Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Merry Christmas ~


Hope this post finds you totally prepared for Christmas!
Wonder how many are 100% prepared? 
Gifts are finally wrapped here, been to the market in preparation for  our 
Christmas Eve dinner, and ready to tidy up the house.

I wanted to wish all of my fellow bloggers a Merry Christmas !
Praying for all who will travel to arrive at your destinations safely.

I had the best intentions of getting all my Christmas cards out, just never got them all done.

So forgive me those who haven't received one..
Next year!

We have been having cool weather, highs in the 50's many days, evenings high 20's low 30's...
that means I may actually get to wear all my turtleneck sweaters at last! 
We had several days of rain which I'm also loving, not just because we need it but 
because it's just so nice to see again!!

I wanted to share video from Khloe's Sunday School performance
They sang, Go Tell it On The Mountain.
It was adorable, a couple of joyful tears were shed...

Hope you enjoy it even a fraction of what I have :-)




All the wonder of Christmas, 
It's what echos from my heart today!







Tuesday, December 8, 2015

...Because I Can Still Freely Share

(Much of what I'm sharing today has been shared before, I believe its worthy of sharing again, it's a direct result of my Bible study's of late ....)

Where people get the idea that because one is a Christian,
 they don't make bad choices.
Or that because one is a Christian, they must also be hypocrites.
That because one is a Christian ________
Fill in the blank, world....


It is from my experience a few things may contribute to this thinking.
Those who really believe such things, don't understand the faith.
First and foremost, if one truly understands the Christian faith they would know,
Christians do make bad choices....yes, we too are human.
Christians can be hypocritical, it's true, as can other members of life!

It's really not easy being a Christian.
It's the most ridiculed faith, yet is is a faith that teaches above all else to love one another,
even those that ridicule, even one's enemies.

I personally believe the Bible as God Word,
His Word breathed into others, and therefore penned by many authors.
A true history of mankind.

Because I believe that, and I understand how God wants me to be toward others,
I would hope to not ridicule another for their particular faith.
I would not assume because one is a "bad" (pick a faith), that all of that faith is bad.
Yet....that is what so many do in response to the Christian faith?

The second reason I believe that contributes to this way of thinking toward the Christian faith is that people
 have had bad experiences personally with a church or those claiming to be Christians. 
Christians just as any other group of people,
have faults and are not always good examples of the faith.
(Grieves me deeply)
 For that I am deeply sorry, at the same time,  it's not the 
entire faith that hurt you in whatever way you may have been hurt.

I know some had faith forced on then as children and when it came time to decide
 for oneself you chose to be done with "that" experience.
It's really quite an incredible thing when faith is by choice, when it's really studied, when one truly understands it, and therefore truly experiences it in a personal way.

Speaking for myself as a Christian.
I am not perfect, yet I know I serve a perfect God.
I make bad choices, yet I know He is a God of grace and forgiveness.
There are hypocrites that attend church, I say, what better place for them to be in order 
to recognize it and hopefully think better of it?
I try very hard not to judge, I never know another persons full story nor have I walked in their shoes.
I don't want to criticize anyone for their beliefs that may differ from mine. 
 I do struggle with any faith that teaches the opposite of love.
Faith is such a personal choice and I can't imagine chosing to be interested in one
that promotes anything other than much needed love in this world.

As a Christian I wake up everyday with a desire to do better, to be better.
My greatest prayer is that people who claim to be Christian live a life that's reflective of
that faith.  It's a faith who's greatest commandment is to love others, are you?
How are you treating strangers, employees, neighbors, spouses, friends? 
The answer should be by loving them no matter what.
Loving, it's a verb, Christian.
This I work at daily, and I often fail. 
Yet my honest desire each day is to try again, to try and get it right.
 ~
Christian what is your behavior when others aren't watching, 
when you are away from church?
Gulp, guilty myself with just a second to think about it! 
Always something to work on.....and very important that when recognized you don't ignore it!
We've work to do if we want the world to see true examples of our faith.
Live your faith in a way that all will recognize you as light to the world.

It is my belief as I shared on Facebook this past week.
Rather you believe it or not, this world is seeing what the Bible says would happen,
 is in fact
happening before our eyes.
A result of God leaving man to their own choices.

More and more Christians are martyred for their faith every day,
 I know this will continue to be more common than not in our not so distant future. 
Today I learned the sad fact that more Christians have died because 
of their faith in the 20th century than all other centuries combined.
Telling......

I am  a Christian, I have many faults, I speak freely of my faith
 because I live in a country where I can.  
Though I don't see that being the case far down the road.

 I want people I care about to really understand they have a choice,
and for all to fully understand it before making that choice.
That choice determines eternity.

 I have said in past posts, 
what do you have to lose if you choose to believe, only to find out it's a lie?
The answer is nothing.
You have nothing to lose.....
and so much to gain.
The alternative may be worth checking out....
it's my hope for each who reads this.

I am not a holy roller, Bible thumper, Religous freak,
I just took the time to educate myself and as a result experienced
what it is truly like to have a personal relationship with God. 
It does not mean bad things won't happen in life, they have and they will.
It is, a peace in the midst of all that is happening today for example,.....and everyday to come. 
It's my future....

~

I ask that those who choose to respond to this post,
 not respond in a way that attacks something so very personal to me.
It's your choice to believe differently, you're important to me despite our differences!

I can promise, I will treat you in kind..... 
it's what echos from my heart today.




Monday, December 7, 2015

Hello .....December!

Hello, have you heard Adel's new C.D. titled 25? I love it, really love the song Hello.... I highly recommend it, she does have such a gift in that beautiful voice of hers.

December, wasn't sure I was going to make it to blog land. I have a break from 2 of the classes I've been taking so I saw a window, I'm climbing in.


I am loving my classes, it is requiring me to be more disciplined with my time.  I get any study time I can when my little grands go down for their naps...(often that is 3 hours) crazy right?

We hosted a Christmas Brunch for my siblings and their families on the 5th.  Was so great to be with them, really sorry my brother and his family couldn't make it. Those days of always being together, I still miss them.


My Sweet Beans (Khloe)

Ella Roo (Ellery)



Sisters

My Great nieces Ruby and Minnie with their cousins Khloe and Ellery.



The big deal....she loves this thing!

Sisters Deanna left, Dona on the right.

Sisters and the Grands!

L to R my niece Summer, son Brian, Niece Amanda, and son Mike (clown) with the kiddos.


My sons and my two nieces.. (clown .....always)

We had a lovely day, so fun to watch the little ones play together....the day is always over too soon for me.

Gearing up for more holiday fun and making some new memories!
Hoping you aren't letting the chaos of the world enter in....
It's what echos from my heart today.....