Ready for Christmas

The weather is in the low 20s at night.  Seasonal decorations have been in the stores since before Halloween.  Hobby Lobby has had their bows and ornaments and fake trees on sale 60% off for weeks!  We have most of our Christmas presents purchased, and will have most of them wrapped by the end of […]

Giving or Thanks: Which Comes First?

Around this time of year, I sometimes ponder the order of our holidays.  Thanksgiving comes before Christmas.  I know about the historical significance of Thanksgiving being a time of remembering from whence our bountiful harvest comes – God’s great blessings.  But didn’t God give us our greatest gift at Christmas?  So, shouldn’t Thanksgiving follow Christmas?  […]

Thanks for the Hard Stuff

Here we are in the week between two major “thanks events” – Veterans Day and Thanksgiving Day.  We have many reasons to be thankful for our veterans, and plenty to thank God for on our traditional day for it.  But what about the in-betweens? I mean, the first is about the sacrifices made for us […]

Hard Times? God’s Joyful Command

I woke up a bit overwhelmed and sad this morning.  The mess in Afghanistan, the earthquake in Haiti, and the hurricane hitting New Orleans (again!) all weighed on my spirit.  Some of it is terrible!  Other things in my life have been simply disappointing.  But what do we do with all of it? I’m tired, […]