2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. -- NKJV
As I came across this scripture it reminded me of what was quickly coming upon us. Another new year…another year of new resolutions…new promises to ourselves and to others.
As we go into another year we leave the old year behind us. The mistakes we’ve made are left in the old year while a fresh start is ahead of us. Even if the mistakes we made have to be carried with us into the New Year, we still have the opportunity to turn things around…to make things right or better.
The same thing holds true with our souls in eternity. When we ask Christ into our lives, trust in and live for Him…we become a new creation. The old person we were is left behind us and a fresh start is in front of us. We have become a new creation in Him.
What’s so amazing is that we as humans put things behind us and think we are going to never bring them up again. But in reality we know that will not happen. We every now and then turn back to what we said we would never remember. But Christ doesn’t do that. When we ask Him into our lives, He puts our sins behind Him…as far as the east is from the west…to never remember them again. See, we are new creations. New creations in Him. Before we became Christians, we were of the world, living in and for the world. Christ doesn’t remember all we did in that time. We on the other hand, will still let them come back. That’s Satan working and trying to get us to believe other than what God promises us. That’s another blog for another time.
I will ask anyone reading this that if you have never asked Christ into your life as your personal Savior, please do so now. Please start the New Year as a New Person.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Christmas Morning
Today is my 50th Christmas morning. Like most people, I don’t have much recollection of the first couple of my Christmases. But, the beginnings of my memories are full of laughter, excitement, love, smells and wonder.
The first thing I remember even as a child would be waking to the wonderful smells or Turkey, Ham, dressing, dumplings and the rest of the feast that was fit for a King! My mama and daddy would start Christmas Eve preparing for our wonderful meal which would always include numerous deserts. One of my daddy’s prize creation was his homemade coconut cake and my mama’s was her 12 layer chocolate cake. At least these were MY favorites of their labors!
My brother and I would get up on Christmas morning and head down to the kitchen where we knew we would find mama and daddy. We were then directed to where the tree was to see what Santa had left and to open presents. We couldn’t begin anything until mama and daddy made their coffee and joined us. Then the camcorder and camera would start their jobs. Daddy would read to us from the Bible. We always would hear The Christmas Story out of Luke, chapter 2. Then he would pray. That is a wonderful memory I hope will stay with me the rest of my life. A memory of knowing that before anything was done, my parents would always make sure we knew and understood what Christmas was about. First and foremost it was about a baby who was born in a manger; a baby who was born of a virgin and sent to grow up and die for my sins; a baby who willingly came knowing He would die just so I would have eternal life. All I had to do was accepted Him as my personal Savior, believe in Him and live for Him.
Next came the presents. We would take turns opening so we could enjoy everything that everyone had. Billy and I would always get too much. We always did. We weren’t rich by any means but mama and daddy always made sure our needs and most of the time…the majority of the time…our wants were met as well. We would finish opening gifts and while Billy and I got things in order…well, played with all we had gotten…mama and daddy would finish cooking the meal.
We would all four join together at our table along with Tommy and Phyllis (my uncle and aunt on daddy’s side) and try our best to devour some of everything that was put in front of us. After the meal we would take a nap, get up, start over with the food and talk about the day.
That was the recollections of my first 48 years of Christmas. For the past two years it has been different. My daddy passed away April 2, 2009. Last Christmas was just a blur. I remember spending the whole day in bed. That was my recollection of last year. This year is somewhat different. Mama, Billy and I did exchange presents. We did put up a 3 ft Christmas tree on the memorial table we have prepared for daddy. Mama fixed a ham and we will have ham sandwiches for Christmas lunch.
However, this Christmas morning I woke up to silence, no smells except for the coffee brewing, sadness and a dread of getting out of bed. I knew once I was up and the day starting the floods of memories would soon be coming from my eyes in the form of tears. I would have to see the sadness on my brother’s face and the despair on my mama’s.
But, before I got out of bed I watched the part of “Charlie Brown Christmas” where Linus was telling what Christmas was all about. What a way to be hit back into reality and have my focus put in priority.
I miss my daddy with all my heart. Christmas will NEVER be the same without him here. In my human heart I want him here with me but in my Christian heart I am in such awe of the Christmas he is having with our Savior. He is in the presence of the One who is the whole reason for Christmas. What better Christmas could my daddy be having and how dare I be so selfish that I would want him back and away from all that glorious celebration. Yet I’m still human as we all are. I know I’m not the only one feeling this way this year. But, I do hope that if you are feeling these same feelings you are also aware of the reason for Christmas.
I am a child of the King! I am a Princess. Wow! What more could I ask for Christmas? I am rich beyond measure and loved beyond measure. I have my family, friends and a father in Heaven along with my Heavenly Father.
Merry Christmas everyone. I pray that you will have the best Christmas ever and if you don’t know my Savior as yours that you will allow Jesus to give you the Christmas present He has for you. Please unwrap that eternal gift of salvation.
The first thing I remember even as a child would be waking to the wonderful smells or Turkey, Ham, dressing, dumplings and the rest of the feast that was fit for a King! My mama and daddy would start Christmas Eve preparing for our wonderful meal which would always include numerous deserts. One of my daddy’s prize creation was his homemade coconut cake and my mama’s was her 12 layer chocolate cake. At least these were MY favorites of their labors!
My brother and I would get up on Christmas morning and head down to the kitchen where we knew we would find mama and daddy. We were then directed to where the tree was to see what Santa had left and to open presents. We couldn’t begin anything until mama and daddy made their coffee and joined us. Then the camcorder and camera would start their jobs. Daddy would read to us from the Bible. We always would hear The Christmas Story out of Luke, chapter 2. Then he would pray. That is a wonderful memory I hope will stay with me the rest of my life. A memory of knowing that before anything was done, my parents would always make sure we knew and understood what Christmas was about. First and foremost it was about a baby who was born in a manger; a baby who was born of a virgin and sent to grow up and die for my sins; a baby who willingly came knowing He would die just so I would have eternal life. All I had to do was accepted Him as my personal Savior, believe in Him and live for Him.
Next came the presents. We would take turns opening so we could enjoy everything that everyone had. Billy and I would always get too much. We always did. We weren’t rich by any means but mama and daddy always made sure our needs and most of the time…the majority of the time…our wants were met as well. We would finish opening gifts and while Billy and I got things in order…well, played with all we had gotten…mama and daddy would finish cooking the meal.
We would all four join together at our table along with Tommy and Phyllis (my uncle and aunt on daddy’s side) and try our best to devour some of everything that was put in front of us. After the meal we would take a nap, get up, start over with the food and talk about the day.
That was the recollections of my first 48 years of Christmas. For the past two years it has been different. My daddy passed away April 2, 2009. Last Christmas was just a blur. I remember spending the whole day in bed. That was my recollection of last year. This year is somewhat different. Mama, Billy and I did exchange presents. We did put up a 3 ft Christmas tree on the memorial table we have prepared for daddy. Mama fixed a ham and we will have ham sandwiches for Christmas lunch.
However, this Christmas morning I woke up to silence, no smells except for the coffee brewing, sadness and a dread of getting out of bed. I knew once I was up and the day starting the floods of memories would soon be coming from my eyes in the form of tears. I would have to see the sadness on my brother’s face and the despair on my mama’s.
But, before I got out of bed I watched the part of “Charlie Brown Christmas” where Linus was telling what Christmas was all about. What a way to be hit back into reality and have my focus put in priority.
I miss my daddy with all my heart. Christmas will NEVER be the same without him here. In my human heart I want him here with me but in my Christian heart I am in such awe of the Christmas he is having with our Savior. He is in the presence of the One who is the whole reason for Christmas. What better Christmas could my daddy be having and how dare I be so selfish that I would want him back and away from all that glorious celebration. Yet I’m still human as we all are. I know I’m not the only one feeling this way this year. But, I do hope that if you are feeling these same feelings you are also aware of the reason for Christmas.
I am a child of the King! I am a Princess. Wow! What more could I ask for Christmas? I am rich beyond measure and loved beyond measure. I have my family, friends and a father in Heaven along with my Heavenly Father.
Merry Christmas everyone. I pray that you will have the best Christmas ever and if you don’t know my Savior as yours that you will allow Jesus to give you the Christmas present He has for you. Please unwrap that eternal gift of salvation.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Fabulous 50th Birthday!
Today was the day I celebrated that 50th milestone in birthdays. In my previous blog "Facing Fifty," I mentioned having a wave of different emotions as I faced this day. Some of the concerns were "who will remember", "who will forget", "will this turn out to be my special day"? The results of the much anticipated day went as follows:
I was awake at 5:00 AM...WIDE AWAKE! I checked out my Facebook while the majority of my friends were still sleeping. After briefly surfing the internet, I decided to see if anything good was on television. If you like infomercials, you would be thrilled at the early Saturday morning television schedule. Giving up on that I decided I would try to go back to sleep. That lasted about an hour. Deciding it was time to take Jasper out for his morning stroll, I climbed out of my warm bed and unconsciously made a smart and out of the ordinary reach for my housecoat. When opening the door to outside, I knew at that point as the cold air hit my face that I would probably be up and awake for the remainder of the day. Making my way back in from the cold and back to the comfort of my warm bed, I climbed back in and snuggled under the covers at the slight chance of falling asleep. At exactly 6:55 AM, a text came in on my phone. This was the beginning of the wave of emotions I had been anticipating.
My first birthday wish was a very special one. It came in from my bestest buddy/sister. It was very fitting that the first would be from her. From there came the overwhelming and loving best wishes from family and friends on Facebook, texts and phone calls. One call that came in was from my aunt and uncle. My aunt sang "Happy Birthday" to me (she does not sing for anyone). Needless to say this was an honor! Somewhere in between all of the wonderful show of love from everyone, the emotions started running rampant. The feelings of missing daddy took over and I curled back up in my bed. This is where I feel my most comfort. I can close out emotions and the world. But, this time I took charge and not my emotions. After a short time of crying I decided I was not going to spend my birthday going deeper into the depression pit. Not today! Still being the only one in the house awake, I decided to try the television again. I found a marathon of "The Nanny." This show can always put a smile on my face! During this time I received another text (one out of quite a few) that was very special. It was from a friend (she seems more like a sister) that God just recently brought into my life. We have never met but I feel like we have known each other forever. Again, it was very fitting timing for a text like this.
The others were finally up and I heard rustling at the other end of the house. Billy and mama had fixed up the dining area like a small party for me. It was so neat, with everything from cupcake, presents, candy goody bags and banner! Then they took me out of town for a nice dinner and a little shopping. Now I am cuddled back up in my warm bed with my laptop, Jasper and a Diet Dr. Pepper. Also, during the day I found out that my bestest buddy/sister had wanted to give me a surprise 50th birthday party. While she was still in the planning process in her mind, she had the fall from her horse causing her concussion and not long after that her mother passed away. This planning/wanting may not seem like anything to some, but to me it made my heart feel so good that she would even consider going through all of that to plan me a party. That's love.
So, has this been a day that I have felt special? Have I felt loved, cared about and set aside for my special day? There is no way in the world I could have felt anything less than that! This has been a magical, wonderful, blessed and loved day. I will remember this day for as long as I live. Is 50 as special as 49? Yes, it is. I still don't understand why, but it just is. So, with this day almost behind me...I am already anticipating the wonderful things that will be happening to me throughout this year until I reach 51!!!
I was awake at 5:00 AM...WIDE AWAKE! I checked out my Facebook while the majority of my friends were still sleeping. After briefly surfing the internet, I decided to see if anything good was on television. If you like infomercials, you would be thrilled at the early Saturday morning television schedule. Giving up on that I decided I would try to go back to sleep. That lasted about an hour. Deciding it was time to take Jasper out for his morning stroll, I climbed out of my warm bed and unconsciously made a smart and out of the ordinary reach for my housecoat. When opening the door to outside, I knew at that point as the cold air hit my face that I would probably be up and awake for the remainder of the day. Making my way back in from the cold and back to the comfort of my warm bed, I climbed back in and snuggled under the covers at the slight chance of falling asleep. At exactly 6:55 AM, a text came in on my phone. This was the beginning of the wave of emotions I had been anticipating.
My first birthday wish was a very special one. It came in from my bestest buddy/sister. It was very fitting that the first would be from her. From there came the overwhelming and loving best wishes from family and friends on Facebook, texts and phone calls. One call that came in was from my aunt and uncle. My aunt sang "Happy Birthday" to me (she does not sing for anyone). Needless to say this was an honor! Somewhere in between all of the wonderful show of love from everyone, the emotions started running rampant. The feelings of missing daddy took over and I curled back up in my bed. This is where I feel my most comfort. I can close out emotions and the world. But, this time I took charge and not my emotions. After a short time of crying I decided I was not going to spend my birthday going deeper into the depression pit. Not today! Still being the only one in the house awake, I decided to try the television again. I found a marathon of "The Nanny." This show can always put a smile on my face! During this time I received another text (one out of quite a few) that was very special. It was from a friend (she seems more like a sister) that God just recently brought into my life. We have never met but I feel like we have known each other forever. Again, it was very fitting timing for a text like this.
The others were finally up and I heard rustling at the other end of the house. Billy and mama had fixed up the dining area like a small party for me. It was so neat, with everything from cupcake, presents, candy goody bags and banner! Then they took me out of town for a nice dinner and a little shopping. Now I am cuddled back up in my warm bed with my laptop, Jasper and a Diet Dr. Pepper. Also, during the day I found out that my bestest buddy/sister had wanted to give me a surprise 50th birthday party. While she was still in the planning process in her mind, she had the fall from her horse causing her concussion and not long after that her mother passed away. This planning/wanting may not seem like anything to some, but to me it made my heart feel so good that she would even consider going through all of that to plan me a party. That's love.
So, has this been a day that I have felt special? Have I felt loved, cared about and set aside for my special day? There is no way in the world I could have felt anything less than that! This has been a magical, wonderful, blessed and loved day. I will remember this day for as long as I live. Is 50 as special as 49? Yes, it is. I still don't understand why, but it just is. So, with this day almost behind me...I am already anticipating the wonderful things that will be happening to me throughout this year until I reach 51!!!
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