Christmas again

No matter how many years I live the Christmas story will never grow old. It's infused with such wonder and awe that every year I hear it as though it were the first time. A baby, a lost world, a loving God - all the elements that we need to hear in our state of constant unrest. Peace on earth - a goal to be sought and nurtured and needed forever.

May this Christmas be as magical to you as it is to me. And if you don't know yet why its such an amazing story, read it again. From the beginning. Perhaps, like me, you'll understand it anew and appreciate it with a new heart. Because every year its told again...just for you...and just for me.

Merry, merry Christmas. And on earth, peace, goodwill, and love.

Now what!

OK God, what do I do when I can't hear you? What do I do when your voice seems to be silent and I'm unsure how to handle a situation or which way to turn? Sometimes the dilemmas of life are so overwhelming - and I just can't be sure what you want me to do.

I guess I just have to keep seeking you God. I hope that if I continue to talk to you, continue to read your word, continue to seek guidance from you, that eventually I'll make the right choices and turn in the right directions. If I abide in you and I walk with you, will I know your heart? Will I see with your eyes? I hope that Lord. I pray that. I need that.

I want to do your will God. I want to walk in your path. I want to follow you and please you and sometimes its so hard to know how to do those things. Help me God.

Autumn

This time of the year is full of wonder God. The trees are shedding their summer beauty for the stark vision of their winter forms. The flowers are soon to be gone completely, and even the latest bloomers will be only a memory. The sun is still shining and we still feel its warmth, but the air is crisper and colder - and we know the long days of darkness are soon upon us.

I love the seasons God. I love watching as your creation continues its dance with the sun and the moon and all the other glorious pieces of your wonderful universe. I praise you for your constancy and your faithfulness, that we can go to sleep at night knowing that the sun will again make its appearance in the morning and life will go on.

Thank you God for the autumn. Thank you for the beauty that surrounds us and reminds us of your love and your perfect plan. Thank you God for life.

October

It's October God and I glory in your creation every year in October! From the beautiful weather to the sights and sounds of the season, I love this month. I find my days filled with praise as I revel in my surroundings and appreciate my full life.

There are disappointments in life, Lord. Sometimes the days are difficult and long and the nights are even longer. But God, there is also joy in this world and, if we care to see it, beauty everywhere. October is your radiance on earth and a gift to your children. From the smallest yellow gourd to the largest red maple tree a rainbow of color greets us wherever we look. And we see the cycle of life in front of us as the leaves begin to cover the ground and the skies turn grayer and the air colder.

Your world is beautiful God. And October is the peak of its beauty.

Morning church

I attended church with my daughter's family today. She attends a large modern church, with guitars instead of an organ and many, many members. It's very different from the form of worship I'm accustomed to, but not something I'm opposed to - it's just different. I loved the messages that I came away with and was spiritually blessed during my worship there. And here are the things I brought home with me:

We sang mostly contemporary music with guitars and drums and worship leaders. Most of the songs I was not familiar with, but at the end of the music portion of worship we did an old familiar hymn (which is one of my favorites) and it spoke to me in new ways today. As I sang the words I've sung many times before, I was touched anew at God's compasion toward me during this particularly difficult year:

When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot Thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul!

Though Satan should buffet
though trials should come
Let this blest assurance control
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

It is well, It is well
It is well, it is well with my soul.

The words which especially touched me this morning were from the second verse: That Christ has regarded my helpless estate and hath shed His own blood for my soul

Have I ever felt as helpless as I have this year? Thank you God for regarding my helpless estate! And thank you that I can sing with assurance that "it is well with my soul"!

The other truth I'm committing to memory is something the pastor spoke:

When we are impotent, God is omnipotent!

I thank God for seeing my impotence...and for His omnipotence.

What a glorious morning of worship it's been. God has spoken to me and I'm so grateful for His clear, strong voice.

Joy

Sometimes, Lord, my heart is so full of joy I can barely contain it. I want to shout from the rooftops and run through the streets praising your name. I hold myself back for fear of being thought a fool - but I know I'm not. In fact, I think I'm less a fool than I've ever been. Because I know that my joy is in you. I know you are the author of all that is wonderful and precious in life. And I know that without you I would be lost.

Thank you God for the joy you fill my life with. Thank you for the joy of being in your will. And thank you for life and all its many travails and twists and turns. Mostly Lord, thank you for the joy. Thank you for allowing me to know the joy.

Confusion

God, sometimes in the night hours I cannot sleep. I'm so confused about things in my life and I'm searching so hard for answers that sleep will not come. Peace is elusive. My mind is in turmoil. God, help me find answers to my questions. Help me find the peace you promise. Help me to quiet my anxious mind and totally rest in you.

Life is such a puzzle sometimes. We live with people we don't always understand. We work with people that are sometimes difficult. We worship with people we don't always like very much. There is so much to be confused about when the people you think you know the best are total enigmas to you. And when the people you are told to love can be so unlovable. Life is just hard sometimes. We search for answers that don't always come. And we look for things it might not be possible to have.

But I know you are there for me Lord. I know you love me and I know you want me to have life in all its fullness. Thank you Lord for giving me your promises. I can rest in them until sleep returns.