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Articles by Janice Miller

The Funniest Christmas ever

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…”behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”

Luke 2:10

“Sing to The Lord, for He has done glorious things.”…

Isaiah 12:5

“Make a joyful noise unto God…”

Psalm 66:1

I am from a small town in the state of Mississippi. I have a big family and when we get together we are very noisy and we have a big time. My husband, Michael, is from a big city in the state of Illinois. His family is small and their gatherings are quiet but eloquent. Both are wonderful but very different.

The funniest Christmas I ever had was the first Christmas Michael spent with my family. We all gathered at my brother’s house on Christmas Eve, and the party was on. We cooked, played games, and dodged kids that were running all over the place. We talked and laughed until the wee hours of the morning. Try to picture this. My Mom has six children, all with “A” personalities.  When we get together it becomes a competition to see who can talk the most and the loudest, and we absolutely love it.

The next morning we gathered around the Christmas tree to open our gifts. My Mom has a farming back ground. My Grandparents were sharecroppers. So, naturally, she enjoyed all things country. One of her gifts was a decorative straw hat to hang on the wall. Another gift for her was an old butter churn, also for decoration. Well, being the gracious lady she was, she took the hat, put it on her head, grabed the butter churn, and started pounding away, singing, “coming butter come, come butter come”.

Everyone in the room burst into laughter, but we were not laughing at her. We were laughing at Michael. My poor sweet man, the city slicker, was sitting in a chair with a look on his face that was priceless. He looked as if he just realized that his life would never be the same again.

Of course, Michael became close to Mom and enjoyed her company, but we still laugh at the story of his first Christmas with us.

Christmas is and should be a time of “great joy”. God sent His Son to us as a baby born in a manger because He loves us. He wants us to know Him through His Son, Jesus.

With that in your hearts and minds this Christmas, make a “joyful noise unto The Lord” with your laughter, your boisterous conversations with friends and family, and your praises to Him for the many “glorious things” He has done for us

Merry Christmas and blessings to you all.

Janice

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

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Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

James 1:17 NIV

Thurs.-2-300x221Oh what joy the holiday season brings. First Thanksgiving and then Christmas. It is time for reflection. It is a time to consider the things in life that are most important to us. Those things may be family, good health, prosperity. How about love, joy, and peace?

Today, as every day, I give much thanks to our Lord for the life He has given me. My life, like yours, has not been a perfect dream. Some parts of my life have been quite difficult. But, to know Christ is to know that no matter how hard life is He is with us and He loves us. He walks with us through every step of the journey. His love for us is abundantly more than we can ever deserve.

My prayer today is that you and I, even when life is difficult, can find love, joy, and peace in our hearts. I pray we can see the blessings brought by family, good health, and food on the table. These and “every good thing” are gifts from God.  Let’s thank Him for it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

j

Some of My Favorites: Share God’s Miracles

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I’m not great at memory work, but I have a book of my favorite Scriptures. I add to it as a new verse touches my heart. Can I share a few with you?

 

Share God’s Miracles

Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

John 21-25

praying_on_bible_redThis verse fills my heart with wonder and great joy in the life Jesus lived here on earth. Can you imagine the things His disciples must have seen that we have no record of?

Throughout the book of John we read again and again about the miracles Jesus performed.

Chapter 2: He turns water into wine.

Chapter 4: He heals the son of a royal official.

Chapter 5: He heals a man at the Bethesda pool.

Chapter 6: He feeds 5000 men with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread, and walked on water.

Chapter 8: He forgives and saves the life of an adulteress woman.

Chapter 9: He heals a blind man.

Chapter 11: He raises Lazarus from the dead.

Chapter 20 gets really good. He rose from the dead and lived again. If you read through all the Gospels, you will discover that more than 500 people saw Jesus after He rose from the tomb.

There is no question in my mind that Jesus became well known throughout the world of the first century, largely because of His miracles. Oh, how I pray that soon He will be well known throughout the world of today. Reflect on the miracles you’ve experienced and TELL everyone you know!

Thank you, Lord, for the miracles you have shown us – in your Word and in our lives. If we could see a list of Your miracles throughout time, we would be awestruck, just like the disciples.

Janice