sleepy, happy goofy

John  8:12 says,


12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he

said, 

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows


 me will never walk in darkness, but will have


 the light of life.”

Exhausted from Christmas, I began to plan for my mom coming to visit. Living away from Mom and Dad is quite alright considering I'm in my 30s and happily married. Yet, somehow at Christmas time, I miss Mom, Dad, the past and even somehow the family dachshund...So, this year for my Christmas gift Mom agreed to come out for a day and take me shopping for Christmas gifts, just like old times. Oh how wonderful it was to reminisce and enjoy the season with Mom. But then, as I was driving home from dropping my Mom off at the airport, it dawned on me that the time was over..gone and finished! As a familiar Christmas song began to play, "It's the most wonderful time of the year" I began to cry...! Feeling totally sleepy, happy, goofy and crazy I wept while, singing about Christmas time being so wonderful!! Suddenly, I stopped crying to realize that even though that time had ended...there was still Hope...My time with Christ, my true joy isn't going to end...it never has to end..."Christmas time is here" means that Christ came and He's still here....The Light that came into the world was and is Everlasting!!!

You know what I think about Christmas? Well, first of all, Christmas time is not the same thing as time with Christ, is it? Yes, I know...I know..."it's the most wonderful time of the year...right?" Sadly, most Christmas mornings are full of overly tired, overly stuffed, overly offended, overly shopped, sleepy, happy goofy people who have been running on empty for about 2 weeks at the least and 5 weeks at the most. Decorate those cookies, and pick up the ham...Clean the house for the Christmas guests and then clean it again for the relatives...or pests...!! Just kidding, well for some of us that might be a totally serious phrase!! I'll let you connect the dots, okay? Pick up more lights and run to Costco for more double A batteries because a few snow globes stopped running and most of the toys under the tree require batteries and are sold completely void of batteries, rending the toys useless and lifeless!! Christmas in fact is a consumable holiday for complacent consumers!! Put that in your cocoa and sip it 3 times fast!! However, the Christ of Christmas is not in need of a battery, because he is the power that gives energy to all. Moreover, the Christ of Christmas is not in need of lights because He is the light of the World.  Even still, the Christ of Christmas is not in need of rest or sleep because He Himself is our peace in every storm.  Finally, the Christ of Christmas is not lonely or empty, but full of joy and Love..ready and waiting to fill us in every way to overflowing at any moment..He is the fulfillment of every hope, dream and goal..So, when the Holiday we call Christmas gets you a little bit sleepy, happy goofy crazy, remember that the Christ of Christmas is the great "I AM" and He did come and He is still here and He still saves us all...Now that's a good reason to be celebrating!!

Principle: Whenever you are tired, sad, lonely or full of strife, you simply need a dose of true life, the light and joy of Jesus Christ!! 

Dizzy, Dizzy...Watch out! There's a cliff!!

Isaiah 40:31New International Version (NIV)

31 but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

Ever just wanted to think of the "Way" of Faith in Christ as a warm fuzzy and invigorating cup of hot cocoa? Yes, I've found my peace in Christ and now I will sit down in my chair and enjoy a mocha latte with extra whip...

Oh, and easy on the cinnamon, please! Well, whether we would like to admit to it or not, we are all addicted to the concept of comfort and complacency wrapped up in a package of chocolate, coffee or whatever addictive substance that our subconscious can get its hands on, right?  So, maybe that is the reason why the stresses of the season get us a little crazy...maybe we are so crazy for comfort that the first signs of chaos break us like a cheap piece of glass on the Christmas tree..!! KNow what happened to me? I was decorating one of my three Christmas trees last night..yes, I have 3 trees...always 3 to symbolize the trinity of our Lord, Amen.  Well, I began to do well and was about half way finished with my decorating when I started to climb up onto things to reach, shall we say the upper registers of my tree. Suddenly, a dizzy spell attacked my senses and I almost came tumbling down, taking a few ornaments with me as I thank fully stepped down quickly enough to regain balance on the ground. Interestingly enough, I realized that not only is being hydrated during the holidays a good thing, but so is learning to stand on the center of a chair when reaching to regions higher than our heads!!! Had I not taken a mini spill, I would not have learned that valuable lesson, right? 

Principle, If you don't learn how to fall, you'll never fly at all!!

So, those of us addicted to comfort rarely venture out on purpose to fall, right? Afraid of pain and therefore experiencing little gain, we wain in the face of danger, don't we? Yet, where is the gold of our Christian faith, where is the part where we get to fly??  It's not at the base of the Tree, is it? It's not in the recliner with the cocoa, is it? No, Jonah...it's not in Israel at all, is it? Jonah...that gold is in Assyria...right in the heart of Nineveh...and that's where, Oh prophet of God, you will get your wings....

Yes, Clarence, you have to risk it all, if you ever want to fly....

Wow...Consider the Eagle from our passage at the beginning of the blog...Did you know how an Eagle learns to fly? Well, not too surprisingly...it's a real cliffhanger...!!! These little baby birds are not pushed from a tree's twig...but a massive precipice..a cliff of huge magnitude..!! "Incoming!"

These little egrets have to blindly learn to fly off a cliff or die trying...!!! It's no wonder that our awesome God decided to use the Eagle to show us that we can fly, but first we must learn to use the wings He's given us....."Incoming"....!!! dizzy this Christmas...Are stars off that tree falling down a bit? Relying solely on Him, on Christ, take a leap of faith in His strength and jump off a cliff this Christmas, knowing that you will learn to soar like an Eagle straight through to the gold He's promised us!! Remember how little information Mary had before she knelt before an Angel, said, "yes" and then jumped off a cliff that led to some serious Gold...!!!

The temptation to fight...

1 John 2:8New International Version (NIV)

8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

Well, we are right in the middle of the holiday season aren't we? There are different ways this season is celebrated around the world, right? Some of us are hanging stockings and others are placing dutch shoes by the fire place...Some of us are making wreaths to wear on our head full of candles...Others still are not celebrating Christmas at all, but 8 beautiful days and nights of Hanukah! No matter what is by your fireplace this year, or how many candles are lit in your house, there is one thing threatening the light...! Satan tempts us all across cultural lines and all around the world with one nasty trick, and yes, he's slick. What's his trick you ask me? What's this temptation that threatens the light in my house, you ask? 

The temptation that snuffs out the light is the urge to take over our own lives and resist God's sovereignty with a fight!!


Just like Jonah...we serve God well, we follow His command until He asks us to go beyond our comfort and do something crazy like, "Love your enemy...your in-laws, your crazy, selfish kids, or your greedy, shameless, incarnate friends who do not know what friendship is all about and they are sucking the life right out of you!!! Sound familiar??? Well, if you are having homicidal holiday heaviness...then maybe you are reading the right blog at just the right time. Repeat after me...."God is in control, and I am not! Again, God, who made the heavens and the earth, who hears my prayers and holds my life in His hands, also holds your enemies in His Sovereign plans...!!!!"  Don't fight the wrong fight, friends!! Rather, let His light give you everything you need to shine like mad all over those crazy holiday moments...the greatest fight you can wage against the madness is in prayer...prayer to a sovereign God, who has your back!! 

Principle, when you fight your own fight, It's God you slight, rather embrace His plan..it's all in His hand...!!!

Don't fight the Light...let the Light Fight the good fight!!

So, when your kids, your husband, your wife, your ministry, your friends make you crazy this season....Don't fight them....Give them to God and let His light do the fighting for you....Resist the urge that Satan is placing in your path to deck the halls your way...Instead, kick the devil out for the Holidays...He hates Christmas anyways...Invite Christ in instead to shine brighter than ever over your home.  Be Glad that He is Here...Emmanuel came and I'm so glad he did!!!   

A Hug or a Hit?

Proverbs 3:5-6New International Version (NIV)

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.[a]

    Jonah ran far away from those that hit him hard...I still smile pretty big when I hear that Jonah was the worst missionary of all time, especially because I feel like that title belongs to me, Jennifer. What's more, is the fact that Jonah was actually not a representation of bad mission work, but rather one of the greatest lessons on forgiveness and trust that all of us desperately need to learn. Poor Jonah! Stop picking on the guy that faced an enemy head on and did so after a huge bath of seaweed and whale vomit. Sadly, the sweet savory scent he carried with him was even further soured by his reality that those who might be saved were the very souls he wanted to die! Have any of you read, The Shack? Well, for those of you who understand this mind boggling book, you can appreciate how inconceivable it is to forgive a murderer, a thief, or a liar. So many missionaries set out to save those in a foreign land that need to hear the good news...but how often are those the very people that hit your hometown?
We know that we are to put our trust in God no matter the cost, but when our hearts have been hit all trust is lost...Amen?

Today is the first Sunday of Advent and yes, the baby is coming to save so let me leave you with this thought on hits and hugs...

When we lean not on our own understanding, we accept a bunch of hits...but in leaning away from our thoughts, we get to lean on His arms....We might take a hit, but there is always a hug waiting on and leaning on the everlasting arms. In reality, Jesus comes to us all to save us from our sin that Hit Him...so that in Him we can save others that have hit us.

Principle: The road is long but the path is always lit, leading us all to be able to take each hit...
So long as we know it's His arms that Hold, we will be able to tell the greatest story ever told.

No flashlight and batteries not included!

Suddenly, the light goes out! There is excruciating pain as her body crashes down into a deep, dark pit promising nothing but danger and darkness. To make matters worse, heavy rocks begin to fall down into the narrow cave like corridor where she is lying helplessly in the darkness without a light in sight. Suddenly, the desire to live overwhelmingly ceases her being as she begins to scream, "help"! "Is somebody there?" Friends, being stuck in a dangerous situation beckons us to truly cry out for help. Yes, when you are stuck in a cave, an old mine shaft, or perhaps caught out to sea without a boat or life vest, you truly can appreciate that you are in a desperate situation. However, you are not without hope, right? Knowing that there are others that have the ability to save you, you cry out, waiting for your rescue from the most immanent fate that will occur if help does not come, right? Friends, this is how it is with our Lord when we wait upon Him and Him alone. Some mistakenly think that waiting on God is an act of patience, or the simple desire to have meaningless gifts bestowed upon our lives, but waiting on God in the biblical sense is far more dire than that,

Psalm 40[a]

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
    and put their trust in him.

Today, my feet have slipped into a dark pit and there seems to be no light! As a Christian, the only flashlight I have is the light coming from within and there fore I have hope. Yes, because I know He who is able to save, I cry out to God and wait on Him to lift me out of the mud and the mire. Sadly, it's as though I forgot He was there at all until I slipped. To clarify, my awareness of God being there is not really what I forget on a daily basis. No, rather it is the fact that I'm lost without Him to save me is the reality that is forgotten. The truth is, we all need to learn to wait upon the Lord or we will never know the joy of the renewal of our strength in Him. However, we will never wait upon the Lord unless we are aware of the need for a savior. Experiencing a trial, or a desperate situation? Thank the Lord for it?  Truly,the situation that brings us to our knees with the realization that we are emotionally, spiritually or physically dead without God's help, is the only way we will call out for a savior. With or without a calamity, I hope we choose to live in the reality that we need God and that in response, we cry out to Him first and wait upon Him alone

Principle, when you are lost in the wilderness with no help and no phone

there is an opportunity to wait on the Lord, being saved by Him alone.

Truth, Hiding in God is cozier than any blanket and warmer than a million mornings of sunlight upon my face. 

It is Finished!!

I know, I know...you're thinking that the title, "It is Finished" has to do with Easter right? Hello....it's almost the holiday season after all, so why am I writing about Easter??  Well, first of all, Easter is a pagan day that has to do with the fertility Goddess, Ishatar! “Later, when this adulterous and idolatrous woman gave birth to an illegitimate son, she claimed that this son, Tammuz by name, was Nimrod reborn.”[4] Easter/Ishatar “claimed that her son was supernaturally conceived [no human father] and that he was the promised seed, the ‘savior’”—promised by God in Genesis 3:15. “However, not only was the child worshipped, but the woman, the MOTHER, was also worshipped as much (or more) than the son!”  (Kind of makes me like Babylon...) emphasis mine...hee hee...[5]Nimrod deified as the god of the sun and father of creation. Easter became the goddess of the moon, fertility, etc.

...I know some of you know this fact already...but did you know that Ishatar was Nimrod's queen?....What's more, did you know that together they represented massive perversion?? Last but definitely not least, did you know that in ancient Babylon, you know where the sinners just love to babble only to hear their own thoughts about everything, Nimrod organized major cities into perverse places, such as Babel, Asshur and Nineveh....!!!! Now, that fact is Biblical, just check out Genesis Chapter 10! 

So...there is the connection for all of you who doubt the relevance of Easter on a blog about Nineveh at Christmas time!! So, when you think you know something about religion and about Easter or religious holidays...think again.....!! In fact, any time that you think you know anything...think again, save your salvation with our Lord of course! I'm constantly surprised that we buy into just about everything false that the world throws our way!! Even about our own Christian holidays we let the world write the script, don't we? As if our story is not written yet by a master scribe, we look everywhere for others to tell us what's next. Sadly, we let the world tell us how life should be celebrated and how the story of our lives really ought to go. Moreover, we listen to the fact that we, not Christ should be in charge of our own lives...!! Friends, don't be like the prodigal child, always looking for the answer to your story somewhere outside of God's story; don't be deceived!! Be like the Bereans who searched with great intensity to find out what is true; the Bereans found it in Christ our Lord. Want to know another example of something else that is deceiving??? Simply put, there is a phrase, "It is Finished"! These words, "It is Finished", make up a phrase that for most Christians just means that Christ finished His mission on the cross and then it's time to eat the chocolate out of our Easter baskets!! Well, good job, Ishatar and the pagan gods of Babylon, because "it is finished" means sooo much more than that basket of pagan chocolate and fruity jelly bellys!! It is finished means that Jesus is Lord...that He writes the story, that He conquered the grave, the giant and the pagan goals of our lives that will turn out for bad rather than for good. He conquered the decisions we all make to run to Tarshish and avoid Nineveh!! When you are confused, seek His counsel, John 16 and when you are lost ask for His light to guide the way, John 1 and when you are lonely, ask for the comforter to come and remember, Emmanuel, God with us! When you are sick remember Jehovah Rafa, the great healer and when you are wondering how everything will turn out for you or whatever else you must do to be safe remember above all, the phrase and glorious truth, "It is Finished"  and then run home oh prodigal child...stop writing your own story and let Jesus read to you one chapter at a time of the greatest love story ever told, it starts with Love...it has love wrapped up like a baby in the middle and it ends with a blazing fire ball of love at the end...Lost today?
 Ask Jesus...Tell Jesus, Follow Jesus...Just let the finisher of your faith be the director of your steps and your job here will be done, and finished...capiche? 

Caught in a rut

Whenever you are caught in a moment of disappointment or you simply have the blues, remember....get caught up in the glorious King...he has ever increasing light, glory and grace!!
Ever had the birthday blues, the Christmas blues or the Thanksgiving blues?  LOL..the Thanksgiving remorse of eating too much??  Valentines? Aw, come on of course you have! The great anticipation of any big holiday just almost stresses you out so powerful is its affect on your mind. Quickly the holiday approaches and every morning has excitement as you make yourself ready for its arrival, right? Then, the day arrives and ...??? And, what? Just like any day, there is an end! The long awaited Birthday is over...whether or not it was your party and you cried if you wanted to cry...now you get to cry because it's gone!
The truth is that we love to have something to hope for don't we? We need to cast our energies on something that promises joy, happiness and excitement! However, we so easily cast our hopes on things that fade and on things that do not save! Friends, God is Faithfully present for you, standing ready to gift you with all his glorious riches. As we enter this holiday season, let's cast our hope on His arrival....on His faithfulness...He's already faithful and he's already here and His day is never going to be done! Walk daily in His holiness and your Holidays will be so much brighter.

Lamentations 3:20-24 says,

I well remember them,

    and my soul is downcast within me.
21 Yet this I call to mind
    and therefore I have hope:

22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

Principle, when you get caught up in the hope of what cannot last

you will be down and out for all the fun and excitement will be left in the past

When you hope in Christ, your days are blessed,

for his rewards never run out and the expectations are always exceedingly met.

The real evil....

1 Corinthians 9:24New International Version (NIV)

The Need for Self-Discipline

24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Again we are all admonished to throw off all that hinders, 

Hebrews 12:1-3New International Version (NIV)

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Happy Halloween to you! Trick or treat? Which way would you like to be deceived today? We are all so deceived and we have all lost our power to reckon with the deception, because we have chased after other things, things that cannot save. Often I think about the masks we wear and why we wear them, don't you? Well, I think that I know why I do! I'm to interested in the treat to face the truth head on in my life.  Treat? The tricks are a little more vicious on the surface, but far more easily reconciled once the deception has taken place.  The treat is a little more under the radar and in many ways...far more dangerous. The tricks of life last only but a part of our day...a moment in our week and are then thrown into the fire and burned with the rest of the rubbish, right? But, it's the treat...the promise of that candy or carrot that invites us to pursue something that will never lead to joy, that will never lead to peace. Sadly, sometimes this wild, wilderness pursuit is the pursuit that takes our life time! Our goal and true prize is lost and we are heading towards the dangers that call us in the night! So, on Halloween...I hope you are not tricked....!! However, careful of the treats that promise things they lack the power to give? Grab for the real prize...the one set forward for you in Christ Jesus our Lord and then run for it without ever looking back. By the way, running with a mask on isn't safe! Take off all that hinders and just run!

Safe?

¹safety!!! This blog is dedicated to a little girl who's strength comes from God alone, who is her safety!!!

noun safe·ty \ˈsāf-tē\

: freedom from harm or danger : the state of being safe

: the state of not being dangerous or harmful

: a place that is free from harm or danger : a safe place

Safety is a real freedom from harm and danger! Do you remember playing Hide and Go Seek when you were little? Or just the game of tag? Remember how once the enemy had discovered you and began to chase you...there was always a place you to where you could run to or find that was the "safe zone"?  Remember that rush and adrenaline as you pushed your whole body to reach that place and as your hands and then body crossed the threshold of the "safe zone" and then out of breath you cried, "safe"? I remember the sudden warmth and peace that encircled my whole being when I made it to the tree of safety in my backyard! Phew! In fact, so comforting was that tree that I was not so quick to leave its branches of embrace and calm. Remember? In reality, there is only one place where we are safe..and that's in the arms of Jesus...free from harm and all that threatens to choke the life right out of us!! I've often wondered if Jonah knew the safety of Israel and not the safety of God!! Friends, sometimes, others make us feel safe and things seem to protect us..at least for a while...!! Although that feels pretty good....for a while...please remember A hurricane can still come knock over your tree!! LOL...! The safety of your family can be ripped from you suddenly by death or tragedy or sin!! Sometimes, we are all just barely holding on because something that we love has been ripped from us so violently..so suddenly..and we cannot move because the pain has left us paralyzed..even too paralyzed to obey God...like Jonah!! There is a little girl out there that I love, and her name will stay anonymous.  The girl to whom I'm referring is anchored so strongly on Jesus that although she has lost everything ...she knows her Saviour knows her name and calls her His own...she is unafraid tonight to just Be Held...I hope her strength is yours tonight...we can all learn from her life...She has lost her Mother, her Father..access to her only Grandmother and at the age of 10 knows that there are no orphans of God. So, when God's your safety....even when God calls you into something that doesn't feel or look safe at all...you are protected under His wings of eternal strength and power.

Principle: When God protects you it's a protection that goes beyond the grave...When man protects you, there is a limit to what can be saved.    Who protects you?  

When Power isn't Power!!

1 John 4:3-5New International Version (NIV)

4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.

Are you following the Great Overcomer?? Is the God of Israel your power source?? Do you listen only to God or do you listen to the voice of the World?? You know something? There are a lot of impostors out there in this world that claim to have power...!!! Ever heard of the "Love Doctor"?  Oh yeah Baby....!! All of us can relate to the impostors, impostors such as Love...!! Yes, the Love Doctor can heal all things..or, all things are healed by the power of love!! Oh, and then there is Money....Money fixes everything!! Right? What about position, prestige and political sway??? With the right position of power, everything would be alright and needed change would fix everything, right? Well, hold on to your chairs because if you think that there is any real power in "Love", "Money", or "Position", then you are wrong, wrong, wrong!!! All these things fade away like the flowers in the field...but the Power of God increases exponentially, never fading, always glorifying the Master, never dying, always living for the King of Kings...and that same power lives in all of us!!!! So, then why? Why are we under the power of anything else??? Why are we chasing after anything else? Seriously?? Why would you take the best of the best and exchange it for something worse????  How does that make any sense??? 

Principle: When you fail to overcome something difficult in your life, you have failed to serve the Great Overcomer!! Powerful things crush your pursuits, while a powerful God makes them possible!!! 

Under whose power are you operating today??? For whom do you serve....a false power...or God's Power...??? 

Role Playing

We are all defined by the roles that we play, aren't we? Men and Women play different roles and those roles define in large part who we are as people, as christians, or as enemies. Just ask the question of any man, "what do you do for a living" and he will tell you as though he's sharing his soul. In the same way, ask a woman about her children, her babies, or her home and she'll tell you a tale of unending story about what makes her breathe, and about what makes her exhale. Now, consider a less gender specific role, such as a prophet, a preacher, or a teacher, especially a teacher of a specific topic, and he or she will tell you...the complete story of what makes their heart beat..it's their life's work, that is still working, growing, and evolving, making them into what they were meant to be. Truly, when Jonah was called by God..the God he served by the way...LOL, I only point that out because the bible is so full of characters that were called before they knew God, which in someways was a plus for their faith. Well, Jonah knew God...knew Him well....and when God called Jonah...he was a prophet of Israel... Jonah 1:1 reads,

The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. 

Now, we've said this before and we'll say it again....to go away from Israel is to go away from the Lord....So, when Jonah ran, he was not just running away from His calling to serve God in Nineveh, he was running from God...!! Why not just stay in Israel and defy God...?? At least, Jonah would have been still in his home, carrying out his role as prophet...yes, that heart could've kept on beating, right? Jonah...Jonah Jonah....the prophet, called the dove of Israel...he couldn't fly straight anymore because he was mad at God...!!! At the very suggestion that Jonah give up his role as prophet to Israel and compromise himself as a person, a Christian or as a rightful enemy to Assyria....Jonah was mad!! So mad, So sad, too bad for Jonah who had no where else to go but away..away from the presence of the Lord.   Are you running from God today because His dream for you means giving up a current dream you are living..?? Consider that even in the loss of the roles we tend to need...desperately need...that God gives us a more definitive role in Him, a role that will last forever....Remember...there is no God like your God..there is no plan, like His plan and there are no roles as great as the ones He has yet to ask us to play on this earth and into eternity...

I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.

Psalm 119:60 NIV  Amen!