Turn It Around

Are you center stage?  Does every moment of every day depend on whether things are going your way or living up to your expectations? If daily life seems to be all about you then turn it around.  It takes practice. “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation!”  (Psalm 68:19)

"Oh rat feathers! The electricity must have gone off in the night and messed up my alarm clock, now I'm going to be late".  Would that start your morning wrong? Would you grouch and growl speeding your way through your morning routine? Would an expression sit on your face that would scare children, domestic animals and the elderly?  Well turn it around. See the blessings. The electricity came back on. (Blessed) My niece in Connecticut lost her electricity for three weeks with that last storm.  You had to take a fast shower? (Blessed) the homeless man who slept under the bridge last night won't have a shower. I really don't like those 'get your guilt on' comparisons. I'd much rather you just see the multitude of blessings around you and let them light you up. Getting out of the shower you reach for a clean fluffy towel... ummm... smell good. (Blessed) Clothing enough to make choices. (Blessed) Rush into the kitchen to grab a quick bite.(Blessed)  Food, home, all your basic needs God has provided. You look up and see smiles ... of course they are fifteen feet away because of the expression on your face. Your smile can decrease the distance and get needed hugs. (Blessed) You sprint out the door and jump into your car.  Oh my gosh you've got a car (Blessed) that's parked in a garage (Blessed) that has gas in it (Blessed) that working at your job (Blessed) provided the funds to put into the bank to pay for that gas (Blessed) and all your other expenses. (Blessed)  Do you have enough for everything you want? No???, then you are (Blessed)  We should never get everything we want! You back out and drive down the street. (Blessed) neighbors (Blessed) rain??? Huh???? oh no that will slow me..... turn it around (Blessed) The swish and slap of the windshield wipers will keep good time to the music.. so SING (Blessed) laugh (Blessed) and the glow on your face will bless everyone you run into at work (Blessed) 

A pearl to string: My grandmother use to say "Count your blessings".  Well now I am a grandmother so I'm saying, "Counting your blessings will turn your attitude of self-focus around to a gratitude that unlocks the joy of the Lord.  It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."  “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation!”  (Psalm 68:19) 

Turn It Around

Know you are loved,

                              Lyndi

All Roads Lead to Jesus

by Phil Ware

If we are honest, there simply are a lot of things that we get wrong about Jesus' birth. It's not that we don't care about the facts, we just seem to lose them in the mix of sentimentality and the re-telling of a story precious to us. As well-intentioned as we may be, we just get some things wrong: 

  * The time of year -- Jesus was probably born in late
    September or early October, though the explanation
    of that would take too long to put here, just take
    this one verse and do some investigation on when
    shepherds would have been out in the fields at
    night watching their flocks (Luke 2:8). 

  * The place where Jesus was born -- probably not a

    barn, but a cave for keeping animals, especially
    sheep, and in this cave would have been a carved
    out stone for watering them, and this watering
    trough was called a manger (Luke 2:7). 

  * Joseph and Mary didn't go to the cave to have
    Jesus because the local inn was out of rooms --
    it was because they were outcasts to their own
    families: folks to whom they were related wanted
    to have nothing to do with them because Mary was
    pregnant and not married and there was no
    explanation of her pregnancy that made sense
    (Luke 2:4-7 -- literally it says, "FOR THEM
    there was no place in the [family] guest room"). 

  * Mary doesn't ride a donkey or a camel -- there

    is no mention of her riding. Donkeys and camels
    were expensive. Walking was the common mode of
    transportation. 

  * The magi did not show up with the shepherds at
    the manger -- they came to the house where Joseph,
    Mary, and Jesus were living (Matthew 2:11),
    probably several months after Jesus' birth
    (Matthew 2:16) and quite likely because there
    were still unkind things being said about
    Mary's pregnancy. 

  * The magi were not three Kings -- they were
    astrologers from the East (Matthew 2:1-2
    likely Iran), who used a forbidden practice

    (astrology) to find Jesus whom they identified
    as king of the Jews (Matthew 2:2). While we
    know they brought three gifts -- gold,

    frankincense, and myrrh -- we don't know how
    many of them there were. 

When you strip these down and hear the story in its simple yet brutal beauty, it may lose some sentimentality, but takes on even greater power. A young engaged couple, expecting a child conceived by the Holy Spirit, goes back to their ancestral home and has no one who will take them in because they are unmarried and pregnant. They find an abandoned cave normally used to keep sheep safe. It is abandoned because the shepherds are in their fields at night during this special time of year. 

Baby Jesus is wrapped in strips of cloth and placed in a stone watering trough for his bed. (For those who first heard these stories and knew the culture, this would sound eerily like the tomb in which he was placed in death!) The Lamb of God is rejected by family and people in power. The Lamb of God is welcomed by those who tended sheep as he slept where baby lambs would have slept. The shepherds in the fields could have been the very same shepherds who watched over the lambs slain at Passover, because that is what many Bethlehem shepherds did. 

God with us, Immanuel (Matthew 1:23), was not welcomed into this world by those who knew Mary and Joseph. Jesus, who would save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21), yet he and his family were rejected because everyone suspected he was conceived under "sinful circumstances" in the minds of many people. Shortly after Mary became pregnant, she left her home in Nazareth and went to be with Elizabeth in the hill country of Judea, probably because of her questionable pregnancy while she was engaged to Joseph (Luke 1:39). Even years later, Jesus would still hear the taunt that he was Mary's boy, implying that Joseph wasn't his real father and Mary's supposed sin had somehow tainted him (Mark 6:3). 

At the end of Mary's pregnancy came the required trip to Bethlehem.

Where is Joseph's family during this journey? They would have made the trip, but Joseph and Mary journey alone. After the long hard walk from Nazareth to Bethlehem, Mary had to give birth without the love or support of family -- not because they weren't there, but because they had spurned Joseph and Mary! Mary had risked everything to follow the call of God -- including the risk of losing the love and companionship of Joseph (Matthew 1:18-19). And Mary did all of this to offer herself to God as the servant of the yet to be born Messiah (Luke 1:38). And when Joseph joined her in this risk of obedience, he was ostracized, too!

The story of Jesus' birth is a powerful testimony to the amazing obedience of two simple people who were willing to risk everything to honor God. And this story is a powerful testimony to the amazing love of God to risk everything to the faithfulness of these two people.

Such is the love of God for us … for all of us … those near and far from God … to show us that Jesus came to include us … each of us … all of us … in his mercy and grace. 

So we see Jesus welcomed, worshiped, and proclaimed by Jewish shepherds (Luke 2:15-20), Iranian astrologers (Matthew 2:1-11), and angels from heaven (Luke 2:8-14). We see his birth recognized and feared by King Herod and his religious experts (Matthew 2:3-8). We find precious and devout servants Simeon and Anna, both long in years, rejoicing in his birth and proclaiming God's loving mercy in the Temple (Luke 2:22-28).

We see his birth set in history in Roman time (Luke 2:1) and Jewish time (Luke 1:5-7). We see Jesus' genealogy traced through David and Abraham (Matthew 1:1-17) -- with some Gentile detours through Gentiles like Rahab and Ruth -- and we see it traced through David to Adam (Luke 3:23-37). 

Bottom line, no one is left out. Whether we get some things wrong or we research every bit of minutiae, all roads lead to Jesus -- whether those roads are traveled by Jews or Gentiles, the pitiful or the powerful, the righteous or the rebellious! Jesus is the story of God's love, the testimony to God's gritty grace, and the living witness of God's costly kindness for all people (John 1:14-18). And that story is consistent from beginning to end -- from cave to grave, from heaven and back to glory. 

May he be born in us this day and not lost in sentimentality or sanctimony of our season!

You can find the video here: http://hlt.me/tmlFpr

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  (c) 2011 Phil Ware <phil@heartlight.org>. All rights reserved.

It's Christmas

December 25–Christmas Day–has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1870.

Thousands of people know that holidays like Christmas and Easter  have pagan origins, but we don't hear of the holidays being celebrated in pagan fashion like days of old.  It is kind of creepy knowing that though. ewe! For whatever reason the church leaders had for choosing the dates they are the dates we celebrate.  Christmas... Merry Christmas. Say that in public a few times these days and watch heads spin. Christmas is obnoxious to some because it represents the combination of two words, "Christ" and "mass." The word means "the mass of Christ."  But what does "mass" really mean in the compound word Christmas? The dictionary reveals that the English term mass evolved from the Anglo-Saxon word maesse, which derived in turn from the Latin missa, which is a form of the verb mittere, which means "to send." Consequently, the root meaning of Christ-mass is "to send Christ," or "Christ is sent."  There is nothing inherently obnoxious in the name Christmas. The term accurately represents what the holiday is all about--the sending of Christ.

In doing that little word study I discovered another thing that sets my teeth on edge like fingernails scratching a black board. Xmas!?! The abbreviation Xmas takes Christ out of Christmas right? That's what I thought. Certainly some who use the abbreviation may do so for that very reason. But the abbreviation did not originate either to take Christ out of Christmas or as an "irreverent modern substitute for Christmas."  The X in Xmas did not originate as our English alphabet's X but as the symbol X in the Greek alphabet, called Chi, with a hard ch. The Greek Chi or X is the first letter in the Greek word Christos. Studies reveal that as early as the first century the X was used as Christ's initial. Certainly through church history we can trace this usage. In many manuscripts of the New Testament, X abbreviates Christos (Xristos). In ancient Christian art X and XR (Chi Ro--the first two letters in Greek of Christos abbreviate his name. This practice entered the Old English language as early as AD 100.  

A pearl to string:. God planned and executed the first Christmas. No matter how flagrantly men may abuse this holiday, they cannot rob devout believers of its wonder and glory as expressed by the angel of old, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10, 11).  

Christ IS sent...

Because God loves you

Merry Christmas my friends

I love you too

                  Lyndi 

Enjoy this fun song: Christmas With A Capital C  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAckfn8yiAQ

Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne

A very old Hymn my Grandmother Chase use to sing to me.
Text: Timothy R. Matthews
Music: Emily E. S. Elliott
________________________________________
1. Thou didst leave thy throne and thy kingly crown,
when thou camest to earth for me;
but in Bethlehem's home there was found no room
for thy holy nativity.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
there is room in my heart for thee.

2. Heaven's arches rang when the angels sang,
proclaiming thy royal degree;
but in lowly birth didst thou come to earth,
and in greatest humility.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
there is room in my heart for thee.

3. The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest
in the shade of the forest tree;
but thy couch was the sod, O thou Son of God,
in the deserts of Galilee.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
there is room in my heart for thee.

4. Thou camest, O Lord, with the living Word
that should set thy people free;
but with mocking scorn, and with crown of thorn,
they bore thee to Calvary.
O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
there is room in my heart for thee.

5. When heav'ns arches shall ring and its choir shall sing
at thy coming to victory,
let thy voice call me home, saying "Yet there is room,
there is room at my side for thee!"
And my heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus,
when thou comest and callest for me.

Lonely this Christmas?

Loneliness is the painful gap in your life between the amount of contact you want to have with other human beings and the amount you actually have.  Loneliness is about loss: loss of a loved one, loss of a family grown up, loss of being grown without family, loss of a youth stolen by tragedy, loss of physical abilities or loss of health to name a few.  With painful disappointment many suffer from feelings of shame, self-pity, guilt or failure.   

We are about to experience the shortest day and the longest night of the year. Many know what it feels like to be in the darkness of night. Others have called it “the dark night of the soul,” or “the winter of our discontent.” This time of year can bring back memories of past pain and sorrow. It highlights and heightens new experiences of suffering and this Christmas season is not a joy for everyone. In love & compassion people reach out and gather in the lonely yet often it hurts more going and seeing a family group that you're outside of. 

"Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man".  (Psalm 112:4) 

A pearl to string: Oh my goodness there is power in God's Word, in His promise!  Just as night passes into dawn, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous, dawn comes even in the worst nights of deep spiritual darkness. The Holy Spirit is reminding us that even in those worst times of cultural decay and decadence, satan's darkness will not rule forever. His darkness cannot stay where Jesus' disciples reflect the character of the Light of the world. 

That just lit me up.  I was feeling so blue not having the physical ability to decorate my home for Christmas, which was in itself a spiritual time of joy for me. I am in the process of grieving that loss in my life and along comes Jesus. He comes right into my heartache to remind me I am His walking decoration when I reflect His character. 

You know what "they" say when you are standing out on the ledge of the 72nd floor of a tall building..... "don't look down"!  When you're hurting... don't look down!

No matter what you are facing, no matter how bad it gets or how deep it hurts... there is hope in that beautiful child's birth that we celebrate this time of year. Each one of us can choose to reflect His character and decorate our world. 

Let us shine & twinkle

He came so you would know

You are loved,

                    Lyndi

The Outcome is His

Back in the day when I was in High School one of the big events I was looking forward to was going to the premier of "Ben Hur", the greatest epic movie of it's time. That was "The" red carpet event back then. A good old fashion Hollywood special screening premier with the high-intensity searchlights criss-crossing the night sky and a very big deal to me. The boy I was dating had made all the special arrangements.  At the last minute he told me that he had an emergency and had to travel out of town with his family on the night we had planned to attend. Disappointment didn't begin to describe my feelings. He said we'd go to the movie when he got back. Going to a movie and the premier of a movie are two completely different things. I then learned that boy was not out of town but had taken my friend (?) to the premier. Imagine my joy in plotting his demise after I cried a bucket of tears and then planned her demise.  That sunk two friendless-ships. My dad came to my heart rescue and escorted me to the private cast party celebration viewing of Ben Hur.  Wow, what an evening! I didn't know any of the other stars but meeting Charlton Heston that night was a definite memory maker. Having that very special evening with my dad was THE quintessential blessing bigger than life itself. It certainly helped me to have a dad in "the Hollywood business" 

Those fun memories came flooding back while I was reading a devotional from God's Little Devotional Book about how Charlton Heston worked long hours with the stunt trainers to learn to drive a chariot for the movie's crucial chariot race scene. He improved greatly with His mastery over the horses and rig, but finally became convinced the task was more of a challenge than he had initially anticipated.  He approached the legendary director of the movie, Cecil DeMille about the scene. "Mr. DeMille," he said, "I've worked very hard at mastering this rig, and I think I can drive it convincingly in the scene. But I don't think I can win the race."

The director replied, "You just drive. I'll do the rest."  

A pearl to string: God has a way of orchestrating the various races we run during the course of our lives. He trust us to do our part in "manning the rigs." We must trust him to determine the result of the race.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

The greatest act of faith is when man decides he is not God but realizes that "he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him."  (Philippians 4:13) 

We have a Creator in the Saving business

You are loved,

                  Lyndi

NOTE: I love the point this illustration makes but I'm not sure of the validity of the story.  Cecil B DeMille was not the director on the 1959 Ben Hur movie but he did direct Charlton Heston in the Ten Commandments in 1956 which turned out to be Mr. DeMille's last film. William Wyler directed the 1959 movie. AND yes I did wind up forgiving both friends but didn't choose to hang with either one of them again :)

Christmas With A Captial "C"