Tuesday, January 31, 2006


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Monday, January 30, 2006

FAITH...50 days of it?

In January our Pastor started a sermon topic entitled "50 Days of Faith". It's been an interesting topic to try and follow, and I like the inserts that are made up to follow along and use during the sermon. The whole focus is of course on Faith. Keeping our faith steadfast thro' everything that happens in our lives; thro' both the good and the bad times, and all the ups and downs of our lives. Do you have enough faith to help get you through 50 days? What about 50 hours, or minutes? Anything is a start! There are some days when I feel like I have enough faith to see me thro' just about anything. Then there are those days when it's such a struggle to get thro' just one day. Thus the title for my blog...One Day at a Time. That's all any of us can do is to take things a step or a day at a time.
Through all of the daily struggles I have to constantly remind myself to hold steadfast to my faith, and to God's many promises within His word...to realize that I will have enough strength for just about anything, because HE is with me, every moment of the day, every day of the week, and every day of the year. Of course there's a whole lot more to the messages with this topic....but the bottom line comes down to just one thing....FAITH in a GOD that has the power to move mountains, faith as small as a mustard seed, and a LOVE that is so strong, that He was willing to send us His only begotten Son, to die on a cross for the sins of each one of us, so that we might be blessed with the gift of salvation and 'Eternal Life'.
John 3:16:For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life.
His son was not sent to condemn the world, but to save it.
It is only thro' our Faith, that we are accepted by God and right with Him, and can truly fulfill the law and all that He requires of us. (Roman's 3:30-31)
It is only when we are made right in God's sight by faith, that we have peace with God because of what Christ did for us, and thro' this we are given joy to share and look forward to sharing in God's glory. Roman's 5:1&2...11
It also says that we can rejoice when we run into problems & trials because they help us to endure, develop character, strengthen confidence, & trust in salvation, and thro' the gift of His Holy Spirit we are filled with love.
Faith comes from listening to the message of good news...news about Christ. Romans 10:17
What is faith? Faith is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. God gave His approval to people in days of old because of their faith. It is thro' faith, that we understand the universe was formed at God's command, and that many people of the bible did things, 'out of faith'. In order to please God, we must have faith. Hebrews 11
We can pray even if we feel our faith is small....Matthew 17:20
Do you have faith? Your faith depends on Jesus, so keep your eyes on Him from start to finish.

January

Where did January go to? It's come & gone so quickly. It's been a crazy, crazy month, esp. weather wise. Thinks were pretty hectic over the Christmas holidays, and seemed to continue into January. Always seems to be something that needs to be done, or places to go.
We've had such a mixed bag of weather & temp. this month, as things have gone from freezing cold temp. to snowy days, freezing rain, rain, and on the occasion we are blessed with sunshine. For many the dark, cloudy days of winter seem to make this time of year seem endless & very depressing. Winter Blues.... When you see how many days we go without sunshine, it's no wonder that people get so frustrated & down, esp. those who are shut-in and seldom seem to get out of their homes.
One of the girls had skiing for her gym classes this month, and they only had 3 opportunities to go. One of the days was warmer with a drizzly rain and the slopes were gradually getting green spots on them. Another day was cooler, with some snow. Their last day it was quite chilly out there, and they had to dress for the day, but they seemed to enjoy the time out. The girls had some sick time this month, and time off at home as the colds settled into their sinus, but neither got too bad.
We've had problems with each of our vehicles breaking down, and a lot of extra expenses trying to keep them running. Seems to be a never ending job these days.
My oldest had her 14th birthday, and while we didn't do anything major we tried to make it a good day for her. My birthday was only a few days after her's and one of my best friends came & took me out, and we spent time with another friend and they took me out for lunch which was a nice treat. I came home to find a surprise from my daughters & husband...they had a single white rose for me, and a heart shaped balloon with Happy Birthday on it for me so that was nice. Then my oldest used her babysitting money to buy pizza for dinner so I didn't have to cook anything. Now that's what I call a nice relaxing birthday! Makes me thankful for my family & friends and how they have really blessed me.

Sunday, January 01, 2006

Christmas

Wow, it's hard to believe how fast time often passes by. We spend so much time in the preparation of getting ready for Christmas, planning special events, meals, shopping, cleaning, fussing, running around...and then the day comes and we're too tired to enjoy it. For the person who does so much of the running around, cleaning, shopping, meal preparations etc. it's a lot of extra work that we aren't really used to doing. The stress & strain of so many events & things going on and running about, along with a lot of extra financial strain is very difficult for many to handle. Then there's the part that many families now deal with, and that is the one of trying to split up your time between each others families, parents, siblings, friends, church events.... I don't really have any easy solutions for anyone. It was hard having to do many of those things, and esp. when the children were younger and we also had to take along extra toys, clothes, diapers etc.
I used to enjoy all the fuss & having people come over, and just getting together with others. I always enjoyed that special time when the family would all gather together as one, in unity, and love. I miss my mom on these special holidays and especially during family events. We seldom 'all' get together, but families have grown, & gone about their lives in so many different ways. Now it's just our immediate family & my dad. My son & his family do their own thing. My brother & his boys came to visit for a little while to spend time with my father. That was nice to see them.
Unfortunately the years do pass by all too quickly and I don't want to think past today and where things will be as my daughters grow older. I do hope that they will remember & place value in the importance of families.