The truth of God's love, the Encouragement we all need and occasional humor
Author: anitashope
Retired Quality Manager but still have the "Why" curiosity drive so I am turning my love for Christ and nature into my new why chase and am trying to discover more of His word as it relates to His love for His creation.
Tonight is a night we focus on the memory of Christ’s birth, a quiet joyful night usually with candlelight. The candlelight represents His light coming into the world and as we share the flame from candle to candle, it shows how we should share His light from person to person.
Christmas means that God is interested in the affairs of people, that God loves us so much that He was willing to give His Son. Billy Graham
In my Christmas village I have an observatory and it reminds me we should always remember to look for His star, His light, as it shines on us and the rest of the world.
The Hope Observatory, may we all feel the hope of His light
I wish you all the very best Christmas. If this is a joyous time for you and your family, I hope it continues to shine brightly. If this time of year is sad for you, I hope the light of Christ finds you so that you understand just how much you are loved. He came for all of us to find His love and peace.
Good evening friends. This is a time of year where we all think everyone should be happy and filled with joy. But for some, this is a difficult time of year. So I come to you with thoughts from a new devotional called Jesus Speaks by Steven Scott. This is a wonderful devotional book and companioned by another of Steven’s books called The Greatest Words Ever Spoken. These books unfold the words spoken by Christ to help us understand them better and be able to lean on them for any situation we may find ourselves in. I hope this encouragement post will ease those troubled hearts just a bit. The Bible and the teachings of Jesus are a living entity that, if we study them as we should, will always help us feel His loving arms around us as He carries us through the hard times.
Even the disciples had a hard time fully understanding His teachings and how to use them for their lives, but the Holy Spirit came alongside them, with a lighted path, to help show them the way. And He wants to do the same for all of us. But to see this path we must stay in the Word, for His word is the light for our path.
When we stay in the Word, our faith will grow and when our faith grows, our fears and doubts will vanish and we can stand firm.
Remember that even though you can not see Him, probably may not even feel Him, there is no need to fear. You can trust that He is as close as your breath.
So I encourage you to feel the peace of Christ in any of your concerns. His love for you is more powerful than any of us will ever fully understand.
Have a wonderful and peaceful Christmas and in all things try to be kind. The seeds of kindness can quickly grow new trees of love.
As we explore this final week of Advent, we explore the vast, powerful and varied meanings of the word – LOVE. I want us to visual us standing inside a closet with the door closed, no light is on. No light is on in the house either. How dark and lonely is it in your closet? That dark can’t compare to the darkness of the nothing that was before creation. But what does creation have to do with love…everything.
God created everything that was…that is…that will be. And his purpose was love. Think about how you feel when you make something for someone as a gift. Now take that feeling and expound it exponentially…then you might begin to understand why God creates things for us. God wants a close relationship with us. It’s why He created Eden, so he could walk in and with all of His creation, enjoying the love they shared together. But man messed it up and here we are today still trying to find our way back to that love. And patiently God waits for us to come…
And knowing our inability to fully find our way back to Him, His love never failed and He gave us an unbelievable gift…a baby…Himself in human form, to show us again that amazing Love.
As we come to the close of the Advent season we begin to fully understand the power of the four gifts of Advent and how these gifts link out past, our present and our future together. The gift of Hope, the gift of Peace, the gift of Joy and now the gift of Love, all come together to help us celebrate Christ’s coming…in the past, here with us today…and in the future when all things will be made new as they should be.
Just as a parent loves their child, so God loves us as we are his children. He loved us first…and loves us more. That is the power of His Love.
We close out Advent with the lighting of the white candle on Christmas Eve, Christ’s candle. Let us never forget the all consuming LOVE God the Father and God the Son have for each of us.
Even though we may not fully understand the completeness of this love, it is as real as the air you are breathing. Breathe it in, embrace it and share it with others who need to breathe it in.
May you all have a very blessed Christmas. And remember in all things to be kind.
Good morning friends. I come to you this morning to explore some more through the Advent devotional book “The Gifts of Christmas”. This week we are celebrating the beauty and power of Joy. The candle we light is pink because this color represents joy. This candle is meant to help us enjoy the remembrance of Jesus’ birth. This candle is also called the Shepherd’s Candle as it represents the joy of the shepherds.
I can not imagine how the shepherds felt when all of a sudden the sky erupted with angels, but they told them not to be afraid. The gift of joy that had been promised of old had now been born. It is a gift of caring love and of strength.
And while this world around us can be quite scary, we have an inner joy that is stronger than any fear through Jesus our King. The Wiseman from foreign lands had studied the stars for years and knew of the prophecies. They felt a powerful joy the star appeared and went to seek it out.
As our pastor explained to us during Sunday’s sermon, joy is not a feeling, it’s a choice. Happiness is a feeling that can come from joy but if circumstances are dire, you can still have joy, it is a gift from God that comes from within.
There are many scriptures concerning joy, so it is a very important gift for us to embrace and hold tightly to. The psalmists remind us to be glad in the joy that has been bestowed on us.
May you feel the Joy of the Lord in all that you encounter. Have a blessed weekend and remember through this season of joy to always be kind.
Some encouragement and love for all women. This poem was written by Donna Ashworth and the sculpture was created by Simone Wojciechowski . I was so touched when I saw them both on facebook, I wanted to share with all of you. Never forget how very special all women are. A special creation from God by design for His purposes. Even though some of us have harder tasks than others, He has given us all the strength to get through them all. Hang in there and lean on God when it seems too hard and He will carry you through it.
When God created woman he was working late on the 6th day.
An angel came by and asked, “Why spend so much time on her?“
The Lord answered, “Have you seen all the specifications I have to meet to shape her? She must function in all kinds of situations. She must be able to embrace several kids at the same time, have a hug that can heal anything from a bruised knee to a broken heart. She must do all this with only two hands. She cures herself when sick and can work 18 hours a day.”
The angel was impressed, “Just two hands…impossible! And this is the standard model?” The angel came closer and touched the woman. “But you have made her so soft, Lord.
“She is soft”, said the Lord, “But I have made her strong. You can’t imagine what she can endure and overcome.”
“Can she think?” the angel asked.
The Lord answered, “Not only can she think, she can reason and negotiate.
“The angel touched her cheeks. “Lord, it seems this creation is leaking! You have put too many burdens on her.”
“She is not leaking…it is a tear” the Lord corrected the angel.
“What’s it for?” asked the angel.
The Lord said, “Tears are her way of expressing her grief, her doubts, her love, her loneliness, her suffering and her pride.”
This made a big impression on the angel. “Lord, you are a genius. You thought of everything. A woman is indeed marvelous!”
Lord said, “Indeed she is. She has strength that amazes a man. She can handle trouble and carry heavy burdens. She holds happiness, love and opinions. She smiles when she feels like screaming. She sings when she feels like crying. Cries when happy and laughs when afraid. She fights for what she believes in. Her love is unconditional. Her heart is broken when a next-of-kin or a friend dies but she finds strength to get on with life.”
The angel asked: “So she is a perfect being?”
The Lord replied, “No. She has just one drawback…she often forgets what she is worth.”
May women everywhere understand just how very important they are. I think women underestimate themselves more than men do and while all creation has a divine purpose, I believe women can balance more plates in the air at one time that most men. So rest assured ladies, you are indeed special. And remember in all that you do, be kind.
Thursday Doors is a weekly feature, hosted by No facilities, allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. Feel free to join in on the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing your link in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time).
His post this week of Ginger bread houses inspired me to show some favorite doors from the village I painted with a friend way back in 2000. We wanted to have a small village for Christmas but could not quit finding cute houses. So now 48 houses later, I have my village. The village gets put out every year. We won’t talk about the 10 I gave away as Christmas gifts. Wish I still had them. But alas it is what it is. The first pictures are a few of the ones I painted that have more interesting door features.
The next set of pictures are from a new village I started this year. These structures are only 3 inches high against those above that are 5 inches or higher. I call this little village the Candy Cane Village. They feature Mr. & Mrs. Claus and I did not make these. They are actually supposed to be ornaments, except for the Mr. & Mrs. They were my mom’s.
The red sign says “Believe in the Magic of Christmas”
If you enjoyed these, I will post more village pieces this weekend. Have a great end to your week and remember to always be kind. It shows the sweeter side of you.
Good afternoon friends. I don’t know about you but I am loving this quick flash of warmer weather we are having here in Iowa. Us old southern birds like our warm weather.
Our pastor explained in Sunday’s sermon, that this is the week of Peace. We so often think peace is so hard to obtain but Jesus came to bring us a unfathomable gift of peace – a whole different kind of assurance. I have this small resin picture frame that sits on my shelf to remind me daily that while chaos may be swirling around me, God has given me the ability to stand strong through any conflict I face.
Think of the most peaceful scene you have ever seen. Maybe it’s a beautiful garden, or a graceful waterfall, maybe it’s the beach. Somewhere, through your senses, you can momentarily escape the stressful world around you. But God’s gift of peace is a different type of peace – this peace came in to the world with the angel’s proclamation of Jesus’ birth.
At His birth, Israel was looking for a mighty warrior, one who would conquer their enemies. But He came as THE Prince of PEACE, not peace as in a feeling but peace in a person. And He shares that gift of peace with all of us.
Seeing this, knowing this, hoping this, …we still have a tendency to go…”But God”…remember, there is no but with God. His love is above all buts.
So we need to pay it forward with our fellow man. Sharing the peace we have been given freely so that others may understand it and reach for their own allotment.
The peace of God will not be understood by those who do not know the Lord, so we must reflect His peace to draw others into His love. For when we have His peace, the anxiousness of life can be coped with and we can all live in harmony.
May you enjoy the rest of this week of peace. I am looking forward to Sunday’s gift of Joy. What a wonderful time of year to share the Joy of the LORD. Be safe and remember to always be kind.
Good morning friends. So far I have shared my living room tree, more on the elegant side; and my bathroom tree, the down under tree. Today I am sharing my bedroom tree, the kitchen tree and the woodland animals tree. Its the fun side of Christmas or at least my quirky side.
My bedroom tree is the more personal tree. It has the ornament that my children made when young, happy ornaments that make me me smile and it is fast becoming the S’more tree.
I know as kids we all ate S’mores, or should have, but over the past 20+ years, I have collected S’more ornaments. Its my kids fault, they started it – I have just kept it going. My S’more ornament this year made me chuckle when I saw it, so, yes I had to have it.
A Graham Cracker truck, lol
Below are some of my more favorite ornaments from this tree because I cant show them all – they wouldn’t be here if they weren’t a favorite of some sort.
Notice the date on the bottom of the angel – ’81, my oldest made this when he was three. It always goes on the top of this tree.
Moving from the bedroom to the dining room and you have the Woodland Christmas including a cabin, the outhouse with cow, woodland animals and the hedgehog Christmas.
Then from dining room to kitchen, yes no room was left untouched by Christmas, we have the rest of the critters celebrating Christmas. All enjoying the fun of the holiday, singing, playing instruments and playing in the snow.
On Thursday I will share the Sunroom Christmas that has the big tree and the Christmas Village. I added a side village this year – the candy cane village. Until then, I hope you have wonderful week. Stay warm, its 12 degrees here in Iowa and remember to always be kind. It shows the very best side of you.
Time to share more of my fun and wish you a Merry Ho Ho Christmas. We have to say that this time because we are featuring Santa. When I was 8 years old, I went show shopping with my grandmother, my mom’s mother, Miss Lottie. She was a gentle spirit and a much beloved 2nd grade teacher. Since it was during the holidays, the shoe store had a three and a half foot tall stuffed Santa that they were having a drawing for. Well I had to put in a ticket for it but I also put one in for my grandmother, my parents and probably other people. The week before Christmas, we were called and notified as winners of the Santa, still not sure who actually won it. And now 60 plus years later, I still have it and it comes out each year. But like most folks who reach our age, we don’t stand as tall as we once did. So I place him where his stature adds interest to Christmas. Here he is admiring the beautiful tree in the living room. This tree is a white light tree and most of the ornament are white.
Closeup of Santa with his two friends, Straw Dog and Straw Elephant, that each have their own tree. Both trees are live trees with battery operated lights.
This tree also has a lighted church and a country inn underneath. The angel for this tree is well over 20 years old but an elegant ceramic lady. I love angels and they stay on tops of the large shelves year around.
My favorite ornament for this tree I have had for a couple of years. While I did buy a couple of new ornaments for this tree this year, the lamb laying with down the lion is still a favorite. You can’t see the top of the ornament very well, but it is and angel and her wings taper down to form the sides of the ornament.
This last sharing from the living room I shared last year. It is the inside wreath for this door. The front door wreath that is outside has a Christmas tree inside of it. One day I am going to count just how many Christmas trees I have that light up, there’s lots.
This wreath shows the mood for the season, Joy. It was one of my fun crafts from two years ago.
Remember to share your joy and kindness this season in all that you do.
Good afternoon friends. I hope this day finds you well. This is a time of year where we are scurrying about getting ready for Christmas. We are decorating our homes, shopping for gifts and trying to be our best selves. Sometimes that is a hard thing to do with the rushing about and chaos. We are preparing for one day of joy. But in all actually, there is a bigger picture.
There is a song we love to sing at Christmas called Joy to the World. I have heard debates off and on about this not really being a Christmas song. It was just released around Christmas time. While down in the latter verses of the song it talks of Him already here and ruling so its not really a song about his birth…but the first three lines of the song represents what we should be doing now, every day.
Joy to the world! The Lord is come Let earth receive her King! Let every heart prepare Him room
Joy, for He has come. Joy, for He is our Lord. Let the earth receive Him as King. Then the line to represent what we should be doing now…today. Prepare our hearts to give him room. We are in the season of Advent. I did not grow up knowing or celebrating Advent but as an adult, to me it is a very important time of preparation. Not only is it sharing with the ancient longings of Israel in waiting on the coming of the Messiah or the excitement of celebrating His birth but its preparing our hearts for His second coming…as our Lord and King.
I was given a wonderful little book called “The Gifts of Christmas”. Its a devotional book through the season of Advent and I want to share those scriptures with you over the next few weeks. For those who already celebrate Advent, I hope these scriptures bring you Joy, for those who do not celebrate Advent, I hope these scriptures and notes help you understand there is a bigger picture. Advent themes are based on four gifts from God – the gift of hope, the gift of love, the gift of joy and the gift of peace. This week starting on this past Sunday through Saturday is the gift of hope. Hope can be something we use flippantly or something to hold tightly to as our lives depend on it. I hope you understand the power hope can give you as I go through these scriptures.
Peter reminds us of the joys of Jesus birth, he also reminds us of the beauty of Him coming again.
Hope is key to our survival and when we lose hope we lose purpose. Hope is central to our faith and hope is central in waiting for the rest of the story – Jesus’s second coming.
Paul tells us in the book of Romans how his suffering produced perseverance, how the perseverance produced character and how that character gave him hope. It can do the same of us in our struggles.
Hope also has a byproduct – faith.
The gift of hope comes when we place our trust, by faith, in Jesus Christ…something we cant see. But this hope is not in something but in someone. It’s an assurance of the bigger picture of eternity. It’s a patient waiting and a patient hope in Jesus Christ no matter the season or the chaotic circumstance.
Sometimes when we seem to be low on hope, we can rejuvenate our hope in sharing God’s hope with others. Hold close to Romans 15:13, simply because of God’s love for you.
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Share that hope through kindness as you go through this day.
For the Love of 