I did something totally unprecedented this week. I put up my Christmas tree before Thanksgiving. I have long been an advocate of waiting until after Thanksgiving to put up Christmas decorations. We need Thanksgiving...the world is entirely too lacking in gratefulness. But we bought a new tree this year and the box was just sitting there so I put it up. I am grateful for it. Does that count?
I actually think there's something very poetic about Thanksgiving wrapping up just as the Christmas season begins. What better way to prepare for coming of Christ than with a heart full of thanks?
My soul magnifies the Lord
And my spirit rejoices in God my savior
For he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed
For the Mighty One has done great things for me--
Holy is his name.
I've said it before, I'll say it again. If Mary can praise God as an unwed pregnant teenager surely I can muster up a couple of words myself. The Mighty One has done great things indeed and in the name of Love sent His Son for my salvation. This is a time for Thanksgiving for sure.
I shall enjoy my turkey and cranberry sauce this year in the glow of twinkling Christmas lights this year, remembering the reason for the season, and maybe I'll hang up some garland, too. It was on sale at Michael's. And I had a coupon!! Thanks be to God! Amen.
XOXO....Kelly
Monday, November 24, 2014
Thursday, November 13, 2014
The end of a chair-a.
We got rid of a chair this week. And not just any chair. My favorite chair. I've actually gotten rid of it one time before this, but then I took it back. It, along with a couch our dogs ate a hole in, was my first adult furniture purchase. It was comfy and stylish and full of sentimental value. It was also full of dog stink, so it had to go. You wouldn't believe, though, how many times I walked by it until I finally worked up the courage to haul it to the curb. Ask anyone in my family, I am not a pack rat. So why is it so hard to let some stuff go?
When Joshua steps in to lead Israel, the walls of Jericho fall with great success. But at Ai the Israelites are defeated. Joshua falls to the ground in despair and cries out to God.
"And the Lord said to Joshua, 'Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction." Joshua 7:10-12
When Jericho fell the Lord commanded the Israelites to destroy all within the city and to keep away from the devoted things of its people. A man named Achan, however, took in the plunder a beautiful robe, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold and hid them. These things he coveted were standing in the way of God's power in His nation.
Do you know how much better my house smells without that chair? As soon as it was gone I knew I had done the right thing. But we get caught up in the having, forgetting that the power is in the letting go.
Now, the world will not be made perfect if we all get rid of our smelly chairs, let go of the pants that don't fit us any more or the gallon-sized bag of troll dolls you found in the back of your closet (true story....ask Christi Thomas!!). I believe in God's power and I believe it's bigger than all of these things in spite of ourselves. Still, there's something to being "liable to destruction" instead of accountable to Christ. What within or around you is standing in the way of you seeing God's power? Maybe it's time to haul it to the curb.
XOXO...Kelly
When Joshua steps in to lead Israel, the walls of Jericho fall with great success. But at Ai the Israelites are defeated. Joshua falls to the ground in despair and cries out to God.
"And the Lord said to Joshua, 'Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction." Joshua 7:10-12
When Jericho fell the Lord commanded the Israelites to destroy all within the city and to keep away from the devoted things of its people. A man named Achan, however, took in the plunder a beautiful robe, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold and hid them. These things he coveted were standing in the way of God's power in His nation.
Do you know how much better my house smells without that chair? As soon as it was gone I knew I had done the right thing. But we get caught up in the having, forgetting that the power is in the letting go.
Now, the world will not be made perfect if we all get rid of our smelly chairs, let go of the pants that don't fit us any more or the gallon-sized bag of troll dolls you found in the back of your closet (true story....ask Christi Thomas!!). I believe in God's power and I believe it's bigger than all of these things in spite of ourselves. Still, there's something to being "liable to destruction" instead of accountable to Christ. What within or around you is standing in the way of you seeing God's power? Maybe it's time to haul it to the curb.
XOXO...Kelly
Tuesday, November 4, 2014
I voted today.
Our pastor talked a little on Sunday about the balance between compassion and conviction, which got me thinking. It's a hard balance indeed. Today being an election day, personal politics are on the forefront of everyone's mind.
How do I feel about certain political, social and economic issues? And, when put to the test, am I willing to put my finances, my family, my actions behind those ideals?
You see, no matter which side of the political coin you fall on, your vote is the first step in a greater call of action. We have to believe enough to vote and then, once we do, we've got to act. It's the freedom from that allows us the freedom to.
And so it goes with our faith. It's the freedom from sin that allows us the freedom to (as our pastor put it) finish what Christ started. We are redeemed to bring others to redemption.
Jeremiah Busby was a criminal sentenced to 80 years in a state penitentiary. By the age of 14 he had been convicted of two homicides. When he entered prison he was told he would die there. And, according to Jeremiah, he did. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Cor. 5:17 Jeremiah came to know Christ in prison, has since been released, and now works with a former warden in the Breaking Chains Making Amends Foundation, to bring other prisoners to the same light of Christ.
Redeemed to redeem.
Finish what Christ started.
Freedom in Christ is not a free ride and the political freedom we enjoy in this country isn't one either. Your vote matters. Your actions matter even more.
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, GO and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:18-20
XOXO...Kelly
To learn more about the Breaking Chains Making Amends Foundation please visit their website at www.bcmafoundation.com or to hear Jeremiah's testimony please follow this link to Sunday's sermon at The Foundry UMC http://www.foundrychurch.org/worship/?mode=sermons and listen to 11/02/14.
How do I feel about certain political, social and economic issues? And, when put to the test, am I willing to put my finances, my family, my actions behind those ideals?
You see, no matter which side of the political coin you fall on, your vote is the first step in a greater call of action. We have to believe enough to vote and then, once we do, we've got to act. It's the freedom from that allows us the freedom to.
And so it goes with our faith. It's the freedom from sin that allows us the freedom to (as our pastor put it) finish what Christ started. We are redeemed to bring others to redemption.
Jeremiah Busby was a criminal sentenced to 80 years in a state penitentiary. By the age of 14 he had been convicted of two homicides. When he entered prison he was told he would die there. And, according to Jeremiah, he did. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Cor. 5:17 Jeremiah came to know Christ in prison, has since been released, and now works with a former warden in the Breaking Chains Making Amends Foundation, to bring other prisoners to the same light of Christ.
Redeemed to redeem.
Finish what Christ started.
Freedom in Christ is not a free ride and the political freedom we enjoy in this country isn't one either. Your vote matters. Your actions matter even more.
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, GO and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:18-20
XOXO...Kelly
To learn more about the Breaking Chains Making Amends Foundation please visit their website at www.bcmafoundation.com or to hear Jeremiah's testimony please follow this link to Sunday's sermon at The Foundry UMC http://www.foundrychurch.org/worship/?mode=sermons and listen to 11/02/14.
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