Mark 6:53-56 ~ the people immediately recognized HIM

And now we are living the 4th day, of Twelve Days of Christmas. Four! 

We know the joys of Christmas 2023 and the less than enjoyable. 

Now, we remember our Blessings and feel sad, some of the many Blessings are missing. With nobility, this would be the people we Love and miss. Times families laughed and had such Joy and such Merry, Merry Christmases.  The Lord would be warmed as we have our hearts warmed and our eyes misty.

And some is the comment, purely designated to cause scalding harm. A heart that is bored or less than in merriment needs to see human misery.  Greed. The emptiness of heart, lives and the abyss of need. Perhaps the comment would echo when the mark is hit. When we are young, we wonder if they are correct and if our hurt sorrow is our weakness, dooming us to perpetual depression. And would like the agility to shrug.  One of the luxuries of many years, to realize the doom of the doomed. And have Jesus help us Rise above the muck. And this comes from seeing the decades. The people who leave a wake of hate and hurt. And probably the truth is the perpetual need for an atmosphere of insults, cold and power - are angry. The phrase from the Victorians and earlier is, mad. Today, we see them in zombie movies. In one Church for 20 years, the sermon was heard, you can tell you are praying for this person because, suddenly, it is so very much worse. There is a prayer, for the prayer, in this situation. To begin praying for the Lord to be our Strong Tower. To ask the Lord to let us pray in the Presence of God and ask His protection as we pray for those leaving a daily wake and angry and in power to enjoy this wake.

And then, there is the perfect plan, turned into the worst day, and we were told to fly straight and get out of loserville.  To those with self-esteem, this is a solid surprise. Almost like having someone, with a frying pan, jump out of the stairwell and hit us hard.  The surprise hurt. One to mull over and decide. Doesn't matter that the person complaining has had life knock out their front teeth hopes, does it?

We belong to the Lord. 
And He calls us to Joy and we have His Strength to be reasonable. And He told us to be salt. To speak the truth.  In Jesus Christ, we find the flame of God inside us - Joy. No Disciple met life with peace. We instead find the fire of Comfort and Joy.  Glad Tidings!

And then there are the Christmases of my Grandmother Bit. Her friend, rival and dear neighbor she loved and envied, wept and laughed with: Virginia used to say, "Bit had the most beautiful of families, home, Mother, Father, both Grandmothers, siblings, vacations, 2 live ins, joy every day and now has to live with the memory of the decades ended." The hope God is indeed Might, Power, Glory and will carry us on. Even when sometimes the Lord spoke to her and assured her. 

The people who had hoped to be perfect and create Heaven on earth. As if we humans could make whirled peas.  The unmet expectations of almost every year. End the whirled cycle. Run.

The work we have done and everyone ate the meal, opened the gifts and, now, we look around. 

The people who have abyss needs and by GOD, this was another, wouldn't you know, year Santa Baby didn't hurry down the chimney AGAIN.  Heads will Roll. Names will be taken. Others smile with that pasty happiness on social media AGAIN. 

Do you need the salt and pepper or a pick me up today? I'd raise my had for the pick me up. It wasn't my favorite day today. The type of day you have to be brave and decide you are gloomy and major gloomy support arguments will be suppressed and put on vacation with severe determination.  (hep me, Lord God.) Biblically. Lord, I have faith, help me to have more faith. This is like an Easter Egg Hunt, any minute now the Peace will arrive. And finally, a whisp of Peace. Hold firmly and put all anxiety and unrest on vacation. With prayer, we can get the Peace to enter and the anxiety to leave with a prayer.

Now, this is a major point of cheerfulness....
Really!

So this is Christmas

And what have you done?

Another year over

And a new one just begun

And so this is Christmas

I hope you have fun

The near and the dear one

The old and the young

I've always loathed this song because, until this moment, I thought we sang the patron saint of complaining and draggy thoughts.

And what have you done?

Another year older.

So now, I am relieved this miserable song has Good News!

I'm sure next year will be better, without 14 hours of rotavirus or upheaval.

There are so many good points to having Christmas linger. 

Really good, reasonable points. Instead of rocketing toward the tree and the happy decorations and quickly stuffing them in a box, we can take time to muss out why the Best Christmases need some 'new' planning to create a better event. Next year, I will start in the first week of November and put out the freezer of don't eat it, toss it and begin to do the small things and a few of the larger things. With time to have joy instead of roaring down the highway of self-control to overcome the Christmas chores in a self acceptable time frame. And remove the Christmas boxes. More time to have more joy.

And ask people what they did this year that was fun to have more ideas.

And instead of just putting anxiety on vacation, take some time to express it out loud and not beat it to death in a brave attempt for overcoming. 

When we were in our 2nd decade, we needed boxes to store the increasing ornaments, and certainly not the kind that cost actual money. We raided liquor stores to get empty boxes and then painted them a solid red or green to find them in our little attic. The Lord told us about vineyards 22 times in the New Testament. Those boxes held up for decades.  And we loved them. We lived in a newlywed or nearly dead neighborhood, which I enjoyed the neighbors, tremendously, and the older ones absolutely loved seeing me turning our winter grass red and green to have red and green boxes. 

Memories are good events. They really are.  Edward told me just in the last decade ish to get the boxes in the recycle bins because they dropped more ornaments than they held and were becoming red and green dust. I really did love him telling me and so, love being told to get new plastic ones is a gift, in these years as well.

Christmas Lingers and we remember. 

The year Edward and I had our first child, tremendously early. We found out our son would live on Christmas Morning. Visits scrubbing up the required 15 minutes to enter the Neonatal ICU.  And to see a bona fide Christmas Miracle. 1988 Presbyterian Hospital and the Emergency Room was just about completely, empty.  We, never, will let our hearts forget seeing a Miracle of The Lord. Thank You, Jesus Christ.

Seeing those vast sets of parking lots at Presbyterian Hospital on Walnut Hill Lane, Dallas, in 1988, for Christmas and Christmas Eve, helps me to remember when praying for the ill - even the desperately ill - the miracles and possibilities of Jesus Christ.  All the Hospital Staff in the hallways looked incredibly pleased. 

We can always remember, when we are down, to approach the Lord's Throne. And on the days we just feel like this is a far cry from sorrow inside, then we can be the one on the floor reaching up, up to the Lord Jesus Christ to touch the fringe of the robe made with Love for Wonderful Jesus. 

Mark 6:53-56

When they had crossed over, 

they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore.

 54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized Him and ran about the whole region and began to bring 

the sick people on their beds 

to wherever they heard He was.

56 And wherever He came, 

in villages, 

cities, 

or countryside, 

they laid the sick in the marketplaces 

and implored Him 

that they might touch even the fringe of His Garment.

And as many as touched it 

were made 

well.

Abba, Father,

 May the God of hope fill us all, everyone, 

with all joy and peace in believing, 

so that by the power of the Holy Spirit 

we may abound in hope.

Dwell in me,

Dwell in us,

Dwell in those we Love,

Help us to seek You first.

And we will finish well, in Jesus Christ. 

Help us find and bring

to become

 more Heaven

to this earth.

The Lord,

The Almighty,

Our Father,

Bless,

Save,

Secure

and Uphold

those who had no

Christmas in

Israel.

And Ukraine.

Those here with us.

We know:

Our God is working. His Son, 

Jesus is working.

In Jesus,

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You Jesus

Psalm 33:15 ~ He understands

 

Psalm 33:15

 

 He made their hearts, so He understands everything they do. 

The Maker of hearts also knows how to remake hearts.

The Scriptures are filled with a new decision to make loving and wise choices.  James, the brother of Jesus Christ, says the prayers of a righteous man availeth much. St. Augustine's mother would agree. 

Christmas is a time we anticipate the Joy Jesus will bring.

These paragraphs can make us all search our hearts for sincerity and obvious likelihood. Yet, we forget and then recall how many praying people know exactly in their heart, mind and soul, God Himself has brought them a miracle.  And when we align ourselves to this being true, we understand, again, that God sent His Only Son for all people. 

The Joy of Christmas exists in the core of being, the soul.  We have all experienced illnesses, aches, pains on different levels.  But when we realize the Lord will dwell in us willingly, then we know Joy can be the foundation of existence.  The Scriptures tell us He daily loadeth us with Benefits. 

Psalms 68:19-21 

NKJV 

Blessed be the Lord, 

Who daily loads us with benefits, 

The God of our salvation! 

Selah

 Our God is the God of salvation; 

And to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death. 

But God will wound the head of His enemies

Daily, we weight our hopes and our difficulties. Our own head brings us doubts.  And we will do the work God assigns us all, to believe in the One He has sent.  We let our own thoughts bring us down. And then we believe the Hope God gives us and our problems are temporary.  Christmas, the 3rd day of the 12 days of Christmas, is a rejoicing in the hope of new beginnings. 

And we will celebrate today. Asking God to forgive us for being the doubter and doubters of mankind, tossed by waves of thoughts and opinions.  To those lifted, like Peter, from the depths.  Knowing the compassion of Jesus, the wonderful Shepherd. 

Filling us with the Joy of the Spirit for looking to a New Year.

Abba, Father,

 May the God of hope fill us all, everyone, 

with all joy and peace in believing, 

so that by the power of the Holy Spirit 

we may abound in hope.

Dwell in me,

Dwell in us,

Dwell in those we Love,

Help us to seek You first.

And we will finish well, in Jesus Christ. 

Help us find and bring

to become

 more Heaven

to this earth.

Our God is working. His Son, 

Jesus is working.

In Jesus,

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You Jesus

1 Timothy 6:12-16 ~ Take Hold

 

Oh, the struggle. We have decorated for and in the Spirit of Christmas to our Father's Joy. Now, did we have a good Christmas and when do we start the cleanup.  Perhaps a little enjoyment of the work, now?!

Christmas is like all things. We see what we want to see. Will we see what was problematic or room for a solution. Will we focus on what arrived and was good.  Or like my household, we had some kind of terrific upheaval in internal organs, etc.  And I told Edward as he napped all Christmas, we have had 60 Christmas Days and 58 have been terrific.  And Christmas Tuesday was much, much better. We all like Christmas when we focus on the blessings, and, let us be real about what was not so great.  Then next year will be better.  Christmas Tuesday was far better. A very healing Vegetable Soup! And gifts. 

As we left the lake, we had soup there, the men were glad to say, "We are Having a New Year!"

Yes, we are.  And how will we start this year with new possibilities??? 

What will we want to keep us in Joy and Hope in 2024?  To keep the Joy of Mercy in Christmas in our Hearts. I will keep Christmas in my Heart All Year Long.  Life, living today, is Important. 

1 Timothy 1:11

That conforms to the Gospel concerning the glory 

of the blessed God, 

which He entrusted to me.

1 Timothy 2:6 

 Jesus

who gave Himself 

as a ransom 

for 

ALL people.

1 Timothy 1:17

Now to the King eternal, 

immortal, 

invisible, 

the only God, 

be honor and glory 

for ever and ever. 

Amen.

Jesus loves to say

Rise

1 Timothy 6:12-16

Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 

Fight the good fight of the faith. 

Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called 

and 

about which you made the good confession 

in the presence of many witnesses. 

I charge you in the presence of God, 

Who gives life to all things, 

and of Christ Jesus, 

who in His testimony before Pontius Pilate 

made the good confession,

To keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach 

until the appearing 

of our Lord Jesus Christ,
which He will display at the proper time—He who 

is the Blessed
and only Sovereign,
the King of kings and Lord of Lords,

Who alone has immortality, 

Who dwells in unapproachable light, 

Whom no one has ever seen or can see.

To Him be honor and eternal dominion. 

Amen.

Our God

tells us

His Spirit

is

Help

Helper

Comfort

Comforter

When We are Lost

He will Help us find the way

to pursue Righteousness.

Unstained.

Fight the good fight of the faith

in steadfast love of godliness

He will display His Healing at the

proper time

To Heal the Broken

The King of king and Lord of lords

Loves

make the good confession of honesty

He is our Blessing

To feed the Hungry and the Prisoner

His is our Sovereign

our Authority

give Testimony 

to His Blessings 

in your life

in your prayers

in your uplifting every day

Our Lord Jesus Christ

will rebuild the Nations,

Nations in Heaven,

take hold of eternal life,

and the whole glory

of God

is seen

Immortal

Victorious

Our God

is

King

How will I want to start my New Year, for me, I will want Christmas, reminding me of the Glory of God.  I will want to start my New Year knowing I want to carry God's Promise of Jesus in my Heart. 

I will linger in God's Goodness. 

Abba, Father,

Father God, we ask Your Good Blessings for those we Love.  

Grow Love to Please You. This world hungers for Love and hope.

Your Blessings For the People You have given us. 

For the places we work, 

for our Jesus and His Word believing Churches,

 for our cities, our states, this Nation.

The Nations asking You, Father.

For the People Jesus is Saving. 

For our expectations of His Great Love and Mercy. 

For forgiveness of our sins 

and the Hope of this life,

 knowing eternity and the Kingdom of Heaven are at hand. 

In the Highest Name of Jesus,

 Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You Jesus