I was just contemplating....

Oh! Hello there!

Glad you popped by!

I was just sitting here reviewing and thinking about this morning's sermon. 

( I love when that happens)

We are currently going thru Ecclesiastes and this

morning our Music Minister delivered the message 

from chapter 3: verses 1- 13. 

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

How many times we have heard this verse made even 

more popular by The Byrds from the 60's?

But there is more to it. Further in the passage, Solomon tells us:

What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart: yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

What he is telling us is that while we see time as a depletion or "running out", God sees time as a COMPLETION. 

He views time totally differently then we do.  He makes everything beautiful in its completion. 

So while we are seeing time run out, He is seeing us becoming more and more complete! 

Isn't that the most beautiful thing you ever heard? 

It's like the ultimate anti-ager!

I've just been thinking about that and wanted to share it with you. 

P.S. If you want to see the sermon, it will be posted later this week here.

God's Word

"Is not my Word like fire." declares the Lord, "And like a hammer that breaks a rock to pieces?"

- Jeremiah 23:29

Oh! The Wonder..

GIFTS!

 Mailed and Received...

 Wrapped and placed under the tree...

But the greatest gift of all was given freely 

and we freely take into our heart.

¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Luke 2:10-12 NIV

Merry Christmas!

 

Pocket Sermon

Taken from one of my favorite verses. 

"Always be joyful, keep on praying. No matter what happens, always give thanks, for this is God's will for you who are in Christ-Jesus"  

1 Thessalonians 5:16 NLT

Hope you are having a great week!

You Gotta Have Faith!

Hebrews 11:6

The thing that He wants most from us is the thing we want to give Him least..... 

Remember: Without FAITH it is impossible to please God!

JOY!

Hi Ya!

Are you ready for the weekend?
Do you have big plans?

I hope you have had a really great week. I'm off to see Sweet Daughter for a
long weekend and I have to tell you I'm so excited I can't stand it!

I was in my craft room straightening and I saw this sweet little gift that my friend CeeKay gave me at Christmas. I don't think I ever showed it to you all. Isn't it the cutest?
3 sweet little bottles with different glitter all contained in a darling little metal
tray. I didn't put it away after Christmas...
I just like it to much.
Plus it reminds me of CeeKay.
And that's a good thing!

What about you?
Do you have a little bit of Christmas out all year?

We are reading a chapter a day of the book of James for the 40 days leading up to Easter. I'm back to the first chapter today and this is what I read.
Coincidence? I think not!

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. " James 1: 2-4

New Living Translation

Enjoy!

I'm joining in at My Romantic Home and 2805

The Pocket Watch

This was my Great Grandfather's gold watch.

It is so beautiful. The Face says N.H.W.Co Special and the crystal is long gone.

It is pretty though... My mom says that they played with it a lot as kids.

The detail is still so lovely on it.
Unfortunately, I don't believe that it is a real Conductor's Watch.
And, sadly I never met the man that carried it.
But I treasure it none the less.

At the set time that I appoint
I will judge with equity.
When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants,
it is I who keep its pillars steady.
Psalm 75: 2&3

What Do You Believe? Prove it!

I decided to make this banner last week after Sunday Morning Bible Study.
It says Savior. I couldn't get the lighting right to where you could read it.
Sorry about that part.

Our Teacher shared a passage in Jeremiah about idols and Gods. It really got me thinking about all the decorating that I do. Does it look like there's an imbalance in my themes? Red and gold, blue and white, snowmen, presents, ribbons and bows. All say Christmas, Family and Friends .... American style.
I love it! All of it! I Love CHRISTmas!

But what is Christmas ... Christian Style? Does your Christian heart show in your decorating? For many years I did not put out a Nativity. It was not until I was in my late 20's and rededicated my life to Christ that the Nativity became an honorable mention in my Christmas Decorating. You see, I still had lots of friends that thought that I was "overboard" in my "new" faith. I didn't want to make them uncomfortable.
How foolish we can be in our youth! How I regret the missed opportunities and conversations that could have arisen from a large prominent statement like a beautiful Nativity.

At any rate.... The scripture is haunting and thought provoking. I wonder how anyone can think that the Bible is not relevant to our lives today.

Jeremiah 10: 1-5
¹ Hear what the LORD says to you, O house of Israel. ² This is what the LORD says:
"Do not learn the ways of the nations
or be terrified by signs in the sky,
though the nations are terrified by them.

³ For the customs of the peoples are worthless;
they cut a tree out of the forest,
and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.

⁴ They adorn it with silver and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so it will not totter.

⁵ Like a scarecrow in a melon patch,
their idols cannot speak;
they must be carried
because they cannot walk.
Do not fear them;
they can do no harm
nor can they do any good."

The Gift of Hospitality

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms."

NIV 1Peter: 8-10

3:16 ~ March 16

"For God
so loved
the world that he gave his
only begotten SON, so that
whoever
believes
in HIM
should
not parish
but have
everlasting
life. "

John 3:16