Thank you God for renewing our lease on this little blue planet.

Thank you God for renewing our lease on this little blue planet. 

We understand that under the house rules, 
we need to give more love,
fighting is not allowed, 
preying on other people is forbidden,
we need to care for the weak, the elderly, the young, the vulnerable...
we know there were many infringements this year
and we thank you for your grace to let us stay on this Earth for another year.

We will strive to improve and be a worthy tenant of your gift.
Food for thought for the New Year
Wishing everyone a Happy and Safe New Year!

But hope does not disappoint

But hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has come in, overflowing our hearts by The Spirit of Holiness Who has been given to us.-Romans 5:5

In this Christmas time, do not forget the love of God that brought his son Jesus Christ to Earth to give us hope and remind us of God's promise of forgiveness to us. Be glad of the most costly present this Christmas which was not wrapped in fancy wrapping paper but in the most simple swaddling cloth.

This Christmas slow down and take a moment to trust and wait

Luke 2:25-26
"Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ."

So we survived the so called "End of the World" yet again. In this modern life we seems to be always eager and rushing for things. Even our eventual demise we seem to be eager to embrace quickly and every year we keep announcing our impending doom.

This Christmas we should take time to reflect on what has gone and what is to come.
To clear our minds of thoughts of doom and gloom
To build our trust in God
And to remember the true meaning of Christmas
That God sent his Son Jesus Christ down to Earth
To give us Hope
And show us his Grace
To give us a sign
That God is in control
And we are in his care
Nothing we do will suffice to redeem ourselves
Everything we have is from God

For those in Connecticut and elsewhere who are grieving

This is what the LORD, your Defender, the Holy One of Israel, says: I am the LORD your God. I teach you what is best for you. I lead you where you should go. -Isaiah 48-7

His Perfect Peace

Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things- – but ONE thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the GOOD portion- -which will NOT be taken away from her.” John 10:41-42 “I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace, In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you, Not as the world gives do I give to you, Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27 The Lord knows the heart – He knows the troubled and anxious breast, The Lord knows that His wonderful peace is freely available to calm the anxious one, And so He reaches out with words that only He can utter. Let not your heart be troubled, beloved child, neither be afraid, Here is my peace for you, my precious children, I give My peace to you. John 14:27 You are more precious to Him than the sparkling universe and the riches of the world, He loves you more dearly than human understanding can fathom, And He is the God of comfort when the human heart is faint from exhaustion. He loves to place little lighted candles in our dark chambers of pain and sorrow, He delights to gently kiss away the tears of sadness and replace them with joy. He is able to comfort because He is Incarnate Comfort – the Great Comforter, He gives His own peace to those He delights in, He offers the same peace that kept Him quiet and calm during His own earthly walk. Peace I leave with you, MY peace I give unto you: Not as the world giveth, give I unto you. John 14:27 Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:1

Connecticut School Killings - a sign of the times

Last Friday news broke across the world of the latest in the wave of violence happening in the world and put Newton, Connecticut on the lips of many people who would have never heard of this small town. The killings of so many small children shocked many people and this tragedy during this Christmas season will have many  people shaken in their faith. Maybe that's what was intended by what ever evil forces they were at play with the timing of this tragic event.

Not so well published was the death of 10 Afghan girls killed by a landmine in Afghanistan over the same weekend.
http://www.voanews.com/content/explosion-kills-ten-afghan-girls/1566267.html

Young lives just as valued by their parents and just as tragic that they were killed by another human being while doing their normal daily activities. Both just as tragic and deserving equal attention for your prayers and thoughts.

I can not for the life of me give any meaning or reason to these deaths as they are far beyond my understanding. Suffice to say that we made this world that we live in and we will need to face the consequences of the decisions that we made. For now, all I can offer is a prayer for comfort for the families of those who have been lost and a prayer that we will actually have the courage to make the hard choices so that this does not happen again.We can only pray for this.

King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)
But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 19:14 

Behold, God is my salvation

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation - -Isaiah 12:2

In our darkest moments just remember who you should trust to keep you and be strengthen by it. Let there be no doubt that God will always be at your side.

I am the light of the world.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”-John 8:12

Maybe in the our darkest hour we will discover our true faith for the light shines brightest in ultimate darkness.