Poor and Lowly vs Power and Great Glory

And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7

A lady shared with me what God had laid on her heart this Christmas season, and it really didn't hit me until today when I read it for myself. She said that Jesus came the first time as a poor lowly baby, but He is coming again and He will come high and lifted up.

When she told me, I thought it neat, and realized I had never thought about it before, but it didn't really sink into my heart.

Fast forward to today, this is what I read in my Bible...

"Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." Luke 21:27

WOW!!! When I read those words, I wanted to shout "AMEN". There is just something about reading the words of God for yourself sometimes. They jumped off the page.

He is coming again, and He is coming with POWER and GREAT GLORY!!! Praise the Lord!!

I wondered as I sat there letting it all sink in, if I am living like my Savior is lowly, or still hanging on the cross; or am I living like my Savior is risen from the grave, and He is coming again in power and great glory. We have victory! The battle is already won! Am I living like it is?? I should be shouting it from the mountaintops like the shepherds after they saw the Christchild.

Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. Luke 2:17

They couldn't keep it in! Jesus is doing a work, and I shouldn't keep it in. He is coming again, and I need to let the world know. And not only is He coming again, but He is coming in power and great glory!!!!!

Thank you, Jesus!!!! Thank You for willingly coming to earth poor and lowly. Thank You for willingly going to the cross because then You could be raised up. Thank You that You are ready and willing to come again! Thank You for Your victory! You are awesome and have all the power. Please come quickly, Lord! We need You! In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Lolly

We have a special guest at our house this month. (And the kids have asked that she continue to visit after Christmas is over. :)) Her name is Lolly. Yes, my children named her. The first suggestion as Golly, so Lolly is good! She is our Christmas Angel. (You can find out more about them here.) 

First off I must say a HUGE THANK YOU to my awesome Aunt Tricia for giving us Lolly!!!!!

Each night I set Lolly up with a message of how we will give the next day. She has truly blessed our family! We have enjoyed focusing on others this Christmas season. The angels are God's messengers, and we are too, so we are trying to spread Jesus by the messages of our actions. I have made it my goal to really focus on Jesus and giving this year. Lolly has helped us to do that. We are also doing The Jesse Advent Tree. (Hopefully, next year we don't move at this time of year and I can plan better!) I pray that seeds of Jesus are being planted in my children's hearts as we seek to share Him with others.

Here are some pictures of Lolly and her messages that we have received so far...
Our first day we read her story and just talked about her and focusing on Jesus and getting excited about His birth.

 We made cards to share our thanks with our teachers at church.

 Sadly, we haven't actually accomplished this, but it is in the plans for this Thurs or Fri!

 Lolly hid in the tree! :)

 Here is her message. (We decorated a little tree for Grandaddy.)

 We wrapped 8 presents to go under Grandaddy's tree; one for each day starting Dec. 18 thru Christmas Morning.

Sunday Lolly had to rest because Mommy and the 2 youngest children were up almost all night! But, the 2 oldest and Mommy dropped off the tree and presents at Grandaddy's door and ran. (He somehow figured out it was us!)

I have to say that I am very proud of the kids for going through their toys and picking out like new things to give to children that lost everything in the tornadoes in April!!!

 We will be sharing our smiles at home tomorrow, and out and about as we drop off the toys and go visit Grandaddy since he was upset we ran and didn't stay. :)

I look forward to Lolly continuing to visit throughout the year some, and especially next December! I am thinking she will be around once a week throughout the rest of the year, but Mommy won't tell which day. :)

I pray that God will use Lolly to bring us closer to Him and make giving and thanks part of our lifestyle, being Jesus to those around us.

Stuff

Stuff...We have too much. :) As do most people. LOL Today will be the beginning of a re-organization and downsizing at our house. We need to make room for school, and we have way too many toys. I am excited to see how everything shapes up. I want us to fit comfortably in this house and try not to get too much more whenever we move. We are hoping to give most of our stuff to people who don't have things, but some things will be donated to Goodwill. I will be downsizing my kitchen stuff because we just don't have room and it is also our schoolroom. If I think about it I will take pictures of before and after. We won't finish today, more than likely, but I hope to make a good dent. I just need to get Joey up and moving. :)

Enjoy your Memorial Day!!

Randomness and 4 months

After I was all set to begin the turn to a family blog, life got busy. LOL Josiah is having a fun time with poison ivy or oak. I called the doctor yesterday at 8:10 and they asked if I could make it for the 9:00 appointment. I said that I thought we could. We all got dressed and out the door at 8:30. I believe it may have been a record. :) Poor guy is on steroids for 15 days. I will try to post some pictures later. Thankfully, no one else is getting it!! Here is one picture of his leg, and hopefully I will get updated ones later. This is a copule days ago, so he looks worse now. :(

Once we left at 8:30, we did not return home until 3:45 just to leave again in 1 hour. :) It was a fun day even though it was long, and I missed my nap for a second day. Missing naps isn't a good idea for me. LOL I was not real coherent last night, and a friend even told me that I shouldn't miss more than 1 day of naps. LOL I was going to post on the blog yesterday during naptime before I laid down, but I completely forgot about kindergarten graduation practice. I survived the day, and even enjoyed dessert at Ruby Tuesday's with some friends while all our kids were at church in their mission organizations. It was a fun time of chatting with no interruptions.

Today is library day, and we are going to my sister's softball game this evening. I am hoping to spend a nice amount of time outside as well!

Janie Beth would have been 4 months old today. WOW! She would have been doing all of sorts of little things. But, instead she is doing amazing things in heaven that I cannot even imagine! I miss her terribly. She has been on my mind a ton lately. I even started off one night sleeping with her lamb. For a couple days I was in a mood about it all. :) Now, it brings a smile to my face and sometimes a tear to my eye. Oftentimes it is bittersweet. But, I would rather remember her than not. And to think about how wonderful the place is that she is in and how she is having an awesome time brings me so much joy. There are days I wish we all were in heaven just so we didn't have to go through life here. The rewards of life here are wonderful many days, but they cannot compare to being in the presence of God at all times! Soon enough we will all be together again. :)

Well, this has been a rather random post. Usually I would have given Janie Beth her own post, but at first I didn't even realize it was her day. I don't think she would mind because she wants me to keep on living life. I am hoping to maybe have time to write about my Beloved Man later today, but it may be tomorrow or Saturday. You just never know what God has planned for our days.

I pray you have a blessed day!!! Cherish each moment you have with each person you come in contact with. Don't waste the day you have been given.