Advent 2006

here is a resource for those who are curious about advent...i haven't read everything, but everything i have read is good.

www.cresourcei.org/cyadvent.html

this is exciting (at least for me):

as i was thinking about advent 2006, i think i stumbled across the series for advent 2007!

whoo hoo!

blessings to you!

pmike.

by the way...

please remember to pray for one another...we often are unaware of how other people are feeling...

and you can feel free to read between the lines on this.

pmike.

Joy, Joy, Joy...

life isn't always peaches and cream, it's true. but the message of the Incarnation is God is with us. what could be better than that? no matter what we go thru...no matter what we feel like...no matter how we are dealt with by people...no matter if we get what we want or not...

no matter.

God is with us.
He will not leave us.
He will not forsake us.
He will not forget about us.
He will not abandon us to our folly.

He will always be here.
He will always be there.
He will always listen for our call.
He will always answer our call (when we listen for Him).

that assurance and re-assasurance produces joy.

thanks for your answers on the last post...they were right on.

Habakkuk 3:1-2 (MSG) 1 A prayer of the prophet Habakkuk, with orchestra: 2 God, I've heard what our ancestors say about you, and I'm stopped in my tracks, down on my knees. Do among us what you did among them. Work among us as you worked among them. And as you bring judgment, as you surely must, remember mercy.

Habakkuk 3:17-19 (MSG) 17 Though the cherry trees don't blossom and the strawberries don't ripen, Though the apples are worm-eaten and the wheat fields stunted, Though the sheep pens are sheepless and the cattle barns empty, 18 I'm singing joyful praise to God. I'm turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God. 19 Counting on God's Rule to prevail, I take heart and gain strength. I run like a deer. I feel like I'm king of the mountain! (For congregational use, with a full orchestra.)

Joy = Strength

hmmm...just curious...what does "remember, the joy of the LORD is your strength" mean?

This Week's Study Passage

i have this thing about "common" bible passages...i've heard them preached alot...i've read them myself a bunch of times...they are "old hat" or something.

but i forget...

1. that might not be so with other people
2. there's a reason those verses are preached alot: they are good!

so any way, i was picking out this week's from Nehemiah and what else could i pick?

Nehemiah 8:9-10 (TLB)
9 All the people began sobbing when they heard the commands of the law. Then Ezra the priest, and I as governor, and the Levites who were assisting me said to them, "Don't cry on such a day as this! For today is a sacred day before the Lord your God-- 10 it is a time to celebrate with a hearty meal and to send presents to those in need, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. You must not be dejected and sad!"

I've heard the Sun Still Shines

it is a grey, dreary vermont day. a little bit of rain...a little bit of cold...a little bit of wind...oops...looked out the window, a little bit of snow, too.

it's easy to feel bleh on a day like today...it takes an exercise in faith to say the sun is still shining up above those clouds and an act of the will to say i won't dwell on how things are, i will focus on how things will be.

Good Stuff

2 Samuel 7:28 (CEV)
Lord All-Powerful, you are God. You have promised me some very good things, and you can be trusted to do what you promise.

the longer i am a christian, the more i focus on God's promises. i'm convinced that whatever it is that i go thru, God has promised me something about it. whatever trouble i encounter, God speaks thru His word about it's "solution". i put "solution" in quotes bc rarely does God send an instant ready answer to my problems...it's more of a "be still and know that I am God" sort of thing.

but in the big scheme of things, that is more than enough. bc that's what we really need to do...we need to be still and know that God is God...

He is God...
He knows your situation.
He cares about your situation.
He is able to change your situation.
if He doesn't, it's bc you need to be in your situation so you can change.

this produces a wonderful sense of trust in me...

when i was little, i would get nervous trying something new...but when my dad was watching... i thought, "hey, this will be all right...my dad wouldn't let something bad happen to me...i guess i can do this".

God knows.
God cares.
God changes...me.

Wait a Minute...

i thought it was your turn to post.

seriously...sorry. went thru a dry spell...writer's block...what ever one would like to call it.

but i have to get back on track...the deadline for the clergy's Xmas article is coming up.

i will post a thought by thursday.