The High Calling of God

 12/18/2022

For the past couple of years, I have been collecting vintage Christmas ornaments and decorations. I guess the older I get, the more I appreciate older things. My husband and I often browse through antique shops and malls. We just enjoy walking down memory lane and spying things that bring back a warm and fuzzy feeling from our youth. I love finding that just one special item. I am not into spending a lot of money for anything. If I find something I like and it is within my price range, then I will buy it.  This past Christmas season I went on the search again. At one particular antique mall, I hit the mother lode!   You must really look for things sometimes. I like to look in the nooks and crannies. Often that is where I find those hidden treasures. At one particular store, way in the back of the cubicle, behind some other items, I spied it! A box on the floor filled with those vintage glass ornaments that I love. The older the better. I don’t care if they are chipped or h...

Ephesians 2:8-9 “” For by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast.” (NIV) As I was praying the other day, meditating on God’s grace, a memory from my past suddenly came to me. It was Christmas 1970- a few months before I totally gave my life over to the Lord. The year before, I graduated high school and had started college and was preparing to become an elementary teacher. But having gone through a lot of personal issues I quit in my second semester.   I couldn’t find any work, was living with my parents and taking care of the home while they worked.   With no purpose in life, I felt like a failure. On Christmas eve of that year, I spied a very large box under the tree.   My mom told me I could go ahead and open it then. To my surprise and delight it was a chord organ-one of those small ones that I liked. My grandma had one and when we would visit her, I would play hers....

  So, here we are once again, counting down the hours to the end of the year. I thought last year was tough. This one was also. Things have settled down and settled in- the loss, the grief, but we learn to deal with it and remember all the good things. God performed some miracles here and there for us and has brought us through. I am so thankful for a loving and forgiving God, that knows everything about me-my faults, my flaws and my mess ups- and yet— leads me to feast at His table filled with grace, love and forgiveness. My prayer for 2023 is from Psalm 73:17 “But I’ll keep coming closer and closer to You, Lord Yawheh, for Your name is good to me. I’ll keep telling the world of Your awesome works, my faithful and glorious God.”  (The Passion Translation). Praying God’s blessings on all my family and friends in the coming year and that you,too, will draw closer to the Lord. ~ Donna

  I love this time of year and I especially love the old Christmas carols. One of my favorites is “Joy to The World”. The words are so relevant to today. If you really look at the verses of many of the old carols, you get the whole picture of why Jesus came to earth as a baby. Many of them take you from the prophecies of old up to the age of glory when Christ shall rule and reign on this earth. One of the verses in “Joy to the World” says- “Let earth receive her King.” When Jesus walked on this earth many thought that He was going to set up His earthly kingdom at that time. In fact, most of His disciples and the Pharisees thought that He would .(See Luke 17: 20-24 ) But His kingdom was and is not of this world ( John 18:36 ). I was just reminded of this recently when I recalled the words of this song. We must let earth—receive Him as King- our “earth” meaning our lives. We are earthly- but we receive His spirit when we come to Him and allow Him to fill us with His Spirit....

  NEW BEGINNINGS. This is what I’ve been hearing in my spirit. Refreshing, restoring, renewing- ministries, individuals, families. Autumn into winter- we think as a time of death. But it’s really a time of new beginnings. The unseen- underneath it all- there is refreshing, restoration and renewal. Things must die off before they can begin again- resurrection will take place. God is causing death in order to bring forth new life-in the Church, in the Christian, in the sinner, in the atheist, in any individual that will allow the death to take place. He is causing the dry bones to come to life. Be alert to what God is allowing to die in your life. It must take place before new life, resurrection can occur. Allow the death of the old life, the old ways, the old you- to take place -so that the new can arise and go forth. Allow Him to do the work, the cutting away of rotten flesh to allow the fresh wind of the spirit to come forth in your life. New beginnings!  ~Donna...

  The holidays are here! I really don’t know where September and October went. I was so looking forward to cooler weather and God gave us a beautiful fall here in the mid-west. But now?  Temps in the 30’s, wind-chills, snow flurries. Turns our thoughts to winter holidays.  I love the holidays. But I’ve been thinking lately about these past couple years. It’s been tough- not just for our family- but many we know have lost loved ones, hard times have hit, prices are skyrocketing. Our grocery list keeps getting smaller while the price keeps getting higher   So what’s my point? My point is to not focus on what is wrong in the world or in our own personal life, but to focus on what is right and good. There must be at least one thing good in your life. Right?  Think about it. You will surely come up with more than one if you try. Philippians 4:8 tells us what to think on.  At this time, let’s stop trying to have the perfect holiday, the perfect decorations, the p...