Christmas Tree Lessons

 The Christmas tree is a symbol of  eternal life purchased by Jesus Christ on the cross.  The gifts which may be under our trees remind us of the accompanying gifts to eternal life of joy, peace, and the Lord's presence in our lives even in times of deep trial and grief.

Beautiful Psalm 46 reminds of these gifts.  In life's worst case scenarios we need not fear.  No matter what transpires in our lives we can be secure in Lord.  Let us rejoice in the words of that Psalm:

God is our refuge and strength,
    an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam
    and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy place where the Most High dwells.
5 God is within her, she will not fall;
    God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7 The Lord Almighty is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

8 Come and see what the Lord has done,
    the desolations he has brought on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease
    to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the shields[d] with fire.
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.”

Memories

As I think of sweet memories in this Thanksgiving/Christmas season, I am thankful.

(This picture is of Bob and I seven years ago, the Thanksgiving before we married.)

(These pictures above are of my sisters and I and of all my siblins and in-laws a few months before my sister, Nancy, graduated to Heaven.   I  apologize for the quality of some of the pictures.)

Be thankful for the blessings and memories with which God has blessed you.

Grief

 

Below is a devotional from my Grief Share devotionals which come to my e-mail  box each day. Since all of us experience grief in our lives at some point, may you be blessed and challenged by this devotional. dear Christian:

Embracing the Change in Your Life

Day 282

Grief will either make you a better person or it will cause you to harden your heart as you resist its lessons. You have the opportunity for unparalleled spiritual growth. This will not happen quickly, but you can grow deeply. By learning that life is a precious gift, you can do more than just exist; you can live on a higher plane.

It was when Isaiah’s friend died that he had a deeper experience of God.

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory’” (Isaiah 6:1-3).

Lord, I want to live above all the garbage that goes on in my mind. I want to grow spiritually and discover You like never before. Amen.

Because He Lives I can Face Tomorrow

 

 

Sometimes as believers we allow ourselves to get weighed down with worry and anxiety, but this is useless and unnecessary.  Because Christ lives, we as Christians can face tomorrow!  All fear can be gone, becaue we know He holds the future.  He not only holds our future, but He also hold our hands. Sometime before my late sister's death her husband and her sang the song, "Because He Lives" on YouTube.  That testimony of her faith is such a treasure to me.  It is encouragememt as well to my own faith walk.   Life is worth the living, just because He lives!

I will post a link to that song sung by them below.  May you be blessed by the  song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdAyn8xkGFQ&list=RDGMEMMib4QpREwENw3_jAc0YgNwVMGdAyn8xkGFQ&start_radio=1

  

Faith of a Child Expressed

 

(My first husband, Wayne, and four of the granddchildren many years ago and while they were young.)

Do we believe that God is good all the time?  I was looking at a Facebook memory recently that I had written 16 years ago.  That was written when I was still serving as a caregiver for my first husband, Wayne, at the time.  I was also involved at the time with helping my daughter-in-law once a week with the homeschooling of my granchildren.    It illustrates the faith of even a child.  My grandchildren are young adults now, but this memory has blessed and encouraged me throughout the years. 

This is what I wrote that day 16 years ago,"Today during home schooling "the girls sang a Scripture song which said that God has good plans for our lives. I asked them, " Is this true even when sad things happen?" They said, “Yes.” So I said, “What about Grandpa not being able to walk?” They had to think about this. Then Una said, “One good thing is that now that Grandpa can’t work, he can come to the Thursday night suppers at our house.”

*Recently due to the kindness of my daughtrer-in-law and my grandchildren, the tradition of Thursday night suppers was again revived!

Lessons Learned Through Grief

  

I  have buried and grieved two husbands.  Wayne passed away in early 2011, and Bob passed away in November of  2024. I do not know why the Lord asked me to do this, but I know the Lord has been with me through it all.  I have grown in my love and dependence on the Lord through these experiences wirh grief.  Since most people have not remained untouched by grief of any kind, I am going to share one of my grief share devotionals this week.  I pray, Dear Christian, that you will benefit from it and be blessed by it:

Day 262

"There are some lessons in life that you only learn through times of grief or suffering. This is why it is important that you do not waste your sorrows. Times of suffering show you your limitations and how needy you really are.

Dr. Larry Crabb shares his initial reaction to the news of his brother’s death: “I came outside and I remember my wife was waiting for me out in the car, and as I came out, I just stood there and said, ‘Bill’s dead.’ It was just a very, very strong moment. But as I recall that moment, I think my first internal deep reaction was not despair. I think my first reaction at that moment was I must find God as I have never found Him before or I’m not going to make it.”

People are needy. The world wants you to be tough, strong, and independent. God wants you to lean on Him. God’s way is right and wise. Depend on Him as you have never done before, and you will find true peace and power that can never be achieved on your own.

“‘Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed,’ he said. ‘Peace! Be strong now; be strong.’ When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, ‘Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength’” (Daniel 10:19).

“Then he continued, ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them’” (Daniel 10:12).

Holy God, I come humbly before You. I seek strength, understanding, and true knowledge of You. Show Yourself to me, O Lord. Amen."

---

Grieving with Hope
This GriefShare-based book contains short, topical chapters addressing issues that grieving people face but are often hesitant to mention to others; it gently guides people to determine whether they’re grieving in a way that leads to hope and ultimate healing."

Spiritual Adjustments

 

I have developed a certain level of back pain issues throughout the years.  I have also  developed osteoporosis.  In an attempt to counteract pain I go to my chiropractor once a week for an adjustment and alignment.  I also go to a massage therapist every other week. At one time I only went to the chiropractor once a month, but over time it became necessary to go more often.  When one repeatedly uses ones body when it is not properly aligned, ones body may try to compensate and hence, may cause further injury and damage.

We also need to be spiritually aligned. It is so easy to tell ourselves half truths or negative stories about our current circumstances.  It is easy to allow the devil to whisper discouraging thoughts about our day to day situations and trials.  Instead we need to flip the negative script in our minds, to change our mindset, and to remind ourselves of God's precious promises regarding the Lord God's faithfulness and unfailing love.  In order to do this, we need to actually know what the Lord has promised in His Word, and we need to daily dig deeply into His Word.  Further, we need to think of our trials as light and temporary. Finally, we need to remember that good things like endurance and spiritual growth develops through difficult times in our lives.  This is how spiritual alignment takes place in the Christian's life.

We can still further flip our negative script about difficult seasons in our lives and become more spiritually aligned with God and His Word by praising Him for whom He is in His character as revealed in the Bible.  We also need to agree with whom He says we are.  We further need to remember all He has done for us by purchasing our salvation and in His contanst faithfulness in our lives. We can further take a small step forward in obedience, and share our difficult seasons with others around us.  

In conclusion, we need to reject what the world promotes to be true, and we must embrace what God says is true in His Word.  I talked about that in my blog post last week.  The link for that blog post can be found below:

https://christiancaregiving.blogspot.com/2025/10/what-world-says-vs-what-lord-says.html