Promises for the New Year - Monday Moments with God

My Dear Child,

As you stand on the verge of a new year, please remember that only I know the future.

 I have plans for you this year that will help you to grow stronger in me. Though some things may hurt, remember I will never harm you because I love you and we have a future together, you and I.

Trust me with everything inside you and don't try to figure things out for yourself. Just take one day at a time and follow me - I'll keep you on the straight path. I am always at work, orchestrating the details of your life so that everything will fit together in my plan for you. I delight in making a way where there doesn't seem to be a way

Just hold my hand and walk with me in 2013.

Love, Jesus

Proverbs 3:5-6 (CEB) Trust in the Lord with all your heart; don’t rely on your own intelligence. Know him in all your paths, and he will keep your ways straight
Jeremiah 29:11 (ERV) I say this because I know the plans that I have for you.” This message is from the Lord. “I have good plans for you. I don’t plan to hurt you. I plan to give you hope and a good future.
Romans 8:28 (NLV) We know that God makes all things work together for the good of those who love Him and are chosen to be a part of His plan.
Isaiah 43:16, 18-19 NLV “This is what the Lord says, Who makes a way through the sea and a path through the powerful waters, “Do not remember the things that have happened before. Do not think about the things of the past. See, I will do a new thing. It will begin happening now. Will you not know about it? I will even make a road in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”

Snow shovels vs. snow plows

““Come to me, all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 CEB

For the last few years, DH (Dear Hubby) and I have both been struggling with back pain issues which means fairly regular visits to the chiropractor. I'm not sure what caused the issues, but usually a few treatments is usually all it takes to put things right again. Then the "tune-ups" start to keep things feeling pretty good.

But with snow-shoveling season here again in Central PA, I suppose there will soon be some problems again.

Isn't it good to know that whenever we struggle with heavy emotional and spiritual loads, we have One who will help us to carry them so we don't throw our backs' out trying to carry them ourselves?

We tend to carry these loads ourselves too often because

• 1. We are ashamed to admit we have a problem. My line used to be: "Well I'm a pastor's wife - I'm supposed to help others with their burdens and problems, but I'm not supposed to have problems - or at least I'm not supposed to show weakness."
• 2. We don't really believe that God will help us with it - maybe we've asked for God's help before and for some reason, he didn't answer us (at least not the way we thought he should). So why would he answer this time?
• 3 We don't feel worthy to ask for help - we somehow feel like we deserve whatever is happening to us and therefore, we shouldn't even ask for help.

But Jesus offers us this wonderful open invitation to come to him for help when we're struggling emotionally, physically and spiritually - regardless of whether we are worthy. We don't have to be strong. He may not remove the burdens we carry but he will be there to shoulder the lion's share of it so we don't get overburdened or weighted down by life's cares.

All we have to do is COME to him for help. It's like using a snow plow instead of just a shovel. LOL!
 
Thank you Lord for offering to help us bear our loads! Help us to accept your offer today. Amen.

Knowing Christmas

"Let my whole being bless the LORD! Let everything inside me bless his holy name! Let my whole being bless the LORD and never forget all his good deeds:” Psalm 103:1-2 CEB

Did you ever watch a baby receive their first gift? They're not quite sure what to do with it, but they like the bright paper. They'll feel the present, maybe even try to chew it. After someone shows them how, they start tearing the paper off because they like the sound of the paper ripping. Then they play with the box for a few minutes until someone helps them open it to see what's inside. After a few minutes of excitement over the contents of the box, they put down the toy and go back to playing with the box with an equal amount of excitement. They enjoy it with their whole being!
 

So what would it look like if we celebrated Jesus - God's gift to us - with our whole being, with all five senses like a child?

Hearing - The Shepherds heard the angels' message of a Savior that was born and they were afraid at first, then filled with awe as they listened. The words filled their hearts so full of hope and praise, they simply had to worship right where they were on the hillside.

Pretend you are hearing the angels' message for the first time. What emotions would you feel?

Seeing - They saw the angels and fell on their faces. But then I imagine they looked up in wonder as the message continued. Then they decided to act on the message of the angels and go see the baby who was born in a manger. Leaving their sheep on the hillside in God's care, they went to Bethlehem to see what had come to pass. When they saw Jesus, they wept and worshipped again.

I don't know about you, but all I have to do is look at the face of a new grand baby and my heart swells with love for that child. It's not so difficult to imagine how the shepherds felt.

Tasting - Each season has it's flavors. Christmas brings to mind peppermint, chocolate, cookies, ham dinners - with all the flavors enhanced by the love of family and friends as they gather together. When rejoicing with our loved ones, it's not hard to remember to bless the Lord - to taste him and know he is good.

Touching - Nothing thrills my heart as much as the words in Mark Lowry's song, "Mary Did You Know," where he reminds her that "when your kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God." As a mom and now a Grandmom, I've known the thrill of holding a wonderful, touchable, huggable, kissable infant. But to imagine what Mary must have experienced as she held God in human form? Incomprehensible! Yet the thought of him becoming touchable thrills my heart.

Smelling - The scent of pine boughs, hay in the manger, the crispness and cleanness in the air after a newly fallen snow, Christmas cookies... So many seasonal smells conjure up images of the Christmas season.

Lord, help us to celebrate you with the excitement of a little child, with every fiber of our being as we see, hear, taste, touch and smell Christmas - the time of your coming in human form to redeem us! Amen.

Homemade cottage cheese

"Whatever has happened—that’s what will happen again; whatever has occurred—that’s what will occur again. There’s nothing new under the sun. ¹⁰ People may say about something: “Look at this! It’s new!” But it was already around for ages before us." Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 CEB

What a treasure trove my mom and mother-in-law left me! I have their recipe files - boxes and boxes of news clippings, hand written recipes and whole recipe books. There are way too many recipes to keep them all, but as I look through them, I've found some really great oldies that are new to me which I plan to keep and pass on to my daughters.

This morning I found a wonderful recipe to make my own cottage cheese from ingredients
I already have in my kitchen. We are trying to live more frugally so cottage cheese is one product we don't usually have on our grocery list, though I really enjoy it.

To start with, you make a recipe of buttermilk starter. It's made with powdered milk, store-bought buttermilk and a dash of salt. Once you get it going, you shouldn't need to buy the buttermilk again.

To make it, start by making the instant powdered milk - usually about 1 and 1/3 cup of the dried milk and 2 and 3/4 cups of water. (Use 1 cup less of water to mix the milk than the box recipe calls for. ) Mix thoroughly.

Add 1 cup of the regular buttermilk and stir until well blended. Let stand at room temperature in the kitchen.

After 24 hours, you have a jar of buttermilk "clabber" which you can stir and store in a sterile glass jar in the fridge. It should keep for several weeks that way, according to the author. Use as you would use buttermilk in any recipe. It also serves as a starter for future recipes of cottage cheese or more buttermilk (much like you would use a sourdough bread starter.)

- OR for the cottage cheese -

You can let the buttermilk-powdered milk mixture stand in a jar on the counter without stirring for a total of 48 hours, until the bottom third of the jar contains clear liquid (the whey) and the top 2/3 of the jar contains curds.

Without stirring it, pour the mixture into a large strainer filled with cheesecloth or a large wire-mesh strainer. When drained, voila! You have cottage cheese. Refrigerate the curds and use as you would any store-bought cottage cheese.

The recipe went on to say that the next day, the author would show us how to make a low calorie, low-fat substitute for sour cream using the homemade cottage cheese - but I haven't found that piece yet! Guess I better keep looking... since I'm all about low cal, low fat goodies! LOL!

Thank you Lord for helping us revive old recipes to help live more frugally today! Amen.

Mary's Scrapbook

“They went quickly and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. When they saw this, they reported what they had been told about this child. Everyone who heard it was amazed at what the shepherds told them. Mary committed these things to memory and considered them carefully. The shepherds returned home, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. Everything happened just as they had been told.” Luke 2:16-20 CEB

My middle daughter is into scrapbooking - at least she was before she had 8 children. Sometime in the future, I'm sure she will begin again since she has carefully catalogued photos of her children from birth to the present time just waiting to be placed on pages.

Like my daughter, Mary had so many wonderful details to remember about the birth of Jesus, that she "committed these things to memory and considered them carefully." It made me giggle as I wondered what kind of scrapbook Mary might have kept back then about the birth of her son?

First double-page layout - Preparation for the journey: She might have used lined paper for the background since she had to make lists and preparation plans. Then she'd have placed a copy of the tax decree that caused her late-pregnancy journey, along with photos of the piles of things she planned to take to Bethlehem. Opposite page: a photo of Joseph posing with the donkey he got to carry her the distance since she was 9 months pregnant (she probably included a tummy shot too - just to prove later that she really needed Eeyore, especially when people commented that she must have been crazy to take such a journey in her condition.)

Second double-page layout - On the road to Bethlehem: Maybe Mary took a photo of their resting spots along the way and journaled about how wonderful Joseph was to make her as comfortable as possible. Perhaps she took a photo of the sunset before they settled down for the evening or Joseph preparing breakfast as she rested along the roadside. She probably would have used rustic outdoorsy type background papers for these pages.

Third spread - Arrival in Bethlehem: I'm sure she would have taken photos of the city as they got close. She probably took more photos of the crowds to show her relatives how busy it was. On the opposite page, she probably took a photo of the stable and journaled about how it was the only place Joseph could get; and how he made it as snug and private as possible for her.

Of course, after that, Mary and Joseph would have been pretty busy with the baby who refused to wait another minute to be born. But after he arrived, Mary probably would have had Joseph take photos of the baby and his manger bed and mounted them on background papers printed with straw. A large photo of mother and child would have been the focal point of this layout.

On the opposite page, Mary would have had one of the shepherds take a family photo of the three of them - Mother, Father and Son - to make copies for everyone back home. As the baby slept, she probably would have journaled everything she could remember about his birth and placed it on a tag in a hidden pocket on te page.

Of course, the shepherds would have had their own 2 page spread as they came and shared their story. She'd have posed them around the manger with her son and maybe a lamb or two. Maybe she would have included some texture on the page in the form of some wool and straw embellishments. Journaling the shepherd's story would have taken center stage on the opposite page. How awesome for them to have heard an angel choir!

Perhaps the last page would be a close-up photo of the infant's face, sleeping peacefully. The Son of God, yet born to a virgin! I'm sure it was a sight she never would forget in the quiet moments of reflection.

No, Mary didn't keep a scrapbook with photos, but we have a wonderful word-picture in the Scripture of Jesus birth. Let's keep these pictures in our hearts and minds through this holiday season and think about them carefully. Jesus is the reason for the season!

Epiphany

“While they were there, the time came for Mary to have her baby. She gave birth to her firstborn child, a son, wrapped him snugly, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the guestroom.” Luke 2:6-7 CEB

Epiphany. According to Meriam-Webster's online dictionary it means:

(1): a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something
(2): an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking
(3) a: an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure b: a revealing scene or moment

I've always wanted to use that word. Well, the other day I had one - a sudden, illuminating realization. What fun!

Sitting in the car in the Wal-Mart parking lot, waiting for Dan to come out of the store, a van pulled into the space beside us. Of course, there was nothing unusual about that.

I paused in my knitting, curious to see who would get out of the van. The first one out was a tall, lanky teen boy. In the front seat was another teen girl.

Because it was dark, the dome light was on so I could easily see into the van. There in the back, unfolding themselves to stand up and crawl out were three more teens. I think there were 5 all together, plus an adult.

Suddenly I burst out laughing because I realized that's exactly what my daughter's van would look like in about 10 years as her 7+ kids grow into their teen years. The 12 passenger van they have now which holds all the children plus 2 adults with room to spare still has room for #8 who will be arriving in February. BUT it will definitely feel like a sardine can when they all start hitting puberty.
LOL!

God took an ordinary, everyday moments of life, and illuminated it, causing me to suddenly sit up and take note about a life truth - my grand babies won't be little forever. I can just imagine him sitting on his throne chuckling to himself - "Ah. Now she gets it!"

Though my epiphany was nothing like the one God brought to the shepherds the night of his Son's birth, they too experienced a marvelous revelation through an ordinary event.

To them it was life as usual on the hillside. I can imagine they often looked up at the stars and marveled at God's creation. Suddenly, the stars came alive, taking on the form of angels, telling them of God's plan to bring hope to the world through the birth of a tiny baby.

Most people didn't even notice it, they were too busy with their everyday lives to even look upward. But out in a field, shepherds saw angels. Their minds were suddenly illuminated and they understood the meaning of those revelations. So they came to worship - not just an ordinary baby, but a newborn KING, Emmanuel, God with us.

Thank you Lord for the epiphanies of our lives. Help our eyes, ears and hearts to be open to them. Amen

Out of the mouths of children...

In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. (Luke 10:21)

For anyone who has a young elementary school aged child at home, we wonder how they will react to the news of the school shooting in Connecticut last week.

My seven-year-old grandson already understood about death and dying (as well as any young child can) since he lost his four-year-old cousin to cancer last year and his great-grandfather died just a few weeks ago.

In his mind, he imagined a happy picture - his little cousin was there with Jesus at heaven's gates to welcome these new children as playmates.

One of the most beautiful tributes I've seen, echoes his child-like vision. I don't know who the author was to give credit (if anyone knows, please let me know!). But I'd like to repost it here - it's well worth repeating!

Twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38
when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate.
Their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.
They could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.
They were filled with such joy; they didn't know what to say.
They remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.
“wher...e are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.
“This is heaven" declared a small boy. "We’re spending Christmas at God's house”.
When what to their wondering eyes did appear,
but Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.
He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
Then He opened His arms and He called them by name.
And in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring
those children all flew into the arms of their King
and as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
one small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face.
And as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of mom and dad. “
then He looked down on earth, the world far below
He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe,
then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,
“Let My power and presence re-enter this land!
“May this country be delivered from the hands of fools”
“I’m taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools!
“Then He and the children stood up without a sound.
“Come now my children let me show you around.
“Excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.
All displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.
And I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
“in the midst of this darkness,” I AM STILL THE LIGHT."