Last year, I made a list of things that I wanted to accomplish during 2013. Since January is considered the “storage and organization month”, I felt my list was warranted. “Making a list and checking it twice” is generally a must for those in the workforce who need to be an organizer and/or planner. It is supposed to keep the sanity in an office. I know because I have been there, done that, and surprisingly the lists always kept me in the time frame allotted to get out the reports.

Now that I am retired (yes, that’s right) I am supposed to have more time on my hands. But really I have to ask myself “where does all the time go?” Up until the end of December, I had been babysitting (thoroughly enjoyed it) for my daughter’s friend who is a teacher in our local school system. But now that I am not doing that, what is left in my day? I should have all the time in the world to do whatever I want to do, right? As a pastor’s wife, do I even need to ask such a question of myself? Flexibility and being open to the day seems to be the challenge laid before me.

Since January is duly noted as the month to get organized, I went to my favorite store (TJMaxx) to check out their storage containers and to my surprise, they had an over-abundance of all types and sizes of containers–even those with chalkboard labels–baskets, boxes, trays, bins, folders, wall dividers, chalkboards, and desk accessories. A quick in and out turned into a two-hour venture. I did purchase a few things to help get me started, especially in organizing my painting supplies. I even got a couple of new toys for our black lab (he is 9-months and needs lots of play things).

This morning in my devotions, I read several passages of scriptures that the Lord spoke to my heart about in beginning my day anew each morning because that is where it all begins. Taking one day at a time and asking for the Lord’s help and direction for each new day will keep our hearts in tune with whatever may come our way. I may not have to keep extensive to-do lists, but my desire is to wait on the Lord and allow Him to guide me throughout the day whether I am painting, cleaning, washing clothes, choosing songs for the Sunday service, practicing piano, grocery shopping, catching up with a friend by listening and sharing news, etc. This is the day that the Lord has made so let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Scriptures that blessed my day are all taken from the NIV Bible as follows:

Psalm 42:1-2: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.”

Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me; and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Psalm 19:14: “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.”

Psalm 51:10-12: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.”

Psalm 139:14: “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Praise the Lord for his enduring love in our hearts today.

Blessings,
Yvonne

January reading: “The First Phone Call from Heaven” by Mitch Albom

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

A couple of weeks ago while watching evening TV, I came across a show which emphasized individuals who “obsessed” over all things Christmas. The first segment dealt with a woman who was obsessed over “gingerbread men/items” and all things made with ginger. She used this spice in her food items–she kept a 155-lb. drum of ginger in her kitchen to create her latest concoction. She even purchased and carried around a larger-than-life stuffed gingerbread woman everywhere she went. As the segment continued, she expressed a desire to paint her home in a gingerbread color. She contacted a painting contractor, and he painted the home according to her specifications. Her daughter then surprised her mom by adding gingerbread decorations on the outside and told her mother that she would be willing to carry on the tradition of the gingerbread into the next century. This woman appeared to be genuinely happy and totally caught up in her obsession.

The next segment dealt with a man who, for over 20 years, celebrated Christmas every day. From the decorations in his house to the presents under the tree, he celebrated this holiday with his daughter and her family for 7,300 days. He rose early every day so that he could bake a fresh turkey in the oven. He indicated that he had burnt out several ovens over the years in the process of creating the perfect turkey for the dinner. His motivation for doing this was due to an unfortunate chain of events in his relationship with his spouse. In order to cheer himself up, he decided to decorate with Christmas decorations/ornaments. This made him happy so he continued this new found tradition for over 20 years. They even sang Christmas carols every day.

The last segment I watched was regarding a couple who was obsessed with finding and purchasing Santa and Mrs. Claus collectibles. Their tiny place was consumed with figurines–soft and hard–and they could barely move around. They hunted high and low for that one collectible they did not own. They kept track of what they already had by taking a photo of each item and keeping a list of them so they did not duplicate anything. It turned out this particular Christmas they decided to hunt for the “perfect” live Santa Claus so that they could include him in their annual Christmas picture. They interviewed and narrowed it down to three candidates, then chose the “one” real Santa to include. A professional photographer came to their home to make sure the picture turned out great.

As I sat in my living room watching and listening to their stories, I could not help but wonder why the Christ child had not been mentioned even one time. After all, the reason most of us celebrate Christmas is because Jesus came over 2,000 years ago and is the reason for the season. I thought how sad that people could be so overly obsessed with Christmas in the ways described above that they forgot to realize that He came to give us hope, joy, peace and love during this time of year.

During the holidays, I enjoy all the decorations–both in the stores and on the outside of homes in my neighborhood and community–but all of this should not be the main focus of why we celebrate Christmas. The scripture in Isaiah 9:6 says that: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (NIV)

As we celebrate this Christmas season and look forward to a new year, let us remember how He came that we could have abundant life and how He later sacrificed His life so that we could be free from our sin and experience eternal life.

May you have a joyous, blessed Christmas Season surrounded by friends and family and remember His love and spread it to others.

Blessings,
Yvonne

Public Domain

“Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me…”

This week is my daughter’s 26th birthday, and she has truly been a special gift to my husband and I. At this time, I would like to share our story of how, even in the midst of the unknown, God blessed us with “an unexpected gift.” (This story appeared in the September/October 2012 issue of “The Women’s Journal.”)

When my husband and I were married for almost five years and I still had not conceived, we decided that I should undergo tests to see why this had not occurred. The results showed that I had a partial blockage and had below the normal percentage rate of getting pregnant. The doctor indicated that some women often get pregnant within two years after undergoing testing; however, in our case, this did not happen.

As the years quickly passed by, I continued to believe and trust that there was a reason for everything. In November, 1986, one month away from our eighteenth wedding anniversary, as I was getting ready for bed, my thoughts were interrupted at hearing a still, small voice telling me that “when you have a baby girl, you are to name her Jessica Kathryn.” Since my husband was away on a business trip and I was alone in the house, the voice startled me for just a moment. However, I decided to write down the name and date in my journal and quickly said a prayer of thanksgiving.

By the middle of March of the following year, I had been feeling nauseated in the mornings so I purchased a pregnancy test and discovered I was pregnant. My husband and I were so excited. The next day, I contacted the doctor. Since I was over 35 and this was my first pregnancy, he scheduled an appointment for the same afternoon. While at my appointment, the doctor confirmed that I was pregnant and that I was due on November 23 which was Thanksgiving Day that year. My husband and I were so thankful. The doctor also scheduled a specialized test that would determine not only the sex of the baby, but would also show whether there were any prospective problems. The results were to be ready in two weeks.

In the meantime, my husband decided that he would think of boys’ names in case we were having a boy instead of a girl. He decided the boy’s name would be Trey Robert. When the results showed that we were indeed having a girl, his disappointment quickly turned to delight.

When my daughter was born one week before Thanksgiving, we were residing in Stone Mountain, GA, so when an opening with my husband’s job became available in our home state of Pennsylvania where we had family members, my husband was transferred.

Two years ago when my daughter was married and her father officiated at the wedding, she married her best friend and his name was Trey Robert. My husband also got the son that he always wanted.

Some would say that this was merely a coincidence; however, I knew in my heart that it was not. I believe that at the time when I got pregnant, along with the move back to our home state, the city that we chose to live in, the school that my daughter attended and the friends that she made were all part of a higher plan. Even the date that she was born on turned out to be the date that I had written down in my journal on that night I heard the voice telling me the wonderful news that I would become pregnant. I wrote down November 16, 1986. She was born on November 16, 1987, one week before my due date. She was the “unexpected, delightful gift” we received, and I will always be thankful that I listened and continued to believe that all things are possible with God.

During this Thanksgiving as we take a few moments to thank God for all of His many blessings, take the time to tell your loved ones how much they mean to you and how they have blessed your lives. If you want, take a few moments to write down everything you are thankful for, past and present moments in time, and feel blessed by His love.

Blessings on you,
Yvonne

Reading in November: “A Million Little Ways” by Emily Freeman

Public Domain

II Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV): “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.”

Recently while visiting my son and his wife, along with my daughter, in Lancaster, we enjoyed exploring the unique shops in the downtown area. As we looked through the decorative shops, I noticed that several words beginning with the prefix RE kept appearing to describe the variety of refurbished goods for sale.

For purpose of clarity, I have defined the prefix RE as meaning: again; for a second time; and anew: in a new and different form. Some of the descriptive words, along with their definitions, are as follows:

. REcycle: to cycle again through changes or treatment

. REfresh: to make or become fresh or fresher

. REfurbish: to give new life to old pieces

. REimagine: to form a mental picture of something not present (make new in a different form)

. REmake: to make anew or in a different form

. REnew: to make or become new, fresh, or strong again

. REpurpose: to give a new purpose or use to

. REstore: to put or bring back into a former or original state

. REstyle: to make or style into a prevailing mode

Most of the above-mentioned words were used to describe the REcreation and transformation of various pieces of old, new, or unfinished furniture items. The results were extraordinary. This was of particular interest to me since I had furniture pieces at home that I wanted to change. Even social media sites list a number of businesses using these words to describe their site’s transformation of older, worn-out pieces of furniture, frames, windows, etc.

Today, I received a copy of the October/November issue of the AARP Magazine (yes, I am in that age category), and I began reading an article entitled, “Reimagine Your Life” by Richard J. Leider and Alan M. Webber. Geared to readers in the 50’s+ category, the article explained that they had a ground-breaking new program entitled, “Life Reimagined” and gave readers six guidelines to follow to assist them with answering the question, “what’s next?” and to help navigate them into the next years ahead.

The article intrigued me as it discussed ways to unclutter your life and how to find purpose in the latter years before and/or after retirement. In our society today, most of us live very busy lives and we do not take the time to reflect and explore other possibilities/options that are available to us before or once we reach retirement age. Since I am retired, but with a number of outside interests, I too have asked the age-old questions, “what’s next?”

Although the RE words are geared towards REmaking something out of an old piece, I could not help but REflect upon the profound words in scripture that mention that we are a new creation and REnewal begins within one’s own heart and life. A few of the scriptures are:

. Psalm 51:10 (KJV): “Create in me a clean heart, O God and renew a right spirit within me.”

. Psalm 139:23 (AKJV): “Search me O God, and know my heart; try me and know my thoughts.” (The song, “Change My Heart O God”, written by Eddie Espinosa, was based on his scripture.)

. Romans 12:2 (KJV): And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

. II Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV): “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold all things have become new.”

Christ paid the ransom and has REdeemed us (to ransom, free, or rescue by paying a price) by his unconditional love and the shedding of His precious blood, and we are now REborn (born again; a new or second birth) into His eternal kingdom forevermore.

Throughout my life, I have always had short or long-term goals–both at home and at work. However, I believe that we should ask for His REdirection, REpurpose, and daily REnewal in our walk with Him, and He will give us the answer to our questions: “What’s next?”, “Where am I going?”, “Where do I begin?”, “How do I get there?”, and “What direction do you want me to take in the next season(s) of my life?” in order to serve Him to the fullest.

Jeremiah 29:11 tells us: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Life is full of possibilities, and even in the last season of your life, the best is yet to come when we completely trust in Him.