One Day at a Time...Tuesday

11/3/15

So it is already back to standard time. The month of November has raced into its third day. I am trying to keep ahead of the game this year. I have tried to do this other years with varying degrees of success. This year I am thinking that if I can get things done a bit earlier, it will be easier to keep my priorities in correct order and to always be mindful of the Reason for the season. So far I have planned when I want to have my lights put up by my son. I have already gotten my Christmas cards printed, and I am planning to address fifteen or twenty a day. I have made a list, and I am checking it twice so to speak...lol. We bought a new tree this year. I have seventeen mangers of different sizes that I plan to put out. My favorite one is the one my father and mother bought in 1941, the year they were married. There will be mangers in every room.

As I am writing this I am thinking of the bustle in the stores. In the middle of October Macy's was already putting up decorations and setting up the Christmas shop on the third floor. I remember wondering if we were skipping Halloween and Thanksgiving this year. I felt a bit insulted that this was what happens these days. When I was growing up in the days of old...that would be the forties and fifties...Christmas did not start until after Thanksgiving. The leaves and pumpkins had been thrown away and the orange and brown decorations were replaced by red and green. The newspaper started printing a serial Christmas story every day.  That was when the Christmas season began in those days.


So here I am starting early just like everyone else. My reasons are not due to retail greed, it is just that I am busy and want to get ahead of the game. Still I am thinking that I should not get into the rat race. I should take every day that God gives me on its own terms and enjoy it. Get the work of the day done and fit in what I can. Wait til December to focus on the preparations for the celebration of the birth of Jesus.


For the next two months honor God by accepting His gifts of each day. Talk to Him when you start to feel spazzy, and ask Him to help you calm down. Enjoy the season and try to avoid it controlling you..

Written by
Corinne Mustafa

Is Anybody Out There?......Monday

Scrolling through Facebook, looking at the cute pictures and smiling faces, I come across a video about a guy who pretended to be broken down on the side of the road with a flat tire to see if anybody would stop to help.

A few hours later a guy named Eric finally stops. It turns out that Eric had seen the breakdown earlier but hadn't been able to pullover right then.

Watching the video I was moved by the host's decision to not just help Eric for stopping to help him - but he offered him friendship first (Do you want to play <video games> sometime?) Impressed by this attention to Eric as a person and not just as a guy in a social experiment, I determined to share this video.

Getting ready to write to you I discovered that a follow up video had been posted. Ryan, the host, explained that in 4 days, people from all over the world had reached out to Eric 'the helper' with their own brand of caring.

First Video where we meet Eric

Hammy TV - Will Anybody Help Me?

We Find Out How Eric's Doing

Hammy TV - Thank You to Everyone

Eric finds out firsthand that there are many people in the world who actually care about him. It is all very moving and encouraging. Then I ask myself, "Am I Being a Helper?" Do I do anything in a week that is a kindness? No really, I don't mean nice things where I get something back, like meeting a friend for coffee. But am I awake to any possibilities that cross my path to be a friend to someone who needs one?

As we head into the holiday season there will be people all around us who have no place to belong during all of the festivities. They could be our co-workers, our neighbors, and even some of our family, friends, and acquaintances.  

Be full of love for others,

following the example of Christ who loved you

and gave himself to God as a sacrifice to take away your sins.

And God was pleased,

for Christ’s love for you was like sweet perfume to him.

Ephesians 5:2 TLB

Dear Lord, please open our eyes and expand our minds to recognize how we can show kindness to strangers (see Hebrews 13:2). Please show us the way to be thoughtful and authentic to the people we meet. May we be gracious, kind, and considerate; showing Your love to others in tangible ways. In Jesus name, amen.

Written by
Mary M. Wilkins

            The story of the good Samaritan
                             Luke 10:25-37

BROKEN SAINTS... Sunday

Devotional for 11/1/15  All Saint's Day

Even though we as Christians are referred to as saints in the Bible, sometimes we may just feel utterly broken. We may have great plans for our future, with years of preparation and expense, yet later we seem to have failed. We may wonder if we have gone down the wrong path, or if we are simply cursed. Perhaps we have family issues that we can't seem to manage. Or maybe we have an activity that continually pulls at us and keeps us from doing the "right" things. Possibly we have done what we thought was a great job, yet we were reprimanded or fired for that very thing.  Sometimes, the more we struggle to fix our situations or issues, the worse it becomes until we have sunk so low we feel we can never get back up again. When we feel broken we may feel as though we are worthless and discarded.

Psalm 31:12 NIV  "I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery."

But our Lord and Savior never throws us away. He forgives us and can use us when we are broken. In fact, when we are in our weakest most defeated state, sometimes then we are most useful for his purposes. We learn and grow through our trials. As we turn to him and lean on his strength and power to carry us through, we witness to others of his great mercy. When he heals our wounds and lift us up again, we have a unique perspective and can reach out to other broken souls. No matter how shattered we feel, God still loves us and has use for us. 

2 Corinthians 12:9a NIV “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 

There is beauty in our brokenness. When God puts us back together again, he is like a stained glass artist. Individual shards of colored glass may appear useless and even dangerous, but soldered together in a pleasing pattern by a master at his craft they become a beautiful piece of art. And when God shines forth from within us, it is then that we are most beautiful. Praise God for my brokenness!
2 Corinthians 13:13-14  "All the saints salute you. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."

Dear Father Creator in heaven, We thank you for making us so beautiful, even in our broken state. Help us to see that even in our weakness we are loved and forgiven and can be useful as we shine your light to the world. Use us, your broken saints, to your glory. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

written by Jan Andersen 

YOUR TALENTS...Saturday

 10/31/15

"So I was afraid 
and went out
 and hid your talent
 in the ground.  

See, here is 
what belongs to you." 

Matthew 25;25

   

Some of you will remember the parable of the talents.  The master returned from a trip and was upset with the servant who hid the talent and didn't use it.

    If you take a walk around a cemetery sometime, you'll unknowingly see many people who died without realizing or utilizing their full potentials.  They feared to pursue their dreams.

     


God has given each of us unique talents.  Since we are each "one of a kind," only each of us can use our talents and do what God has meant us to do, be what He has called us to be.

    
 We need to focus not on our limitations but on God's unlimited power and resources.  Do you have unfulfilled dreams?  Don't be afraid and hide.  Pray about them and seek God's will about them.  He will not only direct you, but He'll provide the means to accomplish His will.  We are all fertile ground and we just need to grow our talents so the fruit will become ripe

Written by

Carol Steficek.

Let Go… Let God...Friday

October 30, 2015

Something I am not being hugely successful at right now is letting it go!  I am so obsessed with worry over my future and job situation and the fear of not knowing is literally driving me crazy.  On top of that I am driving myself crazy with trying to do everything….work, look for work and study for an exam.  Then the result of that is headache  upon headache and anxiety like I have never had in my life.  So I tell myself to stop it!!  I know what the answer to this craziness is and it is giving the control to God.  So why is it that I take it all back sometimes within minutes.  Well, I am learning things about myself and maybe that is what I am suppose to pay attention to, however I believe the true growth I need here is to get it through my thick head that I have to let it all go and KEEP it in God’s hands.  He is there just waiting for me to do that.

 Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

    don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
    he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all.
    Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
    your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own;
    give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,
    your wine vats will brim over.
But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline;
    don’t sulk under his loving correction.
It’s the child he loves that God corrects;
    a father’s delight is behind all this.

Proverbs 3:5-12(MSG)

Just look at that scripture of truth.  Seriously, I need to sleep with this under my pillow, and paste it to my body during the day.  Life is so darn easy when we let Him be in control.  No more worries!!  No more headaches!!  No more crazy woman obsessing over her emails and job websites!!  Yay!!  Let God handle it.  I want and need that peace that comes along with leaving it up to Him.  Lord knows, as well as all my people know, that I can’t go on like this. 

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? 

Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. 

I’ll show you how to take a real rest. 

Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. 

Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.

I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 

Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Matthew 11:28-30

 (MSG)

Yes, indeed that is me….worn out, exhausted from predicting the future, holding the world on my shoulders.  However, I want what is written above.  I know what it is that I need, and will get when I follow the simple little instruction of keeping my life in God’s hands not my own.  I will get that much needed rest from the unforced rhythms of His grace.  I am going to keep on keeping company with the highest King!!

Thank you most precious Lord for all the gifts you have given me, the blessing of my son not having a blood clot as the doctor was concerned about today, the gift of my dad recovering from knee surgery, the gift of having a job as I am looking for a new one, the gift of so many treasures that you have shown me favor with throughout my whole life.  I feel your peace and hands upon me as I write this to thank you.  With all that I am I will continue to praise you through all the storms and the blessings!!  Amen

Written by

Kelly Dobyns

ONLY WHAT'S DONE FOR CHRIST WILL LAST...Thursday

110/29/15

/12/

I happened to peek out the living room window yesterday at about 5:00 P.M. What I saw in the sky drew me out into the front yard. A magnificent sunset displayed itself in the firmament above me. Layers and layers of thick clouds stretched out in long rows. They were lit up in a golden pink hue which seemed to grow more brilliant as I gazed upon this wonder. The sky provided a crisp blue backdrop and peered through the rows of clouds.

As I stood in awe of God's magnificent handiwork, scriptures welled up from within my soul.

"For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven 

with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, 

and with the trumpet call of God."

 1 Thessalonians 4:16 (NLT) 

"Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see Him - even those who pierced Him." 

Revelation 1:7 (NLT)

"Yes, dear friends, we are already God's children, and we can't even imagine what we will be like when Christ returns. But we do know that when he comes we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He really is. And all who believe this will keep themselves pure, just as Christ is pure."

 1 John 3:2-3 (NLT)

Anxious thoughts of external preparations for the holiday season suddenly fell into perspective. I thanked the Lord for sharing His glorious sunset with me that day, and whispered a prayer. "Please show me what you would have me do in readiness for this Christmas celebration. Help me to see what is important to you and those things which would simply deplete my time, energy, and resources. 

Let me heed the admonition of the UNKNOWN AUTHOR who wrote:

"Two little lines I heard one day,

Traveling along life's busy way;

Bringing conviction to my heart,

And from my mind would not depart;

Only one life, 'twill soon be past,

Only what's done for Christ will last."

Written by

Cathy Friberg

"And He Was Present To Heal Them"...Wednesday

10/28/15    
                  

I am  fully amazed and overwhelmingly grateful that we have a God that is  present to heal.  He  is always there for us, in fact He knows  our every need before we even petition Him, and He is ever  present in  our midst  to heal us. 

Scripture tells us in Luke 5:17 5:1

"Now  it happened on a certain day,  as He was teaching, 

that there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting by, 

who had come out of every town of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem.  

And the power of the Lord was present to heal."

As you read further down in that chapter the Lord  heals a man that was paralyzed. He  tells  the paralyzed man, "I  say to you, arise, take up your  bed, and go to your house." He glorified God and away He went. Not only did He glorify God but those around  Him did the same and were all amazed.

Such hope arises in my Spirit  because our God desires that His people be whole. That means physically,mentally, relationally, spiritually, ect.  There is no need  that our God cannot meet.

As our Lord is  present to heal us and fulfills that need, we too, as just the paralytic that was healed, can glorify our Heavenly Father. We too can  be completely amazed of all of His wonderful  and marvelous  works!!

In His Glory, 

Sandy Billingham