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Anticipating Christmas

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I can remember Black Friday shopping as a child and later, a young parent. As a child, I grew up in a very modest household. There were some Christmas days when gifts were homemade and few. I didn't realize how little we had because I had so much love in my home. Love was what my childish heart craved more than things. That was why I never noticed lack because what I truly needed was not lacking. As I grew older, on a good year, we would rise before the crack of dawn to stand in a line in frigid temperatures to claim a J.C. Penny's Christmas ornament. Inside the ornament was a coupon for either a discount or gift certificate for purchases that day. When you're on a severe budget, that discount was the difference between little Christmas and gifts under the tree. We chose the stores with the best sales and continued the process by sale priority. It became a special tradition. My mom would send my father for a newspaper with sale ads the day before, and we would anticipate ...
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God Will Meet You There

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  There's been so much stress around lately that it's easy to pulled under by it. Eventually, the stress gets in your head, and you forget the peace that comes from the Father . We try to replicate that peace through breathing, massage, yoga, mindfulness, hobbies, and addiction, but nothing seems to bring it back. That's because it was never yours to produce. John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart's be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (ESV)    This scripture points out the key to gaining peace, and it has nothing to do with us. We cannot generate true peace no matter what we do or try. The world gives temporary reprieves from stress, but it won't keep it at bay forever. True peace is a gift of the Father. When our world is crumbling, we grab onto His peace that holds steady, already knowing the outcome of every situation has been won by His blood. If you're struggling, do not...
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To Simply Trust

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Over the last few months, I've talked about trusting God a lot. I feel like these days are stressful, hard, and full of struggle. Because of this, the need to trust God is even more important. However,with all of these obstacles, the very reason we need to trust God is what makes it so hard to trust Him. While driving, a thought occurred that I think can challenge us all. So, here goes... have you noticed how easily we trust the FDA to determine what is good for us to eat?  There have been things that I enjoy eating; however, after the FDA has found it bad for us, I stop eating it. Not because I don't want it or it doesn't bring me pleasure, but because the FDA has found that it could harm me, so I abstain from eating it. Why is it that we can trust a government agency to decide what is good and not good for us without becoming angry or saying they are unfair, but we become angry when God tells us what is bad for us for the very same reason?  He does this because God knows...
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From Death to Life

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 I live in a beautiful area. Many flock to my area to see all the leaves changing colors. Yellows, reds, and oranges color the hills and mountains. As we look at the trees, we think beautiful. However, what we actually see death. As the weather becomes color and the days shorter, the pigment in leaves, chlorophyll, breaks down leaving the orange and yellow pigments, carotenoids behind. The leaf also forms a layer at the base of the leaf, cutting the life system off. This results in the leaves dying. However, the cycle is nessessary in order for the tree to conserve energy during the harsh winters. In order for life to continue for the tree, something needs to die . When we look at our spiritual lives, it's very similar.   Hebrews 12:10-11 ESV   For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.   11  For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but lat...
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The Feast

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  My church always comes through for potlucks. My husband likes to say they have the gift of potluck. We always bring all of our small groups together for the first Sunday of the month. Since it has been a long week, I took the easy way out and bought some store- bought cookies. Of course, when all of the homemade masterpieces arrived, my store- bought cookies paled in comparison. Who wants to settle for a shelf-stable cookie when you can have homemade cherry cheesecake or cream pie? Needless to say, our children's Wednesday meals will have the edition of store- bought cookies. This brings me to this week's thought. God has a wonderful plan for your life. However, so many times, we settle for a poor substitution of God's best for our lives. It may not seem that bad, but it just isn't as good as what God intended. My challenge is to allow God to guide you and submit to His leadership. He already knows what you need before you even ask, so why would we want to miss out o...
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Your Past Doesn't Define You

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 As a pastor's wife, I cross paths with many people. One of the most common things I have heard is, "God could never work through me because of where I come from." So often we allow our past to define our value to God. Let me take a moment to argue that your past does not determine your value to God. Let's get into the cool part of this. In the Old Testament, Numbers 16, Moses has led his people out of Egypt. They have built a tent as the Tabernacle for God. During this time a man named Korah, who was a Levite dedicated to working in the Tabernacle, decided the whole community was holy, not just Moses and his people. Therefore, they should be allowed to lead the people.  He took 250 men to raise a rebellion. Moses addressed them by telling them to bring incense to worship God, and He would bring incense. They would see who God called. As they brought the incense, God warned the people to move away from the tents of the wicked. Then, the ground opened and swallowed K...
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A Flower is Still a Flower

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  Since Fall has finally come, I wanted to join the bandwagon with Fall mums. I have driven by so many stands with these big, beautiful mums in so many bright colors. I voiced my excitement for these mums and my sweet husband heard. He appeared one day with two pots of yellow mums. The only negative was that they were green with one little flower poking out of the greenery. After mentioning this, my husband pointed out that by being green, my mums would sprout later so that I enjoyed color for much longer. I couldn't fault this, so I waited. Nearly two months later, my one little yellow flower peeks through the greenery like a clown in the middle of a funeral, bright in an otherwise solemn surrounding. Of course, this became the joke around my house. It's like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree of mums. Here's the spiritual nugget. It becomes so easy to focus on what you don't have that you can't value and appreciate what you do. If only I had more money, meanwhile,...
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