Merry Christmas Dear April

Well.... here it is finally, my Christmas newsletter. Pretty bad,huh? God has been giving me lots of content since Thanksgiving so His timing is always perfect even though I was feeling like the biggest procrastinator. Now matter how I was feeling, God has been in control all along. Why do we doubt that fact so much? C ry with those who cry O pen your home M ake a meal for the hungry P ray for the helpless A nswer the call to go where He sends S urrender your will for His S eek to be grateful I ncrease your faith by obedience O verlook insults and bless in return N ote your blessings There it is in a nutshell.... what God has been teaching me about COMPASSION since Christmas. It looks simple but we as a family have suffered to gain this wisdom and yes it has been worth it. We have cried over deaths of precious loved ones,opened our home to family and a special friend from Brazil. Meals have been prepared for those who hungered physically as well as spiritually. Prayers and more prayers have been spoken for those we love and those we will never meet here on earth. Madie answered the call to go to Brazil on a mission trip and it was the beginning of many new and rewarding friendships. Delaney surrended her will for His as she agreed to go to GCSU instead of Alabama. Ali was full of gratitude for the great doctors and nurses that took such good care of her during her jaw surgery on her Christmas break. She has healed and is as beautiful as ever. Kenny and I are so grateful to God for her healing and all the people who prayed for her and sent meals and just loved us through her operation and recovery. Sam was obedient to commit to soccer during a rough year of coaching and God was faithful to help him overcome and be victorious and a strong leader on his team. Kenny has been patiently waiting to see where God will lead in his career and it has been a challenge for him because he is such a visionary but God is opening doors and creative options are blooming as I type. As for me personally.... I have realized that hurting people hurt people as I continue to mentor women in Hope at my church. I have tried to forgive and move on by blessing those who hurt me and advising others to do the same. So let me end this "right on time" Christmas newsletter by counting my blessings. 1.Love 2. Peace 3. Joy------ no matter what the world throws our way, His presence brings all we need to show COMPASSION! May His compassion be a part of your life this year! Psalm 103:13- The Lord is like a father to his children,tender and compassionate to those who fear him. Zechariah 10:6- "I will restore them because of my compassion."

Who are you following?

Jesus said, "Follow Me!" Isn't it ironic that the catch phrase on every one's lips these days is ,Who do you follow? Who are you following on twitter,facebook,or whose blog do you follow? (I have 13 followers on mine) I recall when twitter first started and a so-called actor married to a much older actress was trying to be the first to have a million followers. He achieved that "lofty" goal and surpassed it. He probably has a billion by now. I wonder if Jesus is jealous?
Don't get me wrong here... I am not saying that we shouldn't take part in social media. It is the only way I have communication with many dear friends and family members but I will be the first to admit that I am slightly out of balance with my use of it. I even put in a safe guard to avoid it but it happens anyway. My homepage is CBN(Christian Broadcast News) so I get the daily bible reading when I first turn on my computer. Most days, I do read that first but somedays I skip past it and go straight to e-mail or facebook.
God must be jealous because he woke me up at 4:00 this morning to talk to me about this. Well , I know for a fact He is jealous because he tells us in the Bible. He says in Exodus 20 that we should not bow down or worship any other gods for He is jealous and will not share our affection with another god. And then to really drive His point home He kept me awake so I got up and read my daily bible reading. You guessed it. It was all about Moses getting the message of not worshipping other gods that we form into metal objects. Well.... if this little square thing I am typing on and you are reading this on is not a metal object you can slap my mama.
No, I am not suggesting you throw your computer or blackberry in the trash before you read the next line. When we use the metal objects for honest work and God's purposes we honor Him. But when we become obssessed with following others and their status' more than we follow Jesus and His status(reading the bible,praying and actually doing what he tells us) then He does becomes jealous.
I love the song that begins,"He is jealous for me!" He wants my love and attention and he deserves it more than anyone or anything else. And why not? He has earned it!! The last I checked, He is the only one who died to give me life!!
He knows how hard it is to keep from being distracted by all these metal objects that seem to promise such relaxation and entertainment and way too much information. He also knows they will drain us of the energy and time we need to worship Him. But, He knows the opposite will happen when He is first. We will have extra time to do what matters and be refreshed with new life. So check out His status right now and FOLLOW HIM!!!!!!!!