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Holy is His Name –

by | Dec 13, 2010 | Uncategorized


Have your sound on…
John Michael Talbot is one of my most favorite singers.
He is relaxing and restful to my soul.
Along with Michael Card.
I pray you can enjoy and sing along.

Mary’s song

by | Dec 13, 2010 | Uncategorized

When the angel came to Mary and told her she would be with child.
Her heart was full of acceptance.

Mary’s song Luke 1:46-56
“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me~
holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as he promised our ancestors.”

Can you imagine such wisdom from someone who was just told,
“you will be with child and he will be a special child and you will be his mother and you are chosen out of many…”
Mary you are the one chosen.
I can’t even imagine the heart of this young mom and in the quiet of the night as she laid her hand on her rounding frame…did she wonder…
did she worry…
did she question…Why me Lord?
The book of Luke said that Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. It doesn’t tell us but I think Elizabeth was a great encouragement for Mary.
Both were expecting. Both were sharing ‘a same story’.
I am very glad they had each other.

Shared miracles

by | Dec 9, 2010 | Uncategorized

The relationship between Mary and Elizabeth
was very special.
They were cousins with a wide age range between them.
They were two women sharing the same experience.
Elizabeth was past the child bearing years and miraculously
expecting a son she would name John.
Mary still in her youth and a virgin miraculously expecting a son
she would name Jesus.
They both shared a miracle and they both knew
how miraculous each of those were for each other.
When Mary found Elizabeth she was encouraged and affirmed.
I am sure she was wanting so much to talk and share and tell
the story of the angel and what was said between them.
Elizabeth believed her story and believed the call on her life
and affirmed her by saying “my baby leaped upon hearing you.”
How could she not believe for she was carrying a child and
that certainly was not possible had it not been for a miracle.
Elizabeth ministered to Mary in such a way that I don’t believe
we can realize.
She confirmed in her heart she was special.
She understood and believed her story.
Can you imagine the hugs between them almost a sisterhood?
When Joseph heard about the baby he wanted to quietly send Mary away
to protect her and her family from shame.
For to be with child and not married
was a tremendous shame in that culture
and Joseph knew that it would be hurtful to her.
Through his obedience he showed Mary love and compassion
by taking her to be his wife.
That is what happens when we care for someone
we want the best for them.
Each of them were a part of a miracle
the miracle of life and birth and peace and hope.
The story of their shared miracles continues through out history.
The story of the baby born in a city called Bethlehem
and the wise men who came from a far to see him.
Each of them were a part of a miracle and
a story of love and redemption too.
If we opened our hearts
we would be a part of it also.
Are we ready to open our hearts?

He knew

by | Dec 7, 2010 | Uncategorized

I have been thinking about the Christmas story. One thing that has come to my mind is the parallel between the story and Psalm 139. Psalm 139: 13-16 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. God knew God spoke life God said to the Angel… go tell Mary “I have chosen her.” Just as he had chosen Elizabeth Mary’s cousin. Luke 1:13-15 the angel talking to Zechariah; “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. The way was being prepared. With Elizabeth first then with Mary. Luke 1:26-32 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent an angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.” vs 32b vs 34. “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” Mary’s response: I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. (I wonder what her thoughts were after the angel left remember she was young and this would be very life changing for her) Reading further… vs 39. At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. (I wonder what the greeting was ~we aren’t really told) vs 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Isn’t it awesome that God knew us… just as He knew them before we were born. Elizabeth was honoring Mary her relative and the baby heard the baby reacted Life in the womb is often a mystery but it is life and it is real and babies can listen. God knew they would be boys God knew their names God knew the call on their lives before they were born. Before they experienced a breath He knew their name and who they would be forever in history. Before they breathed a breath of life God knew them. Do you believe that God knew you too?

Guest post

by | Dec 2, 2010 | Uncategorized

I was honored to be a guest writer on Mary Demuth’s thin place side.
She featured my story about Mary my sister
there is so much more that could be written about her and her story
this is just a beginning of the journey from death to life.

She is a walking miracle and my sister.

click here to read the post:
http://www.marydemuth.com/?p=7482

I wonder more

by | Dec 2, 2010 | Uncategorized

The other thing I wonder about sometimes
in the Christmas story.
Mary was so young and Joseph too
did they worry about what it would mean for them
to have a special child?
This was a child who was given to them
by divine appointment
by an angel announcing it.
She didn’t read the news on a stick with a plus or minus
like someone would find out now.
She was told… don’t be afraid
you are with Child.
Did she have morning sickness and fatigue
just like other new mom’s?
What was it like to feel the movement of the
‘Holy Child’ within her?
What was she thinking
as she watched her roundness grow
did Joseph get excited or was he worried?
So much to think about
the Bible said ‘she kept it all near her heart’.
Wouldn’t we all?
So much to deal with
so much to handle
physically
and emotionally.

Mary was just like other new moms who are expecting
only her child was to be different.
Divine appointment
Divine assignment.
Can you even imagine?
One week you are just a ‘young person’
the next week you are met with an angel
telling you
about a life changing moment.
Your life changing moment forever.
That you are to be the mother of the Holy Saviour
who would save not only the world
but yourself too.
I wonder…so much…
can you wonder with me?

I often wonder

by | Dec 1, 2010 | Uncategorized

I often wonder
did Mary and Joseph talk about the angels who told them
about the baby arriving?
Wouldn’t that be something special to share with each other?
How did it appear to you Joseph
and how did it appear to you Mary?
What did you feel or think?
Were you scared?
After all she was very young in her teens and he was just as unprepared.
Also I wonder did they know each other and were they friends before or
were they given the heavenly order
to become married then to get to know each other.
The other thing I wonder about
is if they ever talked about how Joseph saved her life.
For to be with child and unmarried Mary could have been stoned.
She knew the consequences and yet she said ‘I choose’.
I accept.
I will be obedient.
Joseph also knew that as he took her for his wife he was not only being obedient when he didn’t fully understand it all. He knew he had to do follow through for the angel told him to do it.
There was no discussion.
The angel said:
Joseph… take Mary to be your wife.
There were so many questions that could have come between the two of them.
So many worries and fears.
I often wonder
what they were thinking in the quiet of the night.

Do you often wonder?

Remembering the Story

by | Nov 30, 2010 | Uncategorized

Advent has begun.
The remembering
is moving into a place in our minds and our activities.
We plan our decorations and our shopping and baking.
Oh can we plan a spiritual time too?
I so want to make it a spiritual season
not just filled with packages and stuff that most of us don’t really need.
Grandma will do fun special things for the children
but I want more than anything for them to know
that the season is not about more stuff.
It is about the story.
Matthew 1:18-24

The story of a young couple given a Divine order.
The story of a young couple choosing to be obedient.
Even when they didn’t really know what that meant
or what it would cost them.
The story of a young girl chosen to be a mom
the mom….of a saviour.
Her saviour and ours.
What did she feel like?
What did she think?
When the angel appeared and said to her ‘fear not.’
It would take your breath away.
Fear not… Mary Fear not…
I am standing in the presence of an angel
and I am told to Fear not?
Mary could have said that or at least thought it.
How can I not question
for I am pure of body and heart.

How did she do it and how did they both sleep at night
knowing there would be a son born to them.
I would toss and turn and be forever restless.
Perhaps since she was carrying the saviour of the world
she had an intense peace
‘that passes all understanding-deep within her heart.’
Perhaps as she sat with Joseph and whispered to him,
as he held her shaking hand…
“I am scared, I don’t understand it all but I choose… I choose…
Joseph choose with me…stay with me so we can see…
what the angels have told us.”
Oh what a moment between them.
The choice of obedience and trust.
What a precious little couple…
We sing, “Oh little town of Bethlehem and We three kings of Orient are.”
We sing, “Away in the manger and O Holy Night.”

But can we grasp the HOLY MOMENTS of the passage of time
when it began?
Where everything around them anticipated the birth of a special baby.
The moment when the stillness of the night and the light of the stars were so bright.
The moment and reflection of a scared girl becoming a mom
and a scared dad holding an infant
SO full of power
and yet so full of innocence
as it all began.
They were young.
They were beginning a life full of such uncertainties and yet
they loved the child just as we would love our newborns.
I hold my two month old grandson and I see how precious
how miraculous
how innocent
he is.
And this baby in the manger
was just like my precious grandson.
The difference…
When she held his tiny warm body
she held the SON Immanuel God with us.
Advent is here
may we never forget the journey to the manger
along the path leading to the story.
Lord Jesus Help us to remember
The most important story of all time.
Your story…
O Holy Night…
may we
fall on our knees and praise you.