Merry Christmas!

Well, I'm a day late, but just wanted to say Merry Christmas - Happy Birthday Jesus! =)
I read Psalm 117 yesterday and it seemed very appropriate.
"Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol Him all you peoples. For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD."

God showed His love in sending His son. I never cease to be amazed that Jesus would give up everything He had in heaven, to be born as a helpless baby, in a smelly stable even. What tender compassion and humble love!
Hebrews 2:11 says "Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers."
Now that is incredible! That Jesus, awesome as He is, is not ashamed to be called my brother, to acknowledge me as part of His family. WOW!

Thank you Jesus, for coming, for dying, for rising again, for saving me from sin and death and for calling me your sister, part of your divine family!
Amen and amen.

Singing trees, jubilant flowers

"Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the LORD, for He comes...." -Psalm 96:11-13a

Isn't it amazing how creation is always praising God? If only we were as faithful....










"Exalt the LORD our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the LORD our God is holy." -Psalm 99:9
Amen.

Happiness

Last week God gave me a very special gift. I was sitting by the beach, trying to breathe deeply in the fresh air. It had been a rough week (what's new?). I was gazing out over the ocean and suddenly saw a bunch of dolphins! (bunch=at least 5, maybe more, it was hard to tell.) It's been a long time since I've seen dolphins. It was so fun to watch them jumping and swimming. Then I saw two of them do something that looked like body surfing! They jumped into a wave right as it crested and rode it in for a bit. It looked like they were having a lot of fun. =)
I thanked the Lord for giving me such a special gift. It was a sweet reminder of His love as well as an illustration for my own life. Of all the animals, I always think of dolphins as the hpapiest ones. I think it's mostly because of the way God made them - they always look like they're smiling. =) If you think about it, a dolphin doesn't have an easy life. They face predators, finding food, etc. Yet they seem so happy just to be in the ocean!
I've felt convicted lately about my lack of being "glad" in the Lord. As I read through Psalms, I keep seeing more and more verses that command us to be glad in the Lord. When I feel so awful physically, it's hard to be glad about anything. But the Lord is indeed always wonderful, no matter how I feel. I felt like the Lord was telling me, 'Be like the dolphins. No matter what hardships are in your life, just be glad to be in the ocean of my love!'
Isn't it great to know that Jesus has provided not only eternal life, everything we need for this life and grace for each trial, but also the ability to be truly Happy in Him, regardless of our circumstances? This is something I'm learning more about...thanks to some very special creatures.


Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the dolphins, but I do have proof I was at the beach. =)