Real Life is Better Than Fiction

Rejoice Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4 Rejoice – to take joy in, give joy to, take possession of When an angel appeared to Mary and told her that she would bear a child – out of wedlock – how did she respond? She rejoiced. That would probably not be the response of most young women today had they had the same experience. They would probably scream, holler, cry, etc., but not Mary. Mary rejoiced. Mary knew the Scriptures, as is evident in her song. Here she quotes the Old Testament 15 times. She rejoiced because God was giving her a gift, not only a gift just for her, but for the entire human race - past, present, and future. She rejoiced that she was the vessel God chose to use. While she was proud of this fact, she was not conceited. On the contrary, she was very humble. Mary was spending time with her cousin Elizabeth when she sang this song. I can't help but wonder if she needed a little bit of time to escape and soak up ...

Emmanuel Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. Matthew 1:23 This story, like many stories I tell, was taken from a real-life scenario from a friend of mine: While our son Kev was being wheeled into surgery, he just kept crying for his bear he had named Baby Jesus. Although Evie was only getting tubes, Kevin was having a more serious surgery. To be honest, that bear that had been dragged through the mud, into stores, many doctor visits, and finally into the hospital, had unknowingly become my security blanket that day. I remember the empty feeling I felt as the nurse took Baby Jesus from me and took him off to the operating room to comfort my own baby. I know, it was an inanimate object, but just the feel of Kev’s ugly, scrawny, yet loved bear was somehow giving me comfort when I didn’t have my own baby in my arms. I sat there in the waiting room for a few minutes feeling empty and alone wh...

Ornament They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor, their righteousness endures forever. Psalm 112:9a Each year our trees look more and more beautiful as we place ornaments all over them. One year, while bringing home our Christmas tree on a very windy day, the tree blew off the top of the car, damaging the top portion of the tree. Once we placed the tree in its stand at home, we had to do a little doctoring to make that tree even somewhat presentable. Some strategically placed ornaments helped as well. Other people may not have noticed, if they didn't look too closely, but our family knew the truth behind it all. Sometimes people are the same way. We dress ourselves up in nice clothes and put on a little make-up to improve our appearance, but all that preparation does nothing for what's on the inside. We may think we're fooling people, and we may be, but we can never fool God. He knows all about us, inside and out. This Christmas season let's not jump ...

Bible Books are some of my very favorite things. I am rarely without a book nearby. If I have a few moments to spare, I indulge and allow myself to escape reality. And then there is the Bible. That is the Ultimate Book. When I get lost in the pages of the Bible, I see miracles, I learn more about God and Who He is, I grow closer in my relationship with Him. Reading the Bible is one of the ways in which God communicates with me. But, do I pick up the Bible enough? Do I spend enough time searching the Scriptures looking for answers to my prayers and questions and finding out how He wants me to live my life? The answer is probably no. We can never spend enough to too much time in the Word. I remember the Christmas I received my first grown-up Bible. I spent the afternoon reading through the first chapters of Genesis. That is definitely one of the things I need to be working on.

Persistence Children may not know the meaning of the word persistent, but they have the concept down pat. "Can I have a snack?" "No." "Can I have a snack?" "No." "Can I have a snack?" "No." This is a typical conversation with one of the little people I babysit, only the conversation lasts a lot longer. I don't have a problem with snacks, but I do limit them to no more than 20 per day. She'd like more. She's persistent. As a child, I was persistent. Not for snacks, but for salvation. Every night I would pray and ask Jesus to come into my heart. I was afraid that maybe I didn't do it right or something. God was more than willing to listen to the persistent please of a child. Now, as a writer, persistence is key in my life. I have to send out a lot of articles and stories if I want to receive paychecks. You know that old adage, "If at first you don't succeed, ...

Reliable We all want to be friends with that person who is reliable. Reliable people are the ones you can depend on. They are the ones you can call on when you're in a pinch and need a helping hand. Reliable people get things done. I had a great example of reliability in my parents. If they made a promise to do something, it would be done, and it would be done well. That's something I'm still working on. A friend of mine falls into the category of reliable. She is always the first in line to fix a meal, bring a treat, or take care of any job that needs doing. I want to be like her when I grow up. A few years back I was convicted about my own reliability. A friend of mine desperately needed some help. She didn't call on me at that time, but I had to think about what I would have done if she had called me. Would I have told her I was too busy? Would I have dropped everything and ran to her immediately? I honestly can't answer about what I would have ...

Dedication Dedication is something I think is seriously lacking in today's society. So many people aren't dedicated to anything. Young people get a job and find out it isn't as much fun as they thought it should be so they quit, or better yet, they just stopped showing up. They have grandiose ideas about jobs they love with huge paychecks. There isn't anything wrong with enjoying the job or looking forward to payday, but the reality is that jobs aren't always what we expect them to be. Another reality is that companies aren't exactly dedicated to their employees anymore either. People would often take a job and plan on being there into retirement. My grandfather started working for the railroad when he was a teenager and stayed until he stopped working altogether. If someone wants to do that today, companies make it very difficult, if not impossible. But it isn't just the workforce where this is true. People say they'll work in an are...