Unwrapping Some More

"...I will transform the Valley of Trouble into a Gateway of Hope. She will give herself to me there, as she did when I freed her from her captivity...." ~ Hosea 2:15, NLT

Today, I am both excited AND delighted to showcase and introduce you all to my sweet friend-- and now, fellow blogger over at Journeying On.... -- Jessica!  I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Jessica since she was about 8 or 9 years old, when her mom and I first met at church and became friends. I've watched her grow from childhood into young womanhood. She is a person who fiercely and sincerely loves and lives for Jesus.

I’ve read many of Jessica's writings on the Notes section of her Facebook page; writings she's transferred over to and which make up her Wordpress blog.  I've been encouraged, inspired, touched and convicted by her words, her thoughtful insights and the hard lessons learned. Her words have often made me laugh out loud, or caused me to sit at my computer with tears streaming down my face. While she is young enough to be my daughter, Jess has the wisdom of someone much older, which I believe is due in part to her particular life journey, a passage which was not without its difficulties and dark times. 

But, thanks be to God, through the intervention of her devoted and loving family, the compassion and care from some amazing and dedicated folks at Mercy Ministries, and the powerful prayers of the faithful in Christ, Jessica has experienced restoration and strengthening in her relationship with Jesus, finding freedom from that which kept her in bondage for so long. At the top of her Journeying On blog, she very appropriately references the verse of Scripture from Hosea 2:15.

Hosea 2, by Rebecca Brognan (from John The Baptist Artwork series)

While the specifics of her experiences and trials may not be the same as yours, it is my wish, (and I'm sure it's Jessica's as well), that as you read this and other posts on her blog, you will be able to identify with her struggles, her feelings of unworthiness, helplessness and hopelessness, YET ALL THE WHILE coming to see and know the transforming power of the love, grace and mercy of Jesus Christ, His continual pursuit of you and His constant presence in your life.

So now, without any further ramblings from me, I invite you to come along with Jessica on her journey, with the following blog post I’m so privileged to share – 'Unwrapping Some More': 

As it gets closer to Christmas, I am reminded of my favorite Christmas ever; Christmas at Mercy Ministries, where I was loved in a way like never before and blessed with gifts beyond what I could really comprehend. I remember the few days I had visiting my home, where I could really think about all those gifts I received. I couldn't believe it. I'm so unworthy, I thought to myself, I don't deserve this. Any of this. I don't really 'need' any of that stuff. They shouldn't waste their time and money on me. I don't deserve nice things, I'm not worth it.

But that was the point. They were showing us (the residents; 'Mercy girls') how Christ loved us.....continue reading here

The Divine Gifts of Challenges and Trials

Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. ~ James 1:2, AMP


This morning, I opened up my  'Jesus Calling' devotional book and read the following:


"Let Me help you through this day.  The challenges you face are far too great for you to handle alone.  You are keenly aware of your helplessness in the scheme of events you face. This awareness opens up a choice: to doggedly go it alone or to walk with Me in humble steps of dependence.......so consider it all joy whenever you are enveloped in various trials.  These are gifts from Me, reminding you to rely on Me alone."**


Anyone who has never read this book as a part of their daily devotions can easily dismiss this as being just the creative, random writings of an author.  But believe me, it's not.  There are several peeps of mine (one being my darlin' friend, Toni, over at her Lakeside Lessons blog), who marvel at how uncanny the messages from this book can be for us on any given day, whatever our situations or circumstances may be.   I am on my second go-round of reading 'Jesus Calling'  and the messages, while the same as last year's, are never stale. 


So today's was yet again another right-on-time message from the Lord for me.   But truth be told, I did think, as I read the first sentence, "Oh no, Lord.  Challenges?  Will there be more?  In addition to all the OTHER ones I'm dealing with right now?  Really?? PULEEZE -- No mas, no mas!!!"

For the past month, I've been attending to my husband's every need since he had spinal fusion surgery -- helping him shower, getting him dressed and undressed, changing bandages on both incisions (one in the neck and one in his hip where they had to remove bone marrow),  making special meals for him since he can still only eat soft foods (soft as in mashed potatoes, Cream of Wheat, eggs, soups).   Taking on some of my husband's jobs here at home.  Trying to encourage him in his pain and frustration.  And --  just learning to BE STILL (big lesson for moi!) and sit with him, talking and watching movies together, which I'm seeing has actually STRENGTHENED our severely anemic marriage.  (Whoa, God -- what ARE You doing here?  So amazing!)


Yet, add all of this to the daily duties of a being homemaker, shuttling both kids back and forth to their respective schools and trying to find some quiet time to pray, read God's Word and journal/blog in the midst of it all and well, it has been quite challenging to say the least.  


In addition to all of this, I'm going through some rough waters with both my teen son and daughter.  Both aren't making good choices in their lives, continuing to do, say and be involved in things that as children of God, I don't think they should be doing.  There's just so much out there bombarding them daily, like a serpent holding out forbidden fruit, tempting them to "C'mon and try me!"  I've done and continue to do my best to teach them, lead them and guide them in the right direction, but they don't seem to be listening to me.  The sounds of warfare are deafening around here.  I feel tired, exasperated, discouraged, angry and at times, broken.


Challenges.  Trials.  Difficulties.  I sigh and wonder how many more of these challenges are on the horizon, headed my way today, and how much more I can take.

Yet, after reading through today's 'Jesus Calling' devotional entry, I am once again presented with something to consider, something Jesus wants me to know, to remember, to hold onto in the eye of the storm.


Challenges, trials and difficulties are very often gifts from God.  Yes, gifts.  Not the kind of gifts I'm certainly hoping for, but gifts nonetheless.  These Divine challenges actually help to remind me of my constant need for and continual reliance on my sweet Lord -- always Him, all of the time.  


Surrendering all of my (supposed) control and placing my total dependence on Jesus is to humble me, not humiliate me.  Humility is one of the virtues with which we are to clothe ourselves (Colossians 3:12), thereby making us more like Jesus, Whose very nature was one of humility (Philippians 2:1-8). 

In the midst of all of these current challenges, trials and difficulties, in the eye of the storm, Jesus wants me to look to Him continually.  To reach out to Him constantly. To cry out for His help, over and over.  I don't need to walk through all of this alone, a lesson our pastor taught so beautifully and creatively this past Sunday.  Jesus is here, and although it doesn't seem possible at times, I can experience joy in my journey. 


There is a song from the musical, 'Carousel!' which the character Nettie sings to Julie, a woman who finds herself drowning in deep despair.  I grew up hearing this song sung once a year at the end of every Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy telethon, and it made me cry each time.  As a child, I always considered it a very sad song, but that is not so.  It is a song of great encouragement; a song that Jesus very well could be singing to us, as He holds out His hand to us, not only offering us these gifts of Divine challenges and trials, but this hope-filled, loving promise: "You'll Never Walk Alone."

When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark.
At the end of the storm
Is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark.


Walk on through the wind,
Walk on through the rain,
Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown.

Walk on, walk on

With hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone,
You'll never walk alone. ~ 'You'll Never Walk  Alone, written by Rodgers and Hammerstein


You'll Never Walk Alone


Above is a link to a YouTube video, with Johnny Cash doing the vocal honors.  I could have chosen other artists, but I feel that his life of brokenness and his looking to the Lord in the midst of his own storms lends quite a different flavor to this song. My hope is that this song and the words that the Lord gave me to share today will be of great encouragement to someone out there. 

**excerpt taken from 'Jesus Calling,'  by Sarah Young, copyright 2008, all rights reserved.

O Come Let Us Adore Him!

We are one day away from Christmas!  It is, without a doubt, my favorite holiday.  When I was a child, I would be so excited, I couldn't WAIT for Christmas to finally arrive!  Now that I'm somewhat (cough cough) older, I still feel the same way -- but for entirely different reasons.  Over the years, my perspective of this wonderful season has been radically changed.

Christmas Eve -- such a beautiful, special night. A precious, holy night. There's an overwhelming feeling of anticipation that I find almost tangible, as if the whole world is collectively holding its breath.  And waiting.......

Tonight, some people may still be in the process of traveling back home or heading over the river and through the woods to someone else's house.  Some may pull out and don their holiday finery to head out to dinner with loved ones or friends, while some may just stay at home, order a pizza and finish up wrapping those few, final gifts.  Others may invite family, friends and neighbors over to their homes for a joyous open house celebration, or perhaps there are people gathering together to share a big family dinner as my family did, back in the day.

Thinking back to my childhood, I can remember my dad, my mom and myself bundling up and driving over to my Italian grandmother's house on Christmas Eve and finding it filled with all of my mom's relatives, for the 'festa dei sette pesci': The Dinner of the Seven Fishes (yes, fishes -- okay, so it's not grammatically correct, but that's what it's called, so please just go with it).   Everything that my grandmother and my aunt, who lived with her, put out on the table to eat was so incredibly delicious and entirely homemade -- a result of days of almost round-the-clock preparation and cooking (and all of which I totally did not appreciate until I reached my twenties). 

Christmas Eve, my cousins and I were allowed to open ONE GIFT each.  And how we were oh-so-breathless with anticipation, hardly able to sit still at the 'kids table' while we waited and waited and WAITED some more for the grown-ups to finish up with dinner, then dessert and coffee and brandy and their seemingly ENDLESS adult chit-chat, so we could tear into that one gift.

There was also (and still is for me) a very sweet, hushed reverance and holiness about Christmas Eve, as we'd all silently (well, as silently as a rowdy Italian family like mine with a bunch of little kids hyped up on Coca Cola and hot chocolate can be) make our way out from my grandmother's house to the church up the street for a beautiful, joy-filled, candlelit midnight service, stopping in awe to look at and admire the near life-size Nativity scene outside on the church lawn, with the spotlight shining on Baby Jesus.  Once inside, such singing that went on of all of those wonderful carols! I'd loved listening as my mom, who had the most beautiful singing voice, would harmonize along with everyone else. Such a wonderful, magical night!

However, last year I heard something on TV about Christmas Eve that just about gave me an extreme case of agita (and for all you non-Italian bloggy friends, that means a feeling of agitation or anxiety).  I had heard that the media was hailing Christmas Eve as 'the new Black Friday,' which honestly just made me cringe, because it's yet another bullet shot straight through the heart to kill off the true meaning of Christmas.

And what exactly IS the true meaning of Christmas?  Literally, if you take apart the word, you have:

"Christ" - obviously, that's the One and Only Jesus Christ, LORD and Savior, Who came into this world as one of us, leaving behind all His glory and honor in the Kingdom of Heaven to dwell with, love on, rescue and redeem us.

"Mas" - an Olde World English term referring to a celebration or a festival.

Translation:  it's a celebration of Christ...Christmas!!!

So...it's NOT supposed to be all about door buster deals on iPads, iPods and LCD HD TV's at stores open as late as possible on Christmas Eve (with some actually opening again on Christmas Day);  it's not supposed to be all about frenzied crowds of procrastinating shoppers stampeding like wildebeests through stores for those last minute, drastically reduced in price (and oh-so-thoughtful and heartfelt) gifts;  it's NOT supposed to be all about a jolly, white haird and bearded, overweight gentleman in a wooly red suit who hangs out with elves and flies a sleigh attached to 8 (supposedly) tiny reindeer, nor is it supposed to be about dashing through the mall JUST to stand in a 20 minute line to buy gift cards or get those tons of purchases professionally wrapped.   It's not supposed to be all about 24 hour holiday movie marathons (as entertaining as they can be).  It's not supposed to be all about the perfectly decorated house or tree, the perfect outfit or the perfect dinner!!!!

But it IS supposed to be all about the Perfect Child -- Jesus -- born some 2,000 years ago to the humblest of parents in the humblest of places and circumstances: for us. All for us.

Jesus.  Oh Jesus, You ARE our Perfect Gift.  Are we too stressed out, distracted and drained to receive You?  Will we sprint through our already overloaded lists and daily agendas AGAIN this year, find we are running late as usual, swoop up our families and make a mad dash out the door to church for Christmas Eve services, flinging our exhausted bodies into our seats with our minds still spinning?  I must sadly and shamefully admit that I've lost count over the years of how many times I'd fallen prey to doing all those things.

Or...will we instead make a decision to pare down our lists to bare bones necessities to simplify our day and take some time out to quietly make room in our hearts, our minds, our souls to receive the greatest and best, most perfect gift of all? 

Can we join together tonight to joyfully, peacefully make our way over to the foot of that crude, dirty manger; to humbly kneel and to gently draw close....holding our breath in wonderous anticipation of the sweet beauty we will see....to gaze in awe upon and give our worship to our precious newborn King, Jesus?

Jesus, the Christ.  He alone is the Ultimate Gift.

O come!  Let us adore Him!


It's still a mystery to me
That the hands of God could be so small,
How tiny fingers reaching in the night
Were the very hands that measured the sky

Hallelujah, hallelujah!
Heaven's love reaching down to save the world
Hallelujah, hallelujah!
Son of God, Servant King
Here with us
You're here with us

Jesus the Christ, born in Bethlehem
A baby born to save, to save the souls of man~ Here With Us, by Joy Williams

No Gift To Bring

December 25th is just around the corner, and if you're a procrastinator extraordinaire with regards to shopping for gifts, I'm sure your adrenalin is beginning to pump and percolate right about now.  Crunch time has begun.

The other day on the news, they ran a story about how all those folks who left their homes well before dawn, braved the Black Friday crowds and bought several shopping cartloads of mega sale stuff were now returning most or all of it, because they are now finding themselves heavily strapped for cash.  

With a floundering economy and so many people out of work, I'm not surprised.

Even for those of us who did not rush out en masse late on Thanksgiving night or early on Black Friday morn to join the Shop 'Til You Drop crowd, it can still be a challenging time.   Because after all, Christmas is, we're reminded over and over via endless TV ads and Hallmark Christmas movies, 'the season of giving.'

But what if, like me, your bank account has nothing more than a fistful of dollars and some lonely tumbleweeds rolling around in it?

What if, like The Little Drummer Boy, you feel you have no gift to bring?

Nothing could be further from the truth. 

I know this may perhaps sound unequivocally trite and completely lame, but you DO have something to give.  And it will basically cost you nothing.

Give someone your smile.  Have you ever had someone smile at you, totally out of the blue, be it a friend, neighbor, coworker or just some random person on the street, in a store or in a doctor's office? Didn't it just make your day, especially if your day was headed down the toilet and on the fast track to Nowhere? Having someone catch my eye (proving I wasn't invisible after all) and flash me a thousand watt smile makes me feel special, noticed, and well....happy.  And I've seen people walking towards me with some pretty harsh and stoney faces suddenly transformed into such pleasant and approachable looking folks, just by sharing my smile with them. 

Give someone a hug.  All of the above applies to this act as well. God gave you two, good arms.  Use them to lovingly surround someone in need of comfort and joy and healing.  Yes, there are some out there who are hostile to forms of physical demonstrations like this.  Tread lightly, go with what the Holy Spirit inside of you leads you to do.

Give someone a ride.  While I'm well aware that gas is uber-expensive and being a taxi driver/chauffeur may not be your thing, if God has provided you with a reliable vehicle, why not consider using it to give a lift to someone who may need one to school, a store, church, a youth group event or to the doctor's office?  It might not seem like much to you, but believe me, it means a lot.

Give someone the benefits of your time or your talents.  We all have people in our lives who are going through a rough, lonely or a sad time.  Why not invite them over for some tea or coffee and some cookies, or some popcorn and a rented movie? (Redbox movies cost a mere $1 if you bring them back by the next day) Don't fret over the condition of your house with its vast dust bunny collection -- no doubt they have a collection of their own. Or if these folks are unable to leave their homes for whatever reason, why not bring those things over to their place?  

Can you style hair or manicure nails? Do you enjoy playing with children?  Do you love animals?  Do you have a talent for decorating?  Offer to do someone's hair or nails for free; babysit somebody's kids while they Christmas shop or go out for a date night and don't charge them; walk someone's dog(s) for them once or twice a week for a month or so, free of charge; or offer to decorate a friend's or family member's Christmas tree.  I did that for my husband's older sister, who was in a lot of pain that year and couldn't move much.  She gave me free reign to decorate their tree AND their living room with all of their Christmas decorations.  She was so grateful and I had SUCH a blast!!!  We both came away blessed.

Give someone encouragement.  Often during the Christmas season, people may experience what is referred to as 'the holiday blues,' due to health or financial problems, loneliness or the overly high expectation to have 'the perfect family Christmas' like the ones shown on so many Christmas movies. If you have the gift of encouragement, share it with someone who needs to be uplifted, through a phone call, a card with a sincere, positive message from YOU, or an offer to come and pray for them.  The New Living Translation for Ephesians 4:29 says: "Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them."  And The Message version of the same verse says it this way: "Say only what helps, each word a gift."  Indeed.

Below is a picture of a lovingly handmade, handwritten Christmas card I received today from my sweet friend, Laura.  Laura's mom, Janette, was a dear friend, sister-in-Christ and Bible study buddy, whom I had the wonderful pleasure of praying for and with, and serving alongside of at our church's now defunct book and gift shop.  Janette, whom I wrote about in my blog post, 'It Takes A Strong Woman,'  is now in the arms of her loving Jesus, after succumbing to cancer last year.  Laura, a freshman at a college in Pennsylvania, and I have kept in touch through facebook and sometimes, like today, through snail mail.  She's young enough to be my daughter, but she has a way about her that is wise, understanding and compassionate  beyond her years, and she has been SUCH an encouragement to me.

These are all simple gifts that again, basically cost you nothing.  Except for maybe a bit of your time, effort, talent and heart.

No gift to bring?  In the song, 'The Little Drummer Boy' after admitting to being a poor boy with no gift to bring, the tiny drummer realizes that he DOES have something to offer the newborn King -- the gift of music.  A gift that God blessed him with. He played his best for the infant Jesus and he was rewarded with a smile from Him.  While yes, this is a fictional character and account from a Christmas carol, may it cause us to look within our hearts while using Holy Spirit supplied wisdom, discernment and imagination to find a gift that we can bring that will delight both Jesus and those special people in our lives.

And a loving thought sends us out to find
Something special for someone on our mind
And we think of friends and family
As we hang our gifts on the Christmas tree

It's the thought that counts when the thought is love
It's the thought that counts when you're thinking of
How the money flows in vast amounts
When the thought is love it's the thought that counts

And a loving thought sent a snow white lamb
To a little town known as Bethlehem
And the little lamb thought of you and me
As He hung His gift on the Christmas tree

It's the thought that counts when the thought is love
It's the thought that counts when you're thinking of
How the money flows in vast amounts
It's the thought that counts when the thought is love

Think of the precious gift He gave
Think of the life He thought to save ~ ‘It’s The Thought,’ by Twila Paris

Unexpected Gifts

Whenever this happens, my heart stops— I'm stunned, I can't catch my breath.
Listen to it! Listen to his thunder,
the rolling, rumbling thunder of his voice.
He lets loose his lightnings from horizon to horizon,
lighting up the earth from pole to pole.
In their wake, the thunder echoes his voice,
powerful and majestic.
He lets out all the stops, he holds nothing back.
No one can mistake that voice—
His word thundering so wondrously,
his mighty acts staggering our understanding.
He orders the snow, 'Blanket the earth!'
and the rain, 'Soak the whole countryside!'
No one can escape the weather—it's there.
And no one can escape from God. ~ Job 37:5-7, The Message

 God calls to each of us during the course of our day, through the simplicity of His creation that surrounds us. But so very often, we are deaf to His voice and blind to the austere, yet at the same time, beautifully breathtaking unexpected gifts He offers us. We can allow ourselves to become so caught up in the activity of our lives, too busy to stop and smell the roses, as they used to say when I was younger. Or we can find ourselves held captive by our electronic devices, the very items we were told would afford us more time in our days. With our ear buds firmly in place and our eyes focused onto the screens of our laptops, iPads or iPhones, we miss out on so much, foolishly hoping to find in them fulfillment and satisfaction for our emptiness, loneliness and needful longings.

So may I invite you to slow down, disconnect from all things high tech to come take a walk with me as I point out some of what God blesses us with during the 24 hours we’re allotted each day. Drink in the vibrant color palette of a magnificent sunrise or sunset. Experience the refreshing coolness of a crisp fall day after a long, stifling hot summer. Listen to the whisper of a gentle wind as it blows through the trees, tenderly caressing each leaf. Breathe in the intoxicating scent and taste the sweetness of a honeysuckle bush (does anyone remember picking honeysuckle and squeezing the nectar onto your tongue as a child?). Check out the diamond-like droplets of morning dew as it sparkles upon the grass, flower petals and leaves. Feel surprise at the sudden brushing of a colorful butterfly’s wings against your hand. Be still and take note of the hushed tranquility after a snowfall or of the spectacular light show as lightening streaks across a stormy sky. Kick back and enjoy the nighttime symphony of crickets and tree frogs or the morning chorus of a variety of birds.

These are indeed life’s simple pleasures. The awesome, unexpected gifts that we can receive if we would only open up ourselves to receive them, each one hand crafted and lovingly fashioned for us by our Creator God, the Master Artist and Designer.

I made for the countryside,
And my eyes never grew so wide,
Apple, raspberry, river blue,
I don't wanna leave without you,
In the sound I'll gladly drown,
Into the emerald underground,
And I rub my eyes 'cause it's hard to see,
Surrounded by all this beauty ~ Dreams Don't Turn To Dust, by Owl City