Author: Paula

There are plenty of sweets to share at Christmas time. It’s that time of year when families all across the country join in the tradition of making cookies, breads, candies and other goodies. Not only do they make these treats for home but they also make an abundance of sweets to share with others. Those with a sweet tooth need not search long to find a way to get their sugar fix.

Our physical bodies may crave sugar, but our souls have cravings as well. The Bible says that God’s words are sweeter than honey. As we feed on God’s words and really dig into their goodness, they resonate in our innermost being. We find them delightful, satisfying and life-changing when we take our time to really relish them and let them digest deep within our souls.

God’s words are sweet not only as we consume them, but equally as sweet as we share them with others. They’re just too incredible to keep them to ourselves.

As we share our homemade cookies, fudge and treats with others this year, let’s share God’s words of truth, love and life as well. The baked goods we deliver will probably not last very long, but God’s words will last for eternity.

“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” ~Psalm 119:103

“Do I put up the tree this year?” That is the question I have asked myself every November for the last few years. My family of course always wants me to put up the Christmas tree, but no one wants to help.

Putting up the Christmas tree is a lot of work. It usually takes me all day and makes a huge mess. Thousands of “needles” end up scattered all about the house as I carry arms full of branches up the basement stairs and through the house to the living room. This year, I lost track of how many branches broke off the limbs as I twisted them into shape.

Inevitably, the lights don’t work, and apparently, I threw several strings away after Christmas last year. I do recall being frustrated with the ones that had to be jiggled just right to coax all of the bulbs to light. So, this year required a trip to purchase new lights.

Furthermore, there is the problem with the cat. Princess Purrbox likes to hide in the tree. The dog knows that climbing the tree is not allowed. So, our poodle ends up messing up the lights and tinsel as she tries to get the cat out. The tree rattles and shakes; ornaments fall.

Then, after just a few weeks, the ornaments and decorations have to be taken off the tree.  The tree must be taken apart, hauled back down the stairs and put into storage. Once again, thousands of “needles” need swept.

I wonder each year, “Do we even need a tree? Is putting one up really worth taking time out of my busy schedule?”

However, each time that I unwrap the ornaments, I am reminded of special times and special people who have made an impact on my life. Our tree is full of memories.

When we got married, my husband, Sam, wanted to start a tradition by exchanging ornaments each year, but I thought it was silly. I felt really bad when he presented me with an ornament of a child on a sled for our first Christmas, and I didn’t have one for him. I bought him one later, but I think about that every year as I hang each ornament and our story unfolds on the tree.

The ornaments on our tree mark memorable occasions in our lives. There are some “Baby’s First Christmas” ornaments that record when each of our four children were born. There is a “New House” ornament for the year we built a house in the country, and the new millennium is recognized on our tree with a time capsule (which never got filled because that was the same year that child number four was born, and we were pretty busy).

The wooden candles remind me of the time Sam and I were served a volunteer appreciation dinner and given the wooden candles as a thank you. There are ornaments from my former Sunday School students, my friends and a secret pal from the ladies’ group I used to attend. Several of the ornaments were sent to us as a thank you for volunteering with Operation Christmas Child through Samaritan’s Purse.

The ornaments on the tree remind me of people who have made an impact in my life. Some of the scratched up, glass ball ornaments belonged to my maternal grandmother who let me help her put the tree up. She used tinsel icicles on her tree, and sometimes we would scoot our feet across the carpet while holding an icicle so that the static electricity would shock my little sister.

Some of the turquoise ornaments belong to my paternal grandmother who oozed with the love of Jesus. She actually gave me her little four-foot tree the year Sam and I got married, and we used it for a couple of years until we purchased a larger one.

There is a hand painted ornament that a family friend, Betty made for me when I was a child and a wooden nativity ornament that another friend brought to me after her trip to the Holy Land. The ball ornaments with the glittery gold stars and nativities are from a woman who took me under her wing and mentored me without me even realizing what she was doing. She was a true prayer warrior and sweet as could be. Our tree even displays a sock left behind by one of our son’s friends who we love like family.

The most precious ornaments on our tree are the ones that my children made. Some are made with their hand prints. Others are decorated with their photos or precious notes.

Every single ornament on our tree has a special meaning, and Christmas time is a good time to remember the special events and the people who have touched our lives. For it is through the special moments that we can see how God has been at work in our lives and through the people who are dear to us that we can experience God’s love for us.

So, for at least another year, our tree stands tall in the corner. For at least another year I look at the ornaments and remember the people who helped God shape me. For at least another year, I see the bright lights in the darkness reminding me of Jesus, the Light of the World who came to take away my sin and give me peace with God.

There will always be things in our future that we do not look forward to,but we must prepare for those moments. For example, those of us who live in the Midwest know that we must prepare for the winter.

Oh, how I dread winter each and every year. The days are short, the sun seems so far away and the bitterly cold wind blows. I have a difficult time emerging from under my electric blanket in the morning and loathe wearing long pants and bulky clothing. The dark, dreary days and the bitterly cold wind get harder and harder to tolerate each year. Don’t even mention the “s” word (you know, that white stuff that looks all pretty falling from the sky but makes the roads slick and the floors muddy).

I am definitely a summer girl! I love wearing dresses, seeing the sun shine and feeling the warmth radiate down to my bones. Summer means blue skies, sheets on the clotheslines, watermelon, Popsicles, lemonade, flip flops, fireflies, green leaves, bright sunshine and fresh air. Life is good in the summer, and I am happy, happy, happy!

However, no matter how much I want summer to last forever, winter always comes. I can either prepare for winter or live in denial and get a rude awakening.

The signs arrive every year. The grass begins to die. The leaves on the trees start to change color and then fall to the ground. Winter clothes appear in window displays. Christmas lights are hung all around town. Snowplows and children wait for the first snowflake to fall. Some things, we cannot change.

The most important thing we cannot change is the fact that we are not here on earth forever. Our bodies wear out, and eventually our hearts stop beating. For some of us that comes slowly; for others, this comes suddenly and unexpectedly. We don’t like to think about these things, but we must be prepared for that day.

When we die, we do not simply cease to exist forever. We each have an eternal destination. For those who choose to accept Jesus as Lord, that destination is heaven. For those that do not accept Jesus as Lord, that destination is hell. The choice is ours.

I do not say this to judge or condemn. I say this out of love. You see, God is holy, and sin separates us from Him. The penalty for sin is death. We have all sinned, and we all deserve death. The good news is that Jesus died on the cross in our place and rose from the dead, conquering sin and death. If we accept His gift of salvation and commit our lives to following Him, our slate is wiped clean. We can stand before God because we have accepted the gift of salvation through Jesus.

The Bible says in Romans 14:11 “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’” Jesus is Lord whether we accept it or not. Those who decide to surrender their lives on earth to Jesus and follow His ways will receive the gift of eternal life with Him in heaven. Sadly, those who choose to reject Jesus and His ways during their life on earth, will not be allowed to enter but will be cast into eternal punishment in hell.

Just as God wants no one to perish but all to repent and be saved (2 Peter 3:9), I too cannot bear the thought of anyone being separated from God and cast into eternal punishment. Just as we know that winter is coming, we also know that death is coming. Each of us will one day find ourselves face-to-face with God and each of us will confess him as Lord. If we wait until that day, it will be too late.

As we prepare for winter and prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus, we must also make sure that we and those we love are prepared for the day that we will meet God face-to-face.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). That’s what Christmas is all about. God sent His Son to die for us so that we could have eternal life with Him in heaven. We must accept this gift so we will be prepared, and we must share this Good News with others so that they too can be prepared.

Are you running on empty? In this season of giving, we can push ourselves to go, go, go, and then suddenly find ourselves drained.

When we find ourselves with a long “to do” list, it is important to find time to take care of our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being. It’s not selfish to take a break and rejuvenate ourselves. After all, we cannot give if we have nothing left.

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Mark 6:30-34. Jesus’ disciples had just returned from a mission that Jesus had sent them on to preach repentance, heal the sick and cast out demons.

“The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’ So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.” ~Mark 6:30-34

Jesus tried to take them to a solitary place, but the people rushed ahead of them. After teaching the people on the other side of the lake, Jesus performed the miracle of feeding the 5000 by blessing and dividing just five loaves of bread and two fish. Then, He sent the disciples back to the boat right away, dismissed the crowd and went up on a mountainside alone to pray.

Jesus knew the importance of taking time away from the busyness to rest with the Father. Luke 5:15-16 notes, “Yet, the news about Him spread all the more, so the crowds of people came to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”

When we read through the Gospels, we find several times that Jesus slipped away to pray alone. One example is Mark 1:35, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed.”

Luke 6:12-13 (ESV) is another example, “In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles:” Jesus knew the importance of spending time alone with the Father before His important meeting with the ones He would chose to be His witnesses.

Even when life is busy and our to do list is long, we must take time to be alone with God. We must follow the example Jesus set for us while He was here on earth. He found moments to be alone with the Father, and we must do the same. We need Him to speak into our lives and breathe life back into us as we read His word and pray. Then we can be ready to pour out to others again.

Just as he beckoned His disciples to “come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest,” He calls to us as well. Sometimes, we are able to take the day to sit at His feet. Other times, our time alone with Him may be cut short as it was for His disciples in Mark 6 when the crowds of people were waiting for Jesus and the disciples on the other side of the lake. However, when we are with Him, He gives us the wisdom, strength and all we need to minister where the Father wills.

Are you running on empty? Take time to be alone with Jesus. Let Him unclutter your mind, untangle your heart and refresh your body, mind and spirit. Whether you must get up early in the morning while everyone else is still in bed, stay up late while others sleep or slip away at lunch, find the time. He understands and knows what you need. Slip away with Him by yourself to a quiet place and find some rest.

As I woke up this Monday morning, my mind went straight to the long list that awaited me, but my longing heart reminded me that only one thing is needed. I thought of everything that needs taken care of before I leave for work. I tried to figure out what I could squeeze in over my lunch hour, what I needed to take care of this evening, and how long the rest of my list could wait.

The dirty dishes and laundry are both piled up. The floors and bathrooms are filthy. My small business has orders waiting to be filled and shipped. The shopping needs finished. Gifts need wrapped. A big homework project is due. Dinner needs to get started in the crockpot before I leave for work, and when I get to work, I will face another whole list of deadlines to meet. All of these things need worked in around appointments, celebrations, class and Life Group. There are many things that I need to take care of this week, and I’m not sure I can get them all done.

I began praying before my feet hit the floor. Only one thing is needed.

We live in a fast-paced world, and sometimes I feel like I am rushing through my day at a speed of 100 million miles an hour. So many of us work outside the home these days and then have cooking, laundry, cleaning, shopping, yard work, house repairs and many other responsibilities waiting when we get home. This time of year, on top of the challenge of keeping up between our job and our family, we are extra busy preparing for the holidays by shopping for gifts, decorating, baking and planning the perfect family get-togethers.

Busyness in my life tends to creep in slowly and quietly, one thing at a time until all of a sudden, I become overwhelmed and overloaded. If I’m not careful, my priorities get mixed up and I find myself so busy doing what I think my family needs me to do that I miss out on the things that mean the most. Often, I don’t even realize what is happening until I find myself  irritable and I become resentful of those who have time to relax while I am hard at work.

 A long time ago, a woman named Martha opened her home to Jesus and his disciples as they were passing by. Her sister, Mary, was sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to Him speak while Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.

Needless to say, Martha was pretty frustrated. She finally went to Jesus and asked, “Don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

Jesus’ reply may have seemed a bit shocking to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42).

Don’t get so busy with your holiday preparations that you don’t have time to enjoy the people who are important. Most of all, don’t get so caught up in what you think needs done that you don’t have time to spend listening at the feet of Jesus. If you sit quietly, he will whisper to your heart and remind you of what is truly important. Praying for a season focused on Jesus and the joy, peace and contentment that comes through him.

It was a miraculous but simple night. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords was born in a stable and laid in a manger in the small town of Bethlehem. May remembering those details help us keep everything in perspective as we prepare for our Christmas celebrations.

As we begin the second week of Advent today and light the “Bethlehem Candle,” also known as the “Candle of Preparation,” let’s keep our plans simple. Let’s slow down, focus on Jesus and share His love with those around us.

“And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” ~Luke 2:6-7

“How do you know God is real?” As a high school Life Group leader, I have heard this question many times.

One of my favorite examples to share is the time when God pulled me up from the pit of despair and revealed that I have purpose in Him. I was a stay-at-home mom who had somehow reached rock bottom. I felt extremely inadequate and suffered very low self-esteem. To be totally honest, there were times when I truly believed that my family would be better off without me.

During that low, I saw an advertisement for Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse, which delivers shoe box gifts along with the Gospel to children living in desperate situations all over the world. A quiet voice urged me to get involved, and I spoke to my minister who allowed me to involve our congregation as well.

After a couple of years of driving our gifts 2 ½ hours to the nearest drop-off, I heard that same quiet voice asking me to do something bigger—start a local drop-off point and collect shoe boxes from other churches in our area.

This is something that I never would have thought to do on my own. I didn’t even know anyone outside our church who participated in this project. The task seemed impossible for a nobody with no contacts, but the voice wouldn’t leave me alone.

Because I had never entertained the idea that God might speak to me, I prayed, “God, I don’t know if this is You, but these thoughts are not going away. I have no idea how to do this, but if this is really You, I will do what You ask.”

Over the next several months, I watched in amazement. It became obvious that God had been working on many other hearts; He just needed someone who was willing to help Him connect everyone together.

God built a team, as over and over I’d choose a nearby town not knowing who to call, and He would quickly connect me with others who shared the passion for reaching these kids. Time and again, I’d visit a church to promote the project, and they excitedly agreed to come on board. The response was amazing!

My life found deeper meaning the year of 2001 as I witnessed God orchestrate a drop-off where more than 4,300 shoe box gifts were collected in the first year. Through the promotion of the project, He blessed thousands of people in our area (most of which had never heard of the project) by giving them a way to make an eternal impact on more than 4300 lives that lived thousands of miles away.

He also taught this simple-minded, socially awkward “nobody,” that He will equip me for whatever He asks me to do. When God called me to become involved in His work, I ignorantly thought that I was agreeing to “help God out.” I didn’t understand at the time that it was GOD helping out ME. He worked through me to do things that I never could have done on my own. He showed me that even though I thought I was worthless, I am worth something to Him. God is real!

Knowing that God is real gives us hope, and sharing our experiences with others can give them hope too. During Advent take time to tell others about how God has been real to you. Ask God to open your eyes to how He might bless someone and show them His love through you.

Christmas should be a time of rejoicing, but sometimes the days leading up to the holiday can be stressful or even sorrowful. Strained relationships can seem worse this time of year when everyone should be getting along for Christmas gatherings. Many people are missing loved ones who are no longer here. Some people are fighting just to get out of bed each day due to health issues, depression or feelings of being overwhelmed.

Celebrating the birth of Jesus at Christmas reminds us of hope we have through Him. In Jesus we receive forgiveness of our sin, redemption, restoration with God and eternal life with Him in heaven. If the only hope that Jesus brought us was the hope of heaven, that would be enough. Yet through life in Christ, we also have hope that God is with us through our struggles and trials and that He makes everything beautiful in its time.

I still remember the hope that God gave me that summer day of July 16, 2004. I got up early and met God on the porch. The air was perfect, the bobwhite was calling and a hummingbird hovered close enough that I could hear the buzz of its wings fluttering.

When I’d finished my prayers, I started dead-heading my flowers and thinking about a problem that I had prayed about that morning. I had been praying about it for a very long time, but nothing seemed to change.

As I pulled off each withered bloom, I felt like in answer to my prayers, God was pulling away all the things in that situation that grieved me. It felt so good to remove all the dead and withered blooms, and I was filled with hope that the Master Gardener in heaven was doing His work in my life as well.

I began thinking on Ecclesiastes chapter 3. There is a time for struggles and tears, but there is also a time for joy and laughter. He makes everything beautiful in its time!

I’d let my problems hang dead and withered too long. I hadn’t totally let go of trying to fix the situation on my own. I needed to let go and allow God to do the plucking! I took some of the dead, withered blooms and pressed them in my Bible in Ecclesiastes 3 to remind me of God’s promise that He would take the situation I was praying about and make it beautiful.

The difficult season I was going through lasted many long years. I guess you could say that there was a lot of dead-heading that had to be done, including some work in my own heart that I didn’t even know was there when I cried out to God on that summer day.

Over the years, the dead blooms I saved in my Bible brought me hope. From time-to-time when I prayed, I would “jog God’s memory” about His promise with me and ask Him how much longer I would have to wait. He would gently remind me that the answer would come in HIS time.

Whatever you are going through, don’t lose hope. Let God do the work needed in your heart and in the hearts of those around you. Wait for answers, knowing that even if your problem doesn’t go away on this side of heaven, God will walk through it with you and will do His work in you so you can persevere. Rest in His peace and hold onto the hope that He is working out every situation into something beautiful.

We may not see the end result during our life here on earth, but the Bible promises that in heaven, God will wipe away every tear, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain. Keep praying, keep hoping and let God take care of the rest in His time. He makes everything beautiful.

Everyone loves gifts, and Christmas is a really big time for gift-giving. I enjoy giving things that I know the recipient will love, but the recipient doesn’t always appreciate the gift I have chosen as much as I had anticipated. Sometimes, I am disappointed to learn that they already have the gift I chose. Other times, I just get it wrong and find that I really didn’t know their wishes as much as I thought. There have even been times when the recipient has declined from accepting my gift.

God is a great gift-giver, and the very best gift that He has ever given is His Son. “For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

You see, God is holy, and He created us in his own image. We were created to bring Him glory, but we messed up when we disobeyed Him. Our sin sentenced us to eternal separation from God. The wages of sin is death. So, God sent His Son Jesus to die in our place. John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” That’s what Jesus did for us.

There is no one excluded from His gift. All we have to do is realize our need for God, recognize our need to get rid of our sin and accept His gift. By accepting His gift, we commit to following His ways.

Sadly, not everyone will choose to accept. Some don’t think they need it. Others don’t think that God could ever forgive them. And some just don’t know that the gift is available to them.

Absolutely everyone needs this gift because we have all sinned (Romans 3:23). And even though none of us deserve this gift, God wants each of us to have it no matter how horrible of an act we have committed.

Our souls can never be at peace until we make things right with God. If you desire this gift but don’t know how to accept it, let me know. I’d be happy to explain more. I want you to experience the indescribable strength, love, joy, peace and hope that is found in Jesus. So does He.

Have you accepted His gift? If not, I urge you to do it before it is too late.

My son who was an elementary music teacher was getting ready to take the chorus caroling to all of the classrooms at his school. He gave me a plastic sandwich bag for each classroom and asked me to put 25 candy canes in each bag so that the chorus could give every child and teacher a special treat. As I counted them out, I pushed all of the broken ones off to the side.

At the end of the day, I wondered what to do with the broken candy canes. I popped one into my mouth, and it still tasted great despite being broken.

I remembered one of the students telling me that they were going to make fudge and sprinkle crushed candy canes on top that evening. The broken candy canes would be perfect for that. Not only would that be a delicious combination, the peppermint garnish would make the chocolate treat look festive.

The broken candy canes made me think about all the “broken” people I have met. I know people who have been hurt or abused to the point that they have very low self-esteem and can’t see themselves as the beautiful person they are. I can think of people who are so overwhelmed by sorrow, grief, anxiety and depression that they can’t function properly. I have met people who can’t see their wonderful qualities because they are consumed with beating themselves up over the things they aren’t good at. I have listened to people who have bought into a lie that because they are broken, they have no worth.

But, just like those broken candy canes, these “broken” people have purpose. They may feel crushed and broken, but they are still beautiful.

Oh, how I wish these broken people could see themselves the way God does. How I long for them to know how much He loves them.

My prayer for these broken people is that they would turn to Jesus and find their strength, their healing, their identity, their confidence and their purpose in Him. I want them to know that God knit them together in their mothers’ wombs and that they are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139). I want them to realize that the Lord who said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9), can use their weaknesses to reveal His power and goodness. I pray that they would find purpose because they have a God “who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (1 Corinthians 1:4). I pray that in their brokenness, they will turn to the One whose body was broken and whose blood was shed so that they could have life. I pray that they will find comfort, healing, purpose, peace and hope in Him.