A Gift for You That Will Make You Rich

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;

he is the Messiah, the Lord.

This will be a sign to you:

You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. 

Luke 2:11-12

Let the stable still astonish

Straw — dirt floor, dull eyes

Dusty flanks of donkeys, oxen;

Crumbling, crooked walls;

No bed to carry that pain

And then, the child,

Rag-wrapped, laid to cry

In a trough.

Who would have chosen this?

Who would have said “Yes,”

“Let the God of all the heavens

And earth

Be born here, in this place”?

Who but the same God

Who stands in the darker, fouler rooms

of our hearts

and says “Yes,”

“Let the God of Heaven and Earth

be born here –

in this place.”

                                                                                Leslie Leyland Fields

You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich. 

2 Corinthians 8:9

Sharing with you the wonder of the miracle . . . the gift of the Lord born in our dark hearts.  It's our own rags to riches story.

Have a Blessed Christmas and New Year!

Celebrate the gift of the Savior born to you with Internet Cafe Devotions.

*The photo was taken at a recent visit to the live nativity in Christmas Town at the Creation Museum in Kentucky.  I highly recommend the trip!*

A Gift for You That Will Make You Rich

Light Leads to Light

The star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  Matthew 2:9

The wisemen, led by a star, were brought to The Star.

A star rises from Jacob, a scepter from Israel.  Numbers 24:17

The wisemen, led by light, were brought to The Light.

And now the LORD says . . . "It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth."  Isaiah 49:6

Jesus, the Light of the World, tells us to follow Him and do as He has done.  We are to be light to those around us.  We are to love as He loves and give as He gives.  We are to live righteously, in goodness and truth.  We are to make the most of every opportunity, to reach out to those in need, so that we clearly reveal The Way for them.  We are to illumine the world around us so that others may see and know The Light that came to those walking in great darkness 2,000 years ago still shines today through us. 

We are to shine like stars to lead others to The Star.   

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you. 

See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples,

but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you. 

 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn."

Isaiah 60:1-3

Let's live lives worthy as children of light.  Let's shine.

For more thoughts on The Light of the world, visit Internet Cafe Devotions.

Light Leads to Light

Pondering the Gifts

Christmas is a time for reflection.

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  Luke 2:19

As I reflect on the cherished ornaments and keepsakes that have been given to me  

and made .  .

as I pull out these treasures that remain hidden in a box for much of the year,

I take the time to remember. 

These gifts stir in my heart memories of days past and point to people that are special to me.  My husband who knows me.  My grandmother, now waiting on the other side.  My friends in other parts of the world.  My mom who knits love and her grandmother before her who did the same.  My children and their preschool days.

While the gifts are beautiful to me, it is the people that are the true treasures.

And when I reflect on the gifts, I'm invariably led back to the Giver who became Gift, and I ponder the Person who is Christmas. 

I treasure His words and ponder them in my heart.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.  Isaiah 9:6

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.  James 1:17

Thanks be go God for his indescribable gift!  2 Corinthians 9:15

Pondering and giving thanks for these treasures, these God-whispers, #511 - 529:

memories hanging on the tree

my grandma and grandpas, whom I still miss and will until we meet again

a happy childhood

my husband's thoughtful gifts

Christmas baking

the smell of cinnamon and sugar cookies

warm slippers

thick, fuzzy blankets

the silky feel of Baby Girl's hair as I read to her

sitting between The Thinker and The Stinker during The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

knowing Aslan by his many names here

a church Christmas program

my Christmas angel

and wisemen

the sweetness of an old story told in a fresh way

Christmas greetings from friends and strangers

tucking my children in each night

the angels who watch over them (Matthew 18:10)

a God who gives constant attention to each of us

Pondering the Gifts

Taking the Ordinary and Making Us Good

There is something wondrous in taking the ordinary . . . .

and making it special.

There is something almost magical about taking something that is almost nothing . . . .

and creating beauty.

When we create, I think we feel a bit of that satisfaction that the Creator might feel when He looks at us as we grow and mature. I picture the smile on His face as He works in us and through us, as He molds us from meaningless and gives us purpose.

If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us. As it is, there's not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we're not much to look at.
2 Corinthians 4:7-8, The Message

We may not look like much, but in time, as we follow Him and His plan for our lives, God makes our lives beautiful.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  Ephesians 2:10

We are His.  His creation.  His handiwork.  Made for His own pleasure.  (Ephesians 1:5)

God saw all the He had made, and it was very good.  Genesis 1:31

He made us well. 

He makes us good.





Counting ordinary and not-so-ordinary gifts #483 - 510:

helping The Stinker create Christmas crafts

glitter

things that sparkle . . .

including The Stinker's smile as he makes special

a house transformed

a heart transformed

ears to hear

God speaks

poinsettias, pink and red

candlelight

a drive to see Christmas lights

singing carols in the car

Rudolph and Prancer

silver bells

a first good snowfall

a world transformed

Baby Girl's first real snow experience

her excitement

her tantrum because she didn't want to stop playing

snow boots

tiny mittens

big brothers' snow fights

my mom's handiwork hung on the mantle

my best friend's newborn baby GIRL! (after two boys)

new life in the dark days of winter

Immanuel, God with us

The Creator stepping into creation

over half-way to 1,000 gifts and still amazed at how many blessings there are to count

Taking the Ordinary and Making Us Good

The Deaf Can Hear

I lay on my pillow in the hours of night when all should be sleeping and listen to the soft "woosh, woosh" of my heartbeat.  It is all I can hear in the silence.  My good ear is against the pillow, leaving my plugged ear up to miss all those faint night-time sounds.  Instead, I hear what sounds as an empty seashell that has long forgotten the sea.  Nothing but loud air.

For over two weeks now, this is what I have heard, with an occasional ringing breaking the silence or pain when my children speak too loudly.  The medicine I'm taking apparently hasn't made it's breakthrough yet.  I send up another prayer that God would speak life into my ear so that I can hear in that ear again.  I remind Him that He's done this before in much more serious situations.  He has made the lame walk, the blind to see, the truly deaf to hear.  This is nothing -- just a little plugging up for a week that is irritating and occasionally painful.

I wait in the silence, hoping He might just decide that now is a good moment, but there is no change.  So I hope for tomorrow . . . and for sleep.

It is as I am waiting for either to come, that I sense His words.  "Do not turn a deaf ear to Me.  Do not plug up your life with the busyness and business of this season so much that you ignore Me."

I am reminded of the warning in Proverbs 28:9, "If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction, even their prayers are detestable."

And my soul smiles.  For this God of mine has given me an opportunity to really hear.  He has indeed spoken words of life into my dysfunctional ear.  Lasting words.  Words that I may remember through the holiday season so that I may never forget the Promised One who brought healing and salvation.

"Then will the eyes of the blind be opened

and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

Then will the lame leap like a deer,

and the mute tongue shout for joy.

Water will gush forth in the wilderness

and streams in the desert."

                                       Isaiah 35:5-6

May your eyes truly see and your ears truly hear this Christmas season, so that you dance and sing for the One who was and is and is to come!

To "hear" more of the Word, check out Internet Cafe Devotions. 

The Deaf Can Hear