All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others

Christine's Blog (2,610)

NOT so fast!

NOT so fast! I love a new year!

by the way - where ya' been?

"So, last day of 2017," I casually quipped to the cashier a few days ago. She passed my groceries across the scanner, and briefly looked up, "Two thousand Eighteen can't get here soon enough!" The implication - the year has not treated her kindly, and she is hoping for better in this new year.

The. New. Year. Been really sick for a…

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Added by Christine on January 8, 2018 at 8:01am — No Comments

The Best Christmas Letter

The Best Christmas Letter?

What if you opened today's mail and got a Christmas letter from Jesus? Maybe he would write something like this:

Dear child,

A blessed Christmas time to you! Just as the townspeople of Bethlehem…

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Added by Christine on December 24, 2017 at 8:29am — No Comments

Sheep ... seriously?

Sheep ... seriously? At Christmas?

Have you ever noticed that God seems to have been a little partial to shepherds? I guess it follows then that the Father thinks rather a lot of sheep as well! Would it surprise you to know that I saw shepherds driving flocks of mottle-coated sheep whilst in Israel? Quite a remarkable site actually.

The most glorious of the three yuletide visitations…

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Added by Christine on December 22, 2017 at 8:12am — No Comments

God has thick skin

God has thick skin.

How did I come up with such a notion?

I shall tell you.

Tired as I was the other night, (having gotten home from helping my daughter and new grand-twins at the hospital, and then taking care of the two young ones at home) . . . when the phone rang the other night, my daughter's tense voice set off alarms in my heart. 'Mom, I think I'm…

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Added by Christine on December 20, 2017 at 7:41am — No Comments

Here's how it happened

Here's how it happened.

I also like to call this the Old Familiar Story. Luke Two.

Though Christmas is several days in the offing, tis wonderful to consider the details and keep…

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Added by Christine on December 18, 2017 at 7:15am — 1 Comment

Filled with anticipation ...

Filled with Anticipation ...to Feel God. Christmas, 2017.

There is nothing quite like being 'great with child' close to Christmas Day. My firstborn son was born on my birthday three days after Christmas. And my second-born, Amy, is to deliver identical twin boys this Thursday morning. Not only is she very great with child, we are filled with anticipation, preparing for their arrival…

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Added by Christine on December 13, 2017 at 6:56am — No Comments

Believing for the Impossible!

Ask for the Impossible! Christmas, 2017.

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~>Taken at the Church of the…

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Added by Christine on December 11, 2017 at 6:00am — No Comments

Be the One.

Be the One. at Christmas

"Okay, this is just what I needed to hear," she said over the phone. "I know I have needed to forgive for a long time, but just did not know how to go about it... the mechanics ... but I got those in "Give yourself a Christmas Present.1"

[which followed "Mind the…

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Added by Christine on December 6, 2017 at 7:47am — No Comments

Give yourself the best Christmas present

Give yourself a Christmas present!!

How to Forgive. (After "Mind the Gap" and root of bitterness)

When shopping for others at Christmas, we always see things we could use, right? 'Maybe I should pick that little sweater up-you know, a Christmas gift to me?' you think. Well, this Morning Briefing…

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Added by Christine on December 4, 2017 at 7:38am — No Comments

Mind the Gap!

Mind the Gap. [between Thanksgiving and Christmas]

Howdy!

"Joy to the World" is one of my favorite Christmas carols. As I write I am thinking about the wording, "Joy

to the World, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King; let every heart prepare Him room, And Heaven and nature sing ...

While Heaven and nature will sing about the birth of the Lord, I am convinced…

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Added by Christine on December 1, 2017 at 6:00am — No Comments

But wait! There's more . . .

But wait! There's more . . .

We see naked guys, or at least guys half clad with school letters painted on their bodies, chanting and cheering at the top of their lungs.

But these guys were totally naked and then beaten, and yet singing?

Were they daft? Who would do such a thing?

Brainwashed? Members of a new cult? What was it that caused Paul and Silas to sing God's praises after they had been stripped, whipped and then beaten with rods?

They were convinced… Continue

Added by Christine on November 27, 2017 at 7:18am — No Comments

Giving Thanks.

Giving Thanks.

Thanksgiving Day is a day that prompts us to stop and think of being grateful ~ for our God, family, friends, faith! and generally-blessed lives. Oh sure, we talk about being grateful throughout the year, but to have a day set aside for it is brilliant! You know, a long time ago, Americans really were a thankful people. Pilgrims first came together on American soil in 1621 to thank God for helping them bring in a life-sustaining harvest. "Our harvest being gotten in,… Continue

Added by Christine on November 23, 2017 at 7:17am — No Comments

At the top of your lungs!

Etched in my mind is a scene of two men confined to a dark prison. They are bruised, bloodied and battered, but yet they are singing to God at the top of their lungs. What in the world?! Their behavior was unnatural and certainly illogical. But sing they did, praising God in spite of physical pain and exhaustion, their feet secured in stocks. It seems they couldn't keep from praising God.

And then a funny thing…

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Added by Christine on November 20, 2017 at 6:00am — No Comments

Do Ya Have a Place?

I'm askin - do ya have a place of prayer?

"Yeah, I do," she said, "at my kitchen table, every morning."

"Yeah, I do," he said. "I pray with a bunch of guys-my brothers--people I trust."

Well, which is it? Is a place of prayer the place you privately pray, or is it the place you go when you have cares - great or small - to be surrounded by people of faith who will hold you close and pray with you?

Yes. It is one. It is…

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Added by Christine on November 17, 2017 at 7:32am — No Comments

Are you a good listener?

Are you a good listener? Acts 16

"Honey, you're not listening to me!" your wife has oft said.

"Mom ... mom, did you hear me? Are you even listening?" your teenager says to you, or maybe you say to him!

We all want to be listened to...we all want to be heard. Even God. Sure, maybe you have practiced your active listening skills in therapy or even good business practice seminars, but are you a good listener…

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Added by Christine on November 15, 2017 at 6:39am — No Comments

Real. Peace. Even in the Middle East!

Real. Peace. Even in the Middle East.

Palestinians and Israelis - a panel of both, sat before me, peacefully talking about what God is doing in their land1,2,3. No, your eyes did not deceive you. 'No yelling, cursing, obvious anger or bitterness. We certainly do not hear about this sort of thing on CNN, with Christiane…

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Added by Christine on November 13, 2017 at 7:48am — No Comments

Choose your next step wisely

Choose your next step wisely.

Of Paul and Dylan.

Sometimes he is brilliant-fluid in motion, very creative and eloquent.

Sometimes he takes risks that flirt with great danger.

He prefers to live life on the edge.

This picture of Dylan captures all of that1:…

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Added by Christine on November 8, 2017 at 8:23am — No Comments

Do something about it!

Prayer for America. November, 2017.

It is time to earnestly pray for our country-to pray that hatred would be turned toward healing of broken hearts and minds. Friend, this is about you, about me; it is for our children and grandchildren, for the generations to come. Read this prayer and consider its humble words; share this prayer with others and continue to pray it…

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Added by Christine on November 6, 2017 at 8:40am — 1 Comment

Fresh off the Airplane in Wake Forest

Fresh off the Airplane in Wake Forest.

Why do we strike up conversations with strangers anyway?

Which ones are divine? (conversations, that is)

Sometimes when I fly, I seat my seat in the seat and quickly pull out a book to study or my laptop to write. But occasionally, things roll out differently . . . and I talk to my seatmates.

Such was the case on my connection from Houston…

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Added by Christine on November 2, 2017 at 7:55am — 1 Comment

Flip or Flop?

Flip or Flop, Flippable or UnFlappable?

Personal note: I have arrived in North Carolina to help my very 'expectant' daughter Amy, granddaughter Alyssa (almost 2) and Bennett (4) and Eric; twin boys are coming in about six weeks! …