Music

Merry Christmas with Love!

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I wrote this post during Christmas 2 years ago, it still best sums up all that Christmas means to me and the thankfulness I have that Christ came to save us…

Reflecting on the season and all that goes on in our lives…I have always looked forward to Christmas time.  As a kid, I enjoyed the lights, the music and family gatherings and of course…the presents!  As I and my faith have grown I realize that Christmas is a significant point in time for me to really deepen my faith.

As an adult in the mind and a kid at heart I still enjoy the lights, the music and the family gatherings…I now enjoy the giving of gifts far more than the receiving of presents.  Where we live I enjoy the snow and even the cold.  The change of season is natural to me, it is God showing us his love using nature.  All that was alive in summer has passed on but it will all be reborn in springtime.  With the shorter days we set up lights to brighten our nights.  I most enjoy that it seems to be the one time of the year that a significant number of people in the world take pause…and actually acknowledge Jesus Christ and his coming into the world.

This Christmas I pray you see and feel a sense of…

Hope – God made a promise to you and everyone to love you and to never leave you…believe him and trust him with every area of your life.

Peace – Be content when your basic needs are fulfilled and share with others if you have been blessed with abundance…practice patience.

Joy – Wear a smile more often and make an effort to help others find their smile…focus on the positive in any situation.

Love – Life is more about how you treat others than how they treat you…you can’t control what others will think, say or do so don’t waste time worrying about it…do all that you do with love.

At Christmas time and throughout the year put Christ in the center of your life…with Christ you will know Hope, you will know Peace, you will know Joy and you will know that the Love of Christ in your heart will help you overcome anything this world can throw at you.

May you see and know God’s blessings in your life this Christmas and carry them with you all through the New Year!

Merry Christmas!

The Good News

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“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you:  You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger’.

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to all on whom his favor rests’.”

Luke 2:10-14

(This photo was taken in October of 2014 at sunrise on the island of Maui)

Seek First His Kingdom

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“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Matthew 6:33-34

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 while driving in northern Colorado)

Be Courageous

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Paul writes in one of his letters to the Corinthians…

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.  Do everything in love.”

1 Corinthians 16:13-14

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 at Pikes Peak near Colorado Springs, Colorado)

Finding The Way

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“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

1 John 1:8-9

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Glacier National Park in Montana)

Today With God

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“Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before:  ‘Today, if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts’.”

Hebrews 4:7

(This photo was taken in December of 2013 while walking in the woods in northwestern Wisconsin)

Prepare The Way

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One of my favorite worship songs at this time of the year is “Prepare the Way of the Lord”, it speaks to preparing our hearts and minds and our very lives for the birth of our Savior, Jesus…Here are the words of John the Baptist as written in the Gospel of John…

“John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘I am the voice of one calling in the desert, Make straight the way for the Lord’.”

John 1:23

(This photo was  taken in August of 2016 near Arches National Park in Utah)

Immanuel

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An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream as written in the Gospel of Matthew…

“All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:  ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ – which means, ‘God with us’.”

Matthew 1:22-23

(This photo was taken in June of 2016 on a lake in northwestern Wisconsin)

The Holy Spirit Comes

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The words of Jesus written by Luke in the Book of Acts…

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 1:8

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 at Sapphire Point near Dillon, Colorado)