When you consider the Christmas story, almost everyone had reason to quit and give up: Joseph taking his fiancée to be taxed and she’s already pregnant by someone else; Mary being asked to carry a child when she had not been with a man but was engaged to one; the Shepherds on the hillside being scared to death by so many Angels appearing in sky with a message; and Wise Men trying to follow a star to a specific place of significance.

Everybody seems to be dealing with something, problems of their own, issues at home or work, and it’s easy to get down and depressed. This is why Jesus says “Come to Me,” in Matthew 11:28, not to a religion, a church, or a system.  It’s His personal invitation to take a step toward building our relationship with Him.

It’s not a doctrine or program. We’re all trying to see a man who called himself the Son of God. Everywhere He went crowds followed Him because of His love for people. His life was a testimony of mercy, a message of hope, a message of life in a dark world.

Blessed Lord, we come to You with thankful hearts that You came to this earth and became flesh and dwelt among us. Despite our sins and mistakes, You reached out to us and offered salvation and mercy. May You find a home in our hearts and may we point others to You each day as we strive to serve You with our best!

It was discouraging news, to say the least, that the stem cell transplant and previous donor boosts did not prevent new tumors from developing. However, I know His ways are higher than ours, and His plans are perfect. For the time being, I plan to continue working part-time until I get through this phase of the journey.

In the meantime, I find comfort from Max Lucado’s Inspirational Study Bible. It says that when we deal with life’s troubles it’s OK if we struggle to understand God.  Moses, Abraham, and David all interceded and struggled to make sense of what was happening in their lives.  Lucado further writes – Perhaps the reason that God doesn’t always give us the answer to the whys of our existence is that He knows we haven’t got the capacity to understand the answer.

My prayer is that God will forgive me for the times of doubt and that I would not let it affect my attitude. Christ continues to be my joy and strength. John 15:11 reminds us when Christ is speaking… I have spoken these things to you that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

We appreciate your love and support and ask that you continue to keep our family in your prayers.

Somehow I was not surprised by the outcome today because I believe the Lord has been preparing me, mainly through prayer, to expect this kind of report. I know I’ve got to keep fighting and that’s what I’m going to do.

On this Thanksgiving Eve I have so much to be grateful for. I’m thankful for our Christian heritage and our founding fathers who put so much time and energy into establishing this great land. I’m thankful for the men and women who are in our military defending our freedoms and who will miss being home with their families this holiday. I’m grateful for my family, my church, my job and the ability to work part-time. I’m also very indebted to other churches for their love and support, and there’s a ton of friends that bless me every day with their encouragement and prayer support.

As part of my family’s devotion tomorrow I plan on discussing our nation’s Capitol Building. I recently learned it has four large paintings inside that depict: Columbus’ prayer service in 1492 when he landed in America; a baptism of Pocahontas at Jamestown in 1613; the Pilgrims prayer meeting in 1620 when they came to America; and the founding fathers who signed the Declaration of Independence. What was really amazing was that in 1857 the Capitol Building was being used by four different congregations, and it was considered the largest church in the land with over 2000 people meeting there weekly.  And finally, I didn’t know that the first Bible printed in English in America was by Congress in 1782, and it was recommended for use in schools as well as the inhabitants of the United States.

We have so very, very much to pause and be grateful for, most of all, our Savior’s love. John 13:34 reminds us… So now I am giving you a new commandment:  Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. We are asked to follow His example of serving, giving and meeting the needs of others by caring for their lives. Once we let Him know our intent to be like Him, He’ll show us a whole new way to love that we never knew we could have. Jesus will help us see the best in others if we open ourselves up and let His magnificent love flow through us.

PRAISE HIM, PRAISE HIM all ye little children, GOD IS LOVE, GOD IS LOVE!

I appreciate all the encouragement to share my personal thoughts and reflections with scripture. That’s been the challenge; finding appropriate verses or chapters that pertain to what I’ve been going through.

I’ve been back to work now for four weeks and I’m only putting in about 15-17 hours per week. When you’re receiving short-term disability there’s a lot of paperwork to be completed, but you have to keep your work hours under 20. I wish there was a way to gradually build up to 30 hours and then finally make the jump to 40, but when I come off of disability I’ll have to go back to 40 hours. My doctor is thinking that may be soon, and it will primarily be determined by the results of scans that will be taken tomorrow. The results of these images will also determine whether or not I see a voice specialist about my paralyzed vocal cord.  Therefore, a lot is riding on these results and I ask for your prayers that God’s will be done.

Peter had seen his share of trials and persecution. He knew what it took to stay strong in tough times. He talks about the purity of our faith bringing us praise and glory and honor when Jesus is shown to us. (1 Peter 1:7). In 2 Peter he reminds us of God’s blessings  to withstand persecution from within the church.  2 Peter 1: 5-8 says… Because you have these blessings, do your best to add these things to your lives:  to your faith, add goodness; and to your goodness, add knowledge; and to your knowledge, add self-control; and to your self-control, and patience; and to your patience, add service for God; and to your service for God, add kindness for your brothers and sisters in Christ; and to this kindness, add love. If all these things are in you and you are growing, they will help you to be useful and productive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

May we all continue to grow in our faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ!

The sad part is that Travis’ injury would not have occurred if the referee had been doing his job. He let the game get out of control and showed preferential treatment toward the other team. When the game was over, tempers were flaring, people were screaming and yelling, and there were so many angry parents the police had to escort the referee to his car. It became obvious early on in the game that Hibriten was playing against the ref’s instead of the other team.

It’s one thing for me personally to be battling cancer, but I can’t remember the last time someone in my family was treated with so much injustice. It’s hard to know where to draw the line in terms of defending my family vs. forgiving a wrong. Bottom line: extra-curricula activities are meant to be a source of fun in our daily lives. On the rare occasion when they are not, I think we need to move on and not let Satan rob us of the joy of a new day.

When I consider Paul and all the persecution he suffered, being imprisoned, abandoned by others, I have to conclude that we can expect hardship and suffering somewhere along our journey.  How we choose to respond to it will be greatly influenced by our walk with Christ and faith in Him. 1 Timothy 4:12 says Let no one look down on you as if you are unimportant. Instead, be an example to the believers with your words, your actions, your love, your faith, and your pure life. What encouragement to be a good servant of Christ!

As we enter the season of Thanksgiving, I look for new ways to acknowledge all that God has done for me and my family during the past year. We have so much to be thankful for, yet sometimes, when the opportunity comes along, we pause to reflect, but fail to say anything, or at least that’s been my experience. Afterwards, I regret not saying something and can think of several things I would have said. I know I’ll leave some things off the following list, but here’s a few things I’m grateful for this year:

Adam and Jessica both finding jobs in their careers; Going through a 2nd stem cell transplant without much sickness or side effects; Having a sister who was found to be an exact match when there was less than a 10% chance of that happening;  Betty being my care-giver during the 2 1/2 month period at Duke, and then providing the same care at home for another couple of months; Being able to return to work; Travis being named a recipient of a local scholarship; Travis earning his Eagle rank and getting to plan and participate in his ceremony; Getting to know and respect Katilyn Quesinberry; Having so many family members and friends respond to a blog in a positive way.

I encourage you to start your list and be sure to share it with your family and/or church. The hymn, Count Your Many Blessings pops in my head and fills my heart with joy.  Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Now is the time when the conference championship will be determined, and the team will find out if they’ve got what it takes. Continuing yesterday’s review of Matthew 6:26, in the world of geese, the back of the V formation becomes the honking section and cheers for the leaders. When the going gets tough, Paul understood the need for encouragement when he said… Encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thes. 5:11). He knew we need those in the honking section to say, we’re behind you, we’ve got your back, but you in the front…Do not grow weary in doing good (2 Thes. 3: 13). There will be tough times in the football game (and in the game of life) when we have to face those difficult challenges or decisions.  Let’s be that brother or sister to honk loudly!

I was reading in Matthew 6 about God’s sense of provision and His amazing knowledge of our individual needs. In verse 26 Jesus is speaking and He tells us… Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? The old saying, What’s good for the goose... has practical application for our lives. Geese stick together for their annual flight south, and that tells me there’s strength in numbers. Geese don’t fly separately, in random style. They form their well-known “V” formation to gain an uplift, easing the work load of the younger, weaker birds.

I think the lesson for us is “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another (Hebrews 10:25). We’re to stay in fellowship with one another and enjoy the ride from the uplift. We’re not meant to fly solo.  We need each other.

My thanks to my cousin on the west coast for the kind words of encouragement yesterday and a friend at work, Lynn, who shared some different kind of encouragement. It really lifted my spirits. Thank you.

My family continues to appreciate your prayer support. Please remember a friend of mine from church, Barbara Price, and her family.  God bless!

Psalm 33: 8-12 puts it into perspective…Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart from generation to generation. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.

May God in His great mercy continue to bless America!

Our family loves Thanksgiving, and we established a tradition years ago where we bring both Betty’s and my family together. The challenge is looking for ways to make each year unique. Naturally we pause to acknowledge our blessings throughout the year and give everyone a chance to reflect on all that God’s done in their lives.

My Dad used to keep his favorite poems and Bible verses under a big glass mat at his desk. I can’t remember the name of the poem but there was a short one that had to do with how we spend our time. It ended with a sentence like, It’s what we’ve done for Christ that will last. With the holidays being extremely busy and so many demands being made on our time, I have to make myself remember that last line.  So I ask the question, how will you spend the rest of 2010? Why not set a goal of accomplishing something meaningful for Christ? Just follow your heart and He’ll show you how to spread His love in new and different ways.

The scripture that comes to mind is…And so we know and rely on the love GOD has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in GOD, and GOD in him.  1 John 4;16.

Have a blessed week!