This is my journey to completely, wholeheartedly, and unashamedly give control of my life to Jesus.

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Souvenirs of 2011

 The definition of the word souvenir is “a thing that is kept as a reminder of a person, place, or event.” A souvenir can be just about anything.  I have a drawer full of t-shirts that say "I Love" and then the name of a city or place.  Some people bring home key chains, state magnets, or event programs.  Shortly after we were married, Denny and I started collecting coffee cups from different places we visited. I would like to say it was for some well thought out reason but it was basically because they were cheap.  After we would get back home, we put the cup on a shelf in the kitchen to be used throughout the year as a reminder of our trip.  In the middle of winter, we could be drinking out of a cup from St. Thomas.  After a long hard day, we could grab a cup from London and remind ourselves of beautiful fairy tale castles. We have a cup from a Texas rodeo my entire family attended, a cup from a Florida alligator farm where Jake held a live alligator, state parks where we hiked trails and discovered waterfalls.  Each one still brings a flood of happy memories from times past.  


Writing a blog was my daughter’s idea and I will always be thankful for her encouraging me to try something new.  I am amazed at the souvenirs I have gathered during 2011 as I have written a weekly blog.  I have memories from some very difficult times, my brother going home to be with the Lord and one of my best friends being diagnosed with breast cancer, to a great memory of my grandson Kyle graduating from 8th grade.  I will never forget the spiritual treasures I discovered watching Brianna and Jake hunt for hidden gold coins. I have blogged insights from the Lord through ordinary everyday butterflies, eagles, refrigerator fungus, red boots, and snowflakes. So much has happened over the course of a year. Each one of these blog posts is a souvenir I treasure.  It is a blessing to go back through and remember the goodness and faithfulness of God to me throughout 2011.  In just a few hours 2012 will arrive and I am wishing you all a year filled with moments you will treasure as souvenirs forever.

                                       HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Best Gift Ever


Gifts are a big part of Christmas and, I will have to say, one that I enjoy very much.  I love receiving gifts not knowing what is inside.  The excitement and anticipation build to the point that I have been known to shake a few presents under the tree well before Christmas morning.  As much as I love to receive gifts, I think I enjoy giving gifts even more.  I have been known to go on searches that border on insanity for the perfect gift.  I have stood in early morning lines, I have done doctoral level research to find where a certain gift can be purchased and I have risked life and limb on Black Friday to fulfill the wish of someone I love.  There is just something about being able to give someone a gift that will light up their eyes and bring a smile to their face that I just cannot resist. 

On this Christmas Eve, I hope that somewhere in all your preparations you have managed to find time to think about a gift for Jesus.  Christmas is a day set aside to celebrate His birth.  How would you feel if for a month you watched those you love make all kinds of preparations getting ready for your birthday with lights and beautiful decorations all through the house, all kinds of goodies being made, and packages of all shapes and sizes wrapped in beautiful paper with ribbons tied around each one.  Finally the day arrives and you rush downstairs, everyone is laughing and exchanging gifts, but there is nothing for you.  I can only imagine how Jesus must feel when once again there is no room for Him on His own birthday. 

But don’t be alarmed.  There is no need to panic and go on a high-speed google search for something the King of Kings might want.  No in-depth research is needed to come up with the perfect gift and there is no need to go on a death defying shopping trip to Best Buy on Christmas Eve looking for something to put a smile on the face of Jesus.  Nope - I have the perfect gift idea.  You!  You are the gift that Jesus is dreaming about finding under the tree on Christmas.  You are all He wants for His birthday.   So this Christmas join with me on Christmas morning and greet Jesus with these words “Happy Birthday Jesus I am ALL yours,” and watch His eyes light up and a smile spread all the way across His face.  This is going to be the best Christmas ever.

Happy Birthday Jesus.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Shine

We moved to Carlinville almost 9 years ago now.  I can’t believe how fast those 9 years have gone by.  There was a lot of adjusting to do moving from the suburbs of Chicago to 7 acres outside of Carlinville.  I made the adjustment from having 4 malls within 20 minutes of my house to one Wal-Mart 4 miles away.  I made the adjustment from being able to have just about any type of food – Mexican, Chinese, and Thai,  whatever - delivered to my door in less than an hour to driving into town for hamburgers.  I made the adjustment from shopping at huge bookstores to ordering from Amazon. All those things were really no big deal.  But the one thing that still stops me in my tracks is walking out my front door late at night and looking up at the sky.  To see the heavens filled with the brilliance of millions of stars never ceases to overwhelm me.  The suburbs of Chicago are filled with artificial light that diminishes the brilliance of the night sky, but now I am far from neon signs and streetlights.  That is what I want to talk with you about.  Stars that shine brightly in the night. 

Do you remember the star in the Christmas story? It has the leading role. It was the star that led the wise men to Jesus.  This is where the story gets really exciting for me.  Here are these Magi that some say are astrologers, some say philosophers, but for me that is not important. What is important is that they were Gentiles who were outside the religious Jewish community.  Not part of the “chosen” so what would draw them?  What would cause them to leave family, friends, and homes and set out on a two-year journey?  A STAR?!  They saw an extraordinary star.  A star like none they had ever seen before.
These were men who made stars their business.  These men came from a land where the people actually worshipped the stars but there was something different about this star that compelled them to follow and see where it would lead and to whom it bring them.  Would it lead them to a King?  You might say this was a heavenly birth announcement.  How many of you have received a birth announcement in the mail?  Proud parents telling friends and family of the arrival of their much anticipated child.  God sent the world the birth announcement of His Son by placing a star in the sky for all to see.  The star was God’s way of saying to everyone that His Son had arrived among us. 

The one star that the wise men followed to find Jesus was just the beginning.  I find myself living in a world that is filled with artificial lights that try to obscure the true light.  In our world we have sports stars, actors, and actresses who are stars.  We have singers and musicians all sending out a light that causes the true stars to seem to fade.  Where are the extraordinary stars that cause people to stop and think, “That star is different.  I have to find out where that star might lead me.”

We are called to be stars that shine in the darkness of our world and lead the lost to Jesus. 
So this Christmas I ask myself if I am consumed with the zeal of the Lord so that my heart burns within me?  Does my life give out the light of God’s love that causes men and women to wonder what is different about my life?
Daniel 12:3
And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

My prayer for each one of us is that the Holy Spirit will cleanse us from the mundane, fill us with fresh oil, and set us on fire to tell the greatest love story ever known to man.  


This Christmas I pray we SHINE!


Thursday, December 15, 2011

The Little Girl in Red Worshiped  -
                                                                                                I watched


It was a classic ladies’ Christmas banquet hosted at a Christian conference center. The scene for something magical to happen was set from the time I arrived.  The trees leading the way to the banquet center were covered in twinkling white Christmas lights.  A little bridge along the pathway was strung with colored lights shining in the cold night air. It had snowed a couple of days before and a skiff of snow still lined the pathway.  It would only get better as I went inside.   The room was beautifully decorated for Christmas.  A tree in one corner, place settings for eight around each table, napkins folded and the salad preset.  A beautiful Christmas decoration took center position on the table.  On top of all that, there was a huge fireplace with a wreath hung above with candles and angels on the mantel.  It was like a picture postcard.  The room was filled with women dressed in holiday sweaters decorated with Christmas pins and scarves draped around their necks. 

I was the speaker that night and I spoke about never allowing the telling of the Christmas story to fade.  The miraculous story has not changed but maybe those of us who are to tell it have lost some of our awe. I spoke of allowing the Holy Spirit to fan the flame of God’s love that is within us so that our lives would shine as that first Christmas star and lead those who are seeking to God.  Daniel 12:3 was my scripture base “And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

After I spoke, a musical group gave a mini concert.  They were not singing the traditional Christmas carols but worship songs. The room was filled with women who loved the Lord and they were quietly entering into a time to worship the one whose birthday we were celebrating. That is when it happened.

A little 3 – 4 year old girl dressed in a red dress, white tights, brown snow boots and a red bow attached to an elastic band around her head suddenly jumped up out of her chair and went right to the front and began to dance.  Now I don’t mean some nice little dignified swaying back and forth, oh no, she was jumping, leaping, flailing her arms, and spinning around and around.  By the end of the song her little red dress was ruffled, her white tights were sagging, and her elastic headband with the red bow on it had began to inch its way up the back of her head causing her hair to become scrunched up in a little poof.  To top it all off, she was exhausted but smiling from ear to ear. 

I would like to pass the next paragraph off on the others who sat in the room but I can only speak for myself.  My first thought was “Where is this child’s mother?”  Why is she allowing her daughter to distract from the worship time?  The Holy Spirit immediately brought to my mind a scene from His holy word.

Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy.  While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head.

 The disciples were indignant when they saw this. “What a waste!” they said. “It could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”
 But Jesus, aware of this, replied, “Why criticize this woman for doing such a good thing to me?  You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.  She has poured this perfume on me to prepare my body for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”

I heard the message loud and clear.  Just like the disciples, I was indignant at the sight of someone who worshipped with total abandonment. I am also sure that the Lord commended the little girl in the red dress.  She worshiped and I watched.

For an answer Jesus called over a child, whom he stood in the middle of the room, and said, "I'm telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God's kingdom. What's more, when you receive the childlike on my account, it's the same as receiving me. Matthew 18:2-5 (MSG)

I will be forever grateful to the little girl in the red dress.  I think she was probably my gift from God for the Christmas season.  I had talked about giving everything to God and allowing Him to shine through my life but she lived it out right in front of me.  It is my Christmas prayer that the next time God looks down He will see two little girls, me and the little girl in the red dress, dancing with utter abandonment before Him.  He is worthy.

My prayer for each one of you is that you never lose your child-like wonder.  That you never get so dignified that you miss out on God’s best.  I pray that you will see this Christmas through the eyes of a child and worship.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Let It Snow


How full of the creative genius is the air in which these are generated.  I should hardly admire them more if real stars fell and lodged on my coat.  Henry David Thoreau







Has anyone ever called you a flake?  Have you ever called someone a flake?  I will have to say that my best friends are flakes. I would like to submit that the comparison to a flake is a huge compliment.  Snowflakes are actually made of ice that has been fashioned into complex and symmetrical shapes determined by their journey down through the atmosphere.  They are not made on assembly lines, not cut from a press, and they are not fashioned from a blueprint.  No two snowflakes are exactly alike. Each snowflake is a spontaneous creation of mesmerizing pattern and form.  They usually have six primary branches and each branch supports additional side branches and just for the record, you will never find an eight-sided snowflake.  Physics, mathematics, and chemistry come together to create a one-of-a kind work of art.  Each one is a mini masterpiece that is uniquely fashioned.

For Christmas this year my Christmas cards say this, “Maybe snowflakes are letters God uses to write upon the winter sky a graceful script of peace, hope, and love…  Can you imagine sitting in your big comfy recliner with a cup of hot chocolate, with those little marshmallows floating on top, watching as God writes peace, hope, and love across the wintry sky.  Maybe that is exactly what is happening and we just don’t have eyes to see.  How often do we pray Matthew 6:9-10 “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,  your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
God’s kingdom is filled with peace, hope, and love.  Every person, including you and me, that was ever born came down from heaven uniquely fashioned by the hand of God into a one-of-a kind work of art with the purpose of bringing heaven’s peace, hope, and love to the earth. Psalm 139:14  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
My daughter and I were shopping over Black Friday, (yes I was one of the crazies and I loved it) and I found a small gift box that had these words on the lid “Snowmen come down from heaven unassembled.”  In other words, some assembly required.  Have you ever read those words in the tiny black print hidden on the bottom corner of the back of a box?  Inside the box is a NASCAR® Turbostockers Speedway Slot Car Set for your son, the Exclusive Barbie Malibu dreamhouse for your daughter, or maybe a new book case you fell in love with at IKEA for your office.  Whatever it may have been, if you are like me, you thought how hard could it be?  The implication is that the hard part has been done and now all you have to do is just finish the assembly.  I can’t tell you the number of times I have sat in the middle of the floor surrounded by parts without a clue as to how they all fit together.  I want to shout at the manufacturer that “some assembly required” is a gross misrepresentation.

So if you are still trekking with my flakey analogy, God sends billions of uniquely fashioned flakes to earth (that would be us) with His peace, hope, and love written on our hearts to share with this world.  Just like the snowflake, we are one of a kind works of art uniquely fashioned by the life journey we have been on. So now there are billions of us flakes covering the earth and some assembly is required.  God has taken on the mammoth job of assembling us all together to form one body or maybe just a snowman. 1 Corinthians 12:27  Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

So as you sit in that big comfy chair with your hot chocolate watching those beautiful white fluffy snowflakes cover the earth, remember you and I have a lot in common with the snowflake.  We are fearfully and wonderfully made and are called to cover the earth with His peace, hope, and love.  We are meant to be joined together by God to form one body.  I am thankful this Christmas season for all my flakey friends and family.  My life has been made richer and fuller by being brought together with each one of you. 

Merry Christmas to all my flakey friends and family!



samarttiw / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Gifts From The Heart


Every Who
Down in Who-ville
Liked Christmas a lot . . .
But the Grinch,
Who lived just north of Who-ville,
Did NOT!
The Grinch hated Christmas!  The whole Christmas season!
Now, please don’t ask why.  No one quite knows the reason.
It could be his head wasn’t screwed on just right.
It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

Sometimes I feel like my heart is two sizes too small when the Christmas season begins and I think about everything I have to do, every present I have to buy, and all the cooking and baking I have to finish.  It is all those “have tos” that cause my heart to get smaller and smaller to the point that the joy of Christmas could be squeezed right out of me, but then I go on a search for a Giving Tree.

Some churches call them Angel Trees, some places call them Secret Angels, or just Giving Trees, but no matter what they are called, the idea is the same.  Give a gift to someone you don’t know, someone who is not expecting a gift from you, someone you will never even meet and someone who will never pay you back.  You can walk into Walmart and see a Christmas tree covered with little tags.  On closer inspection, each tag is marked girl or boy with an age on it.  Sometimes there are suggestions as to what the child might like, but most of the time you are on your own to imagine what a girl age 7 might be dreaming of, or what is in the mind of a 10 year old boy.  Sometimes nursing homes give out gift lists for residents who do not have family that will buy for them at Christmas or prisons give out lists from inmates who do not want their children or spouse to wake up Christmas morning with nothing from them. The office where my husband works receives names from DCFS.   Every year I look forward to the day that Beth sends out the e-mail that says the names are in her office so I can pick out a child.  You might have thought I was going to write pick out a child to bless but that would be wrong.  I take a name because – like the Grinch – it causes my heart to grow three sizes. The blessing is mine.

 I will never meet this child. I am not obligated to buy a gift.  I am not expected to buy a gift.   I will not be there when the gift is opened.  It is simply a gift from the heart.  Heart gifts put everything back into perspective.  Instead of thinking of everything I have to do, I am humbled by the realization that I am blessed to be able to give a gift of love.  So this Christmas season, I challenge you to find a way to give a gift of love.  I can guarantee that your heart, just like the Grinch, will grow at least three sizes.


John 3:16 (NLT) “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.