Christmas with the Angels

I was thinking today about how even though there are a few more days in November, its never too early to talk about that wonderful night over 2000 years ago - so I dug back in the archives and found this... Be blessed friends :)

As the most beautiful of heavenly creations, the angels played a part in the whole nativity story (foretelling Zechariah and Elizabeth to be the parents of John the Baptist, a few months later appearing to Mary with the news that she too was going to have a son, appearing to Joseph as well telling him of Mary’s pregnancy and reassuring him that it was all part of God’s plan, and then appearing to the shepherds, of course, announcing the Savior’s birth).

But have you thought about the fact that they were actually there at the birth of Christ? The point where heaven and earth actually met and collided?
These angels were created by Christ, they were with Him in His heavenly realm and glory, saw what he was giving up… imagine knowing this God who gave you life, created you to be the bearers of His news throughout creation… now He was giving it all up to go down THERE?!

As his cherubim and seraphim must they have thought that this was absolute madness? Would they have wondered at the sense of the plan? Ever since they had been brought into existence they had watched Him create - the earth, the universe, witnessed Him spinning the cosmos, creating us with such care and love, now they were to witness Him setting aside His glory, His heavenly home, His heavenly robe to put on a flesh robe, a very costly robe, a plan that would end in His pain and death…

When God decreed that He was putting on this flesh – coming as baby no less – needing diapers changed, needing food, being cold, hungry, alone in their eyes because they as His heavenly host, His army if you will, would not be staying with Him in quite the same way as they had before...
And the fact that He would arrive in a dirty stall or cave where animals lay and ate… that gold and frankincense and myrrh could not compare to all the riches
He would be leaving - what must they have thought of this sacrifice?
It would be easy just to say that they would think it crazy – and that may be true – but I think that when they were told of the plan, the cost, the sacrifice, they then must have realized just how precious we were to Him and how immense the sacrifice would be and that they were more than proud, more than humbled, more than blown away by the fact that they would play such a integral part of that night.
Of all the figures and beings hovering and kneeling around the stable at the first Christmas, only the angels knew just how much that Christmas really cost. Not in dollars and cents, of course, but in sacrifice and love. It cost Him everything.

They must have watched the event unfolding with wonder and love for their King… that He would leave their undying worship and love of Him to be with us. I think they thought how much more blessed we were to be receiving such a love, and how their hearts were breaking at the thought of the journey and where it would take Him.


I think those heavenly beings may have even bordered on jealousy for a moment – in my finite mind I can hardly comprehend them not being envious as they looked at the love Mary had for Jesus, the awestruck wonder of the shepherds, heard the earth whisper and rumbled on a deep level that only their ears and hearts could hear... and that the most important event in history was beginning right then and there before their eyes – and it was all for us… not them, but for us… and they realized we would have the choice to love Him and know Him in a way they never could.

Maybe this Christmas when we look at the birth of Christ through the eyes of the angels we can begin to truly see the sacrifice made only for us, and worship Him in a way only we can.

Marisa

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so thankful for each of you, for my family, and for the gift of Hope in Christ - and am praying for a day filled with worship for us all!

Psalm 100 "A psalm for giving grateful praise."

1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his peop...

le, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations!

Happy Friday!

"What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want... That is what love looks like."
~ Augustine
Be ready to be used today - need comes in many shapes and forms... eyes open on this Friday to see what He sees so we can love like Jesus :)

Joyful on the Journey
Marisa

Its Time to Rewrite the Story...

There isn't much else to add or to say when a story like the one below is told so clearly...

If there is someone you are struggling with harboring bitterness and unforgiveness towards, and even if that person you haven't forgiven is yourself - grab some kleenex, find a quiet place to spend the next 10 minutes, and take a deep breath.

First, listen to Renee's story

Matthew West - Forgiveness: Mother Forgives Drunk Driver Who Killed Her Daughter from matthew-west on GodTube.


Colossians 3:13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

Now listen to the song that all this inspired...
Matthew West - Forgiveness (Official Lyric Video) from matthew-west on GodTube.

Matthew 26:28 For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

God calls us, implores us, through the sacrifice and blood of Jesus Christ that was freely offered, to forgive as we have been forgiven... are you ready to offer freedom to someone else? To yourself?

It's hard. It means giving over the control you have tried to keep, the power you tried to wield over the circumstance to feel like you had a footing to stand on. But it's done nothing but make YOU a prisoner of it all. And friend, the footing is ever shifting and not on THE ROCK - that's why you still feel so OUT of control all the time. The circumstance is controlling YOU.

I have had to be forgiven of a lot. I have had to forgive others of a lot. It feels good to let it all go!

Are you ready to begin to live freely again? Or maybe even for the first time? Your story is a part of God's story - its time for a different ending that will bring HIM honor.

Take another deep breath - Remember God loves you and so do I. Say the words, open your hands, make the call, write a letter, say it out loud to your Redeemer... GO AND WRITE A NEW STORY!

Marisa

Time for a re-post...

Something was said by someone today that brought to mind this earlier post from last year. So I went back through the archives, found it, and I pray it speaks to your heart either again or for the first time...
Marisa

A Refinement by Any Other Name

In the refining we are cleansed, we are polished, and we are changed...
Zechariah 13:9 I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’




I am always so thankful and encouraged by how in every season God has placed a few people in my life that are consistantly on a parallel path with me. Yesterday I was chatting with one of them, catching up on life, ministry, a lot of things. And we ended up talking about some similar refinement going on right now and about why we so often only think of a 'refining' as a time of suffering, of pain, a trial, of great change that we in the flesh will see as a dark time. Those are things God does use to grow us and stretch us for sure and how we relate to His suffering.
James1:2-4 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.

But I know that my own refinement also comes from seeking with purpose to fully experience God's Holy Spirit. I DON'T want to wait on the trials or valleys to bring me closer to Him. I know those are a part of what will come when its the perfect time for deep profound life altering truth and change. But I want to run after Him before those come and offer more up of me for DAILY refinement, all the while looking for the lead of love His Holy Spirit offers to draw me closer to who He is and what He wants to do. There is soooo much to be said for the sweeping romance of Him speaking through every relationship, every twist and turn my feet and car take me along, at every store I frequent, every conversation I have, and in every moment He has created :)



I loved the fact that recently my pastor posed the following question when he did: He said "I have asked the question 'How can I get more of the Holy Spirit?' I now believe that the real question should be 'How much of me does the Holy Spirit have?' "
What I sense from God in my life right now is that I MUST seek to give more of myself over in every way DAILY because He has something special in store for me DAILY and I need to be able to see, hear, feel, sense Him at every turn to receive it!

Psalm 32:8 "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.."
Fearless living - that is abundance!

But the biggest thing I am understanding about this? Is that the refining that leads to that life of abundance, the guidance, the wisdom, the right choices, and the change in me He desires, truly does hinge on how in tune I am to His Holy Spirit so I can receive what HE DEEMS as the abundance uniquely planned for me inside of each day.

The Answer is Coming

1 Thessalonians. 5:24 "The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it."

Don't mistake time passing for not getting an answer. His answer is coming. HE is coming. Don't we want what will best benefit our life? And if our very lives ripple out and affect others each day - and we know that they do - then so must our long sought after answers. Our God is working out each and every detail so that many are affected by your answered prayer - so that many see His glory - and so that the many touched by your life's ripples benefit from it as well.
Begin right now praising Him and thanking Him in advance for what He is doing!

Prayer of Thanks

"My Monday is not a rush from beginning to end, no thrills that some would say are things I need to feel alive.
My tomorrow will be busy in itself and there is much to accomplish, so today I slow down and see what you have made for me to enjoy.
Mmmmm - the smell of a chicken casserole cooking in the oven. My headache gone. A couple of sore muscles that are treasured reminders of a horseback ride with old and new friends. A cool breeze gently blowing thru my lovely sheer cafe' curtains made with love by my friend Sharon. A beautiful walk by the water this morning with my friend Claudia. A time to study your word tonight with lovely ladies at church. My later return home to my sweet Hubs.
My heart hurt that you are tending to, and working in and around, I so I feel you there as well today - gently loving me through it and giving me sweet words of both comfort and wisdom.
I am blessed - just so simply and so sweetly blessed.
I count it ALL joy because each thing shows me your favor and your love.
For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2
You mean then and now, Lord - past and present, Father - ALL is favor, NOW is favor, the GOOD is favor, the HURT is favor, you ARE continually saving me - FAVOR!
Thank you God for the precious gift of this day and everything held within it.
Amen and Amen"


Joyful on the Journey
Marisa

A Monday Morning Challenge

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12

How about a challenge for us as we enter this Monday? Something we can sink our teeth into a little. Are we up to it? I think we are :)

The challenge is this: as we begin a new week in a world that is not our home, that we don't act so much as if it is. This week we will remember that our spouse that just doesn't seem to get us even after all this time isn't our enemy. Our stubborn child isn't. That friend that keeps asking for our advice and doing the exact opposite and driving us bananas isn't. The boss that we can't seem to find common ground with isn't. That person at church that maybe we just had another run in with that left us feeling on edge is not the enemy. The one that walks into where we work with a less than gracious attitude isn't.

Our real enemy, satan the liar, can get us so distracted with all his sneaky handiwork that we take back the reins we let go of before. We then find ourselves praying that God would just get a hold of them, change them, and remove 'the thorn' in our side. (Not that sometimes a person  can't be a thorn - a relationship certainly can. But either way this applies)

Let us make a pact with one another today: To not let the real enemy, that prowls around like a roaring lion seeking who he can destroy (1 Peter 5:8), to not let him control our emotions, and shape how we view the world around us.
This week, knowing full well we may fail miserably at moments (grace will fill those spaces), lets vow to pray for our response to those that are like fingernails on chalkboard. Let's pray and ask God to help us. To help us see them as God does. To remember our shortcomings (quite often don't we get angry with someone because we see ourselves, truth be told?), and that God loves us in spite of them and He asks us to reflect that behavior.
Let's decide that we will keep in mind over the next few days that their own journeys may be very very painful right now, and what we may be seeing are results of deep insecurity and hurt, or from whatever their empty spaces are longing for. And don't our own empty spaces make us behave horribly sometimes? Yes, yes they do.
Lets ask God to show us the planks in our own eyes that keep us frustrated - frustrated enough so much at times that we hone in like beacons on the things they do that we allow to make us crazy, sometimes even exaggerating those actions out of proportion.
And if we know this person, lets determine ourselves to find at least two things positive about them - and mean it. And here comes the biggie - lets find a way to share it with them.
I know, I know. But we can do it. I think its what we are called to do in His love.
The truth is that if we can't find those things we simply aren't looking hard enough... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" Genesis 1:27

We battle a realm we don't want to get drug down into. And that's what we do when we let our feelings and emotions beat us, and we begin listening to the goading and lies of the real enemy. We get drug down to satan's level.

I'm tired of looking around and suddenly finding myself there.
You?

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2 

May God be glorified is us this week!

I would love to hear back about how this week goes for you :)

Joyful on the Journey
Marisa

I Want To Be Sure of You

“Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. "Pooh," he whispered.
"Yes, Piglet?"
"Nothing," said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw, "I just wanted to be sure of you."”

That's exactly how I feel some times. Some days I just want to be sure. Of those around me that I love, and of their love for me. I will awake with a need to know that they are really IN my life. I  sometimes need to be assured that they see me.

Some days, I feel this way about God too. My heart just needs reassurance He is there. I  will find myself with a desperate desire to know that He's ALL IN, that He is for me, that He loves me, and that He sees me.

Do you ever feel that way? Like you just want to place your hand in some ones and know that yes, you are here, and find comfort like Pooh and Piglet?

Write these verses that mean so much to me on your heart for those days that come...

You are the God who sees me. Genesis 16:13

O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. Psalm 139:1

The LORD watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. Psalm 33:18

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. Psalm 139:18

The word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. Jeremiah 1:4-5

Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Isaiah 49:15-16

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:16-21

Rest assured... He knows, He loves, He keeps, He sees!

Joyful on the Journey
Marisa

September's Chick Chat Book Club Selection

The Chick Chat Book Club selection for Sept is "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp! You can get it for 22% off from our sponsor - Knoxville LifeWay Christian Stores! (Join by "liking" the Club page on facebook and simply inbox me from that Club page that you want one)
"Just like us, Ann hungers to live her one life well. How do we find joy in the midst of deadlines, debt, drama, and daily duties? What does the Christ-life really look like when your days are gritty, long---and sometimes even dark? How is God even here? In 'One Thousand Gifts', Ann invites us to embrace everyday blessings and embark on the transformative spiritual discipline of chronicling God's gifts. It's only in this expressing of gratitude for the life we already have, we discover the life we've always wanted ... a life we can take, give thanks for, and break for others."

Join us in this months adventure of seeing what God wants to say to us as we grow together!

Joyful on the Journey
Marisa