In His Grip

$2.00 Nativity

Look at this great nativity scene.  Since I have begun doing a little bit of traveling to different countries, I have started a nativity collection from different parts of the world.  I have one from, Haiti, Mexico, and Costa Rica as well as my orginial Precious Moments set.  I have not been able to get one from India quite yet but am working on it.  The gals at 10,000 Villages are looking for one for me.  One of the women that works there has a daughter who has been living in India for a year now and she cannot find them anywhere.  I thought it was just me, but I guess a nativity scene is not important to a prodomantely Hindu country.  This particular navitey scene was made in China and I purchased it after, the after Christmas sale at Wal-mart for about $2.00.  I know, what a great deal.  However, it did not start out looking like this.  I purchased it knowing that I would help it out a bit and make it look just a bit better.

This is what the nativty started out looking like.  It was less than okay in my opinion.  The painting of details was very crude, but the shapes of the figurines were good.  So, I got out my trusty spray paint and gave it a couple of coats of white.  Boy, doggies, what a difference a couple squirts of spray paint can make.  

Here are the three kings, although they are all white, the detail shows up just enough to make them the elegant, distiguished men that they were.

This is the shepard and animals as well as the Holy family.  Okay, yes, I gave baby Jesus a bath in white gold glitter, but after all He is the one that the whole celebration is about. Jeff is still a little unsure about the "sparkley" Jesus, but I like him anyway.  The baby Jesus I mean.  I still like Jeff too, even though he just shakes his head at my spray painting shenanigans.

I glittered the roof of the stable as well.  So now I have a navity from China although I have never been there. It is now proudly siting amoung my other nativities, holding its head up high even though it was only $2.

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Trust for three?

This past Sunday in church we were each given three playing cards.  Coming from a baptist background, my pastor, grandfather would be quite disturbed by the fact that we had playing cards let alone drums and guitars in church.  But that is a whole other story. We were to assign each card something we value most in our life; family, job, security, etc.  Once we had done that, we were asked to give them over to Jesus.  Giving him total control and trusting him for the plans of each of these things we hold so dear.  During an extended time of worship and prayer, when we had given these things over to Jesus we were to lay them face up on the floor in front of us.  I have been a Christ follower since I was 12 years old and grew up in a Christan family believing that I was able to give it "all" over, but I have to be honest with you I was unable to lay these cards down.  I want to be able to trust Christ for everything, and there have been times when I think I have come close, but as soon as I would lay it down, minutes later I would pick them up again.  Daily, if not hourly, I have to force myself to allow Christ to have control in areas of my life that I want him to and areas where I struggle to give up that control. Needless to say, I still have my cards and have not yet laid them down. The desire to trust fully is there it's just the lack of control that I have trouble with. 

Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.  Isaiah 26:4

I do believe this, its the application that I can't seem to manage.  Have a great day and "trust" in the Rock eternal.

Why I Celebrate Christmas

I believe that in the business of the Christmas season I often forget what my celebration is really all about.  Even as a follower of Christ, I am  sucked into all of the activities of our Christmas holiday that our culture suggests.  Everywhere I look there is a reason to buy gifts, decorate my home, and go to parties.  As my blog and home are here to tell, I love the Christmas season with all of its glitter, sparkle and surprises.  But I have been reflecting today why it is I do all of these things and why the excitement builds as the month of December progresses.  For me, it starts with family and the memories that are involved with the celebration of Christmas.  There is not a Christmas for me that did not include the telling of the first Christmas in Bethlehem.  I began thinking today that even if you do not believe that Jesus is the son of God, you celebrate his birth everyday of the year.  Our calendar is based on the birth of Christ and there is no getting away from that.  Today my heart is happy that Jesus was born and brought with him the gift of grace and forgiveness. That is why I celebrate Christmas!!!!

Here We Place an Ebenezer

These are some rocks that are on the road near where my mother lives in Minnesota.  I am not sure how long they have been there, but they have been there for a long time.  These rocks were placed there intentionally and with purpose.  I remember the first time that I noticed them when my kids were small.  We even talked about them a couple of times and what they might mean.  I have always believed that they represent someones Ebenezer.  Ebenezer comes from a verse in the Bible:

1 Samuel 7:12 ~ Samuel took a large stone and placed it between the towns of Mizpah and Jeshanah  He named it Ebenezer (which means "the stone of help"), for he said, "Up to this point the Lord has helps us!"

Ebenezer is a combination of two Hebrew words that literally mean, stone of help.  I love that!  Samuel set up this stone as a reminder of the Lord's help.  It was a physical, in your face, reminder that God had not forgotten about them, he had helped them by protecting them from the Philistines.  Do you have an Ebenezer?  Something that reminds you of the love and mercy of Jesus?  I actually have several things that are in and around my home that remind me of where I have been and where I know Jesus wants me to be.  One of them is a stepping stone that my kids made me for mothers day one year, and another is a ring that I wear with Hebrew writing on it that represents the verse:

Ruth 1:16 ~ Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.  Your people will be my people and your God my God.

Find something that reminds you of God's help in your life.  Sometimes we need a physical reminder in front of us that God is there and He already knows what we are going through.

Am I Beautiful?

I believe every woman no matter where she lives or what she does for a living deep down, somewhere in her soul, wants to be beautiful.  There are gals I have met that insist this is not true, but you know what, I don't believe them.  I will admit that I want to be beautiful, maybe it is not as important to be beautiful to everyone, but there are certainly people in my life I want to think that I am beautiful.  Now I am going to say, I have had people in my life that I never doubted thought I was beautiful.  My Dad told me from the time I can remember, every time I saw him just how beautiful he thought that I was.  Although, I am sure this was a biased opinion, that did not matter.  I knew that he thought I was beautiful.  As a little girl to a grown woman I never got tired of him telling me just that.  One of the first things that I told Jeff after my Dad passed away was that I was going to need to hear him tell me I was beautiful because my Dad was no longer here to do that for me.  And what a great husband I have because he has really stepped it up in the "Judy, you look great today".  He is really not a "beautiful" word kind of guy, but you know what, it works for me.  I want my beauty to come from inside as well and that is where I have to rely on God to give me the beauty that will permeate from His heart into mine allowing myself full exposure and vulnerability to those I do life with.  To trust Him and offer my true self to those around me is hard at times but I know, again, deep down God says I am beautiful and I want to live in that. 

Show me your face, let me hear your voice;

For your voice is sweet and your face is lovely.

Song of Solomon 2:14

Prayers For Haiti

Wow, the past couple of days I just cannot stop watching the newscasts on Haiti.  The Haitian people, especially the ones that I met last April, are on my mind constantly.  We visited several orphanages while we were there, most of them to the southwest of Port au Prince, and have received word that these children and their Mamas and Papas are safe, there is still one orphanage in the city that is still unaccounted for.  The people of the Global Orphan Project have a team that has gone in to assess the need and take supplies.  If you want an organization to donate relief funds to, click here.  The Global Orphan Project is guaranteeing that 100% of the funds donated to Haiti relief will do exactly that.  If you are in the Kansas City area on Saturday, January 16th, there is a Haiti Prayer Event being held at 8 - 9 am.  To get the most up-to-date information about the Global Orphan Project team in Haiti go to their blog.

A Step Into Africa

Today the kids and I stepped into Africa through the World Vision Experience. I had no idea what to expect but I knew that I would leave that place with a fresh heart for the poor and hurting of our world.  This brought to my mind the men, women and children that I have met across the world that are in need of a hand up.  I thought of the little orphan boy, Jefty, in Haiti that hugged me and crawled up in my lap and clung to me during a church service.  The fact that he just could not get close enough to me was almost overwhelming.  I remember the little girl I met in the Philippians that would not stop staring at me and finally came over and sat with me and sang worship songs to me while a pastor spoke in a language I did not understand.  I am reminded of the children in the orphanages in India that I have met and the house Moms that care for them.  My friends Sam and Prati Stepehens, Pastor Benny, Samita, Dony St. Germain and the many others that minister to these people.  My heart for the under resourced of this world continues to grow.  As I walked through the life of Babirye today not only did the young girl loose her Dad to AIDS but she also tested positive for the disease.  

 
 

We each followed the story of a different child and had to wait in the clinic area for the test results of that child.  Lindsey and Anna's little girl did not test positive, but both Ryan and I had children that are now living with the disease.

 

All of the children pictured in the prayer chapel have either been diagnosed with AIDS or lost one or both parents to the disease.  The impact of AIDS in Africa is staggering and is wiping out an entire generation of people. 

 
I am not sure what touches your heart.  But I do know that you need to act on that desire to help.  Even though you do not think that your small gift or service can make an impact, if every one of us acts, we can, and will make a difference to the people in this world who are in need.  Whatever you do, ACT!

 
Today my hand is stamped with a + sign as Babirye's was in the clinic where she found out the news.  This is a reminder that I can make a difference if only I act no matter how small the gesture. My God can take my act and grow it into a plan that will make a difference in the world.  Our family plans to act in the LIVE OUT LOUD offering at Indian Creek Community Church on December 20th knowing our God has a plan.

Choosing to Believe!!!!

This morning I read a devotional and the key verse was:

Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.  Hebrew 11:6

I understood something today that I had never noticed before, not only do we have to believe that he exists but he is also asking us to believe that he will reward those who are seeking him.  Hmmmm, I had never noticed that I am suppose to "believe", really "believe" that he does reward us for seeking him.  I don't know that I "really" believe that, I know that this verse states that, and I know in my heart that the Bible is the word of God, but do I truly believe?  Today I am choosing to believe that the reward I have been waiting on will be mine today!

Grand Opening

Do you remember what it is like to be a kid and waiting for Christmas day, or your birthday.  You have imagined, planned, dreamed, and maybe even prayed for the day to be all that you hoped it would be.  This Sunday, March 2nd, is that BIG day for Restore Community Church. Its doors will open to the Northland community around I-29 and Northwest Barry Road.   They have done all the planning, dreaming and praying.  Now there is the waiting for God to do His thing and bring the people to Him.

What If? You Could Be a Missionary

What if you could be a missionary and not even leave the comfort of your own country?  Okay, you do have to drive close to the Kansas City Airport but you don't even have to board a plane.  Restore Community Church is looking for some people to LIVE OUT the love of Christ for 6 short Sundays starting March 2nd finishing up your mission on Sunday, April 6th.  What if this really excites you click here?  The advertising is done, mailers are going out, messages have been planned and now the only thing left is the fact that you are being called to be missionary and do not know where to serve.  What if, you committed to 6 Sundays?  What if you were a missionary? 

When The Game Is Over It All Goes Back In The Box

This is a video of Kirk Rogg and the message he gave at Olathe Bible Church on November 4th. His message is about 11 minutes long.  When you have time, watch the whole thing and it will make you want to be sure that you are playing the "game"  of life to its fullest.  A couple in our small group goes to Olathe Bible and they told us of this story back early in November and we have decided to read the book he talks about as a group.  Kirk Rogg has since gone on to be with God, but in his video he challenges us to remember "When The Game Is Over It All Goes Back In The Box" and read this book.