Boojoyful

January 1 We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19 We baby sat this past weekend for two of our grandsons.  As I nuzzled up against the six month old, I thought.."How can it be that I have such a passionate love for my grandchildren the moment I lay eyes upon them?"  Immediately, I thought of the parallel of how instantaneous God's love is for us the moment he creates us in our mother's womb. The photographs I caught of our daughter returning home after being away from her babies for three days were magical.  I imagine we will experience the same sort of emotions when we fall into the arms of Jesus in heaven. Pour joy from all recipients! May your love for Christ grow deeper each day in 2013.

December 31 Somewhere in the midst of 20 of us hunkering down here over the holidays and feeling a bit overwhelmed,  I looked at our daughter and said, "Remind me of this moment when I  think this would be fun to do this again."  The majority of the kids have headed back to their homes with their spouses, children and pets.  Most of the towels and sheets are washed and the decorations are beginning to come down and already I miss having them all here.  We even slipped into Target on one airport run and purchased half price wrapping paper should we attempt this feat again and I need to wrap 143 packages! I feel certain at some point in the middle of natural childbirth I told my husband I never wanted to deliver  a baby again, yet I did it six times. So it is with our sin...we are brought to repentance and tell the Lord we don't ever want to stand before him guilty of such a sin again, yet we fall and come before him needing to be cleansed from the same ...

December 29-30 Paul, took God's purpose for his life passionately, passing on to us through the Word, the seriousness of our responsibility to teach, train and instruct! Fathers, do not exasperate your children;  instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4  Teach them to stay in the Word...  Make a joyful noise unto the Lord....  and shower them with love, encouraging them along the way! In Titus chapter 2... 2  Teach the older men to be temperate,worthy of respect, self-controlled,  and sound in faith,in love and in endurance. ..     6  Similarly, encourage the young men   to be self-controlled.                                           7  In everything set them an example   by doing what is good.   3  Likewise, teach t...

December 28 The phone rang and it was our neighbor inquiring about our lights, which appeared to be on and fine. Her's however, kept dimming and she had called the power company to come and investigate the problem. Life brings about physical days which are cloud covered allowing less light to shine in, while also there are days when our spirits seem a little darkened and we long for the light. Praise God for his Word which promises: The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple . Psalm 119:130 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said,  I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'"  (John 8:12 NIV) The brightness and joy of the Lord can be snuffed out quickly by the unkind words or rejection of others.  Satan is the father of lies and loves to bring darkness into our heads. Renee Swoop wrote: "We were created to live in the Light by focusing on what God thi...

December 26 Following four days of feasting on Christmas foods, it is great to take a step back from the table and simply feast on the Word of God.  Taking the letters from the word feast  we find some fabulous verses to encourage us as we walk with the Lord. FEAST F aithful Lord, increase our faith.   Luke 17:5 E nthusiastic You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me.   Psalm 92:4 A lways Always be joyful.  Keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful for this is                     God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.  1 Thes. 5:16-18 S how I have put my trust in You.  Show me the way to go.   Psalm 143:8 T aste Taste and see that the Lord is good.   Psalm 34:8

She gave birth to her firstborn, a son.  She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger,  because there was no guest room available for them. Luke 2:7 December 25 There are bodies everywhere!  Our five sons grew up sleeping in a pile half the time and would be comfortable crashing together anywhere still, but their wives aren't feeling the love!  :) Not sure their wives are used to sleeping like a litter of puppies, but we have packed it in here together for Christmas.  If a manger was good enough for Mary, we will wade through the togetherness.  Yesterday morning the power went out before sunrise.  All the "marrieds with children" were in the living room and kitchen area and it went  totally dark.  We had not thought through this scenario and fortunately the power came right back on. May this Christmas find you with plenty of room for Jesus in your heart and living in His light and power.  Still a bed full of...

Ready to feed the masses! Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.   Matthew 3:2 December 24 Ready or not!  Here it comes! About a week ago, the check out girl at Kroger asked me, "Are you ready for Christmas?"  It took me back for a second as I realized she had no clue how many I had coming to get ready for!  My initial thought to myself was, "I will never be ready for this!" One day I read an online devotional which stated the real important question for us is... Are we ready for Jesus? I thought back to the excitement and anticipation of getting ready for a date with my husband. We have an impending date with Jesus.  We shall see Him face to face. Oh, that we might daily repent and be ready for that encounter. I am beginning a study on the book of James (the half brother of Jesus).  In preparation for this study, the author has us looking at who James was.  Being fond of his half brother (Jesus) was not a characteristic fo...