’Tis the Season

Do not be anxious about anything but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

Papaw and Cole

Yesterday was Thanksgiving.  People all over our good country gathered with family and friends in celebration of gratitude and thankfulness.  This year was no exception in my own heart for realizing the true significance of this holiday.  We have much to be thankful for.  Tim and I are both employed, and we have a nice home in which we live.  Our children are healthy, happy, and will be with us for Christmas.  Just a week ago, Tim underwent a heart catheterization during which a new stent was placed inside the stent that he received in November of 2004 while living in Albuquerque.  The original was 99% blocked, creating chest pain and discomfort that necessitated intervention.  A few days past Tim’s emergency medical situation, I had a minor hernia repair and am taking advantage of the quiet days surrounding the Thanksgiving holiday to rest and to heal.  We are truly blessed this year by doctors and medical professionals who know how to take care of our bodies when they fail. 

Today is the day after Thanksgiving.  Many followed the traditional holiday feast by going out late, or early, as the case may be, to shop and find the first great deals of the Christmas season.  Others are busy transforming their homes with festive garland, lights, and décor that somehow ushers in this special time of year with its music, its gifts, and its Love.  Today is exactly one month until Christmas Day.   We all have much to do between now and then, but let’s not get so caught up in the hurry and the rush that we forget the season of Thanksgiving!  It was a season in which we celebrated the birth of brand new babies and still anxiously anticipate others.  A season in which we were pleased with successful surgeries that gave hope to scary diagnoses.  A season in which there was God-given peace over life-changing events and decisions.  A season of rejoicing over long awaited answers to prayers, and the continued realization of God’s gift of breath and life, His grace, and His mercy each and every day.  Please join me as we place the Christ Child’s manger in our focus again this Christmas season, that we still hold on to the Spirit of Thanksgiving and keep it with us into the New Year. 

Until next time,
Debbie

“She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus,
because He will save His people from their sins.” 
Matthew 1:21

 

For my friends who subscribe to Morsels of Mercy and automatically get a copy sent to your email, check out the blog on my website to see additional photos of my family         https://morselsofmercy.wordpress.com

**  Blog photo of Christmas decorations … 2011 

A – Z

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; 
worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness.
Psalm 29:2

Does it seem like your calendar has the hiccups, and every little bit another page turns?  Here it is already the first week of November!  Didn’t my family just get back from the shore a few short weeks ago?  Wasn’t it just yesterday that I returned from my birthday visit to Indiana?  I find it quite crazy to realize the mad rush that life gets into as the holidays approach, so I am determined to do things a little differently this year. 

For the next several days between now and Thanksgiving, I’m adding an exciting twist to my mornings.  Last Friday, I took the letter A and listed as many words as I could that described the attributes of God.  I found the concordance in the back of my Bible to be a great resource, providing wonderful words along with the corresponding scriptures – sort of like feasting on homemade guacamole and having fresh tortilla chips to eat with it!  It seems that with each day and my quest with a different letter, my acceptance of words has broadened.  You know how two friends share a vocabulary of special words?  Well, there are some that are just special between God and me.  After checking the back of my Bible, I then find myself combing through the hymnal that I keep in my special spot of quiet time.  A few words are usually added, but more exciting is the memory jog that takes place as I read titles of songs that have formed this very heart that loves Jesus.   I enjoy much of today’s contemporary Christian music, but when I hear a hymn, the very foundation of my soul catches its breath as the melody, the words, and the message still ring true through the ages of life.  The unexpected addition to the music portion of my holiday devotional journey has even surprised me, as today I even sat down at my piano and played several songs that I haven’t even thought of for several years, let alone sit down and play. 

 I don’t expect anyone else to do what I’m doing, but I would like to throw out a challenge to not allow the next two months of busyness and activity to steal an opportunity to on-purpose turn your focus on your relationship with God.  As I read over my freshly written list each morning, I do so in intimate conversation with my Lord…prayer, songs, tears, and even some laughter.  God and I have a history, and these words and more tell part of our story. 

Abba, Abide, Absolute, Above, Active, Adore, Air, ALL, Always, Arms, Aroma, Assurance, …

Balm, Banner, Beautiful, Believe, Belong, Beloved, Blessing, Bread, Breath, Broken, Builder, …

Calling, Cherish, Cling, Comfort, Companion, Compels, Complete, Constant, Consumes, …

Dance, Daughter, Dedicate, Defender, Delight, Deliverer, Demands, Depend, Desire, Draw, …

Effort, Emmanuel, Encourage, Endurance, Engraved, Everything, Expectation, Express, …

Face, Faithful, Father, Favor, Feet, Fit, Fix, Forever, Forgiven, Forsake, Fortress, Fragrance, …

Gap, Gentle, Gift, Giver, Glad, Glory, Grace, Gratitude, Great, Groanings, Guard, Guide, …

Haunt, Healthy, Heart, Hedge, Helper, Hide, Highway, Hold, Holiness, Hope, Hover, Hunger, Hymn, …

Won’t you join me in the next several weeks, as the 2011 calendar turns its last pages, to finish out the year with a renewed eagerness to be thankful?  … Ever alert to God’s constant presence in our lives, and to then be responsive to Him and His eternal love for each of us. 

Until next time,
Debbie

For my friends who subscribe to Morsels of Mercy and automatically get a copy sent to your email, check out the blog on my website to see additional photos of my family         https://morselsofmercy.wordpress.com

**  Blog photo of fall decorations in my home … October 2011