Let’s exchange
Worry for Worship
Shopping for Singing
Clamor for Calm
Parties for Peace
Jollies for
Santa for Savior
Christmas lights for Christ the Light
Gifts that fade for the Gift that lasts forever
Baking for the Bread of life
Holly for Holiness
Christmas tree for the Cross
Presents for His Presence
Let’s not short change this wonderful Season!
If I took on this more-expanded-job, I would need some help in the job I already have. One of the first people I skyped seemed ready for my question before I asked. He and his wife had been feeling that they needed to stream line into one direction, for about a week already. And the direction was in helping in what I am doing!
One of the most overwhelming parts of the job I have now is the administration load. Two people have already said they would and are helping carry that load!
As I have been praying and thinking through this new job, ideas have been bombarding my thoughts day and night. LOTS yet to learn, but the learning seems like something I will enjoy.
We bought a new book called Axiom by Bill Hybel and I have been reading a bit each day. Almost every day God has used that book to speak into the different questions or doubts I have had concerning this new job.
Family, friends and colleagues have all given me their confidence vote!
There are still many pieces missing to clearly see the big picture but there are enough pieces in place that I am starting to see the shape. Coincidence? Nah! Just pieces coming together and I can’t wait for the next one!
I am reading Philip Yancey’s book on Prayer: Does it make difference. A good provocative read.
Prayer is vital to me, yet it is one of the biggest mysteries I have concerning my faith walk with Christ. I continue to grapple with how prayer affects my walk with God and God’s working in my life and in the world around me.
Eugene
“My grammar book said, “The middle voice is that use of the verb which describes the subjects as participating in the results of the action.” I read that now, and it reads like a description of Christian prayer- “the subject as participating in the results of the action.” I do not control the action: that is a pagan concept of prayer, putting the gods to work by my incantations or rituals. I am not controlled by the action: that is a Hindu concept of prayer in which I slump passively into the impersonal and fated will of gods and goddesses. I enter into the action begun by another, my creating and saving Lord, and find myself participating in the results of the action. I neither do it, nor have it done to me; I will to participate in what is willed.
As I continue to try to understand prayer there is one thing I know for certain. Prayer is commanded by my Lord so I am all the more determined to pray and keep asking for prayer; working in partnership with my Savior and Creator.
One of my all time favorite books is Windows of the Soul by Ken Gire. He gave me the inspiration to look into the many windows in my life that display God!
“If such things as art galleries exist in heaven, certainly the picture of the widow’s offering is hanging there in a prominent place, for it was one of those secret acts of devotion that Christ referred to, something sacred that the Father saw and treasured….The Temple, which for so long had been a sacred place, had become a streetside gallery of religious display. Lost behind the clutter of ornately framed gestures was a pencil sketch of a poor widow’s soul. Not until Jesus pulled it out and put a frame around it did the disciples even realize it was there. Once they did, though, they sensed it was a sacred picture, revealing to them a window and showing them what was dear to God.”
I am no artist- I have sisters who are! But as I make myself more acutely aware of looking around God’s gallery and seeing what he frames (and what he does not), then I get a glimpse of what is important to God.
Lately in the mornings he has framed the non descript little sparrows that hop outside our window. Then in the evening he frames the multi hued gilded clouds of a
I hope I will never cease to be amazed standing in God’s art gallery. Which picture are you pondering over right now?
Talk & Tranquility
Your Daily Visit with Friends
"A non-denominational website designed to encourage women in their walk with Jesus."
If this looks like your place to get away and be quiet in your busy day log on to the sight at
http://www.transformationgarden.com
I see them from my window and this morning I walked through their midst. The cart people who live on a street near us. Their 6-8 feet wooden carts are their livelihood and their life. They are our area’s recyclers. They go through the garbage looking for wires, cardboard, bottles, steel, iron, soda cans and anything else that may bring a few pesos at the end of the day. A few of the kids may be lucky and find half a banana or a few chippies at the bottom of a bag someone threw away. A young man may find cigarette stubs that he savors as he lights up and feels “like anyone else” and not like he is- street dirt poor. At night they have emptied their wooden carts of recyclables and it becomes the instant bed for the family. During the day, the ones watching the stuff at the “camp site” find shade from the trees or an old tarp nailed to a nearby wall or tree.
As I walked by this morning the “community was abuzz”. A dad had a baby on his knees giving him a bath under a community tap. Two ladies were sorting the already full carts of “merchandise”. Another lady was washing clothes in a small broken plastic basin. One little tyke probably 3 or 4 played with a stick making circles in the muddy stream that was running down the street- a stream full of soapy water and from the smell, someone’s overfull sewage. Another youngster was face down on the sidewalk watching her older brother play in the stream- both stark naked. Another young man was in the grassy part of the median between the street laying out the day’s laundry to dry in the sun.
The only thing any of the young children are wearing was the amulet on a string around their neck to ward off evil spirits. Life as lived on the sidewalk in
Let me introduce my grandson. Yeshua Emmanuel Schlitt Manansala. He joined our family on August 30 by C section. Lisa is healing really fast and Yeshua is a delight! He was 5lbs 12 ozs. but starting to thrive on mommy's milk. So now you know why I haven't blogged in a few weeks.Becoming a grandmother is wonderful. One moment you're just a mother. The next you are all-wise and prehistoric. ~Pam Brown~
Grandchildren are God's way of compensating us for growing old. ~Mary H. Waldrip~
It's amazing how grandparents seem so young once you become one.
~Author Unknown~
If your baby is "beautiful and perfect, never cries or fusses, sleeps on schedule and burps on demand, an angel all the time," you're the grandma.
~Teresa Bloomingdale~
My head is full of trying to figure out how to juggle being with my daughter in the birth of her first baby while I have workshops scheduled in and around the due date. BUT how blessed I am that my daughter wants me to be part of this awesome experience with them!
Mary’s true story
So it was decided and after Mom and I shopped i for a few maternity clothes, I soon found myself heading for the mountains escaping all that was familiar and dear to me. When would I return? Would I ever get back? I was too tired trying to make any sense of it all and put my head back and slept from sheer exhaustion.
In the beginning was God. The self sufficient, Holy One. God has existed forever and has no start or end. He is all-powerful and is completely good and loving. He is a creator God and made the universe. His word is all-powerful. He just said, “Let there be light” and suddenly there was light. In an orderly way, God made the dry land, plants and animals. God looked at what He had created and it was perfect.
She chose to rebel against God and listen to Satan. She also gave some fruit to her husband and he also rebelled against God’s clear word.
But what did Adam and Eve do? They started to pass the responsibility. Eve blamed the snake. Adam had the audacity to blame not only Eve but God , “The woman YOU gave me”. His meaning was clear. If you hadn’t created this woman for me, I wouldn’t be in this mess!
God was very sad because He knew the suffering that this rebellion would cause. Every person looks to themselves or anything else but God to find meaning to life. The result would be arguments, divorce, war and much more. People would no longer care for the world but would try to exploit it, never thinking of the floods, pollution and misery that they were causing.
Perhaps Adam and Eve thought that Satan was right, they hadn’t died when they ate the fruit. The reality was that rebellion against God inevitably leads to death, spiritual death- separation from God forever. From the moment of their rebellion, they walked on death’s road.
In the midst of all God’s judgment, God showed mercy. He gave people hope through a wonderful promise. Although the descendents of Adam and Eve would continue to be hated by Satan, one day someone would come who would defeat Satan. Yes, only God can defeat Satan. This wonderful promise was that God Himself would one day come and save the world. The day I got pregnant that promise came true.
You see I didn’t have sex with any one to get pregnant. Believe it or not I was a virgin till after Jesus was born. Jesus is God taking on human flesh. Since Adam and Eve’s time, everyone was waiting for the promised Saviour. They waited and waited. Then one day an angel appeared to me. I told you it would be hard to believe! But it is true. You can imagine how frightened I was to see an angel because you don’t see one of those every day! The angel said to me, “You are going to have a baby.” And I said, “How can that happen since I’m a virgin?” The angel said, “God is going to do a miracle and put a baby in your womb.” You will have a son and his name will be Jesus, which means “God saves”. He will also have another name, Emmanuel, which means “God with us”.
That is the secret I was carrying of how I got pregnant. It was all pretty overwhelming! After I was at my Aunt’s place for a few months I did come back home. And guess who was there to meet me. Jo! He told me an angel had come to him as well and told him how I had got pregnant and that I shouldn’t give you up, but marry you! Wow, it was so good to have someone else know my secret and it was great to be back with Jo. You know the story of how Jo and I had to go back to our home town for a government census taking. I was almost full term pregnant and the travel was exhausting. When we got to
It was when Jesus turned 30 that I once again realized who my son really was! He was God come in flesh to tell us good news.
I remember one night, a council member named Nicodemus came to talk to Jesus. Jesus said a very strange thing to him. He said, “to know God you must first be born again!” Nicodemus didn’t understand and wondered how a grown man could possibly enter his mother’s womb to be born again. But Jesus wasn’t talking about physical birth. His meaning was that to truly be friends with God it is like being spiritually reborn. We need a new start. Just as it is impossible for people to be re -enter their mother’s womb, we cannot save ourselves. No person can find this new life themselves. This new start is a miracle that only God can do. Only God can give us new life. This was the good news my son had been sent to teach and I was thrilled that I played a part in it all.
It all made sense now. God made human beings to have a relationship with him on their own free will. But when they disobeyed him the relationship was broken. The punishment for this disobedience was spiritual death for ever. But God made a way for this punishment to be dealt with once and for all. Jesus HAD to die to pay for our wrongs against God. But He rose again to show us the all surpassing power of God and give us hope. Why? Because God, the King of Kings loves us. He wants a relationship with us. We are the ones who should die because of our broken relationship with God. But God is merciful. He changed our destiny.
Jesus took our place so we could be reunited with God, our source of life. Whoever believes in the Jesus has eternal life, but whoever rejects him will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.Jesus is no longer my son but my Savior. He can be your Savior too. Admit that you are disobedient to God. Believe that Jesus took the punishment of your disobedience for you on the cross and accept this payment as a free gift of love from God himself. When you do I welcome you to the forever family of God.
The Chapman family: From left, Will Franklin, Maria, Steven, Shaohannah, Mary Beth, Stevey Joy, Caleb and Emily Chapman.West Michigan Christian music fans are expressing their sympathy for Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman after the death of his 5-year-old daughter in an accident Wednesday in the family's driveway.
"We opened up the phone lines and people called in and wanted to pray right over the air," said Troy West, morning show co-host on contemporary Christian music radio station WJQK-FM (99).
Maria Sue Chapman was struck by a car driven by one of her teenage brothers, according to authorities in Franklin, Tenn., who added they believe no charges will result from what they termed "a tragic accident."
The child died 10 days after her fifth birthday. Chapman's manager, Jim Houser, also noted in a Web site posting the family had been hours away from hosting a high school graduation party for their son Caleb when the accident occurred.
Maria was the youngest of three Chinese girls the family had adopted, two of them through the the Nashville, Tenn., office of Bethany Christian Services. Chapman and his wife, Mary Beth, also have three biological children -- two teenage sons and a 21-year-old daughter.
"They are loving and wonderful parents and a great family -- they must be devastated," said Brian De Vos, manager of Michigan operations for Bethany Christian Services. "He's been such an advocate for adoption -- I know their commitment to kids."
DeVos has known the Chapmans for eight years and worked with them on Shaohannah's Hope, a foundation the couple named for one of their adopted daughters and established to help families through the often expensive adoption process.
During Chapman's most recent concert tour -- which included a stop at Sunshine Community Church last September -- the singer raised $340,000 for the foundation. While here, he awarded a grant of about $3,000 to a local family for adoption expenses.
He also has raised funds for construction of an orphanage in China for special-needs children who likely will never be adopted.
Chapman, 45, has sold more than 10 million albums, has had dozens of No. 1 Christian radio hits, and has won more than 50 Dove Awards -- exceeding any other individual artist.
Yet he would much rather talk about his family or his work with adoptions and orphans.
"I have sung a lot of his songs," said local Christian singer Marty Miller, of Belmont, posting comments on an area Christian musicians' Web site. "Please be in prayer for the family."
Chapman's current hit song on Christian radio is "Cinderella," a ballad about precious times spent together by father and daughter. It was inspired by a real family moment.
Video for "Cinderella"
"I was trying to give my little girls a bath and rushing and hurrying through it," Chapman told The Press in an interview last fall. "And I got convicted over how much I rush through moments trying to get to the next one, and God telling me to stop and take the moments as he gives then, and see what he's trying to teach me."
A Web site has been set up for people to learn more about Maria and to leave expressions of sympathy: chapmanchannel.typepad.com/inmemoryofmaria.
Condolences also may be sent to the Chapmans in care of P.O. Box 150156, Nashville, TN 37215. A memorial service will be Saturday morning in Nashville's Christ Presbyterian Church.
Video of Chapman with Maria Sue Chapman
Being rich is a very relative word I am finding. What does that mean? Having money? How much? A full life- what does that consist of? Having meaning to life or having a purpose to life? Food for thought....I find much of my richness comes from my friendships.
Famine that ravages thousands
Cancer that is no respecter of race, gender or wealth
Typhoons that wipe out homes and livelihoods
Broken relationships
Abuse of children and the elderly
Torture of the mind, body and spirit
Loneliness that dries up the soul
Is this what God had planned?
When God made the Garden and all in it
It was for his pleasure and fellowship with his highest creation- mankind
He called it all GOOD.
There was relationship, love, abundance and peace.
So what happened?
Man has tried to live without God
Who needs a crutch? they say
We are our own destiny
We have all the power within us, we boast
And look where it has got us….
We are made in God’s image
To love, feel, think, reason and have a choice
God made a way for life to have hope again
He took on the form of mankind
And through his sacrificial death he appeased the wrath of God
He then rose again the third day-
Finished the task he was on earth to accomplish
Now he says,
I am the Way
The Truth
And the Life
No one comes to the Father but by me.
I may feel the cold but can't complain when I see the beauty.
Winter at its best
A pastor had been on a long flight between church conferences. The first warning of the approaching problems came when the sign on the airplane flashed on: Fasten Your Seat Belts. Then, after a while, a calm voice said, "We shall not be serving the beverages at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence. Please be sure your seat belt is fastened."
As the pastor looked around the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers were becoming apprehensive. Later, the voice on the intercom said, "We are so sorry that we are unable to serve the meal at this time. The turbulence is still ahead of us."
And then the storm broke . . .
The ominous cracks of thunder could be heard even above the roar of the engines. Lightning! lit up the darkening skies, and within moments that great plane was like a cork tossed around on a celestial ocean. One moment the airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as if it were about to crash.
The pastor confessed that he shared the discomfort and fear of those around him. He said, "As I looked around the plane, I could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed. Some were praying. The future seemed ominous and many were wondering if they would make it through the storm.
"Then, I suddenly saw a little girl. Apparently the storm meant nothing to her. She had tucked her feet beneath her as she sat on her seat; she was reading a book and every- thing within her small world was calm and orderly.
"Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again; then she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in her world.
When the plane was being buffeted by the terrible storm when it lurched this way and that, as it rose and fell with frightening severity, when all the adults were scared half to death, that marvelous child was completely composed and unafraid." The minister could hardly believe his eyes.
It was not surprising therefore, that when the plane finally reached its destination and all the passengers were hurrying to disembark, our pastor lingered to speak to the girl whom he had watched for such a long time. Having commented about the storm and the behavior of the plane, he asked why she had not been afraid.
The child replied, "Cause my Daddy's the pilot, and he's taking me home." There are many kinds of storms that buffet us. Physical, mental, financial, domestic, and many other storms can easily and quickly darken our skies and throw our plane into apparently uncontrollable movement. We have all known such times, and let us be honest and confess, it is much easier to be at rest when our feet are on the ground than when we are being tossed about a darkened sky.
Let us remember: Our Father is the Pilot. He is in control and taking us home.
A pastor had been on a long flight between church conferences. The first warning of the approaching problems came when the sign on the airplane flashed on: Fasten Your Seat Belts. Then, after a while, a calm voice said, "We shall not be serving the beverages at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence. Please be sure your seat belt is fastened."
As the pastor looked around the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers were becoming apprehensive. Later, the voice on the intercom said, "We are so sorry that we are unable to serve the meal at this time. The turbulence is still ahead of us."
And then the storm broke . . .
The ominous cracks of thunder could be heard even above the roar of the engines. Lightning! lit up the darkening skies, and within moments that great plane was like a cork tossed around on a celestial ocean. One moment the airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as if it were about to crash.
The pastor confessed that he shared the discomfort and fear of those around him. He said, "As I looked around the plane, I could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed. Some were praying. The future seemed ominous and many were wondering if they would make it through the storm.
"Then, I suddenly saw a little girl. Apparently the storm meant nothing to her. She had tucked her feet beneath her as she sat on her seat; she was reading a book and every- thing within her small world was calm and orderly.
"Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again; then she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in her world.
When the plane was being buffeted by the terrible storm when it lurched this way and that, as it rose and fell with frightening severity, when all the adults were scared half to death, that marvelous child was completely composed and unafraid." The minister could hardly believe his eyes.
It was not surprising therefore, that when the plane finally reached its destination and all the passengers were hurrying to disembark, our pastor lingered to speak to the girl whom he had watched for such a long time. Having commented about the storm and the behavior of the plane, he asked why she had not been afraid.
The child replied, "Cause my Daddy's the pilot, and he's taking me home." There are many kinds of storms that buffet us. Physical, mental, financial, domestic, and many other storms can easily and quickly darken our skies and throw our plane into apparently uncontrollable movement. We have all known such times, and let us be honest and confess, it is much easier to be at rest when our feet are on the ground than when we are being tossed about a darkened sky.
Let us remember: Our Father is the Pilot. He is in control and taking us home.
I just spent yesterday with a friend as a tourist in Tokyo. Half the day was spent at the Emerging Science Museum. We could have stayed all day and still not seen it all. Japan is really on the cutting edge of innovative technology. The walking, talking, responding robot didn't just fascinate the kids but kept us all rivet ted.
There were many choices of massages from foot to back to a full body massage; a soak in 14 spring-fed hot pools, a lay on sand or pebbles for heat therapy and the rock studded foot bath as seen here. Sounds easy but it takes grace and poise to walk on the strewn rocks that are there to massage tired feet, while keeping your kimono up out of the water. Did I manage? Well......I have been to
I arrived to a warm room with flowers and hand written welcome note on the desk from the Center managers.
One supper time I was thrilled to see a Japanese friend who was a volunteer
I thank God for my second mile people.
