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You are here: Home / Archives for answers for me

Christmas In My Closet

December 20, 2018 By admin

The other evening I started looking for my leftover holiday wrapping papers. I moved luggage, shoes and long-forgotten odds and ends in my closet. I actually had to remove my childhood baby doll carriage from its retirement spot in order to reach the corner of the closet. As I wheeled it out, I noticed a small tear in the top of the carriage. I felt sad for my old toy and patched it up with tape. Along with a couple of salvaged dolls inside, these are a few remnants of my childhood. They used to be my constant companions. I parted with the doll playpen and a little metal bed the last time we moved. Yet the carriage and the old babies are there to greet me every time I open the closet.

Suddenly I became melancholy. Doing some quick math, I realized that the carriage is 50 years old this Christmas! I was flushed with memories as I recalled that Christmas when my suspicions about the Santa Claus myth were affirmed. My dear father, in his haste to take some large presents upstairs a few days before Christmas, asked me to carry the box that held my carriage. Evidently he did not understand how much I was able to read in the second grade or he was too tired to care. As I followed him up the stairs, it seemed that all the glitter and mystery of Christmas shattered like a fallen glass ornament. I wanted to believe that there was a Santa yet somehow I knew it was all just for fun. It was time to start growing up. Even so my brother and I continued to place cookies and milk out for Santa on Christmas Eve for many years.

Earlier last week, I experienced several days of missing my mother — her voice, her baking and little gifts. Six years have passed since she died, six years since my brother had Christmas with us, and about 10 years since my whole family — grandparents, my brother and our children celebrated together. I rarely consider what present I would buy for Mom anymore. A woman friend and I each acknowledged that Christmas can be sadly nostalgic as we miss family members. Last year she lost a mother and this year her father is ill. Another friend will probably lose her father this winter. That can change Christmas and create a bittersweet mood.

Christmas is a time of great and broken expectations. A multitude of memories are wrapped with all the songs, parties, cards, shopping, decorations, and food. Such holidays mark periods of our lives — who we were with, beginnings for babies, divorces, endings for senior family members. Even if we try to avoid the commercialization of holidays, loss can creep into the season and steal away the sparkle. Sadness and depression can darken our days inviting us to believe that this world is cold and we are alone. Yet even in our losses, there is a promise of restoration, reunion and rejoicing if we know Jesus Christ.

I have been reading 1 John this week. In the middle of the first chapter is the reminder, “God is light, pure light; there’s not a trace of darkness in him,” MSG. How bleak and empty this place would be without my Savior — a dark closet of painful memories and imitation babies. He came to bring us light, truth, love, and hope — a clearer picture of our God. And I am promised that after inviting Jesus into my life, I am never alone again — He dwells within me — God with us. There is no other god like Him.

This week I am clinging to a verse in I John 3:20: “For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.”

Questions for personal journaling or group discussion:

1. Who or what do you miss this holiday season? Could you mark this person/pet/place with a small ritual such as a special candle, treat, or dedicate a gift in their memory?

2. How could you “take Christmas out of the closet” of melancholy memories and create a new positive experience for someone else?

3. Find some Scriptures that speak to you about Jesus as Light, Truth and Love. Memorize a verse for this holiday season.

Karen Spruill writes from Orlando, Florida.

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Filed Under: Dear God, News and Feeds Tagged With: answers for me, baking, carriage, closet, father, jesus, maturity, personal, week

I’m Gonna Die

December 19, 2018 By admin

When I was growing up, my weekends felt boring and ritualistic. Since my dad is a pastor, we went to church, and then my parents spent the better part of the afternoon taking a nap. But that isn’t what I wanted to do after church. I wanted to explore in God’s beautiful world with my friends, not entertain myself while my parents slept. One weekend after the service ended, my best friend, Cody, said, “Want to come hiking with my family this afternoon?”

Yes! Finally I would escape the boredom I knew awaited me if I went home. This was my opportunity to explore and have the adventure I had been waiting for. I happily accepted Cody’s invitation, and we all piled into his family’s sedan and drove into the heart of the El Dorado National Forest.

We headed for our favorite hiking trail. We loved it because the hike ended on the top of a peak in the Sierra Nevada mountain range that had a panoramic view of the Sacramento Valley. Its crowning feature was an eight-story waterfall — fueled by a large river — that cascaded over the edge of a cliff and fell onto boulders at the foot of the mountain. It both scared me and drew me in.

Cody’s family had a border collie that they brought along. After we pulled to a stop, he leaped out of the car shivering with energy and excitement. I adored him. I had never owned a dog, despite my obsession with them. As we set off on our hike, I followed behind him, watching him explore and sniff at the base of rocks and tree stumps. As we neared the mountain’s summit, the border collie sensed that we were close to the rushing water that fueled the deafening falls, and he ran circles around us, wagging his tail in excitement. He saw the water first and sprinted toward it without hesitation, and I, caring for nothing but the chance to watch him leap in, ran full speed behind him to the water’s edge.

I changed pace to a light jog as the dog slowed down in search for a place to jump into the water. The banks of the river were made up of huge granite boulders covered in slimy green moss. To avoid slipping I played hop scotch, dodging moss-covered areas as I trotted along the riverbank. Suddenly, I heard yelling behind me. My friends were screaming words of warning to me. I whirled around to hear them better. As I turned, I put my foot directly on one of the slimy patches of wet moss. My feet slid out from under me and I fell back onto the slope of the boulder. As I slid down the steep face of the rock I felt a rush of pain. The rough and uneven surface of the boulder scraped against my back and shoulders, tearing my shirt and cutting into my skin making me bleed. I had only a millisecond to comprehend the perilous situation I was in before I plunged into the frigid current and was swept from safety.

Rushing water enveloped me. There were rocks everywhere jutting out of the river and I smashed helplessly against them as the current tossed me against everything in its way. No matter what I did, I couldn’t avoid the rocks. I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t call out for help. The current simply carried me away as if I were merely a piece of driftwood. “There’s nothing I can do to save myself,” I thought.

Every time I bobbed above the waterline, I could see that I was drawing closer and closer to the edge of the falls. Though I only had a few tangible thoughts, all of them were cries of fear and desperation. I was sure that I was going to die. Slamming against rocks, the rushing water and other river debris disoriented me and left bruises all over my body. The helpless struggle to stay above the water to avoid obstacles made me feel more exhausted than I had ever been. As the current swept me close to the edge where a watery abyss and certain death awaited me, I smashed into branches from a tree that had fallen and was submerged in the river. The branches entangled my arms and legs, keeping me from going over the falls. I was so exhausted that I couldn’t even pull myself out. All I could do was let the branches hold me safely long enough for my friends to make a human chain to reach me.

Until I get to heaven, I will not know if my guardian angel orchestrated the tree’s location and position. What I do know is this: God had a plan for me, a plan I had not yet discovered. He watches over me everywhere I go and keeps me safe, according to His will.

Jonathan Hager writes from Northern California.

The post I’m Gonna Die appeared first on Answers for Me.

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Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Answers for Me.

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Filed Under: News and Feeds, Vegetarian recipes Tagged With: answers for me, forest, protetion, rushing, sacramento, story-harvest, trust, water

Christmas Joy

December 17, 2018 By admin

In 1967, Charles E. Hummel published a small book entitled, Tyranny of the Urgent.1In it, he asked if we’d ever wished for a 30-hour day. “Surely this extra time would relieve the tremendous pressure under which we live. Our lives leave a trail of unfinished tasks. Unanswered letters, unvisited friends, unwritten articles, and unread books haunt quiet moments when we stop to evaluate. We desperately need relief.”

Hummel goes on to answer his own question. “But would a thirty-hour day really solve the problem? Wouldn’t we soon be just as frustrated as we are now with our twenty-four allotment?”

This Christmas season we’re probably all wishing for more time, more money, and more energy. We worry about things that are nearly out of our control and things that we should have had more control over. Do we have enough presents for each of our children/parents/grandchildren/neighbors/co-workers. How can we make it to the Christmas pageant at church, cook all the food for Christmas dinner, and find time to visit grandmother in the nursing home? And there’s that nagging fear about the credit card bills due to drop in January.

When was the last time you stopped and thought about the miracle of Jesus’ birth? When was the last time you looked at a baby and wondered anew at how God could send his son to a dirty barn to be born to a teen-age girl? When was the last time you looked at a star and thought what a fitting global positioning system that was for the magi?

It doesn’t get much simpler than this: God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16 KJV).

Put down your lists and stop wrapping your presents and share the Christmas story with someone you love. Keep it simple. God did. When the angels appeared to the shepherds on the hills of Galilee, they weren’t given a deep study into the plan of salvation. The angel calmed their fears and told them the good news of a savior who was born nearby, who would bring peace and good will to men. They believed and rushed to see the baby.

I recently heard my son explaining the birth of Jesus to my 4-year-old grandson. The description of the stable was an easy one for Brandon to visualize because they have a chicken coop. Although kept quite clean, no one Brandon knew would want to be born there. He imagined the chickens clucking and wandering with curiosity near that tiny baby and then all the farm boys coming in to visit. The same angels that protect him every night, that surround his bed, were also there singing for the baby.

Where’s your wonder? Have you replaced the feeling of wonder with the tyranny of the urgent? Are you so important and have so many things to do that you don’t have time to refresh your spirit and remember God’s special gift?

“Over the years the greatest continuing struggle in the Christian life is the effort to make adequate time for daily waiting on God, weekly inventory, and monthly planning,” wrote Hummel. “Because this time for receiving marching orders is so important, Satan will do everything he can to squeeze it out. Yet we know from experience that only by this means can we escape the tyranny of the urgent. This is how Jesus succeeded. He did not finish all the urgent tasks in Palestine or all the things He would have liked to do, but He did finish the work which God gave Him to do.”

Dee Litten Whited writes from the U.S. East Coast.

The post Christmas Joy appeared first on Answers for Me.

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Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Answers for Me.

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Filed Under: News and Feeds, Vegetarian recipes Tagged With: answers for me, articles, busy, family-life, finish-the-work, peace, slowdown, stress free

Getting and Giving

December 13, 2018 By admin

Dear God: Forgive me for forgetting what Christmas is about. I live in an overly commercialized country where merchants promote Christmas as a shopping bonanza. It’s all about getting new stuff—new clothes, gadgets, flat screen TVs, books and more. Lots more! I’ve grown accustomed to getting whatever I want. My house is full of furniture, electronics, clothes, wall hangings, and dishes. My closets are filled with sheets, blankets and shoes. My library is full of books from all over the world. My refrigerator is filled with food fit for a king. I don’t need anything else, except to know that my life does not consist in what I get and own.

Open my eyes to needs that I can fill; to people I can help. Teach me how to be a cheerful giver. Thank you for giving Heaven’s richest treasure to reclaim me from the grip of selfishness.

In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Rich DuBose writes from Northern California.

The post Getting and Giving appeared first on Answers for Me.

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Filed Under: News and Feeds, Vegetarian recipes Tagged With: answers for me, appeared-first, christmas, from-the-grip, getting-new, gift-giving, jesus, new-clothes, northern, not-consist, world

Finding the Lost

December 10, 2018 By admin

5I absolutely hate losing things and especially my Bibles and books. Recently my husband came home from his job and handed me a Bible. “Did you lose this–back in October?” he asked. I welcomed back my favorite go-to-church Bible that I had lost months ago. He found it under the seat in his car. I had searched all the lost and found spots at church, both family cars, my office, our bedroom, the bookcases and had finally given up on finding the Bible.

I am blessed to have a large collection of Bibles and many have their various purposes. I have a morning devotion Bible, several New Testaments that I read from at a support group, a well-worn Bible by my computer, several serious study Bibles, three or four paraphrases, my high school Bible, and the Jewish holy scriptures. They seem like family members and I mourned the loss of my thin Bible with the butterfly sticker inside. I started taking one of my husband’s Bibles to church. I recognize that I’m “old school” since I cannot feel comfortable with a cell phone or e-reader version at church. Besides, I like turning real pages and that’s usually faster than the electronic ones.

How joyous it is to experience the lost returning. Especially so when it is a lost pet or family member. Our teenage daughter once left home abruptly and we, friends and police, searched frantically for several hours until she was found. Bittersweet relief. Years earlier we had a pet cat that disappeared for about three days, and my husband spent several nights sleeping on the floor next to the sliding glass door in case he returned. Thankfully, the dear grimy, hungry cat came home. But it’s not always the case as a cat that disappeared when I was a child–most likely the victim of a stealthy fox. We always worry about the vulnerability of the lost.

The same Bible that reappeared at home shares a trio of stories about the lost in Luke 15. The last parable about two sons and a faithful father has inspired people and art for centuries. The wayward son in that story had asked his father for his inheritance which amounted to wishing his father was dead. It’s not clear how many months or years passed until the son had used up his money in “wild living.” Later he decided to return home and ask to be a hired hand, rather than starve. His father must have been sitting on the front porch, or on the roof, watching for his son every day. He ended up running to greet his son with kisses, forgiveness, reinstatement, and a party. (The other brother’s reaction reveals another aspect of God’s compassion and inclusion.)

So cats, kids, and compassion are all wrapped up in my lost Bible returning home. I had even forgotten that I had tucked a small folded note with my mother’s handwriting in the back of that Bible: “There is no other word for grace, but amazing.”

Questions for personal journaling or group discussion:

1. Have you ever been the one that was lost?

2. What’s the most interesting or exciting recovery you have experienced?

Karen Spruill writes from Orlando, Florida.

The post Finding the Lost appeared first on Answers for Me.

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Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Answers for Me.

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Filed Under: Dear God, News and Feeds Tagged With: always-the-case, answers for me, bible, karen-spruill, life notes, lost things, months-or-years, parables, spots-at-church

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