A Living Hope, A Sure Salvation Because of Grace

Labor -   work hard; make great effort -  work, especially hard physical work Love -  a great interest and pleasure in something. Called -  a strong inner impulse toward a particular course of action especially when accompanied by conviction of divine influence By the definitions above the definition of Called to a Labor of Love would be as follows:  a strong inner impulse toward a particular course of action especially when accompanied by conviction of divine influence consisting of hard work, physical work, making a great effort, because the particular course of action is a great interest and one finds pleasure in it. Bethlehem 2024 is packed up and put away for another production year and while Walking with Jesus is in 122 days, I find myself with a heart overflowing with the blessings God has placed in my life - because of the volunteers He brought to be a part of Sharing His story for His glory to further His kingdom!  The reality of my life curre...

Where do I begin with this one... Let me start with when people ask me when my birthday is....My answer every time is "the day after Flag day". I get the craziest looks ...and then they ask "when is Flag day?"  My response "you'll figure it out"  I do this for a couple of reasons.  One of them is I like to surprise people with things like their favorite food or dessert or a flower arrangement on their birthday or just because, but I don't like to be startle surprised or to startle surprise my family, chosen family, friends. So when I give the answer of what day my birthday is, I do it because I truly just want a solid friendship and time spent with the people I care about the most and that care about me.  Life isn't about the things one recieves or the gifts given because it's their birthday or it's Christmas... Life is about making the moments count.  If you read the post before this one you got a glimpse into what life has thrown at m...

 "When you are absent in heart but present in reality, you know the slightest bump or jostled by anyone would shatter your ability to hold it together. You'd be nothing but the dust that even a wisp of wind could and would blow away without any sympathy at all. As everything about you goes flying, you'd suddenly and horrifically realize you're helpless to gather the particles that were once "you" back into something of any sort of substance. " But I Am.   I've watched a lot of my family, chosen family, friends grieve hard the last few months. I myself have grieved hard the last few months - over my losses and as I've empathize with those grieving those same losses. Grief never leaves, or lessons... It's always there. It comes in quietly, at the most unexpected time.  And for whatever the reason the world tells us we have to always keep it together and we aren't allowed to show our emotions when grief hits.  So when I read the following in...

 It's been a while...life has changed on so many fronts. The world is in various forms of chaos.  The fear level is rising. People are anxious and scared. They need the peace that Jesus offers. In the course of the last year, I had someone come and ask me to help them with an Easter production.  I took out my Bible and wrote a sript for a community outreach. It was intense writing. I did not want to add to or subtract from what Scripture says happened. The community outreach was a success and well attended for a first year. God brought it together and brought the guests that He wanted to hear His message. I can honestly say working on that production gave me purpose again. You see I was the production manager for a Christmas church sponsored community outreach for 10 years and due to the pandemic it was kept from happening. Two years the reason we didn't do it was because of the pandemic. Last year the reason was similar. I was down. It isn't to say I don't have purpose...

 The Essence of Sin  What is the essence of sin? Robbing God of His Glory Sin - is anything we think, say or do that goes against God For the wages/payment of sin( anything we think say or do that goes against God) is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:8 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His One and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him. John 3:16‭-‬17 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved,” Acts of the Apostles 16:31a Pride - feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements,  “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16‬:‭18‬ Selfish - lacking consideration for others; conce...

 December 24,2022 As I was driving to work yesterday morning I was thinking about Christmas and how it brings hope and joy to people and yet so many people struggle. Physical struggle, mental struggle, spiritual struggle. I was reminded that God did not promise that this life would be easy....in fact He promised this life would be a struggle (Genesis 3: 14-19, John 16:33). Yet through all the struggles life sends, God overcame all of them. All. Of. Them. We just have to strive to allow Him full control in all areas of our lives. From taking our thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5), to falling on our knees in Holy Worship of God. His love is boundless and free. His salvation is free(John 3:16). The gift of Life Eternal is free. His grace is free(Ephesians 2:8-9). His mercy is free. He is faithful(Psalms 136). He is truth. He gives peace(Philippians 4:7) He keeps His promises (Genesis 9). Once we've accepted God's payment for our sins, admitting that we are sinners and we sin, n...