Boojoyful

  December is a month filled with invitations. Office parties, Sunday school parties, school holiday programs and the list goes on. But we have an indescribable daily invitation to come into the presence of Jesus and be nurtured. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.   James 4:8 When our six children were growing up we started a tradition during the school year of gathering in our bedroom, still in pajamas, for morning Bible study.   It was an excellent habit to form. The "Boojoyful" weekly devotional is a great catalyst to keep me in that habit, as well as being part of formal weekly group study. Listen to Jesus' words in  John 7:38 On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and shouted, “If you are thirsty, come to me and drink!   Have faith in me, and you will have life-giving water flowing from deep inside you, just as the Scriptures say.”    There is plenty to be doing  this Christmas season, but le...

A group of women we call "The Princess Warriors"gathered for our monthly time of praise and prayer. Do you have a grace meter? You know, a scale upon which you determine to whom you will offer grace. As a grandmother, I am QUICK to offer grace to those precious lives.  As a pastor's wife, ladling out grace and forgiveness among our congregants is part of the job description. Okay, as children of God it's an expectancy  in all situations. Already, this month as a pastor and his wife, we have been part of what should be three of the top times of coming together as family in joy. In each case "Bah humbug" has surfaced and we have seen family members involved in a wedding, several funerals and holiday gatherings become victim to crushing hurts from loved ones. Why is spreading grace and joy so difficult for us? As Bible teacher, Paige Brown says, "It's the heart stupid."  We react in the flesh and the selfish sin nature of our hearts brings out som...

How blessed to have a Christian dance company in your community! Train up a child.... When someone catches a moment of you being in awe of your adult son. We've just returned for a chilly, but delightful visit in Minnetonka, MN with one of our son's and his family. Many of you have been praying for over a year and a half for this son who has battled chronic pain that has stumped the medical community. Doctors have done PT, injections and even painful surgery, but the issue is not resolved. It breaks this mama's heart to see him suffer. He cannot sit, but still whistles while he works at his standing desk, leads Boy Scouts, coaches his son's basketball team and even stood through his daughter's 2 hour Nutcracker performance. Please continue to pray for healing as they seek more answers. There is a huge sound variance between the five acres of Shiloh and a major metropolitan city.  Flying out of RDU started with a bang! We arrived early and for 2 hours listened to jac...

  The Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving a neighbor called saying she needed to stop by and share something that needed prayer. I explained I had family arriving right after lunch and was cooking, but to come on.  After she left I sliced apples for two pies needing to get into the oven, stirred a sauce to top one of those. My island and counters were covered in flour, sugar and a multitude of dirty dishes when I saw a car coming down the driveway. I called my husband at work and said told him what was going on. He said, “Just don’t open the door.”  I said, “But what if they need to know Jesus?” As I watched out the window I saw precious friends. who had moved away several years ago. ascending the stairs to our front door to bring us a Christmas gift. An hour later I had almost burnt both pies and my counters were not clean when our family began to arrive, but my heart was full from our time together. Calling  my husband I said, “You aren’t going to believe it. The...

Most likely, the first time I heard the shepherds story was 60 some years ago when I was an angel in our church Christmas program. Yet, as I read the recounting today, I feel certain it has more of an impact and holds a bigger challenge for my heart than it did as a child. Let's read Luke 2:8-20 in The Message translation and be ponderers like Mary.  An Event for Everyone There were shepherds camping in the neighborhood. They had set night watches over their sheep. Suddenly, God’s angel stood among them and God’s glory blazed around them. They were terrified. The angel said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to announce a great and joyful event that is meant for everybody, worldwide: A Savior has just been born in David’s town, a Savior who is Messiah and Master. This is what you’re to look for : a baby wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”  At once the angel was joined by a huge angelic choir singing God’s praises : Glory to God in the heavenly heights, Peace to all men...

When we ponder Christ's birth, horrific death and resurrection it's pretty unbelievable anyone could love a sinner to this depth, but when we walk with him and talk with him and he tells us we are his own we are persuaded that he is able to keep all his promises. It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that   Christ Jesus came into the world to   save sinners, among whom   I am foremost. 1 Timothy 1:15 We don't know how the Holy Spirit does what he does, but we feel his presence. The chill bumps come, the nudges point us in the way we know we should go. It's the real deal and no one can convince us otherwise. No turning back, no turning back. While this hymn is not one we usually belt out during December, it came to me while listening to "Because of Bethlehem" and it fits! I chose a version sung 13 years ago by a congregation in Belfast. When you read the comments below the video the first one may make you chuckle "It's so beautiful ...