Don't Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle

The magic of Christmas comes to all of us in different ways: in the putting up of the tree, drinking hot cocoa with little marshmallows, singing carols, seeing the lights, visiting Santa, baking goodies for our loved ones and neighbors, and giving to those in need. And, of course, and most importantly, celebrating the birth of our Savior. I used to love, when my children were small, how the most exciting thing to them was to hear about baby Jesus and knowing it was HIS birthday.

Looking at this season through the eyes of a child is probably the smartest thing we can do to put ourselves in the right frame of mind for Christmas. As adults we all know the meaning of Christmas, and know that that is where we should be focusing, but no one else is going to get the tree up, do the baking, finish the Christmas shopping, make sure family pictures are taken, get Christmas cards out, buy presents for the teachers, PLUS manage the day to day household tasks, and worry about how we are going to pay for all this ho ho ho without buying anything on  credit! SO how do we make sure that, as we create the Christmas magic for those around us, we actually get to feel it too, and how can we keep our tinsel from getting in a tangle.

When it’s the week before Christmas and it’s impossible to find a parking spot at the mall, the grocery store is packed with all the crazies preparing for a house full of company, it’s pretty easy to get your tinsel all tangled.  We want everything to be just right.  We are so busy being “Martha” that we can’t seem to find time to be Mary; we can’t seem to find the time to get our tinsel untangled. 

May I encourage you this blessed season to take a moment and remember the real reason for the season.  So what if your peanut butter blossoms lost the kisses, your Christmas tree is a little crooked and the cookies have too many sprinkles from a little helper.  And so what if you don't get your Christmas cards out until New Years – just so you have time to truly enjoy the magic of this Christmas season and truly celebrate our Savior's birth!  So, please try not to get your tinsel in a tangle and remember if you do, just tie a knot in it and hang on.

Please let me share with you scripture from Matthew 6:25-34 taken from The Message. . .paraphrased (by me):

^25-26 “If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t get your tinsel in a tangle [fuss] about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and untangled [unfettered], not tangled in [tied down] to a job description, untangled [careless] in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

^27-29 “Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—getting your tinsel in a tangle - do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, and worrying about your tinsel, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

^30-33 “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, don’t get your tinsel in a tangle, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works, get their tinsel in a tangle and fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t get your tinsel in a tangle! Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

³⁴ “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get your tinsel in a tangle about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. “

Have a very blessed and merry Christmas.  May you have a happy, healthy, peaceful and prosperous new year and whatever you do, remember: DON’T GET YOUR TINSEL IN A TANGLE!!!

It's Not About You. . .

"It’s not about you!"  I remember the first time I read those words in Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life.  For some reason in this first week of Advent, I thought of those words.  

Throughout history, Israel anticipated the coming of their Messiah. The Old Testament contains more than 400 scriptures and prophecies outlining the birth of this Messiah, His life, His death, His resurrection, and His return. It was always God’s plan to redeem His people, since the beginning when Adam and Eve chose a life sin over a life of abundance. God declared His plan to His prophets over many centuries and continues to fulfill His Word even now.  So, you see, it's about "Him".

"Prepare the way of the Lord" serves as a main theme of Advent.  As we are hustling about, buying, making, baking, partying, and anticipating Christmas, most importantly, we should not neglect to prepare our hearts for Jesus, who came as "the light of the world." His light penetrated a darkened world. His light provided the opportunity for all to see their Messiah, to accept their Messiah as the hope of their future. 

Since the 7th century A.D., Christians have included the celebration of Advent in their Christmas preparations.  "Advent" originates from the Latin word advenio which means coming to. Advent is the time when we, as believers, focus on Christ coming to the world.  With a twofold purpose, Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas.  First, it prepares us for the celebration of the birth of Christ and second, it reminds us that we wait eagerly for the return of our Messiah, Jesus, in glory. 

Today, more than ever before, we need to have our hearts prepared in such a way as we await the return of Christ, that we can breathe the words and mean them, “come quickly Lord Jesus!” As you are preparing your Christmas, take time to read and to learn more about what God’s Word reveals about Christ's return and the significance of world events as they unfold before us.

Be ready. Be watchful. Be prepared. The Light of the world has come and will surely come again.  Father God, let the light of Christ shine through our lives so that we may glorify you in all that we do and help us to walk in the light of the Lord and in the truth of your Word. Amen.

"The birth of Christ is the central event in the history of the earth -- the very thing the whole story has been about." -- C.S. Lewis

The Autumns of My Life. . .

The Autumns of My Life

Fall has been exceedingly spectacular in Northeast Ohio this year.  The vibrant colorful leaves have clung to the trees as if to give us a little extended blessing of the handiwork of God’s masterful artwork.  I have enjoyed the gentle breezes as I’ve stood outside gazing at the sunshine filtering through the hue strewn trees watching as those few colorful leaves, who have finally let go of their limbs, sachet slowly to the earth joining the colorful, rustling carpet of leaves awaiting them.  I’ve inhaled the fragrances of Autumn – cherry wood burning in fireplaces wafting their fragrant smoke curls into the atmosphere, freshly pressed apple cider, hot apple dumplings with cinnamon ice cream and dribbles of half and half cream, hot cocoa with little marshmallows that leave a moustache on your upper lip.  I could go on and if you haven’t guessed by now, autumn is my favorite season; maybe because I was born in the fall - October - and felt its crispness in the first weeks of my life.

In October, I began the second year of a new decade in my life.  There have been many autumns through which I have passed.  There have been some autumns that have been bland and not as colorful as this one.  Some autumn seasons have been so wet and rainy and cold that their beauty never had a chance. The leaves fell as they simply turned brown never having a chance to bless us with their vibrant colors. And, there have been gorgeous falls like this one.  Life, itself, reminds me of autumn sometimes.

There are times when we are so colorful and feel so alive. There are times when everything feels flat-lined, and then there are times when we are wet and cold and feel lifeless.  Though beautiful as this one has been, it has been one of fierce unrest for our country in the wake of one of the most important elections of my lifetime. While I may not agree with the outcome, my life first belongs to my Savior, Jesus Christ.  I have placed my trust in Him many, many years ago, and I do realize that even when I don’t understand my “Father Knows Best”.  It doesn’t matter who lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC, for I know that I’m just passing through and this is not my final home. 

The autumns of my life have often brought change. . .some that I thought were good and others, I seriously questioned.  Each change caused me to pause and pray, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”  A simple prayer but far from easy!  Many times the autumns of my life brought great joy – the birth of a granddaughter, a move to a new home, a trip through the beautiful northeast into Maine, gazing at the magnificent colors surrounding one of the wonders of the world, Niagara Falls, but then standing graveside saying goodbye to loved ones whose memory still brings a smile to my face and tears to my eyes.

This autumn has brought us both great joy and deep sorrow.  While we were rejoicing and celebrating my dear uncle’s 90 years with which God has blessed him, we sorrowed deeply at the loss of our dear cousin who fought a good fight until the last moments of his life. Our hearts ached, too, with grief at the loss of a precious friend of more than 30-years and the only solace in both of those losses is the fact that we are assured of a heavenly reunion as they both fell asleep on earth to awaken in the arms and looking upon the face of their Savior. 

This fall we’ve also made the change to being empty nesters for the very first time and only for a few months.  Duty calls so my sailor son-in-law is being deployed to the Middle East for a period of six months to??? (Depending on the situation there that seems to be escalating daily especially with the uprising against Israel by Hamas).  In the meantime, my daughter and granddaughters are moving home so the empty nest will be partially filled once again as the little princesses settle in.

So, as I prepare this week for the culmination of this another autumn, 2012 – Thanksgiving – I cannot help but turn my thoughts to the many things and people for which I am thankful. . . .I am thankful first, and foremost, for God, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, in providing redemption through His precious blood for my sins that I might know Him in an intimate, personal way and have the promise of eternal life when I pass from this one.  I do “give thanks to the Lord for He IS good; His love endures forever.” (Psalm 136:1)

For the rest, I could write volumes of “things” for which I am thankful and God knows the depth of my heart when it comes to being thankful for my loved ones, my family, and the blessing of wonderful, loving friends.  Thank you Lord for always listening to my prayers, even when I ramble, and don’t seem to make sense even to myself or just when I sigh.  Thank you for always caring (II Peter 5:7) and showing me that you care even in small ways.  Thank you Lord for helping me run my race that you have set before me and for giving me sustaining grace.  For always knowing what’s best for me and letting me know, especially when I don’t want to hear it or accept it, thank you. For all of your mercies, dear Lord, where, oh where, do I begin?  For my dear, precious husband who puts up with me when I don’t act very thankful, for my children, my grandchildren, all of my many family members far away, for the blessing of loyal, loving, lifetime, longtime friends, for your daily, sweet abiding presence that never leaves me alone.  I give you, Lord Jesus Christ, 100% of my thanksgiving, the autumn of my life.

The Day My Earth Stood Still

The Day My Earth Stood Still. . .

Where do our memories go when we can’t remember?
Do they go down the endless pit of a memory drain,
or have they been misplaced, sidelined, or lost,
or are they somewhere waiting to be found again?

Or do they go into the brains memory shredder
where the less used memories become deleted.
Could eventually all our memories go in there
leaving our memory completely depleted?

~ Orlando Belo ~

At the hospital, I was taken immediately into ER where the team began a rapid assessment.  I appeared to be in no acute distress and did not “look” sick. I was poked, prodded, scanned, giggled, wiggled, drained of (what seemed like) half my blood, asked a million questions to which I had very few answers, but I repeatedly asked the same questions unknowingly.  My white cell count was 22,000 yet no infection could immediately be pinpointed nor was one ever determined.

My husband and two oldest children began texting and calling close friends, family, and prayer chains.  Stroke? Aneurism? Tumor?  Scary words!! Yet every test was negative!

Somewhere, during what began as an ordinary Saturday, August 18, 2012, a breakfast of homemade fresh blueberry Belgium waffles and maple sausage, housecleaning, sweeping, and scrubbing (since the week goes by too swiftly, there just aren’t enough hours for housework after school) a deep mystic fog settled into my brain, howbeit, I do not remember.

No one knows how it started, why it started, or how it began.  The facts of the day have been shared with me and the steps that Larry and I took throughout that day have been reiterated to me only leaving me with more questions.

Was it that we visited garden centers in the greater Cleveland area in search of a flowering pink dogwood tree to enhance our landscaping?  That day was particularly hot and late in the afternoon, thinking of immediate cooling gratification, we drove through a McDonalds to get frappe’s – chocolate for Larry, caramel for me! The frappe made me nauseas.  Did that cause it?  I ripped my pants getting back into the car. . .did that cause it?

I complained of being sick and drove myself home from the restaurant where we had met Wesley for dinner. . .I don’t remember.

Why, you ask, am I telling you all of this and recapping a seemingly ordinary day?  Well, you see, I am simply repeating what was told to me about that day. . .because I DO NOT REMEMBER ANY OF IT!!!  My earth had stopped spinning that day and somewhere along the line, I jumped off!

My short term memory completely obliterated for what seemed like an eternity but, in reality, was only a matter of hours.  Somewhere in the middle of the night going into Sunday morning and after receiving a broad spectrum antibiotic to quell my super-high white count, the “fog” began to lift.  The earth slowed to a “manageable” spin and I was able to climb back on.  The next couple days were somewhat frightening as doctors tested, poked, scanned, and prodded more to find a clue as to what, when, where, how, and why?

The neurologist, who had ordered all of the STAT tests, finally having ruled out all of the possibly horrible diagnoses, declared that I had suffered “transient global amnesia”. The Mayo Clinic has a good description and discussion about it if you would like to know more. 

It is a very rare condition (that figures) and equally as rare is the fact that so little is known about it.  What bothers me most is that there is a part of my life, even if it was only a matter of hours, that are gone from me forever!  Nothing I can do can ever help me to recapture that time or to remember it.

I firmly believe that God’s hand touched my life that night and helped to restore me to a right mind.  Isaiah 26:3 reminds us that God will keep in perfect peace those whose mind is fixed upon Him and trusts in Him.  During those moments when I did not know where I was, God knew. For many years, I had hid His word in my heart, and my mind, and it was through that Word that I experienced unexplained restoration of my mind. Because I have walked with my hand in the hand of that Man, my Savior, Jesus Christ, when I was “lost” somewhere in my mind, He carried me.  He sustained me.  His love engulfed me.   In I Timothy 1:12, Paul writes, “for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me.” 

I had entrusted myself to Jesus and He kept me. Philippians 2:5 reminds us to “let this mind (the mind of Christ) be in you. . .” How grateful I am that I had given my Savior, Jesus Christ, my mind.  I had entrusted myself wholly and completely to Him.  He didn’t let me down; He carried me.  He restored me. 

To God be ALL the glory.

For more information on "transient global amnesia"  please visit: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/transient-global-amnesia/DS01022

Not Just Another Post or Email!

At a time in our American lives that is crucial to us and to all of our future generations, sticking your head in the sand is NOT an option, nor is making believe that things are better than they were four years ago.  Call me ultra conservative; unfriend me on facebook – I don’t care – in fact, I will pray for you, however, before you write me off or before you are lulled into total complacency (which is what the enemy of our souls wants), please read this article.  If you agree with Mr. Massie, pass it on.  If you don’t, delete it and continue to “dream” in your own little world.  I have included Mychal Massie’s website so you will know this is not just another email. If this were a joke, you would take the time to read it, so I challenge you to read the entire article.

If, after you read this article, you can, in good conscience, go to the polls on Nov. 6th, and vote to put this man back in office, you deserve everything we will suffer at his hands during a second administration.

Think of me what you will but I stand as a follower of Jesus Christ, first, and a true Patriot who loves her country and still prays and believes that God can and will bless America. 

May God bless us and may God bless America – land that I love. . .

Rhonda

"My body and my mind may become weak, but God is my strength. He is mine forever." Psalm 73:26 NC

by Mychal Massie Email | Archive

Mychal Massie is the former chairman of the National Leadership Network of Black Conservatives-Project 21 – a conservative black think tank located in Washington, D.C. He was recognized as the 2008 Conservative Man of the Year by the Conservative Party of Suffolk County, N.Y. He is a nationally recognized political activist, pundit and columnist. He has appeared on Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, C-SPAN, NBC, Comcast Cable and talk-radio programming nationwide. A former self-employed business owner of more than 30 years, Massie's website is mychal-massie.com

When will Obama crack in public? 

Exclusive: Mychal Massie says BHO displayed 'a dark psychopathy' during budget talk 

At a time when many Americans can barely afford Burger King and a movie, Obama boasts of spending a billion dollars on his re-election campaign. Questioned at a recent appearance about the spiraling fuel costs, Obama said, “Get used to it” – and with an insouciant grin and chortle, he told another person at the event, who complained about the effect high fuel prices were having on his family, to “get a more fuel-efficient car.”
The Obamas behave as if they were sharecroppers living in a trailer and hit the Powerball, but instead of getting new tires for their trailer and a new pickup truck, they moved to Washington. And instead of making possum pie, with goats and chickens in the front yard, they’re spending and living large at taxpayer expense – opulent vacations, gala balls, resplendent dinners and exclusive command performances at the White House, grand date nights, golf, basketball, more golf, exclusive resorts and still more golf.

Expensive, ill-fitting and ill-chosen wigs and fashions hardly befit the first lady of the United States. The Obamas have behaved in every way but presidential – which is why it’s so offensive when we hear Obama say, in order “to restore fiscal responsibility, we all need to share in the sacrifice – but we don’t have to sacrifice the America we believe in.”

The American people have been sacrificing; it is he and his family who are behaving as if they’ve never had two nickels to rub together – and now, having hit the mother lode, they’re going to spend away their feelings of inadequacy at the taxpayers’ expense.  Why do modern liberals think and act as they do? Find out in Dr. Lyle Rossiter’s book, “The Liberal Mind: The Psychological Causes of Political Madness.”

Obama continues to exhibit behavior that, at best, can be described as mobocratic and, at worst, reveals a deeply damaged individual. In a February 2010 column, I asked, “Is Obama unraveling?” I wrote that it was beginning to appear the growing mistrust of him and contempt for his policies was beginning to have a destabilizing effect on him.

At that time, I wrote that not having things go one’s way can be a bitter pill, but reasonable people don’t behave as he was behaving. He had insulted Republicans at their luncheon, where he had been an invited guest. I had speculated that was, in part, what had led him to falsely accuse Supreme Court justices before Congress, the nation and the world, during the 2010 State of the Union address.

It appeared, at that time, as if he were “fraying around the emotional edges.” That behavior has not abated – it has become more pronounced. While addressing the nation, after being forced to explain the validity of his unilateral aggression with Libya, America witnessed a petulant individual scowling and scolding the public for daring to insist he explain his actions.

But during an afternoon speech to address the budget/debt, he took his scornful, unstable despotic behavior to depths that should give the nation cause for concern. Displaying a dark psychopathy more representative of an episode of “The Tudors” television series, he invited Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to sit in the front row during his speech and then proceeded to berate both Ryan and Ryan’s budget-cutting plan. Even liberal Democrats were put off by the act. MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough questioned the sanity of Obama’s actions.

Today, criticism is coming from all sides. A senior Democrat lawmaker said, “I have been very disappointed in [Obama], to the point where I’m embarrassed that I endorsed him. It’s so bad that some of us are thinking, is there some way we can replace him? How do you get rid of this guy?” (“Democrats’ Disgust with Obama,” The Daily Beast, April 15, 2011) Steve McCann wrote: Obama’s speech “was chock full of lies, deceit and crass fear-mongering. It must be said that [he] is the most dishonest, deceitful and mendacious person in a position of power I have ever witnessed” (“The Mendacity of Barack Obama,” AmericanThinker.com, April 15, 2011).

McCann continued: “[His] performance was the culmination of four years of outright lies and narcissism that have been largely ignored by the media, including some in the conservative press and political class who are loath to call [him] what he is in the bluntest of terms: a liar and a fraud. That he relies on his skin color to intimidate, either outright or by insinuation [against] those who oppose his radical agenda only add to his audacity. It is apparent that he has gotten away with his character flaws his entire life, aided and abetted by sycophants around him. …”

With these being among the kinder rebukes being directed at Obama, and with people becoming less intimidated by his willingness to use race as a bludgeon, with falling poll numbers in every meaningful category and an increasingly aggressive tea-party opposition – how much longer before he cracks completely?

The coming months of political life are not going to be pleasant for Obama. Possessed by a self-perceived palatine mindset, that in his mind places him above criticism, how long before he cracks in public? Can America risk a man with a documented track record of lying and misrepresenting truth as a basic way of life, who is becoming increasingly more contumelious?

The Smell of Rain

Bob Marley once said, "Some people feel the rain.  Others just get wet." With our Northeast Ohio weather, such as it is today, it just seemed appropriate to post this story that I have shared with many people over the past several years.  I don't know who originally wrote the story but it has never changed since I first read it.  Grab a few tissues and as the rains fall softly and continually outside, allow our Heavenly Father, through His cleansing rains in your own soul and spirit, to minister to you today.  Allow His love to wash over you and renew you.  I hope this story blesses you as much as it has blessed me and I hope if you do nothing else as you read this, you will learn to dance in the rain.  -RLS

The Smell of Rain
~~Author Unknown~~

A cold March wind danced around the dead of night in Dallas as the doctor walked into the small hospital room of Diana Blessing. Still groggy from surgery, her husband David held her hand as they braced themselves for the latest news.

That afternoon of March 10, 1991, complications had forced Diana, only 24-weeks pregnant, to undergo an emergency cesarean to deliver the couple's new daughter, Danae Lu Blessing. At 12 inches long and weighing only one pound and nine ounces, they already knew she was perilously premature. Still, the doctor's soft words dropped like bombs. "I don't think she's going to make it," he said, as kindly as he could. "There's only a 10 percent chance she will live through the night, and even then, if by some slim chance she does make it, her future could be a very cruel one."

Numb with disbelief, David and Diana listened as the doctor described the devastating problems Danae would likely face if she survived. She would never walk She would never talk She would probably be blind She would certainly be prone to other catastrophic conditions from cerebral palsy to complete mental retardation And on and on.

"No! No!" was all Diana could say. She and David, with their 5-year-old son Dustin, had long dreamed of the day they would have a daughter to become a family of four. Now, within a matter of hours, that dream was slipping away.

Through the dark hours of morning as Danae held onto life by the thinnest thread, Diana slipped in and out of drugged sleep, growing more and more determined that their tiny daughter would live- and live to be a healthy, happy young girl. But David, fully awake and listening to additional dire details of their daughter's chances of ever leaving the hospital alive, much less healthy, knew he must confront his wife with the inevitable.

"David walked in and said that we needed to talk about making funeral arrangements," Diana remembers "I felt so bad for him because he was doing everything, trying to include me in what was going on, but I just wouldn't listen I couldn't listen.

I said, "No, that is not going to happen, no way! I don't care what the doctors say Danae is not going to die! One day she will be just fine, and she will be coming home with us!"

As if willed to live by Diana's determination, Danae clung to life hour after hour, with the help of every medical machine and marvel her miniature body could endure But as those first days passed, a new agony set in for David and Diana.

Because Danae's underdeveloped nervous system was essentially "raw," the lightest kiss or caress only intensified her discomfort- so they couldn't even cradle their tiny baby girl against their chests to offer the strength of their love. All they could do, as Danae struggled alone beneath the ultra-violet light in the tangle of tubes and wires, was to pray that God would stay close to their precious little girl.

There was never a moment when Danae suddenly grew stronger. But as the weeks went by, she did slowly gain an ounce of weight here and an ounce of strength there.

At last, when Danae turned two months old, her parents were able to hold her in their arms for the very first time. And two months later - though doctors continued to gently but grimly warn that her chances of surviving, much less living any kind of normal life, were next to zero - Danae went home from the hospital, just as her mother had predicted.

Today, five years later, Danae is a petite but feisty young girl with glittering gray eyes and an unquenchable zest for life She shows no signs, whatsoever, of any mental or physical impairments.

Simply, she is everything a little girl can be and more- but that happy ending is far from the end of her story.

One blistering afternoon in the summer of 1996 near her home in Irving, Texas, Danae was sitting in her mother's lap in the bleachers of a local ball park where her brother Dustin's baseball team was practicing. As always, Danae was chattering non-stop with her mother and several other adults sitting nearby when she suddenly fell silent.

Hugging her arms across her chest, Danae asked, "Do you smell that?" Smelling the air and detecting the approach of a thunderstorm, Diana replied, "Yes, it smells like rain."

Danae closed her eyes and again asked, "Do you smell that?" Once again, her mother replied, "Yes, I think we're about to get wet It smells like rain." Still caught in the moment, Danae shook her head, patted her thin shoulders with her small hands and loudly announced, "No, it smells like Him. It smells like God when you lay your head on His chest."

Tears blurred Diana's eyes as Danae then happily hopped down to play with the other children before the rains came her daughter's words confirmed what Diana and all the members of the extended Blessing family had known, at least in their hearts, all along.

During those long days and nights of her first two months of her life when her nerves were too sensitive for them to touch her, God was holding Danae on His chest--and it is His loving scent that she remembers so well.