Boojoyful

  People find the greatest joy when they are pouring their love out on others, so that is what I have asked the Lord to lead me on the next couple months...a joyful out pouring of love in unexpected places. He may have other plans, but He just got my attention when the verse He brought to mind today was Zephaniah 3:17 and then I opened a devotional gifted to me by a friend and there staring at me on Day 1 was that specific verse. Join me in a memorization challenge: The Lord your God is living among you.  He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.   Zephaniah 3:17 As I typed the verse the 2012 song"You've Got A Friend in Me"  from the movie Toy Story (which I've never seen) began playing in my head.   "You've got a friend in me. You've got a friend in me.                                                                                             

When do you take down your Christmas decorations?  I encourage you to keep the Christmas music playing when you embark on that task and maybe even select a decoration to leave out as a reminder to keep Christ in all your days in 2022. He is the heart of Christmas and the adoration for what God has done for us through Christ should stay with us every day. This December our energy was zapped here at Shiloh by a virus and we were hesitant to invite anyone to enjoy the decorations not wanting to spread our germs. As I looked around at the beautiful decorations I did a heart check as to why we decorate. Is it to honor the birth of Christ?  Is it for our personal joy and the nostalgia our heirloom decorations reflect?  Is it to bring delight to those who enter our homes?  Maybe all of the above? Those of you who know me well, know I love to offer hospitality to others.  In the March 1983 Readers Digest there was a story about a sign at the entrance of an English castle open to the public wh

Again and again in the scriptures related to the Christmas story we see the angels coming with the message, "Fear Not!" That would be a good intro for a celestial being popping up in your midst.  Do you think after their initial angel encounters Mary, Joseph and the shepherds looked forward to more instructive visits?  Our God encounters tend to send us on mission that require selflessness, but bring great blessing. The other night we had the privilege of sharing a time of worship and dinner with several missionaries. People who gladly give up their plans and comforts to take the gospels to a lost world.  One gentleman left the US after college and has spent the past 30 years with his foreign wife and 5 children serving the Lord in the Middle East.  Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Places "fear not" is probably clung to daily.  His views of what has happened to the church in America are chilling. Have you watched A Charlie Brown Christmas this year where Charlie Brown ask

It was a very relaxing Christmas in Charlottesville, VA. The middle of the night word was release.                                                                                                                         Release- allow or enable to escape from confinement, set free; to move, act, or flow freely.                          Was that coming from the beautiful picture of a bus bringing the local inmates to our church for the Christmas Eve service, where their families joined them?  It equally had meaning for so many who are waiting release from hospitals or homes where COVID complications have them captured. Our daughter and her family took a meal Christmas Day to a college student who was quarantined in her apartment and not allowed to go home for the holiday with her family.  I consider that our present  sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Romans 8:18  Amen! As I often do, I turned on the radio to a Christian station to see if there

  Christmas is the busiest season for a harpist, but I've never read that there were harp concerts in Bethlehem.  A small church in Scottsville, VA hired our daughter to play several services during the month of December.  She remembered stories that her great, great grandmother had lived in that town.  She contacted one of my husband's cousins to see if anyone had the actual address.  Score!  She left a little early for the second gig at this church and googled the address for this home which is called "Old Hall".  The directions were very similar to the church address. Here's the unexpected blessing. The house sits right next door to the church and further investigation revealed that her great, great grandparents were married in the little church where she has been playing the harp! When we go where God leads us there are unexpected blessings to be found. The Song Joy to the World by    Big Daddy Weave    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBeKBVxy-c0

Because Christ chose to come to earth and be born in the most humble of circumstances, die and be resurrected we will be singing songs like this together forever in heaven.  Chill bumps for sure. Alleluia Chris Tomlin, Lauren Daigle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XG347euXoTM Piano Guys O Come O Come Emmanuel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO7ySn-Swwc May we each find time today to be alone with our Savior and savor his love.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I come that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10 Our pastor gave us all a chuckle a couple weeks ago when he posted this on the big screen. When it comes to movies, I'd be perfectly content if there was never an antagonist present.  That is not real life though is it.  Every story, every family, every neighborhood, every place of business and every classroom seem to have a  bad guy  rise up. Herod, was definitely the for real  bad guy  at the time of Jesus' birth.  Interesting that a figure of him is left out of our nativity scenes! But wait! He didn't bother to come to the scene of Jesus' birth.  In addition to all the babies who were slaughtered, this man was a rampant murderer of anyone who seemed to be a threat to his rule.  The long list includes his wife, his mother-in-law, and three of his own sons.  He even had a plan in place to have all the elite leaders in Jerusalem killed upon news of his d

It's 2:30 in the morning and sleep will not come.  With the barrage of prayer requests we have been receiving daily, including seven deaths of people we know personally,  outside church, in the past two weeks I find myself realizing I must trust in the strength of the Lord, lay these burdens down before Him and sing  praise for my Savior reigns and is alway up to good and victory. As I tossed and turned the middle of the night message was clear. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen".  I googled the lyrics and up popped this question "What is meant by 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen'? "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen is actually an 'old English' phase which means something entirely different.  The title of the song isn't about resting.  In the language of that day REST  meant 'to make' and Merry  meant 'mighty' or 'powerful'. Thus, the title of this song actually meant "God Make  you MIGHTY, Gentlemen." Oh dear friends what

The conversation is being held and the question asked, "What is Christmas all about?" Well, it's a great time for friends and family to gather, eat wonderful food, exchange gifts and decorate gorgeous trees.  It's the perfect time of the year for a break from routines.  Schools get out, businesses close for the day giving people a time to take a little vacation.  And Santa! What a fun guy, big red suit, flying reindeer, magically coming down chimneys with gifts.  Or maybe you hear, "It's all about Jesus being born as a precious baby in a stable to a young girl." Actually, it's all about our sinful nature and our need for a savior, but who wants to focus on that.  Have you ever heard anyone say, "Christmas!  The miracle of God coming to earth in the form of a baby to be a sacrifice for our sins." A beloved friend explained she was heading out of town  to be with her young, single, son who had just received a diagnosis of a tumor in his bladd

An evening rainbow over the lake after a rain shower is a beautiful reminder He is here.   The definition of Messiah is: "the promised deliverer of the Jewish nation prophesied in the Hebrew Bible." When Jesus was born in the village of Bethlehem in Judea, Herod was king. During this time some wise men  from the east came to Jerusalem   and said, “Where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east  and have come to worship him. ” Matthew 2:1-2 Have you ever stopped to wonder why the Gentile "wisemen" came to worship the king of the Jews? Also, how about their wisdom to see  in their hearts and minds the jealousy and evil Herod held. They revealed nothing to him about this child, but headed home a different way. There are times we need to turn away as well. I know I drive my husband crazy at times.  We had tuned in watch "The Voice Finale" and I asked, "Would you hit pause?"  I think I read his thoughts...."Here is co

  This year's knitted creations!  (No, they are not earrings,) Sunday, December 12th our daughter filed into her church in Charlottesville, VA and along with her entire congregation was the recipient of a brilliant idea.  A Reverse Offering!  Every family in church received an envelope containing $75 in cash and they were instructed to keep it if they had a need.  If not they were challenged to give it away. A letter of instruction said,  "Follow Jesus: Our generosity reflects God's generosity to each of us. I n the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.  Matthew 5:16 Serve Others: The Surprise the World Reverse Offering encourages our congregation to look for opportunities to bless others-not just in the typical ways our offerings usually do; but also in he daily ways each of us is called to bless others. Also, many of you will view this money as 'God's money,' and we hope  this exerci

  On this Saturday in December some are hustling to find a gift, picking up food for parties, or putting last minute touches on Christmas pageants. Two friends headed to Charleston, SC this weekend. One to host her daughter's wedding, the other to bury her daughter.  What a week it has been. Friday, a life long friend held her mother's memorial service and today two others celebrate the lives of their husbands in what will be bittersweet farewells. Two others have unwrapped very unexpected cancer diagnosis this week instead of presents. Life rarely slows and continually brings change.   I lie awake; I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop.  Psalm 102:7 A church member we've known for years texted last night to say she's taken her husband off the machine that has kept him alive for two years.  He's ready to spend Christmas with Jesus. Today's video is one of the most beautiful ones I've ever seen. Visually, it is enchanting and vocally it is spectacular.  

  Plumb tuckered out! That's how we can get during Christmas. There is a weariness unrelated to sleep deprivation in the world. It's a weariness of the sin in our world. The pandemic brought on isolation, anxiety, economic uncertainty and a whole lot of politicization that has kept a dark cloud hanging over us. The song lyrics  in "O Holy Night"   echo Isaiah 5: 20-21 as they speak of “ sin and error ”. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!  Isaiah 5:20-21 The weary world has long been waiting for some type of deliverance. In Romans chapter 8:19-23 Paul states how creation eagerly longs for God to  show  who his children are...that creation would be set free from decay and would share in the glorious freedom of his children...The Spirit makes us sure about what we will be in the future. B

  Oh, how I pray this season is giving you new glimpses of who God is and how much He loves you. This year I am using an Advent Devotional by John Piper called Good New and Great Joy.  As I read that is just what I am getting, great joy!  I must share what Piper writes on Day 5. "You would think that if God so rules the world as to use an empire-wide census to bring Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem, he surely could have seen to it that a room was available in the inn. Yes, he could have.  He absolutely could have. And Jesus could have been born into a wealthy family.  He could have turned some stone into bread in the wilderness.  He could have called ten thousand angels to his aid in Gethsemane. He could  have come down from the cross and saved himself. The question is not what God could do, but what he willed  to do. God's will was that though Christ was rich, yet for your sake he became poor. The 'No Vacancy' signs over all the motels in Bethlehem were for your sake. 

The Christmas story played out the way it did with God's use of his angels. They made the unbelievable, believable, even though at first it was unbelievable, even "troubling" what people saw. Let's look; In Luke 1, we learn that Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, are righteous, but are childless and old. Then, one day, as Zechariah is in the temple burning incense, the Angel Gabriel appears with a message: Elizabeth would soon get pregnant and give birth to John the Baptist.  The Angel Gabriel had this to say when Zechariah wondered how his wife would become pregnant at such an elderly age: I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. We see Gabriel approach Mary in Nazareth, and say, Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you. The Bible tells us that Mary was “greatly troubled”. Ya think?  The Angel Gabriel told her, though, not to be afraid and that God was with her. In the end, M