Christmas IM’s

Throughout human history,
God has used His angels as supernatural “instant messengers”
to communicate with the people He created.

God sent the angel Gabriel to visit Mary
and give her the news that she was going to be the mother of the Christ Child.

Later, an angel from God visited Joseph
to inform him of the virgin birth and to explain his earthly father’s role in this all-important event.

For generations, the Jews had been looking for their Messiah — their long-awaited King.
The angels revealed to Mary and Joseph that Jesus was this Messiah –
the HOPE of the world!

When the time came for Jesus to be born,
Mary and Joseph found no room in any local inn in Bethlehem –
so they had to spend the night in a lowly stable,
surrounded by the smells and noises of the animals
who shared their space with the expectant couple.

When Mary had delivered her baby,
the first people to learn of Christ’s birth
were shepherds keeping watch over their sheep under the night-time sky.
An angel suddenly appeared to them, announcing the birth and saying,

I bring you good news that will bring great JOY to all people. 
The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—
has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
(Luke 2:10b-11)

Then the first angel was suddenly joined by a whole army of heavenly angels,
proclaiming this message –

Glory to God in highest heaven,
and PEACE on earth to those with whom God is pleased.
(Luke 2:14)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Thank y’all for stopping by to visit Little Things.
May your life be filled with little blessings, little chuckles,
and little deeds of kindness (both given and received)!
♦
During this Christmas season,
may we all know the
HOPE, JOY, and PEACE
that come with the celebration of Jesus’ birth!
♥
Special (((hugggs))) to my friend Margie
who brightens up our neighborhood every Christmas
with these cute lil’ angels!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Don’t Worry!

Don’t worry about anything;
instead, pray about everything;
tell God your needs
and don’t forget to thank Him for His answers.  
If you do this
you will experience God’s peace,
which is far more wonderful
than the human mind can understand.  
His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts
quiet and at rest
as you trust in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7
TLB

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Thank y’all for stopping by to visit Little Things.
May your life be filled with little blessings, little chuckles,
and little deeds of kindness (both given and received)!
♥
If you find the above verses helpful,
you might want to look at this entry that I posted earlier:
“Answer to Anxiety”
~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My Precious Moments…

This little Precious Moments figurine perched on our kitchen counter
looks very much like our daughter did when she was a little girl –
all decked out in one of her Strawberry Shortcake outfits,
with her soft, curly blonde hair in ‘dog ears,’
…and looking up at us with her big blue eyes!

She’s all grown up now, but at times in my mind’s eye, I still see the little girl that’s pictured above.
LOL

Some of the most “precious moments” of my life are those that I get to spend with her –
either in person — or more often now by long-distance, via cell phone and Internet.

One favorite activity we have fun sharing is blogging!
We think pretty much alike on most subjects,
but it’s interesting to see our different ways of presenting similar ideas.
I always look forward to what “Daisy Girl” (her blog name) is going to share.
She usually posts at night…and seeing her message (whether brief or lengthy) on our computer screen
is like a ‘good-night hug’ across the miles from my sweet daughter.
♥

Last night, her message really spoke to me –
and I’d like to share it with you now,
in the hopes that it might be meaningful to you, also!

“Resting and Dancing” is a rather brief post, but it also carries one of those “deep thought” messages!
Hope you enjoy!

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Thank y’all for stopping by to visit “Little Things.”
May your life be filled with little blessings, little chuckles,
and little deeds of kindness (both given and received)…
and may you have some precious little moments of “resting” and “dancing” in your life!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Anxiety and Peace

Some good thoughts from Roy Lessin’s “Meet Me in the Meadow” blog today:

Anxiety tells you that you are in a situation that is too big for God to handle;
Peace assures you that nothing is too hard for the Lord.

Anxiety assumes the worst will happen;
Peace affirms the best is yet to be.

Anxiety points you to your inadequacy;
Peace confirms that God’s grace is sufficient.

Anxiety causes you to panic;
Peace causes you to be still.

Anxiety shows you your lack;
Peace points you to God’s supply.

Anxiety warns of defeat and failure;
Peace proclaims God’s victory and success.

Anxiety causes you to strive;
Peace causes you to rest.

Anxiety says “You will be carried away by the storm;”
Peace says “Your anchor holds.”

Anxiety fills you with darkness;
Peace floods you with light.

Anxiety tells you to first seek a solution;
Peace tells you to first seek the Kingdom.

Anxiety tells you, you won’t make it;
Peace assures you, God will bring you through.

Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap,
which have neither storehouse nor barn;
and God feeds them.
Of how much more value are you than the birds?
And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest?
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
and all these things shall be added to you. 
Luke 12:24-26, Matthew 6:33 NKJV

Visit Roy Lessin’s blog here:
“Anxiety and Peace”

Answer to Anxiety

worry
v.
To feel or experience concern or anxiety.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

God doesn’t just suggest that we not worry; He commands it!!

When I was a child, I learned Philippians 4:6-7 from the King James Version of the Bible.

Be careful for nothing;
but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

I heard it quoted that way many times, especially in sermons, and I understood the general meaning of the two verses.

As I got older and began to experience more ‘challenging’ circumstances as a young adult, I was introduced to a new version of the Bible called The Living Bible.  It is a paraphrase, rather than a literal translation, but has been widely accepted and used by renowned theologians as an alternative way to phrase Scripture.

During one particularly troublesome time for me, I came across this passage in the more modern translation, and it almost jumped off the page at me!  Reading it in the newer form ’activated’ these verses for me — inspired me with new confidence in my faith — and has become sort of my ‘life verse’ through the past forty years.  I have quoted these words to my friends and family; my children know them by heart; and I speak them to myself almost every day!

It is spiritually impossible to pray and worry at the same time.  According to God’s Word, worry is sinful.  Sin separates us from God.  When we worry, we sin and break our fellowship with God, and He cannot hear our prayers.  As the old saying goes, ‘If you worry, why pray?  And if you pray, why worry???’

I posted the first layout of this verse as one of my earliest blog entries in July 2009.

Today I’m adding two more layouts.  Different people prefer different designs, and I hope one of these might be something you’d like to copy and save for yourself or pass along to someone else.

You are always welcome to copy or download any of the photos in my “Little Inspirations” category, for personal, non-commercial use – if you ever come across something you’d like to save for later or pass along.

If any of you have verses that are of particular significance to you, that you’d like me to incorporate into a design, please leave me a comment or get in touch with me by email if we correspond that way.  I have lots of other quotes and Bible verses that I want to post as time permits – and if you have any favorites, I’d really like to use them!  Chances are, if something is meaningful to you, then it would probably be helpful to someone else, too. 

Here are the two I want to share today:

Sometimes He Calms the Storm

Yesterday my friend Jamie posted a YouTube video on her Facebook page, “for anyone who might be hurting.”  It reminded me of something I put on my blog a couple of years ago after Hurricane Ike.  I am using the same graphic, but this time I incorporated more of the words to this comforting song.

It’s not possible for any of us to live in a location that doesn’t experience severe storm activity of one kind or another during some season of the year.  In the same way, it is impossible for any of us to live our earthly lives without encountering periods of turbulence and storminess in certain seasons.  God is in control of our atmospheric weather; He’s also in control of our emotional storms.  Sometimes He brings calm to our circumstances.  Sometimes He allows the storm to rage and brings peace to our souls.  Either way, if we put our trust in Him, we know that He will protect us and keep us close to Him…and bring us safely through the storm!

The link Jamie posted was of this song sung by Scott Krippayne.  I included only one verse; there’s a second very meaningful verse in the video.  You may not be in a stormy season right now, but you may know someone who is.  Perhaps you’d like to share this link with them.  You might want to bookmark the link so that you can listen and be encouraged later — because the weather forecast predicts stormy seas in the future for all of us! 

I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart.
And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give.
So don’t be troubled or afraid.
John 14.27

Safety and Peace