birth, we have peace, guidance, health, hope, light, faith, love, and joy. 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You for sending us Your Son.  His birth has changed our lives for the good, and it’s the Gift that keeps on giving.   Every day we need all the blessings Christ offers us.  In His sacred name, we pray, AMEN. 

WHAT NERVE!!!

Greetings,

As we prepare to celebrate Mother's Day this weekend, let's take a look at one fabulous, inspiring mom from the Bible whose name is Hannah.

Hannah desperately longed for a baby, but she could not get pregnant. It was heartbreaking, and to make matters worse, another woman, who had the blessing of children, "taunted her cruelly" because of it. I guess mean girls have always been around.  And, surprise surprise, her own husband didn't understand her. He was so clueless that in 1 Samuel 1:8 he asks her, "Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” 

(Eye roll, please).

Hannah did the wisest, most powerful thing she could do.

"Crushed in soul, Hannah prayed to God and cried and cried - inconsolably. 'Oh, God...take a good, hard look at my pain, go into action for me by giving me a son, I’ll give him completely, unreservedly to you. I’ll set him apart for a life of holy discipline'" (I Samuel 1:11-12).

Hannah prayed...And from what the verse above says, it was a desperate, no holds barred, anguished plea; it was also a mighty invitation.

GO INTO ACTION FOR ME!

That's kind of bold.  Little made-of-dust us telling Almighty God to take a good, hard look at our suffering and then demanding He do something about it? What nerve!

But that's precisely the kind of "nerve" God responds to.

By the time we get to verse 20 in this same chapter we read, "Before the year was out, Hannah had conceived and given birth to a son. She named him Samuel, explaining, 'I asked God for him.'”

This phrase, "before the year was out," really touches my heart and fills me with hope.  I have several prayer requests that I would love to see answered before the end of the year.

Do you? 

Then let's pray! 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for moms. Some of our moms are in Your tender care, and we are grateful we will see them again. For those moms here on earth, bless them with long healthy lives. And we also praise You for the bold language of the Bible: GO INTO ACTION FOR US.  I especially need to see Your power displayed in this area of my life _________________________, and may You grant my request before the year is out. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Be a Baby~

Greetings, dear people ~

 

1 Peter 2:1-3 So get rid of every kind of evil, every kind of deception, hypocrisy, jealousy, and every kind of slander. Desire God’s pure word as newborn babies desire milk. Then you will grow in your salvation. Certainly you have tasted that the Lord is good!

Yesterday we learned that because we have tasted that the Lord is good, we should feel a longing and a desire for more of Him. And the Lord compares that desire to that of a newborn who desires milk.

One of my favorite TV shows is Too Cute! Puppies, and watching those little doggies wobbling over to momma for milk is just beyond precious. Those itty bitty canines are so eager for nourishment, and they will crawl and claw their way to the source.

But newborn human babies are even more adorable and will instinctively shake their little faces as they are nuzzled up against their mom until they find the "spigot" so to speak. And every couple of hours this scenario has to be repeated, or everyone within a two-block radius will know baby is hungry.

God wants us to be just as eager in our desire for Him; He wants us to nourish our souls daily and sometimes more than once.

 

Ironically, our tendencies are just the opposite. Often times when we get our fill of Him, when we get our answer to prayer, when everything is running smoothly, when the weather is nice outside, when there's money in the bank, when our kids have triumphed over their latest challenge...we pull back on our church attendance, our Bible reading, and GASP! even our prayers.

PRAYERS: Dear Lord, We do desire You. Help us be as enthusiastic about You as You are about us. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

No Greater Joy~

Today is Hormone’s birthday. I can not believe he is 26 YEARS OLD!!! I clearly remember a kind Jamaican nurse holding him up for me to see while they stitched me up from my C-section. That image is permanently engrained in my brain, and I am thankful for him. He is one of God’s greatest gifts in my life.

If we really like a gift that we’ve been given, we cherish it. And when we cherish that gift, we take really good care of it. Is there anything more valuable than a child? No matter what the age? As such I will share with you what I have shared with Hormone a million + times in the past: The greatest thing I can do to show you my love is to pray for you. And over the years I have had countless Jabez moments where I cried to God to bless him, to help him make wise decisions, to increase the number of good friends and decrease the miscreants, to protect him—especially while playing sports, to let no harm or danger come near him, physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual, and to keep him from suffering.

Has Hormone had a perfect life? NOPE—not even close. But as his mom I have such a profound and abiding peace because I accept by faith that every single thing that has come his way has been filtered through the heart of a loving God Who allowed it for the ultimate goal of blessing my son.

Let’s read that again: Every single thing that has come his way has been filtered through the heart of a loving God Who allowed it for the ultimate goal of blessing my son.

This doesn’t mean we will understand why some things happen. This doesn’t mean we have all the answers. What it does mean is that prayer is a powerful, effective tool that brings the glory of heaven down here on earth. It moves the hand of God in our lives and the lives of our families. It brings with it peace, confidence, joy, and hope.

And I want you all to know—especially you, my precious son—that the words of 3 John 1:4 are the reason why I am always so happy: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We pray today for all of our children to walk in truth. When they fully understand Your love for them and Your desire to see them make wise choices, they will make the best choices and live a beautiful life in the process. In Jesus’ name, AMEN~