Fresh start anyone?

New beginnings. New mercies. What an awesome God who gives us daily chances to renew our love for Him. As hard as I try to live a life in the Spirit, my flesh somehow manages to rear it's ugly head and I allow defeat to creep in. Praise the Lord that there is repentance and forgiveness.

New determination. New desire to live my life for Christ. I want to be a consuming fire for God. I want to do all I can to bring Glory to His name. I want His name to be on my lips 24 hours a day! He is so worthy and I am so lacking. I long to feel His presence as i go about my daily life.

Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the mundane things of this world, that I realize I have become the very thing that I try so hard to avoid being. Worldy. Materialistic. Forgive me Lord for hungering after things when I need to be hungering after You. Let there be more of You and less of me.

May my hands do what You will. May my feet go where You lead. May my paths be directed only by You.

New direction. New passion. A new start.

"Through the LORD's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:22,23)

In Him,

Beth

I would love to get some suggestions on daily devotions. I do my "Journey" each morning. I also have a devotion book by Jennifer Rothschild. But if anyone has any good books to recommend, please let me know!

Christmas memories

My precious girls - Melissa, Ashlie, Megan 2008

My sweet babies Christmas 1993

My sweet babies Christmas 1994

I love the Christmas season and I love the memories that are stored in my heart from when I was a little girl all the way up until now. When my 3 girls were growing up, my husband and I focused on creating memories for them. It was important to us that when they grew up and left home (which at the time seemed AGES away) they would be able to remember and relive, with fondness, the time they spent in our home. Those years have passed much too quickly and there are times when I wish we could go back and just have a "do-over" if you know what I mean.

Things started to change for us when Christmas 2002 rolled around. It was no longer just the 5 of us, but we had a new granddaughter in the mix. What a glorious addition to the family and what joy that precious little bundle brought to our household. But the Christmases of the past were forever changed. By the next year, there were only 4 of us around the tree on Christmas morning. Our oldest daughter, Megan, was at her own home with her husband and daughter beginning the process of making her own memories. By the time Christmas 2006 came around my youngest daughter, Ashlie,was newly married and beginning her own traditions in her own home, so we were a little family of 3 around our tree that year. Christmas morning is now very different than in the past. Our daughter Melissa, who is now 22, wants to sleep late on Christmas morning and the anticipation and excitement of it all just isn't the same. I don't have any little ones at home. I don't have 3 sweet little girls waking me up early to see what's under the tree. I don't have toys to put together Christmas Eve night after the girls have gone to bed. But I still have my memories.

When I asked my girls to tell me some things that really stood out in their minds about their childhood Christmases, not one of them mentioned anything about gifts and what they did or didn't get. Here were their memories:

1. Decorating the tree Thanksgiving weekend (until this year!)
2. Listening to Christmas music while we decorated the tree.
3. Drinking hot cocoa (made from a mix) while decorating. Melissa wanted to know one year "How else would you make it?"
4. Shaking the presents and trying to guess what was in the packages.
5. Opening 1 gift on Christmas Eve (always pajamas to wear that night).

6. Baking Christmas cookies with sprinkles and lots of icing.
7. Homemade cinnamon rolls Christmas morning.
8. Me always having to pour that first cup of coffee before we began opening gifts.
9. Their daddy handing out gifts one at a time. (We all had to watch each person open each gift...)
10. Reading the Christmas story out of Luke.
11. Having "ice-skating" contests in the living room in front of the tree while we listened to Christmas music. Poor Ashlie always had to win the bronze medal, because she was the baby and didn't care...
12. Laughing, fun, togetherness.

I miss those days, but I am proud of the young women that my girls have become. I am glad that through the Grace of my Lord, He equipped me and my husband to hand down to them the most precious gift of all. We taught our children from very early on about Jesus. We taught them the Word. We went to church as a family. We loved them. We cherished our times (good and not so good) together. We gave them roots.

So, even though there are no more "ice-skating" contests in front of the tree, no little girls begging to open "just one more present" before Christmas, no more happy squeals Christmas morning, I look forward to this time of year when we celebrate the birth of our Savior. There is nothing that can bring us any more joy than Jesus. He is the greatest gift. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is truly the reason for the season. May I always keep my eyes on Him.

"For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." (Luke 2:11,12)

In His Redemptive Grace,

Beth

There's nothing like a good soaking...

Nana and Bryton after bathtime!

What do you get when you take one filthy little boy with sticky hands and perhaps a little grape jelly on his mouth and then you dunk him in a tub filled with soapy water? Miracle of miracles, you get a squeaky clean little fella looking just like he did when he started his day fresh. He comes out smelling so clean. He comes out looking brand new! There is nothing like a good soaking to get rid of the dirt we accumulate during the course of our day. I couldn't help but think about this when my youngest daughter was bathing her little boy the other day. When I lifted Bryton out of the tub he looked quite different than when she plopped his little body in there. He went in dirty and came out clean!

I am so thankful for the cleansing blood of our precious Lord. I am thankful that when I accumulate a little "dirt" in the process of my daily life, I can go to Him for a little dunking in some sudsy living water and come out squeaky clean. I can be washed as white as snow. A fresh start... a fresh feeling... ready for a fresh encounter.

Thank you, Lord for the cleansing power of your Word. Thank you, Lord that we can come to you and get rid of the filth we collect during the day. Thank you for sanctification through Jesus.

"Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." (Hebrews 10:22)

Look Who's Walking!

I spent the day with all 4 of my sweet grandbabies. The oldest, Mikaela, is now 6, Eli is 3, Bryton is 21 months and the baby of the bunch, Mercie, just turned 10 months. Over the course of the last 6 years, I have witnessed many milestones among this crew of youngins'. The first times they rolled over and sat alone, their first tooth, their first words, the first time they pulled up and then eventually their first steps.

In the last few days, Mercie began taking her first steps. It was so exciting as she went from 1 or 2 steps to now being able to take about 8 or 9 steps. It was fun to watch her. She would take a few steps and then stop and clap for herself, then take a few more. If she faltered and fell, I just encouraged her to get back up and try again. Of course I was clapping and cheering for her the whole time! Even though I have observed my other 3 grandchildren do this very same thing, it was just as precious to me and brought the same amount of joy as if it were something totally brand new. Each new milestone of each grandchild evoked the same emotion of amazing wonder in me even though they were not new experiences.

I thought about this concept in relation to the way God feels about us and our Christian walk. From the time we start our journey as a new baby Christian, we will encounter many different phases along the way that make up the growth process. Each milestone that we reach in our spiritual growth is just as precious to God even though He has seen the same thing in other's lives. Each little baby step we take is exciting to Him. From the moment we took that first step to our salvation, each step that follows takes us toward a more intimate relationship with Him. Sometimes our steps are a little uncertain and wobbly. Sometimes they are steadier and we are a little more sure of ourselves. I can just picture our Lord standing along the path cheering us on and encouraging us when we take those timid little steps and cheering louder as we get more steady on our feet. Finally we are walking and He is rejoicing! He is so proud of us. He is our Father and He feels all those same fatherly things toward us.

Now that we are walking, we just have to make sure that we continue on our forward journey. We certainly don't want to falter and revert back to those tiny little baby steps. We need to keep our focus ahead. We have many more milestones to reach. Many more steps to take. If we happen to fall, we just need to get back up on our feet, steady ourselves and keep walking. Heading toward the next step in our progression to a deeper walk with God. And there will be our heavenly Father, clapping for us and cheering us on. Encouraging us to keep our focus on Him as we take it step by step. Milestone to milestone.

"as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious" (1 Peter 2: 2-3)

In His Grip of Grace,
Beth

Wanted: Workers for the Harvest

We spend a lot of time - no, too much time - making sure that our homes have just the right decor, the right furniture, the newest and biggest tv's etc. We paint and wallpaper and repaint. We arrange and rearrange. We seem to think that is where our security lies and we tend to exist solely within those "four walls" we call our home. That is our comfort zone.

Truth is, God gave us a mission that extends beyond those walls. Let's look at the very familiar passage in Matthew 28:18-20. "Then Jesus came near and said to them, "all authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

As Christians, we are supposed to do what we believe in. If we took this seriously and cared as much about the outside of those "four walls" as we did about the inside, people wouldn't have to wonder about whether God was real. They would SEE that He was real. They would see it from us.

In Matthew 9:35 it says "Then Jesus went to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news...". You know what the first thing I noticed in this verse? That Jesus went to ALL the towns and villages. It didn't say that He went to the ones that would welcome him or the ones that would be the easiest to get to or even the nearest ones. It says all.

If you read on to verse 37, "then He said to His disciples, 'the harvest is abundant, but the workers are few'". The harvest is abundant. That means there are many people who need the saving Grace of our Lord Jesus. Abundant harvest means that we have a lot of work to do. Abundant harvest means that we won't run out of people to witness to.

But the next part is the kicker - "the workers are few". We KNOW this is true. How many people do you actually know that are working? It is not just the responsibility of a select group of people. Don't just leave it up to the preachers. It is up to ALL of us. We all need to have the compassion of Jesus and see the needs of people and see their weariness and see their hunger for SOMETHING! We, as Christians, have the answer to what will satisfy that immense hunger in their lives. But they will never know if we don't tell them. If we don't "go" they won't "know".

In Romans 15, Paul writes to the church in Rome asking for financial assistance so that he can continue on with his missionary work. He wasn't apologetic about it. It was just a necessary request in the natural scheme of things. He was willing to go and others had to be willing to make it possible. That's how it is today. We not only need to have a heart for missions, we need to have a mindset for missions and be willing to open our wallets and put our money where our mouth is! It takes money to reach others. We need to welcome the opportunity to give and do it cheerfully. It should be our privilege, our passion and our pleasure.

I have been on both sides of missions. I have given so others can go and I have been the recipient of gifts so that I could go. They are both rewarding. I challenge you to pick a country or nation and begin praying specifically for them. Pray for the people there to have exposure to the gospel of Jesus Christ and that it will create such a hunger in them for the Word. Pray that it will bring salvation to many. Let's go out into that abundant harvest and work! Let's put some feet to our faith. Let's work till Jesus comes.

In the Grip of His Grace,
Beth