It’s true, we really do not know what a day may bring, let alone a year (Proverbs 27:1). For me, 2024 resulted in the loss of five family members–an aunt, three cousins, and last, my 3rd eldest sister. Some deaths we anticipated were soon to happen; others came unexpectedly, without warning. Regardless of when and how they occurred, these loved ones are gone, and I must venture into 2025 without them.
What God says in His word about people, life and death, and eternal matters resonated in my thoughts. Loved ones will one day cease to be because life is limited and death is sure. We must make a decision about where we will spend our eternity.
Jesus Christ assures us that God is the only eternal One, who will never grow tired or weak, cease to be, or stop loving us. He is the only One we should have complete confidence in as we journey into 2025. He is the only sure thing that will never change.
When loss does occur, we must make changes, adopt new mindsets, and follow new protocols or ways of doing things; my sister was the one who drove me to all events. The publishing of my book has halted, so the process is pushed back. I haven’t looked at the manuscript since November. It’s okay because I needed to be sad, grieve, and think about my sister. Lord willing (I now say), I will resume in January, because I did not know 2024 would end in such a way. We can, however, acknowledge the Lord’s sovereignty, continue with our plans, and move forward confidently if we’ve made the Lord our refuge and secured our eternity.
So, with that said, here are two brief excerpts from my upcoming book, each from a different chapter.
Excerpt:
“We learn how Joseph worked as a carpenter to care for his wife and family. Jesus was their eldest child, but they had more children. Mark 6:3 (also in Matthew), tells us that Jesus had four younger brothers and at least two sisters. The sisters’ names have been preserved, but the brothers were called James (in the Hebrew, Jacob), Joses (in the Hebrew, Joseph, after his father), Simon, and Judas or Juda (also known as Jude)…”
And, later…
“Eventually, my eldest sisters followed mom and continued hosting the home and community bible clubs. My oldest sister, Chris, put the best spin on it to me by incorporating a puppet show in the clubs. She did shows at home and eventually began using a friend’s church building to host them. The children came and loved it. It had a significant impact on them! Of course, my sisters distributed goodie treats and juice each week, and there were Bible contests and games with prizes. So, it was my mother who instilled in us a love for God and His word, a compassion for children, and the importance of inviting others to receive Jesus Christ into their lives.”
We see here that Jesus too had siblings and understood the whole family dynamic; He felt the same love for His loved ones as we do for ours.
My Thanksgiving holiday turned out well. I’m grateful my family and I made it through another year to experience another holiday season, which was different for me but nice. I wasn’t much for cooking anything this year, and the current mood this multiple sclerosis has placed me in is one where solitude, isolation, and few group gatherings appeal to me. So, my sister, brother, his wife, and I went out to eat at a seafood restaurant (one of my favs). They served the traditional Thanksgiving turkey and other trimmings. I was grateful to eat regularly again because my appetite had changed to only one meal a day. Overall, it was a nice outing for me, and I enjoyed our time together.
The quick ride back to my home was also something I was grateful for. I immediately curled up under my blanket, watched movies, and slept all weekend. I was very tired and needed to do this. I’ve been tutoring quite a bit—college students with essay college writing and 3rd/4th-grade children in ELA and math. I even took on a few substitute sessions with a 7th/8th grade group and 1st/2nd graders. I enjoy tutoring! I’m still grateful for how the Lord opened this opportunity for me to work from home. It aligns perfectly with the limitations I have due to multiple sclerosis.
I recognized an opportunity by tutoring these kids. They are always in my heart, and I’m troubled by the things they are experiencing so young. I have a chance to show them Jesus Christ’s love. It’s not always about preaching to them. Besides, I can’t mention God or Christ to kids in the public school system anyway; it’s prohibited. Nonetheless, through my smile, warmth, inclusiveness, and conversations with them, I’m able to make them feel wanted, accepted, and capable of learning. I inspire them by telling them, “You can learn English and math.” I encourage them despite the struggles I see many of them have. I shared the struggles I had in reading at their age and let them know they too could overcome their challenges. This is very much a part of witnessing, I think–demonstrating God’s love. It’s exciting too, discovering the differences in how I was taught and how they are being taught. They’re showing me something new and I adapt. I, in turn, show them some of the old-school tricks I used as a youngster, and they’re amazed. It’s a great exchange between the generations.
So, I have a lot I’m grateful for this holiday season—small, everyday things. I’m also grateful my newest granddaughter was born healthy and without any problems. Ayla Grace was born on November 13th to my son and his new wife. It amazes me how alert the babies are today. I remember a time we would sit watching a newborn, prodding him or her to open their eyes. Not so with Ayla; she’s wide awake and alert! Lol
Finally, my book is nearing completion, and I’m grateful for the progress. I’m looking forward to having it published by early next year. Please click this linkto add your email to my author’s list, so I can notify you when it goes to print and receive suggestions of other terrific books to read.
That’s all for this month. I simply wanted to chat. I hope all of you enjoyed your holiday as well and have found things to truly be grateful for. Please, comment, join the conversation, and share how your Thanksgiving was. I’d love to hear.
All the best, and stay blessed until next time… 🙂
“In every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”
There’s a story in the Gospel writings in Luke 8:43-48 about a woman who had an issue of blood. She was bleeding profusely for twelve long years with this disease and spent all her money going to see different doctors, but she never improved. She was suffering. In fact, the Bible says, her condition got worse until she encountered Jesus. Interesting?
I can relate to this woman seeing many doctors. I have multiple sclerosis. Diagnosed in 2010, and it’s been one trip after another to see doctors. There are bi-yearly wellness visits, MRIs, physical therapy, medication management, infusions, and sometimes hospital stays for steroids when I have an MS relapse. Unlike this woman during her time, I’m not ostracized by the community because of my health condition. In fact, I once said jokingly to one of the hospital’s welcoming team members, “You guys need to get me a cot and a room to stay over as much as I’m here.” She laughed. Having a medical issue that there is no cure and doctors can’t fix is difficult and daunting.
But medical issues are not the only issues from which we suffer. There are various types and degrees of issues. I like how this verse begins, “There was a woman who had an issue of blood.” The text is specific to her gender and problem. We’ve learned how Jesus came to save the world, so we can draw a universal principle here. Let’s read it again, placing ourselves in the text. “There was a woman [or man] who had an issue of… Stop right there. The Bible teaches us in Isaiah how the Spirit of the Lord was upon Jesus to save, heal, deliver, or set people free, not only from sin but from other problems or issues they may have. Jesus still does this because He is alive. He is still handling people’s issues who believe and come to (or touch) Him in faith. This is the gist or theological principle in this story. He said in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Isn’t this what this woman, and Jesus, did?
You too may have been suffering from an issue for a long time. You’ve tried to solve it yourself or sought help to alleviate the pain, as the woman did. But you found no relief; your issue lingers. What may your issue be? Maybe you’re suffering from a bad attitude, insecurity, lying, racial or biased views, hatred, drinking, mental illness, cancer, rejection or foolish attempts to fit in, be “cool” with peers, a need to please, overworking, autism, bipolar, body image issues, striving for perfection/success, anxiety, inability to communicate, illiteracy, infatuation with committing criminal acts, drug dealing or dependency, pride, an awful mouth, continually hooking up with wrong romantic partners, intimacy issues, introversion… and on and on and on the list could go.
Jesus commended this woman, who was afraid to be noticed in the crowd because of her issue. He calls her “daughter” and tells her it was her faith that healed her. She could now go on with her life in peace. You too can receive God’s commendation. Believe that Jesus came to heal your broken heart too. Know that He’s alive and wants you to come to Him. To touch Him and be made whole. No issue is so bad, or too complex or complicated for Him. He has the remedy! Only believe!
He has surely helped and continues to help me with mine. 🙂
I neglected to post during the Thanksgiving holiday, and now we’re in the Christmas season. The two holidays, nonetheless, carry similar themes of love, sharing, fellowship, giving, and gratefulness, so we can continue these regardless of when. As I prepare gifts for those I love, this idea of gratefulness is still upon me. Christmas is the time we reflect on the gift of Jesus Christ presented to us from God the Father. My reflective readings about His birth during this season have intrigued me from another vantage point. I was in awe of how God invited people to help deliver Jesus into the world.
Long before He was to arrive on earth, Old Testament Israelite prophets foretold a Messiah’s coming. Customarily, prophets delivered important messages or instructions for remaining close to God. Foretelling involves predicting events before they occur. In both the Hebrew Bible and the Holy Bible, there are stories that tell the history of the Israelite nation and the laws and customs they were to observe to maintain their relationship with God. God had chosen them for such. For centuries, these were read in the congregation and passed down throughout generations. One significant message was their promise of a Messiah. The prophets received these messages from God himself, angels, through revelation and types of Christ, in visions with astounding imagery, or in dreams. It’s important then to attempt to understand things about Jewish culture to better understand things revealed about Jesus in scripture since He would be born a Jew. As they would soon learn and hear Jesus Christ lay claims to, He was their promised Messiah.
Hearing a story year after year without any manifestation can become taxing and after a while appear untrue. One can lose hope or faith when a promise lingers unfulfilled. After all, this Israelite community experienced several hardships and struggles. They endured political and economic control by other empires and exile to foreign lands, where they became slaves. They faced insurmountable oppression and injustice. The promise of a redeeming King who would rule Israel, I’m sure, was something they longed for. After proclaiming this promise for centuries, many did not live to see its fulfillment. Nonetheless, the promise remained in many of their hearts and minds. (See Jeremiah 23:5–6; Psalm 2:7; Isaiah 7:14; Isa 9:6-7; Isaiah 52:13–53:12; Daniel 7:13–14)
Fast forward to around 6 and 4 BC, and God is ready to fulfill His promise to Israel. From this same nation, he needs a woman, Mary, to supernaturally conceive, carry, and birth Jesus, and a husband/father, Joseph, to help her raise Jesus according to Jewish culture and teach him life skills to sustain himself as he grew into a man. They were happily engaged and possibly planning a blissful wedding celebration with family and friends. The Lord interrupts their plans, and they both willingly agree to participate with God. In essence, they both say, “Okay, Lord, let it be so.” (See Luke 1:26-38; Matt. 1:18-25)
God also needed Mary’s relatives, Elizabeth, and Zechariah. This couple may have been depressed at this time, as they were living through the shame of barrenness. They’re also old in years, maybe haggard. God approaches and needs them to conceive a child as well, who would come naturally through their union. Elizabeth births Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, who would set the stage for Jesus’ upcoming ministry on earth. “But this is a health risk; she can die during delivery,” we would argue today. (See Luke 1:5-24; Mal. 3:1; Luke 1: 1:8-17; Luke 3:1-21; Luke 4:14-15). Chosen for God’s plan, these women believed and spoke it, as Luke 1:45 shows, “And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.”
In addition, God needed witnesses to Jesus’ birth. He chose two groups just for that. First, there were shepherds who lived nearby. They were in the fields watching over and caring for sheep. These may have been priestly shepherds who understood the custom of presenting an animal’s blood to atone for sin, and who knew about the coming Messiah. We can safely assume this because the angel specifies, “Your Savior is born.” At that moment, they may have had an instant recall of what they already knew about a Passover Lamb who will take away the sins of the world. They’re ecstatic! “It’s finally happened,” they may have shouted. In haste, they rush to see and recognize everything was exactly as they were told. They leave in joy, praising God for all He has done. Be sure, they’re not running to pompously brag to Roman officials about their new king or to gather a crowd to start a political or social uprising. No. It’s an OMG moment, one of astonishment and joy! (Luke 2:8-20)
Finally, there were wise men. Nothing more, just a few guys who were wise, it reads. They were wise enough, we see, to notice an unusual star in the sky that told about a “king of the Jews.” They travel to Jerusalem to ask where this child was. King Herod also wants to know and asks the experts in the law where this king was to be born. (Was he nervous or jealous about another king exceeding him?) They tell him the location. Not so wise, ‘eh? King Herod lies and tells the wise men he too wants to worship this child. Intrigued by the child, the wise men present Jesus with gifts that are symbolic of all He was and all He would endure. They don’t fear the King’s wrath over God and have sense enough to return a different way so the evil king could not find and kill Jesus (Matt 2:1-12). How interesting that Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, himself would need protection and preservation by the wise men and by his earthly father Joseph, who was also warned to leave town so Jesus could live (Matt. 2:13-15).
This is the story of Jesus Christ—at least the part of His story that tells how He got here; there’s more. Please read it for yourself. It’s a remarkable, true story. It shows us how strategic God was in bringing into the world His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. He would proclaim the kingdom of God and fulfill God’s plan of salvation for all nations. And He was willing to relate with and include humans in the process. Were these Israelites special or extraordinary? Did they have a divine superpower within them? No. They are people who knew, maintained, and trusted God’s promise. Like us, they were going about their daily life activities or work, planning, and living their lives. They had human bodies, hearts, minds, and wills, just like us. But they humbled themselves when God appeared and interrupted their lives. From their long history with Him, these understood He has that right. Going along with God’s plan sometimes may seem to us uncanny, unconventional, strange, or appear risky. It may involve stopping what we are doing, listening intently, changing our plans, or completely abandoning them (in some instances), and accepting His will, His way. I think about how I would respond today to an angelic visit with a message from God. Would it be as these individuals demonstrated?
We should never doubt our significance or usefulness to God. He’s not so high and lofty that He doesn’t look down on or bypass the common person to use him or her for His glory. Neither our sorted personalities nor troublesome predicaments are drawbacks to His inclusion of us. We’re not so inadequate or flawed that He overlooks us for service in His kingdom. The times in history have changed, but there are more written promises the Lord has made that are yet to be fulfilled. So, He is still working by His Spirit for His kingdom purposes. I’m grateful these ordinary people said “yes” to God’s unprecedented way of delivering His Son, Jesus Christ, to us. Because they did, Jesus Christ came, lived, died, but rose again. This resulted in His rescuing us from sin’s dominion, sin’s power, sin’s penalty, and–coming very soon—from sin’s very presence. Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection fulfilled the law and all God’s righteous requirements to be in a relationship with Him. Hallelujah! You need only to believe.
Please, go ahead and open the gift that was delivered to you, and receive all Jesus Christ has done on your behalf. 😊
Luke 2:19 (NIV) tells the story of how Jesus’ mother, Mary, treasured up and pondered in her heart words the Shepherds spoke about Jesus Christ. After the angel revealed to them who Christ was, they went to find this child. They found Mary and Joseph with the child and proclaimed to them and those nearby everything the angels had said about Jesus. Verse 17 says, “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child…and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ” The scripture goes on to say about his mother, “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Surely, Mary was just as amazed as the others by what the shepherds said. She did not fully understand what these words meant about the child she had just given birth to.
However, she “treasured” and “pondered” on them, the text says. These words reflect more than just simply thinking about something. These words are used as verbs here, which denote an action Mary took. Meriam Webster defines treasure as, “to hold or keep as precious; or “to collect and store up (something of value) for future use.” Ponder means, “to think or consider especially quietly, soberly, and deeply.” Mary heard the shepherds’ words, wondered what they meant and thought deeply about them, considered them of excellent value, and quietly stored them deep inside her heart. The scripture does not tell us another angel appeared to explain all this to her. Nor does it say how Mary discussed it with her husband, Joseph, or ran to tell her friends. She didn’t even dance around the room in glee at this announcement.
On the contrary, Mary was struck by the idea she was responsible for raising an incredibly special child. The announcement was extraordinary. In her bewilderment, she made a mature decision. Quietly and wisely, Mary stored the words from the shepherds deep within her heart. Somehow, I belive Mary understood–at that moment–those words would be the arsenal she would need to draw from as Jesus, the Christ, would grow “… in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). Now, things are becoming clearer for Mary.
May we follow Mary’s example with the children we’ve been gifted to love, care for, and guide. Surely, being a mother has its quirks and foibles. From our first look at our children, we don’t immediately know what will follow. Sometimes we want to know everything about our kids, or we try to craft them into what we want them to be. Instead, let’s do as Mary did and treasure the special moments we share with them and ponder in our hearts those special conversations when they are revealing themselves to us. As God did for Mary, in time, He will reveal to us our kids’ unique characteristics or abilities. Because, like Jesus, every child has a purpose when they are conceived.
Inspiration by Ellie 