The Hope of Christmas

December 13, 2021 Gracie

The Hope of Christmas

We got a surprise visit the other day!

This beautiful deer showed up right behind our back fence.

an early Christmas surprise

He spotted us and froze, but then he went back to grazing.

Within minutes the rest of his herd showed up, including two playful fawns chasing each other around the pasture.

We could have watched them for hours.

Christmas deer

Christmas and deer seem to go together, don’t they?

All you have to do is look at the Christmas shelves in any retail store.

But we all know that, in truth, Christmas isn’t about Santa Claus, or the presents around the tree, or even eight tiny reindeer pulling a sleigh.

Around the holidays, as we scramble to prepare food, decorations, parties, and presents, friends or relatives may ask us, “Are you ready for Christmas?” It’s an innocent question. But now, in light of God’s self-revelation, we are a little readier to answer in earnest: Yes, I am ready. Jesus has washed me, saved me, made me new. The new life I have in Him can never fade. And now the hope of Christmas has grown into the eager expectation for His second coming, when the good news of great joy, peace, and love will reach its climax and we will truly, wonderfully live happily ever after. – Alistair Begg, Christian pastor and author.¹

From The Hope of Christmas to His Second Coming

Who are we to deserve such a precious gift as Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world?

⁹This was the true Light that, coming into the world, enlightens every person. ¹⁰He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him, and yet the world did not know Him. ¹¹He came to His own, and His own people did not accept Him. ¹²But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, ¹³who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of a man, but of God. – John 1:9-13, (NASB).²

The Christmas season winds to a close in a few days.

Even so, Child of God, let us continue to worship and adore Him the rest of our lives.

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¹Quotation from Alistair Begg, Christian pastor, author, and founder of Truth For Life Teaching Ministry. From Web, The First Advent: Four Reasons Christ Came.” November 30, 2021., para. 23. Web. Accessed 5 December, 2021., Retrieved from https://blog.truthforlife.org/the-first-advent-four-reasons-christ-came

Our Exceptional God

God Is Not A Politician

December 7, 2021 Gracie

God Is Not A Politician

God is not a politician

Anyone else out there sick of politics?

Too many hands to count, I expect.

I’ve never seen such political vitriol and intentional division-causing in my life, perpetuated by the media and so-called entertainment television.

I pray that you are seeing through all of it.

I’m thankful that our hope is in Jesus, aren’t you?

People disappoint us all the time.

Therefore, politicians will disappoint us all the time.

Only Jesus will never fail us.

Can I get an amen?

As our pastor said in a recent sermon, God is not running for the office of God.

He is God, and will always be God.

God is not a politician, and He doesn’t have to fight for any of our votes.

Christ is to be THE priority, our reason and purpose for living. Scripture calls us to live as living spiritual sacrifices, not conforming our behavior to the sinful practices we see in this world but to be transformed by the Word of God and the Spirit of God in order that we might live holy lives (Romans 12:1–2). We are called to do everything we do with all our hearts as unto God, to please Him (2 Corinthians 5:9; Colossians 1:10). – from Compelling Truth.org.¹

Time is Short – How are People Missing This?

Time is short.

The way things are going, is there any doubt that our world is plunging into darkness?

With that in mind, I urge you to reach out to your lost loved ones, and tell them about Jesus.

Tell your story!

There are people desperate for the Truth of His saving grace.

Jesus, more than anything, wants to spend time with you. He invites you to return to heaven with Him to enjoy an eternity with no more tears, pain or suffering. What would keep you from accepting the invitation of Christ? What would keep you from putting Him first in your life? What would be more important than saying, “I want to pattern my life after Jesus and soon live with Him forever?” – https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/second-coming-jesus-christ

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¹Compelling Truth quotation from “Putting God first – How can I do this?” n.d. para 4. Web. Accessed November 29, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.compellingtruth.org/putting-God-first.html

²Bibleinfo quotation from “Second Coming of Jesus Christ” n.d. para 15. Web. Accessed November 29, 2021. Retrieved from https://www.bibleinfo.com/en/topics/second-coming-jesus-christ

Our Exceptional God

A Post Thanksgiving Prayer

November 30, 2021 Gracie

A Post-Thanksgiving Prayer and Reflection

post-Thanksgiving prayer

This post-Thanksgiving prayer is on my heart . . .

Heavenly Father, we come to Your throne with both reverence and gratitude.

Thank You for who You are.

Thank You for all that You have done, and for all that You will continue to do in our lives.

In Your great big universe, we are small in nature, but we are not insignificant.

As Scripture says so beautifully in Psalm 8:4,

What is man that You think of him,
And a son of man that You are concerned about him?¹

Thank You for thinking of us.

We remain awestruck by Your grace.

Even though we fail You again and again, we have forgiveness through Your Son.

Our hope rests in Jesus, not in our works or any politician or religious leader.

Only Jesus!

He alone is our Savior.

Any one person proclaiming lordship or being treated as such is a false teacher.

We look at how our world has changed – where Your name is despised by many, even mocked openly in all forms of media.

We deserve Your wrath, and yet You remain patient.

In Scripture, 1 Timothy 2:1-6, tells us that You want “all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.²

Your timing is always perfect.

We know that you will one day return and those of us who are Your children will be with You for eternity in paradise.

Only God can do that!

All glory and honor to You, our Lord most High.

Hallowed be Your Name above all the earth.

We praise You in your Son’s Holy Name,

Amen.

^{Praise His Glorious Name _¯ A Post-Thanksgiving Prayer}

As David said in his address to the assembly,

Yours, Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and on the earth; Yours is the dominion, Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. – 1 Chronicles 29:11, (NASB).³

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Our Exceptional God

Happy Thanksgiving 2021

November 23, 2021 Gracie

Wishing You and Yours a Happy Thanksgiving 2021!

Happy Thanksgiving 2021

From our home to yours, we want to wish you a very blessed and Happy Thanksgiving 2021!

We have countless reasons to give thanks. When you think about it, God has blessed us in so many ways.

But, as much as we are thankful to Him for blessing us, we also need to remember to thank God for who He is.

He is always with us, always in control, and in His coming Kingdom, the great things He has in store for believers will be magnificent and beyond our imaginations.

I look forward to that day, don’t you?

From Psalm 9:1-2, a Psalm of David –

I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart;
I will tell of all Your wonders.
²I will rejoice and be jubilant in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High. – Psalm 9:1-2, (NASB).¹

Thank You God for all that You have done and for all that You will do.

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Our Exceptional God

A CeCe Winan’s Song to Remember

November 16, 2021 Gracie

It’s On Repeat: A CeCe Winan’s Song to Remember

A CeCe Winan's song to remember

Guess who the “best-selling female gospel artist of all time” is?

No, it’s not me.

But, thank you. 🙂

The real answer is: multi-award-winning vocalist, CeCe Winans!

And, rightfully so.

Her passion for Jesus when she sings is undeniable.

Recently, I found a song that she performed that really speaks to the heart. I’ve heard the song before and loved it, but I’m really taken with Cece’s version.

In fact, I’ve listened to it over and over.

We could all use some encouragement these days, don’t you think?

This whole world needs a spiritual revival, and now is not the time to give up.

The Lord is our Shepherd!

Check out Cece’s beautiful acoustic version of the Dwan Hill song, “Shepherd.”

I suggest you turn it up and let the beautiful lyrics remind you of Whose you are.

I was hooked after the first verse!

This amazing song “Shepherd” is like a breath of fresh air in a dying world.

We can remember that no matter what shocking events happen in this world, we have a Shepherd who will never fail us.

If this song touches your heart in any way, then to God be the Glory!

By the way, I shared this song with a good friend of mine in California. He hadn’t heard it before but emailed me back pretty quickly and said he’s had it on repeat and even passed it on to others.

That’s when you know the deep feeling of love stirring in your heart through this music is the Lord calling you to trust and follow Him.

⁷He will not fear bad news;
His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. – Psalm 112:7, (NASB).

“Shepherd” appears on CeCe’s chart-topping album, “Believe For It”, which came out earlier this year.

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Our Exceptional God

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