Boojoyful

Being in full time ministry positions you to hear some very tragic stories. It requires keeping confidences, which can be a heavy load that must be laid at the feet of Jesus.  The other night I told my husband my eyes were obviously getting old, because they were aching. Maybe they are aching because they've about popped out of my head at some of things I've heard recently. If my neck starts hurting I know it's from all the head shaking I've been doing in disbelief over the way people treat one another. It's the middle of the night I awakened and couldn't get back to sleep. Tis the season for checking our list and having a lot on our minds.  My mind ran to some of the heartache stories I've listened to in the past couple weeks.  Then the Lord said this, "It could have been you."  Whoa. The mother weeping tears over her son who is a meth addict, another sitting in a hospital room rocking her child just diagnosed with cancer. The bedraggled homeless ...

  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 ...

The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God...for nothing will be impossible with God. Luke 1:35, 37 This time of year I think about Mary a lot.  A teenage girl impregnated by the Holy Spirit. It was what it was and while the angel encounter helped convince Mary this was from God, it still had to be a lot to unpack. Those of us who know the whole story still struggle to comprehend what God did. Jennifer Kennedy Dean was a Christian author and speaker, who passed away in 2019. It was just a couple years ago I was gifted a devotional book by her called Pursing Christ .  She writes her thoughts about the above scripture passage in a way that resonates with my soul. Her prayer is powerful. "I pray that You will keep me in the path of surrender ' until Christ is formed in (me) ( Galatians 4:19). The most impossible thing I can imagine is that I could be fully yielded in every...

The brokenness, suffering and grief we have seen in many we know the past 10 days has kept us crying out to the Lord for mercy, for grace, for healing and for wisdom as  how best to walk alongside the people we love and care for.  After a particularly emotional day I turned on Christmas music and found so much solace and hope in this song by Casting Crowns. "Love has come to find you somewhere in your silent night. Heaven hears the song your broken heart has cried...Hope is here." May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 15:13  The Song “Somewhere in Your Silent Night” Casting Crowns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT-5cP4BeoI

This Christmas song, by Matthew West tells the whole story of how love came down and was born, placed in a cradle to be killed on a cross and carry the weight of all our sin, so we could live with him again. That's the story of all stories my friend.   The story that has stood the test of time. The story that those who believe it would they themselves die for it. Yes, we know whom we have believe in and we are persuaded by faith and walking though life with Him what he can do.  (That hymn will come tomorrow. Lyrics for "Because of Bethlehem" Just a tiny nowhere town with a tiny no-room inn This is where the greatest story ever told begins Where just a tiny beating heart had all creation leaning in That night the world forever changed because of Bethlehem It's where a star led to a stable A baby's cry made angels sing And the search to find a savior Led to Heaven's humble King Where the wise men found the answer The shepherds found the lamb And I found my Im...

Lights in our bedroom with a strand of knitted Christmas lights I made years ago. The majestic tree in our son and daughter in law's home in Minnesota and the grandchildren with their bearded dragon. Since March we have been searching for a car knowing both of ours were nearing the end of their mechanical lives. My husband's beloved 2005 Ford pickup died a couple weeks ago. Our six year old grandson wept saying, "I have so many memories in that truck." My husband felt the very same way. My top prerequisite , besides a lumbar seat, was a light interior. I did not want to sit in a dark car. That made the hunt more difficult because the majority of the cars we found were designed with black interiors. We seldom close the blinds or curtains at our home, because I love natural light. I also love Christmas lights!  Actually, I keep some up all year long. They bring me joy and remind me of Jesus. The inaugural move of God, in Genesis 1, was to create light and overcome the d...

My heart was so full with these two little granddaughters helping me decorate our tree.  It is a first Christmas for the 11 month old and she could have rummaged through the ornament bins all day. It was equally as much fun to see the lower 3 feet of the tree laden with ornaments placed on the tree by the four year old. The jubilant  exclamation with each selection made me smile. Oh, the simple joys of childhood. And unbelievably, not one ornament was broken in this process. Christmas through a child's prospective of wonder  should stir us to consider the wonder of Christmas more deeply. Yes, little Miss Hospitality enjoys entertaining, but if I am honest, I wish the Christmas season afforded meals showing up at the door instead of all the time spent cooking and shopping. Then there would be more time to just sit, study and worship by the tree and be filled with wonder. It is such a blessing to have friends and family who love the Lord, keep their Bibles open and keep Ch...

  Thanksgiving at The Grand Canyon was quite the view for our oldest child and her family. What is in your view right now?  Ask God what he wants you to see with your eyes and with your heart. When writing this I found myself considering the view of Christ's birth from the perspective of those who had angel encounters. Mary, Joseph and the Shepherds all were blessed, probably astounded, by visits from an angel telling them about this miraculous birth.  That would help my disbelief. Let's look at the view in Luke 2:8-20 Th at night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep.     All at once an angel came down to them from the Lord, and the brightness of the Lord's glory flashed around them. The shepherds were frightened.   But the angel said, “Don't be afraid! I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy.   This very day in King David's hometown a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord.   You will kno...