He is Greater.....John 3:30 says He must become greater, I must become less"

 It's December 31.  Tomorrow starts a new year, new month, new week On A Monday!!!!!  Is this epic for anyone else?  The entire holiday season from the week before Christmas until now has been me wondering what day it is, where do we need to go and who will be around.....I am so dysregulated.  Tomorrow it all makes sense again.  Tomorrow is Monday and even though I won't start my work week until Tuesday, the Mondayness of Monday, January 1, 2024 is glorious to me.  Fresh starts, fresh dates, fresh awareness....except I will retire my 2023 word for the year and replace it with a new word that I am pretty excited about.  I quietly asked the Lord if He had a word for me for 2024....something to train my thoughts upon, a word to be my lighthouse when I find myself feeling lost, worried, defenseless.  I know He will never leave me or forsake me but this world is stinkin hard and sometimes it feels like I'm not sure what to do next.  If I have...

 On the 11th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, 11 drummers drumming....representing the 11 disciples who went on to tell the world about Jesus.  Judas betrayed him and the other 11 went on to spread the gospel and share the salvation story...the first missionaries.  If it were not for these 11 drummers drumming I would not have known about Jesus.  I would not be saved and have my future secured in Heaven.   On the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me 12 Lords a Leaping....it is said this represents the 12 points of the Apostles Creed.  I was required to memorize this creed in my church growing up....and later when I found myself lost and confused and broken and a long, long way from home, God used this creed to help me stay sane and not lose my mind.  I recited it over and over and I wrote it in journals and I repeated it on dark and scary nights.  The 12 Lords a Leaping likely saved my sanity as well as my soul.   ...

On the 9th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, 9 ladies dancing.   the dancing ladies mean the Fruit of the Spirit.  Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-control.   When Holy Spirit dwells in you and me, we bear this fruit.....Matthew 12:33 says Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is  recognized by its fruit.   I want to be a good tree with good fruit.  I want to be known and recognized by this fruit.....If we look at the opposit of these 9 ladies dancing we see the following:  Hate, Sorrow, War, Impatience, Meanness, Evil, Fearful, Harshness and Indulgent.  Lord let us be repulsed and repelled from these things, and instead lean into the ladies dancing.  Let us work to grow and tend good trees, full of life and good fruit.   On the 10th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, 10 Lords a Leaping.....t...

 Whoa did I fall behind!   5 Golden Rings:  first 5 books of the bible, aka pentateuch 6 Geese a Laying:  God made the world in 6 days 7 Swans a Singing:  7 gifts of the Holy Spirit:  Prophesy, service, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership and mercy 8 beatitudes:  poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted because of righteousness.   The Pentateuch is the books of Moses, and theologians say this forms the foundations of the Bible.  Genesis, Exedus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deutoronomy.  As the world gets stranger and more muddy it may be important to know what's in these books.  Just sayin'. 6 Days of creation.....amazing.  mind-blowing.  significant. 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit:  if you want them, pray.  Ask God to gift you with them and then when He does, don't exuse or deny you ...

 On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, 4 calling birds, 3 french hens, 2 turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree......see now you are singing it too aren't you?! The 4 calling birds are said to represent the 4 gospels of the new testement.  Mathew, Mark, Luke and John.  All 4 gospels share mostly the same stories of Jesus birth, life, and death.  Each author shares their own perspective of the stories....because perspective matters.   Synonyms for perspective are the following:  angle, aspect, attitude, context, mindset, prospect, viewpoint.   What is my perspective with 10 days left until Christmas?  What angle will I take to approach the next 10 days?  What aspect of this advent season will I take with me into December 26 and ultimately into the next new year?  What is my attitude at home?  At work?  When I am faced with challenges and adversity?   If something makes me sad and frustr...

 According to my very scientific (google) search, the 3 French Hens represent the 3 theological virtues of Hope, Faith and Charity.  It resonates with me that these three are theological virtues because without God they are not possible long term.   Hope:  For me, hope means believing in the better way, believing change will come, believing that good exists and will prosper.  Hope is not giving up or giving in to dispair, but rather searching for the optimistic and ever-possible.  Without hope I could not follow the news, or show up for church every week, or stay in relationships with family and friends.  Hope is this sparkly, glittery thread that weaves in and out of the present into the future and back again to wrap around us and keep pulling us forward.  Romans 5:5 says this:   And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. yes and amen....

 On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me, 2 turtle doves and a partridge in a pair tree.  It is believed that the 2 turtle doves represent the old and new testement of the bible.  Doves represent truth and peace.   I don't have much to say about the Old and New Testament other than the old testament is pre-Jesus and the new is the rest of the story after he was born, lived, died and the church as we know it was born.  I like going to church.  I don't always agree with church order but church is like family to me....and you don't walk away from family.  I had a season as a young adult where I did walk away from church and from Jesus and it was the darkest and lonliest time of my life.  It was so miserable that when I decided to turn 180 degrees and walk back into faith and a relationship with Jesus it was for good and for forever.  I never want to feel that alone ever again.  I am never alone because I walk with Jesus ...

 On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me....a partridge in a pear tree.  Christian folk lore says that the partridge in a pear tree represents Jesus Christ, who died on a cross for us.  I read that a mother partridge will die to protect her young.  Jesus did this for you and for me.  It is right to start the 12 days of Christmas looking at Jesus.  It is His birthday we are making a fuss about after all.  I'm sure he enjoys his birthday celebrations.  I sure do!  I love to celebrate birthdays for people I cherish.  I want their day to make them feel special and loved and wanted and important. Jesus, how do celebrate your birthday?  How do we elevate you in our attention and focus, make you the most important person of the day?  How do we show you you are special and loved and wanted and important?  Show us this year, Lord Jesus.  Please show us and give us your wish list.   I learned today that ...

  These are my people.  My big kids gifted me for Mother's Day with a photo shoot organized and paid for.  It has always been hard for me to schedule family photos so this gift is extra special.  We did the photos late summer/early fall.  Our smiles do not reveal how hot or windy it was that day.  Yet and still we managed to get some really great pictures, thanks to our sweet and competent photographer...Cassie Beth.   Here is the thing.  This photo tells so many stories...so so many stories.  Each of the 9 of us could be a story, a novel on our own.  Then if you pair up any of the 9 with another, there are more stories to tell, and in groups of guys or girls still other stories to tell.  Looking at Roger and I....chapters and chapters of stories...and separate us out each of us is also a story.  Our lives are stories. I have told my kids over and over that their lives matter.  They were created by God to do something...