MERRY
CHRISTMAS!
LET EVERY HEART PREPARE HIM ROOM!!
Almost every year since I have come to know the Lord .. He has
surprised me either on my birthday or afterwards with something special and
unique. He also has done the same for either me personally or when I was
co-pastoring our church with my late husband..God would show me something to
share with the congregation for Thanksgiving or Christmas or both. Don't you think it is a hoot that every year for Christ's Birthday, He surprises ME with a gift??? !! Isn't that just like God ?? !!
One year He
caused me to look more closely into the meaning of Emmanuel, God WITH Us ....
and what that truly means ... Emmanuel, our God is For us and not against us, He
is with us and will not leave us or forsake us.... and so much
more.
Another
year I heard the song "Be It Unto Me According to Your Word" (Done Moen) and it
caused me to see how just as Mary, when the word of God penetrates our heart ..
our response is to walk in faith believing what God says is true until it comes to pass.. according
to His promises .. we can stand secure. So many of us are shaky in our walk and
insecure because we do not know His promises or believe them.
..
and He birthed a new desire to believe what His word said was true in a new way
that year.
A
friend of mine asked: Did
you understand the new way? or did you birth it a new way?
I
can't say I immediately understood the new way.. but what it did was cause a
paradigm shift in my thinking that when we accept a new thought from God .. and
allow it to be planted, if it is HIS word .. it will not return void .. but will
accomplish that which it set out to do.
Did
I birth it in a new way my friend inquired?
Yes, I think I did .. I think I received a peace in
knowing if God has planted it .. He will work it out. Mary just had to receive
the seed .. and believe .. and carry it even though she knew most people would
reject the concept.. .. God did the rest..
A friend asked the following questions ... What
did you learn? or perhaps understand?
I
learned that we often times breeze over words to songs, what we read, the bible,
God's still small voice, friends advise, and miss important things God is trying
to speak to us.
and
did you smile? and did you feel joy from within?
Yes,
I did smile !! God does make me smile and laugh all the time, and He does bring great joy to
my life always!! I continue to stand in awe of the fact that He would even talk
to me .. much less carry on conversations, and show me new and wonderous
things. He amazes me daily. Did I feel joy from within.. yes for sure I did.. when God shows me a new revelation it is like something inside of my jumps for joy ...I at those time can't help but ponder how Mary must have felt when the Christ Child jumped inside of her who would bring forth fresh Revelation to the world...!!
He
wants to birth in each of us many things. visions, plans, hopes... great and
mighty things that will take root, grow and be birthed within us, if we will but
trust in the Lord and His promises. He also showed me that Mary pondered ...
she took the time to allow the wonder of the miracle of what was happening to
her to germinate by faith. As a sidelight the word ponder makes me think of how
in today's day and age young married couples can find out almost immediately
when they are going to have a baby and so many times cannot contain their
excitement and share their happy news with everyone ... I have no problem with
that .. but I do wonder if there is not perhaps something lost in losing that
special couple time of pondering ...I wonder how many things have been aborted
in my own life in my excitement of sharing what God has told me prematurely
until it has had time to begin to mature. My heart's desire is to never move
ahead of God or lag behind. I want to be "in the moment" of His perfect will ..
being led by Him and enjoying every moment of the journey...
My
favorite part of the song Be It Unto Me.. is: "carve upon my heart the truth
that sets me free" ... wow I get chills every time I hear those words.. I so
want the Lord's truths to be carved upon my heart. It makes me think of when
young people are in love and many times they will carve a heart on a tree and
put their initials inside the heart .. when they go back many years later , the
initials are still there.!! Well, God loves us so much that He wants His love,
truth and Initials carved upon our hearts forever!!
This year I
was listening to the song "Joy To the World" ... and God spoke something to me
that caused me to think. As I was enjoying the song and listening to the words
this phrase caught me and touched my heart deeply at which point I knew that was His word for me this year!!
LET EVERY
HEART PREPARE HIM ROOM
The first
thing I thought about was the fact that Mary and Joseph were refused entrance to
the Inn at Bethlehem.. The meaning of the word Bethlehem is "house of bread"
.. isn't it interesting that the "Bread of life" was not welcome in that
town? How many of us have closed the room of the Inn of our hearts to Jesus? How many of us have not welcomed Him with open arms?
Then God said to me "How many do you think have not prepared room in
their hearts for me" ...???? I began to cry to think of the amount of people
who will not accept God's love for them .. This world has become so callous
towards God .. and I wonder sometimes if even a loofah sponge can scrape away
the hardness of heart .. due to hurts, disappointments, bitterness etc... I
become frustrated at times knowing how many are missing out on the best thing in
life. The BREAD of LIFE. ... He sustains us, is one that sticks closer than a
brother, (I have never had a brother, so that opened up a whole new meaning when
I read that scripture, and someone said to me recently, "I will be your
brother"!! wow .. how precious!) We so need God and we so need each other in
this world.
We can do
"good things" in life .. have high morals, give to needy organizations .. but if
we do not KNOW Him .. we are lost. God is after our HEARTS, He longs for and yearns for personal one on one relationship with us. My prayer this Christmas is that we will all
take the time to prepare room for God in our hearts. It is so simple... and yet
so profound. He makes life as a friend of mine said .. SO much easier. We can
go through life pushing a car around, or we can get into the car and let Him
drive.. the choice is ours, and so many miss out on the ride of their
lives!!
I was
thinking that when a new baby comes .. most parents get excited about preparing
a special room for their new bundle of joy. Special time and care is taken in
choosing just the right colors, patterns and pieces of furniture and items to
make this baby experience love and acceptance. But, what kind of preparation
do we extend in our hearts towards the one who created us? I so want to say to
God .. "wash me clean ... and help me to remove all the unnecessary things that
prevent me from making room for YOU."
I am adding this thought from my friend. He makes room in his own heart each Christmas by spending a time period Christmas Eve alone with God. He shared with me that this is a very special time for him and his favorite Christmas song it Silent Night, God does some kind of miracle for him or within him during this time! How priceless.
For my whole life Christmas was a time where my whole world was decorated with the Magic of Christmas ... My first late husband, Bart had a nickname from me "Mr. Christmas" as he would get so excited and LOVED everything about this season ... he even began preaching Christmas messages at Thanksgiving !!! Our home was decorated in Christmas cheer in every room of our home even the bedspreads were Christmas .. bathroom, kitchen .. we had 10 trees of different sizes and shapes ... even one in the laundry room !! Bart's train room upstairs had a tree too and our office was adorned too. We always had a large Christmas party that people said they waited all year for too !! My son had created a Yule Log video chock full of fantastic Christmas music that played the whole season .. in fact our fireplace was used on the cover of the video with our mantle filled with Biblical scene. I had five different sets of Christmas china that we used from the day after Thanksgiving until the middle of January, my Spode being my favorite with painted Christmas tree scene .. our neighborhood even lit tiny tea lights along the road and our driveways Christmas Eve... and Bart loved all the fun Christmas recipes and meals we had. We went to shows at Radio City Music Hall... and of course the tree at Rockefeller Center ... Macy's window on Fifth Avenue.. Saks and all the other stores .. Skating at Rockefeller Center ... FAO Schwartz, Tiffany's (by the way, after high school I worked upstairs for the vice pres of an advertising firm and used to love to spend many a lunch break at Tiffanys!) We also went to St. Patrick's Cathedral, Holiday Concerts, carriage rides in Central Park... and had dinner several times at the top of the building where the towers fell. Our whole family LOVED Christmas!!
We also had wonderful activities with the people in our church including a Christmas eve candlelight service with party after and New Year's Eve service with communion at midnight and a fun party after... we went to the James Island Festival of lights which was beautiful and we all had hot chocolate and s'mores and made up Christmas shoe boxes filled with little gifts for the needy.. with salvation tracts... There was a time when we had women from Teen Challenge spend weekends at our home and for Christmas. And of course always the Christmas party at the Nursing home for the elderly which they loved and Prison ministry... But, after he died I somehow lost the "MAGIC" of Christmas. I had no desire to decorate at all ... my new husband got a tree and decorated alone even buying new ornaments as I could not even use the ones that I had used for years.. .. which makes me feel really badly now, but I just could not get into it. So, for nine years I lost the excitement of the season.
I never lost the "SPIRIT" of the meaning of Christmas ever I always celebrated Christ's birthday ... but the Magic was gone. My friend from Oregon was decorating his tree for Christmas and said "listen to these songs" and began playing songs from the Trans Siberian Orchestra whom I had never heard of.. As he carefully played one song after another and shared his own stories along with the songs ... I began to cry and realize as he said "Darling, you have not lost Christmas, you have just lost the Magic" .. He has a very gentle and very deep way of ministering and I was set free that day ... It was such a special spiritual time for both of us together, as the Magic was rekindled in my heart and he found such joy in helping that happen. He gave me a gift that no one else could have done.
For my whole life Christmas was a time where my whole world was decorated with the Magic of Christmas ... My first late husband, Bart had a nickname from me "Mr. Christmas" as he would get so excited and LOVED everything about this season ... he even began preaching Christmas messages at Thanksgiving !!! Our home was decorated in Christmas cheer in every room of our home even the bedspreads were Christmas .. bathroom, kitchen .. we had 10 trees of different sizes and shapes ... even one in the laundry room !! Bart's train room upstairs had a tree too and our office was adorned too. We always had a large Christmas party that people said they waited all year for too !! My son had created a Yule Log video chock full of fantastic Christmas music that played the whole season .. in fact our fireplace was used on the cover of the video with our mantle filled with Biblical scene. I had five different sets of Christmas china that we used from the day after Thanksgiving until the middle of January, my Spode being my favorite with painted Christmas tree scene .. our neighborhood even lit tiny tea lights along the road and our driveways Christmas Eve... and Bart loved all the fun Christmas recipes and meals we had. We went to shows at Radio City Music Hall... and of course the tree at Rockefeller Center ... Macy's window on Fifth Avenue.. Saks and all the other stores .. Skating at Rockefeller Center ... FAO Schwartz, Tiffany's (by the way, after high school I worked upstairs for the vice pres of an advertising firm and used to love to spend many a lunch break at Tiffanys!) We also went to St. Patrick's Cathedral, Holiday Concerts, carriage rides in Central Park... and had dinner several times at the top of the building where the towers fell. Our whole family LOVED Christmas!!
We also had wonderful activities with the people in our church including a Christmas eve candlelight service with party after and New Year's Eve service with communion at midnight and a fun party after... we went to the James Island Festival of lights which was beautiful and we all had hot chocolate and s'mores and made up Christmas shoe boxes filled with little gifts for the needy.. with salvation tracts... There was a time when we had women from Teen Challenge spend weekends at our home and for Christmas. And of course always the Christmas party at the Nursing home for the elderly which they loved and Prison ministry... But, after he died I somehow lost the "MAGIC" of Christmas. I had no desire to decorate at all ... my new husband got a tree and decorated alone even buying new ornaments as I could not even use the ones that I had used for years.. .. which makes me feel really badly now, but I just could not get into it. So, for nine years I lost the excitement of the season.
I never lost the "SPIRIT" of the meaning of Christmas ever I always celebrated Christ's birthday ... but the Magic was gone. My friend from Oregon was decorating his tree for Christmas and said "listen to these songs" and began playing songs from the Trans Siberian Orchestra whom I had never heard of.. As he carefully played one song after another and shared his own stories along with the songs ... I began to cry and realize as he said "Darling, you have not lost Christmas, you have just lost the Magic" .. He has a very gentle and very deep way of ministering and I was set free that day ... It was such a special spiritual time for both of us together, as the Magic was rekindled in my heart and he found such joy in helping that happen. He gave me a gift that no one else could have done.
The amazing
thing is that many people only recognize God during holidays.. they don't
realize that the precious baby that was born in a manger is now full grown and
resurrected and sitting at the right hand of the Father .. and can live in us
continually. What an amazing concept ... God IN US and WITH US 24/7 All year
long!! Here
is a quote from a friend: my paraphrase .. "Some think Christmas is just a
spirit filled season. I am thinking it goes so far beyond that. Folks feel joy
and the spirit at this time of year, but what is so important is that they feel
the spirit beyond Christmas."
I have
asked God to expand my heart this year to accept all that He is and to make room
for HIM in everything I do. I want my heart to be filled with Him.. to be
exuberant with the fact that the true JOY TO THE WORLD lives in my heart!!
People have asked me how it is that I have gone through the many losses I have
encountered. I can truthfully say that I have not done this alone.. there is a
scripture "the joy of the Lord is our strength". I have come to realize that
it is the Lord's Joy.. not mine .. not joy as the world knows .. but a deep and
abiding joy that does not move when circumstances do. It is HIS joy IN us that
strengthens us.
JOY TO THE
WORLD THE LORD IS COME ... LET EARTH RECEIVE HER KING .....!!! MERRY
CHRISTMAS ALL !!
JOY TO THE
WORLD - Lyrics
Joy to the
world! The Lord is come
Let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven, and heaven and nature sing
Let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven, and heaven and nature sing
Joy to the
world! the Savior reigns
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods
Rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods
Rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy
No more let
sin and sorrow grow
Nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make
His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found
Far as the curse is found
Far as, far as the curse is found
Nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make
His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found
Far as the curse is found
Far as, far as the curse is found
He rules
the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of his love
And wonders of his love
And wonders and wonders of his love
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of his love
And wonders of his love
And wonders and wonders of his love
From my Heart to Yours,
