The title Courting Morrow Little sounds like a sweet romance but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it is a high action, suspenseful novel that surrounds a wonderful love story.   Laura Frantz sets her novel in Revolutionary War Era Kentucky- a time of unrest not only from the British but the French/Indian War as well.  Frantz does a beautiful job of winding the historical climate with the true purpose of the book- to challenge the reader to see others through the eyes of God.

 The plot left lots of twists and the characters were far from stereotypical.  As with any time of war, distinguishing the good guys and from the bad guys can be more than a little tricky.  Many of the characters struggle with their own prejudices and misconceptions, just like you and me.

 I lost myself in the book for a good read- the kind you are wondering what could happen next.  Take the time to give Courting Morrow Little a try.

http://laurafrantz.blogspot.com/

The one thing about any New Years Eve party that you can’t change is the part where everyone stays up until midnight.  What I want to know is when did midnight become so late?  It use to be I could stay up until midnight or latter with no problem.   But now New Years rolls around and I’m the gal yawning by 10:15.  Pitiful really.  Now at 7:00 when I’m all dressed up and leaving the house, I’m ready.  I’ve got the hostess gift, the noise makers and a little confetti just incase they run short.  But by 9:00 I’m starting to drag and after 10:00 the yawns start.  That’s when it gets bad because I start to think about “resting my eyes”.  The truth is all the earlier feelings of excitement are slowly being forgotten.  By 11:15, I’m just hoping someone will wake me up to see the ball drop.

I’m not the only one that has trouble staying up until midnight.  In Matthew 25, Jesus told a story about 10 virgins that had serious sleeping issues but instead of being invited to a New Years party, they were invited to a wedding feast.  They all brought their lamps to go out and meet the Bridegroom but only 5 of them brought oil.  All 10 girls fell asleep because they did not know when the groom would come.  Then at midnight, someone yelled “Here’s the Bridegroom!  Come out to meet Him.”  Five of the ladies were ready with their oil and entered the wedding feast.  Five were not ready and were left behind.  The message of the story?  It pays to be ready even if you’re a sleepyhead.

Jesus was speaking in this parable of His return to Earth.   On that day, everyone who knows that Jesus is their Savior will go to heaven for the biggest wedding feast of all times!   This is a party you do not want anyone to miss.  How would they miss it?  Like the virgins with no oil, they would not be ready. 

You may be ready.  You may know you already have a seat at the wedding feast.  But what about the mom down the street or the guy in the cubical down the hall?  Are they ready?  Do they really have a place at the wedding feast or are they planning on getting in on their parents invitation?  Do they think everyone gets a seat or do they doubt that there will ever be a wedding feast at all?

Now it would be nice if we knew when Jesus would return the way we know that the New Year always comes at midnight.   But if you’re ready, when He comes doesn’t really matter.  But my question is: who will be sitting at the banquet table with you?  Because whether you’re sleeping or not, the day will come when someone will yell “Here’s the Bridegroom!  Come out to meet Him.”  Who from your street, your work, or your church will be missing?  Make sure everyone you know KNOWS this is an invitation they don’t want to miss out on.   Just tell them they’ve never partied ‘till they’ve partied with Jesus.

“When all the sudden, not the sound of reindeers,

But the mooing of Santa Cows came to our ears.

So we ran to the windows and threw up the shutters.

We threw up the blinds to a sky full of udders.”

Do you have special prayers for someone that will not be home this Christmas because they are protecting our country?  I do.  This song and especially this video hits that place in each of us that wants our wishes for them to come true.

I wish there was a cure for cancer
I wish somebody had an answer
And all Gods children, never got hurt
I wish Eve never bit that apple
You men never went to battle
And I didn’t get so mad at the world
I wish I was more like Jesus
And could pick up all the pieces
And make a better life for my baby girl

For everything I am wishing
I know someone up there is listening
So, I say my prayers when I go to bed
Ahh, ahh, ahh
Oh pray my wishes come true
Oh
My prayers go out to you and yours, both those with you and those you are praying for their safe return.
Enjoy this endearing video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T7AzuCQgGY

I am one of those people that love daily devotions but have problems doing them daily.  I just struggle in general with daily habits.  But My Utmost for His Highest is by far the best devotional I have ever used.  Oswald Chamber’s wife compiled the book of devotions after Chamber’s death from a collection of his writing.  Maybe that’s what I like.  His writings were developed for a variety of audiences from laypeople to theologians to seminary students. 

He’s not one to mix words.  He tells it like is is and I love that.  Other than my Bible, my copy of My Utmost for Hish Highest is my most highlighted, scribbled in and underlined of any book I own.  Before I began my quote of the week, I used to put “Quotes from Ossie” on my blog.  He shared enough wisdom to last a long, long time.

Try it for your devotion in 2011 but be careful which edition you buy.  I have the origional old english sounding version but there is a newer version with updated language.  Both rock.

http://www.amazon.com/My-Utmost-His-Highest-CHAMBERS/dp/0929239571#reader_0929239571

After living all of my 28 years in sun drenched Florida, my husband and I moved to Chicago. People thought we were crazy.   Do you know what happens in Chicago in the winter? Ice, snow, hail and this stuff called sleet.  We moved in October.  Winter came fast and hard that year leaving me longing for springtime by Thanksgiving.  But spring would come in March, right?  Wrong.  Would you believe it was still snowing on Mother’s Day?  Every sun deprived molecule in my body yelled out “Really? REALLY?  Is spring ever going to come?”  With each falling flake my doubts grew.

If you’d asked me that snowy day in May “Do you believe spring will come?”  I would have answered “yes” but the snow white view out my window brought doubts.  Doubts are part of life, even the Christian life.  Winter storms in our lives, like financial, health or family problems, can block our view of God and leave a residue of doubt.   But listen to this: doubts may not be a sign your faith is weak but rather that your faith is strong.  

 If you have a small faith and believe that God is some small, distant, passive guy glancing at mankind from afar, you don’t expect to see God working in your life.  But if you believe that God is really BIG and so close to you He can feel your breath, then seeing God as passiveness makes no sense at all.   So people with strong faith may turn to God with questions.

John the Baptist was one of these people.

I love that John the Baptist had doubts.  Let’s face it.  John’s faith in Jesus was HUGE!  John dedicated his life to preparing the way for Jesus.  And if that’s not enough, when folks try to worship and adore John, he pointed them to the true Messiah- Jesus.   But then a neurotic King named Herod threw John in prison for preaching God’s truth.  This was John’s winter storm.  Prison was a cold, hard place that filled him with questions.  Matthew 11:2-3 says  “When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples  to ask him, ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?’”  Questions.  John the Baptist had questions.

But how did Jesus handle John’s questions?  How does Jesus handle your questions?  After explaining to John’s disciples that He truly was the Messiah, Jesus then proclaims in Matthew 11:11 “I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist.”  Jesus says this about John after he heard about John’s doubts.  He doesn’t toss John aside or shake His head with disappointment.  He welcomed John’s questions, gave him reassurance and then praised John for his amazing walk with God. 

On that dreary Chicago day in May, my head knew spring would come but my eyes, and my heart felt stuck in winter.   Jesus knows in the winter, you will need to hear His reassurance and receive His praise.  Don’t hide.  Take your questions and your doubts to Jesus.   He’s waiting.  Let His reassurance melt your winter into spring.

Matthew West is not just an amazing songwriter and Christian singing artist, he has a way of translating people’s lives into heart filled songs.  His latest Christmas song, One Last Christmas, is about a little boy named Dax that they were not sure would ever live to see another Christmas.

It’s more than a song, it’s a life and it’s captured beautifully on this video.  Let this video fill your Christmas in a special way.  Merry Christmas!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyAhe6TSsvQ&NR=1

What if a judge tried to stop a live nativity display from being on city property?  Is there any hope that a religious display could coexist with Santa and his reindeer even on governmental property?  Randy Singer does a wonder job in his novella The Judge Who Stole Christmas of showing the many facets of courts and appeal courts as they struggle with where the true meaning of Christmas fits into our world today.

The characters are real and the situation plausible but unlike other legal authors, Singer does a great job of guiding a nonlegal mind like mine through the ins and out of freedom issues discussed in the constitution.

Singer also does a good job of showing that God reigns-with or without the courts approval.  Have a little Christmas cheer and enjoy The Judge that Stole Christmas.

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.   An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.   But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”  Luke 2:8-11

Growing up in Florida, there has been much for me to learn as I have raised my kids in the Midwest.  One of those things is sledding.  All of my early sledding education came from Christmas cards.  Boy, it sure looked like fun!  I yearned to zoom down the hill spraying glistening snow flakes as I went.  However, my youthful years in Jacksonville, Florida provided little in the way of snow.

Finally, my first winter in St Louis, I took my 7 and 3 year old on their first sledding trip.  Having bought the slickest sleds the Walmart could provide, I bundled up my bundles of joy and headed to the neighborhood hill.  The top of the hill was by the street so with my toddler in my lap and my son in the sled beside me, we sped off down the hill.  It was everything I could possibly imagine!  Until… at the bottom of the hill, I turned around and realized what the Christmas Cards never explained.  That to go sledding again,  I had to not only climb up the hill myself but I had to haul my 3 year old and the sled along with me.  Suddenly, sledding did not look like as much fun as the Christmas cards made it seem.  As I staggered up the hill, all the anticipation from moments before slowly drained out of my tired legs. 

Christmas can be a time of great anticipation.  Some years, it’s easy to look forward to connecting with friends and family as a way of celebrating.  But other years you just want Christmas to be over before it starts.  Maybe you’ve had a year of illness, job loss, financial struggle or grief.  Or maybe it’s marital problems, parenting problems or kid problems that makes each day of the holidays feel a little darker, a little heavier.   With all your struggles, New Years can not come soon enough. 

You may have had lots of Christmas’ as a believer but a Christmas filled with struggles can make your faith in Christ’s ability to carry you through wane.  Maybe seeking the Christ child feels like too much work.  It’s like me, standing at the bottom of that sled hill wondering  “Is it worth the climb?  Is it worth getting my hopes up that maybe, just maybe the next sled ride will be worth the trek?”  

The truth is, the bigger your struggles are this Christmas, the more you need to reach out to Jesus.  He’s there, ready to carry you through your burdens. After all, that’s why He came.  Listen to Isaiah 9:6 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.”  Jesus, the Christ Child, was born and given to you so that no struggle and no hill are too big for Him to carry you through.  Don’t use Christmas as a reason to seek Jesus less.  Let the promises of Christmas urge you to seek Him more.