by Sharon O | Dec 6, 2017 | Uncategorized
In the book of Luke chapter 1:
[26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,
27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”]
Remember GOD SENT the angel Gabriel to where Mary was. It was a Choice.
[29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God.
31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,
33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”]
{We have to remember the genealogy of Jesus, Yes He was fully God but also Joseph had to be in the lineage.}
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
36 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.
37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea,
40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.
41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!
43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”]
There is so much wonder in these passages.
Mary knew her aunt was barren so to hear she had a child coming, would have been a sign for her to believe in her own ‘miracle baby.’
I think that is why she rushed to see Elizabeth. To see and know for sure, was this true?’
Her response was a choice. Her response was normal.
Her response was amazing. “I am the Lord’s servant.”
by Sharon O | Dec 4, 2017 | Uncategorized
There are many factors that make the Christmas Story as I shared before; the orchestration of people create the whole in depth story of Hope.
God through His DEEP love for us created a way for a Savior to come to restore peace and give life to a dying world.
In the book of John it says:
“For God so loved the world that HE gave his one and only Son so that whoever chooses to believe in him will have everlasting life.”
It was a choice for God to send His Son who was fully God, fully human, fully Spirit in the form of a baby.
Like in an orchestra, each had a part; each has a ‘place’ in the story.
We all have heard the nativity story.
How Mary was a young teen and how the Holy Spirit came upon her after the angel told her she would be the ‘chosen one.’
Mary had heard the story over and over of a Savior to come someday; but she surely would not have considered herself to be the one bringing him life.
Before we learn about Mary; we find Zachariah and Elizabeth and their miraculous baby who would become John, and the cousin of Jesus.
[5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron.
6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly.
7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old.]
8 Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God,
9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense.
12 When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear.
13 But the angel said to him: “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.
14 He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth,
15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born.
16 He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God.
17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—
to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
18 Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”]
19 The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.
20 And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”
21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple.
22 When he came out, he could not speak to them.
They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
23 When his time of service was completed, he returned home.
24 After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.
25 “The Lord has done this for me,” she said. “In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”]
The story shows us so much already. Three players already mentioned and chosen.
by Sharon O | Dec 1, 2017 | Uncategorized
It’s hard to believe it’s December 1st already.
The older I get I sense the passing of time like a wind that blows one year into the next.
Life as we know it keeps us busy.
Routines are good and healthy and so are the goals we set for ourselves both individually and as a couple.
One of my goals is to keep on track with my writing and I remind myself that this is the time for the Christmas series again.
The words must move to a new level of exploring the message for us one more year.
The Christmas story is not one we can get tired of reading. It is the showing of the heart of God.
It is an orchestration of God creating an opportunity for us to have and receive a Savior as an outpouring of His intense love and willingness to let go.
We cannot read the story lightly for without the Christmas story, Hope would not be approachable for us.
There were many characters who were involved and it amazes me how beautiful it presents itself.
As we move with the characters and journey along I pray we find new awareness and new insight of what we have always believed and what we know to be true.
I am not an expert on scripture so if something doesn’t seem right check it out for yourself.
There is great depth to the story and the hymns and carols we often find ourselves listening to and singing.
As we begin this month of remembering may we challenge ourselves to learn more and see differently.
The power and wonder of the Christmas Story.
A book written by a friend of mine, you can find it on Amazon.
by Sharon O | Nov 28, 2017 | Uncategorized
Through storms, give thanks
November 21, 2017
This post was written last November as we explored the act of giving thanks.
Sharon Osterhoudt wrote such eloquent and encouraging words on giving thanks in the storms of our lives (could we even add in the busyness in our lives?).
We thought it would be a great post to revisit in this week of thanks.
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The other day, as I looked outside, I noticed the wind blustery and pounding with rain pouring down in many directions, as the darkened clouds cracked the skies with thunderous roars. Watching it inside a warm home, listening to the roar of the wet as it fell onto the brown grass, I was giving thanks.
God gives us examples every day of letting go and remaining steadfast. The force of the wind gave the trees no choice but to let go of the remaining leaves that once held on, transforming the limbs to empty, barren sticks. The moment left me in awe of how we “have to let go” just as that tree limb to its leaves. Life’s forces slap us from one side to the other at times and we have no choice but to let go, and release our grip to what was familiar.
I was gently reminded of so much that we have to be thankful for. That God gives us tangible lessons to see and observe. That in the letting go we actually receive new, as time permits. In order for the trees to prepare for the growth in the spring, they must let go in the fall. It has to take place.
As I think of this, I am reminded to give thanks for the hard and difficult times for they prepare us to praise Him in the good and peaceful times. In the midst of trials and struggles and questions, He prepares us for the Power of his Glory. Oh, it’s hard to remember to give thanks when we are hit hard with the storms. It is hard to stand strong when the wind hits us and the rains dampen our spirits. But we must always remember, after a storm, often there is a rainbow.
A promise that we can look up and give thanks. We can open our eyes and our hearts to the One who is in control of all things. Some times we remain, shaken, but even in those times we can give thanks. Without the pause and reflection, we lose the sacred moment of the lesson. When life hits really hard, it is good to know God is taking care of us.
“Give thanks, to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; His love endures forever.” Jeremiah 33:11
Sharon Osterhoudt has been married for over 44 years. She has two grown ‘children’ and six grand children.
She and her husband have attended Grace chapel now for over ten years.
by Sharon O | Nov 17, 2017 | Uncategorized
Thanksgiving is a time for giving thanks.
It is also a time for family, friends, food and drinks and most important conversation around the warm fire.
One year we tried a new tradition; before we ate the ‘meal’ we went around the table and said what we are most thankful for.
It keeps the perspective of the day as a posture of being thankful not just eating and watching football.
(which I do not like to do)
I really love the tradition of making memories.
Before we do that we have to return to making lists and figuring out what will be on the table.
Meal preparation can be days before the big meal, this year we already ordered the turkey off the farm.
I feel kind of bad it will be processed a few days before we cook it.
The reality is; it will give it’s life for our table. (hard to think about)
Then what else goes with it? potatoes, gravy, dressing, green beans (no casserole) just fresh beans, relish plate, cranberries made fresh, homemade pumpkin and maybe apple pie with real whipping cream.
Always a glass of wine, coffee and fresh water.
The menu cannot change as the grand children love the traditional meal.
I cook the dressing in a separate baking dish not inside the turkey the way some people do.
This year will be a little different as we will be getting new windows the day before and it might be messy.
I like to dress up a bit, not just jeans and whatever top, the tradition of a festive meal calls out for nice clothing.
Thanksgiving, is a time for slowing down.
Perhaps as we make a list for the meal we also can make a list of who we are thankful for and send out cards.
Mail is a dying way of correspondence now and to receive a hand written letter or card is priceless.
It adds meaning to the special time of year and gives depth in our relationships.
What do you do in anticipating the festive meal?
Let’s take time and remember the real reason we set a day aside for Thanksgiving.
by Sharon O | Nov 15, 2017 | Uncategorized
I mentioned already that we used to have very special traditions around the holidays when we went to our grandparents house.
After my husband and I got married we established new traditions as a couple.
The first mistake we made was to spend our first thanksgiving holiday as a couple with his family.
It created a lot of ‘feelings’ and after that we decided where to spend our time during the holiday seasons.
My family didn’t really do anything on Easter and they always did Christmas on Christmas Eve.
So we set it up that Easter and Christmas day would be his side of the family and Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve for my side.
It worked wonderful when we had children as I was determined to not drag them to different homes with different foods.
Good way to have sick kids and I was not going to do that to any of us.
Now that our children have grown, we still have our traditions only they have changed to adapt to the ‘grandchildren’.
We always have an Easter dinner. That is a tradition and anyone is free to join us.
We always have a big brunch on Christmas morning at some point in time we have had up to over 20 around the table.
I love to use china and pretty glasses, and we have old country rose dishes for Thanksgiving.
Then I purchased Christmas china dishes for brunch.
I love to see a beautiful table with pretty flowers and a fire in the fireplace warming the room.
Traditions for the holidays are so important.
Now that we are writing down a list of important things in our lives, what would your traditions be?
What is negotiable and what is not?
It’s important to know what you need for family and for peace in the holidays.
I am not one to over pressure our ‘grown’ children to be here for the mealtime.
They are making their own traditions and at some point in time my husband and I might be alone.
Restaurants make wonderful meals and if you choose a nicer one the meal can be a real treat.
I challenge you to figure out what your traditions are then do what you can to make that happen.
We can make our holidays full of tension or we can make them very peaceful by deciding what is most important.
It’s really a matter of choice and decisions for each family.
by Sharon O | Nov 12, 2017 | Uncategorized
In our pursuit of giving thanks; it might be helpful to start a list in a notebook or scratch pad that you can carry with you.
Many times thoughts will come to me as I am shopping or writing or cleaning my home.
Write it down. Name it, give it a purpose and meaning.
It is a really easy habit to begin and once you start; it would be easy to exceed the list of one thousand.
I love to be with people who have an attitude of gratitude.
They have a circle of hope all around them and they are positive people to be with.
When you think of giving thanks it is a time for appreciation too.
When someone gives you something, the polite response is to say to them, “Thank you.”
Meaning I appreciate your thoughtfulness, I am in honor of your thought of me.
It makes me feel really special that they went out of their way to do something nice.
It is gratitude, and a posture of receiving.
In the same way; when we begin an attitude of gratitude and apply thankfulness in our hearts we make a choice.
Have you ever done something for someone and a few days later you received a thank you note in the mail?
Remember the surprise at receiving such a lovely hand written note?
That it would matter that much for them to take the time to say, ‘thank you?’
It kind of makes us want to do more.
Not for the notes in the mail but for the goodness that it creates.
I looked up the meaning of Thanksgiving, here is what it said:
the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favors, especially to God.
It doesn’t take much to say Thank you. If we are a believer it is really easy for us.
We can be thankful for every breath we receive, we can be thankful for every one in our lives who we love.
We can be thankful that we live where we have freedoms and choice in fact sometimes too many choices.
We can be thankful that we have medical care should we need it, and doctors who are prepared and trained.
We can be thankful that we have comfortable homes, and reliable cars.
So much of our every day, we can be thankful for and be in the posture of ‘I am so thankful.’
I do believe the first time you have a cold shower; you would so appreciate the hot water when it returns.
Little things, like light fixtures, washing machines and dryers.
There is so much around us on a day to day experience that we can be thankful for.
In our pursuit to create more thanksgiving in our lives, may we learn to integrate it so much that it is natural.
Shall we begin today to make a list and speak it out?
God I am so thankful for… and write it down.
by Sharon O | Nov 9, 2017 | Uncategorized
Our anniversary is over and now we are moving in to the second week of November.
A time for giving thanks.
Anne Voskamp wrote a book that shared how she began to give thanks for everything,.
Everyday, she would name one or two things she was thankful for, heading to one thousand thanks.
In fact her book is called One Thousand Gifts.
When we integrate within ourselves a time for giving thanks, we choose to change our mindset and our heart.
We cannot complain when we are grateful.
We cannot be sad when we are in a state of hopefulness.
We cannot be negative when we choose to look at all the positive.
It becomes a time for giving thanks and living in a thankful place deep inside ourselves.
I love Thanksgiving. I love all that it stands for and the memories that surround me about the day.
Growing up it was always a special event. A day for family.
Our family was not always warm and fuzzy, but we did have traditions and one of them was a Thanksgiving dinner at our grandparent’s house.
We always dressed up and I remember sitting in the bedroom waiting for the curlers to dry.
Remember the old fashioned wire ones with prickly plastic sticking out of them and a plastic poker to keep them in place? Oh I so remember those nasty things when trying to create a curl or two from naturally straight hair.
We always dressed up in our dresses and fancy socks.
It was tradition to dress up and you would never arrive in old casual clothing.
I am thankful for the expectation to make that one day a special one.
A time for giving thanks.
I am not often able to remember good and positive moments when we were growing up.
But I do remember the table in it’s beauty, the food prepared by grandma’s hands and the fine china.
I don’t remember conversation or other parts of the day other than grandma always made a pumpkin pie.
The men would sit in the living room and the girls would be in the kitchen, while grandma cooked.
I pray that each holiday we have in our home our grandchildren will remember with warm fondness.
Our table, our food, our conversation, our warm fires and our pumpkin pie.
One day in the month of November we set aside a time for giving thanks.
A time for gratitude and appreciating all that we have been given.
I pray as we head to this ‘wonderful day’ we remain steadfast in our attitude of thanks.
by Sharon O | Nov 3, 2017 | Uncategorized
Today is our anniversary.
Forty four years ago we walked down an aisle of a wonderful old church facing the lighted cross to say our vows and begin a life of living together as husband and wife. I accepted his name and our life began the moment we said, “I do.” 
At ages eighteen and nineteen did we know what love was?
Did we know what for better or worse would mean, or sickness and health?
Did we realize what richer or poorer meant when the cupboards were low and fridge empty?
Did we know that babies and all that required of us to raise them would be our biggest challenge as a couple?
Did we know what we promised when we stood there in front of several hundred people?
Life has changed our many ways of thinking.
It is good. We have faced many journeys with courage and strength and we move on to other ones that are ahead of us.
Age and life will teach us more.
We have lost parents and friends, through death, we have seen many changes throughout the years. What really matters is our choices in life to live true to our word.
From this day forward, we stand together.
For our children, our grand children and our legacy that we leave them.
The Pastor who married us was also our youth pastor. Such a wonderful man I remember him so strong in his faith and family values. He encouraged us in many ways.
We saw him a few years ago at a memorial service and it was such a wonderful time of reuniting.
He said, “I wasn’t sure about you kids but I had hoped it would work for you.”
Today we are sharing our forty fourth year together, and miraculously we made it.
by Sharon O | Nov 2, 2017 | Uncategorized
November 1st … A time for giving thanks.
For gathering all our precious ones in our heart and saying a ‘heart felt’ prayer for them.
We live in times of stress and worry and often times of danger too.
In saying all that we cannot let the world dictate our hope and safety.
As I look around my home and see the many things that are traditionally enjoyed in this season.
I realize it’s a time for giving thanks.
We have a roof over our heads, a furnace to keep us warm, a refrigerator to keep our food safe, a stove to warm it.
We have hot water whenever we want it, and fresh cold water to drink when we are thirsty.
How blessed are we to see and acknowledge all that we have been given.
I love to put a fire in the fireplace, brew a cup of hot coffee or wind down with a glass of wine.
It is peaceful, and a safety to us, our Home.
The colors of fall will soon leave us and the grey of winter will arrive.
It still gives us many things to be thankful for, grateful for and appreciate.
A time for giving thanks.
For health, and love and family and friends.
I challenge you today, to set aside some time and write down what you are thankful for.
It is a good habit to begin perhaps every day, a time of giving thanks.
