Merry Christmas!

I want to wish you a Merry Christmas from our house to yours......what a year this has been. The Lord has been so faithful and gracious to us.

Emily is recovering from her surgery nicely and is excited to have mashed potatoes and home-made noodles for dinner:) She didn't sleep by the Christmas tree last night....the first time since she was 6yrs old but Katie kept the tradition alive and slept out in the living room by the tree. I can still see them at 214 Crestmont Dr. sleeping in their Christmas pj's and hugging their buddy pillows right under the tree.
It was so much fun to see their eyes when they would wake up and see all of the presents under the tree. Life goes by way too fast. I will treasure these memories forever. Thank you Lord for my family!

Living in Florida has brought new Christmas memories and traditions.....it was fun on Christmas Eve to be sitting with our girls around our pool and then go to our Christmas Eve Service outside under the stars. This was our 2nd year to be outside for Christmas and it is an incredible experience. The first Christmas began not under a steeple but outside in a stable in an open field under the canapy of heaven. You can see our pictures on Mark's blog - www.incourageu.com.

Enjoy your day with your family and treasure every memory you make! Take time to remember the greatest gift of all, Jesus, who is our hope and our salvation. We love you, Church of Hope and we can't wait to see what the Lord has for us in the New Year.....2010.`

Thank you!

Thank you for praying for Emily......she is slowly recovering from her surgery. We truly appreciate all of you love and prayers and kindness.

We are home and resting. She gets better everyday! She is drinking smoothies, milkshakes, eating pudding, jello......working up to hopefully mashed potatoes on Christmas Day. The Lord is good and faithful. He meets us right where we are.

We wish you a Merry christmas and a Happy New Year! We love you and are so thankful for your friendship. We can't wait to see you all on Sunday and we are looking forward to our Christmas Eve Service - www.hopeinocala.com.

Christmas is in the air

It is that special time of year......time to shop till we drop to buy the perfect gift, decorate our homes with our favorite decorations and lights, and then of course bake all of the family favorits. I love this time of year so much but I know for me if am not careful I can keep myself so busy that somewhere in the mix, it's easy to feel empty and lose sight of Jesus. How can we push aside the busyness of the season and get a true glimpse of Christ at Christmas.

Here are a few ideas that help me keep my focus on the Jesus....the true Reason for the season:

1. Read the Christmas story in the New Testament with fresh eyes and ask the Lord to show you

something new this Christmas that maybe you hadn't noticed before.

2. Bless a family in need or even have a Christmas Open House for your neighbors to share the

joy of Christmas.

3. Another great book to read is "Can Martha Have a Mary Christmas?"......Untangling

Expectations and Truly Experiencing Jesus. This book is a great little book that is a daily

reminder of what Christmas really means. It offers tender insights, practical suggestions, and

touching stories that show you how to calm down and slow down the Christmas season.

Can Martha Have a Mary Christmas? Untangling Expectations and Truly Experiencing Jesus

By: Brenda Poinsett

This year you can truly experience Jesus and have a Mary Christmas.

Also check out the new series we are going through at church - Christmas a Tangled Mess, Untangling the Family http://www.hopeinocala.com/

Love Like Jesus

Wow......I can't believe that we are on the last day of our 40 Day Journey of Love. Learning from the relationship principles of Jesus.

Jesus places a high priority on relationships:

Mark 12:29-31 - Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

John 13:34-35 - A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

The Message - Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.

Matthew 12:34 - For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

(NLT) - For whatever is in your heart determines what you say.

I have realized that I still have alot to learn about loving like Jesus. I am forever changed because of His amazing love for me and it sounds so simple to love others the way Jesus loves me but it is so much easier to read it, say it, know it and even believe it than it is to actually live this way. I am so thankful that I can't but through Christ I can.

What would life look like if you and I began to live out in all of our relationships this kind of love Jesus taught?

Look at the closing prayer from our journey.....Jesus, in my own power I can't love this way! Show me how - and then give me the strength. I need more than your example; I need your power. I humbly ask for your power. Lord, I want to love the way you loved. As crazy as a dream as that is, as high a goal as that sets, I commit myself to spend the rest of my life pursuing it. I want to be like you, Jesus. I want to love like you, Jesus. Thank you from the depths of my soul for loving me. In your name. Amen.

Trust in God

Today's reading, Day 33, on our 40 Days of love Journey was a reminder to me to not become dependant on myself but stay totally dependant on God.....to Trust Him....no matter what I may go through on any given day. I don't know about you but because "life comes at you fast" and is filled with many twists and turns I can lose my balance and tend to rely on myself and then slip away from completely Trusting God.

I am so thankful that the Lord loves me so much that He gently reminds me to keep my eyes on Him and the Trust Him.

Here are a few of my favorite verses to get me back on track:

Psalm 103:11-14 - "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust."

Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

Lamentations 3:22-33 - "God's loyal love couldn't have run out, his merciful love couldn't have dried up. They're created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over). He's all I've got left. God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God. It's a good thing when you're young to stick it out through the hard times. When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions: Wait for hope to appear. Don't run from trouble. Take it full-face. The "worst" is never the worst. Why? Because the Master won't ever walk out and fail to return. If he works severely, he also works tenderly. His stockpiles of loyal love are immense. He takes no pleasure in making life hard, in throwing roadblocks in the way:"

He gives us a clean slate everyday.....to Trust Him.....great is His faithfulness!

Embracing a Different Perspective

As a woman I find myself many times drifting towards perceptions even when I know truth. You may have heard it said, "People's perception is their reality". Well, "What is my perception about who I am as a woman of God....daughter of the King"? Is my perception based on the truth of God's Word or based on lies of the enemy. The adversary doesn't want me to embrace the truths in God's Word and embrace freedom in Him. Jesus gladly peels off the scarlet letters that have been pinned all over us. Nothing's too hard for Him. There is no past He can't restore, no lie He can't erase, and no offense He can't make right. He takes the stones that have injured us and turns them into jewels fit for a crown.

Psalm 27:1 -"The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?"

I can drift toward the perception of who I am or even what I think others think of me when that becomes my focus instead of the truth. I then take things personally & react defensively.

Think of it this way - We as women, at one time or another , have all done "shadowboxing". In other words, we percieve what we think someone else may be thinking, and in anger we react to that perception. In our minds we get mad, react, and then defend ourselves. And then, based on little or no factual information, we soon find ourselves swinging at the air because of a percieved conflict with an opponent who is totally unaware of their offense or our feelings.

2 Corinthians 10:5 - "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

NLT - "We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ."

Our reaction to this perception can be based on our past, our pride, the need to be right & even the desire to be percieved perfect. I am realizing that I can spend thousands of dollars trying to improve myself, and way too much energy trying to prove myself, when what I really need is to be purified.

1 John 3 -"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!..........Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure."

Matthew 5:8 -"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God."

Thank you, Father, that you have forgiven me, You have redeemed me, and retored me! I refuse to buy into the world's perception of who I am. I will treasure and value what is true and lovely and worthy of praise. I release to you my own perceptions and help me to be quick to hear and slow to speak. Help me to relenquish the need to be right or wrong and to live and move and breath by your Holy presence. Help me to daily renew my mind in Your Word.

Love is Forgiving

John 13:34-35 - "A new command I give you; Love one another. As I have loved you so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

We are on Day 22. We are halfway through our 40 Day journey of loving like Jesus! It is truly life-changing. We have looked at 3 powerful principles modeled and taught by Jesus:
1. Place the highest value on relationships
2. Love as Jesus loves you
3. Communicate from the heart

Last night we looked at Love is Forgiving.

1 Corinthians 13:5 - Love...doesn't keep a record of wrongs that others do."

I am praying for the Lord to transform my memory and help me to release to Him the wrongs of others and not keep a list. I know I wouldn't want someone to keep a list of all of my wrong choices so I need to do the same for others. Love is forgiving!

Luke 6:27-28 - "Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."

3 Reasons to forgive others:
- God has forgiven me
- Bitterness makes you miserable
- You are going to need more forgiveness in the future.

Lord, help me to forgive others because You have forgiven me. Help me to realize that I can forgive others through You. Help me to love like Jesus.