Mark Lowry...His Music Carried Me Through

It had become a Saturday Night tradition with Mom and I. We would turn on WVPBS at 8:00pm and watch Classic Gospel. It was a program produced by Bill Gaither that featured his Gaither Home Comings and some of the videos that he produced over the years. This program was how I fell in love with Jason Crabb. I also got to love Vestal Goodman, Dottie Rambo, The Issacs, The Hoppers, Ernie Hass and Signature Sound, Lynda Randle, Ivan Parker, Gordon Mote, Guy Penrod, David Phelps, and Mark Lowry. It was because of that show that I started buying some of the Gaither Homecoming CDs. I would play them in the car when Mom and I were traveling places.

It was one of those programs on Saturday Night that they played songs from the Gaither CD, Rock of Ages. One of those songs was called Does Jesus Care/God Will Take Care of You by Mark Lowry. Mom loved that song. She told me after the program that I needed to get that CD so that we could play that song often. Mom loved God Will Take Care of You. It was her favorite hymn. In fact, we played the Oak Ridge Boys version at her funeral. This song by Mark Lowry was her favorite. 

It was after Mom passed that I found it again. I was on YouTube looking of videos and ran across this song. I watched the video and it took me back to when I saw it on tv. It reminded me that in my grief and pain of loosing Mom that God did care for me. He was carrying me through this storm in my life. 

It was after that that I would listen to a lot of Mark Lowry songs on YouTube. Mom liked his comedy, but I loved his serious side. His songs just speak to you with a great message. I love songs like Mary Did You Know, I Thirst, Make It Real, Smile,  Promises , and What's Not To Love. 

I recently saw a video of JD Sumner talking about how Mark helped him after his wife died. It made me think about how Mark's music helped me through the loss of my Mom. His music made me see that God was not through with me yet. 

I am so very thankful that Mom and I ran across the music of Mark Lowry. It has been a comfort to me and his comedy brought Mom many hours of laughs. Mark Lowry is such a blessing.

God Bless You Mark Lowry. You are a true testament to the love of Jesus. 

Please Park Considerably

I don't have anything for handicap parking myself. However, I do take my Uncle and my Aunt who each have their own handicap placard places. When I take them out we use their placard to park as close to the building as possible. My Uncle has had both hips replaced, has arterial fibrillation, irregular heart beats, and breathing issues. My Aunt has balance and coordination issues.

Too often when we go places we have to take the nearest spot to a handicap because the handicap are full. Too often I see people getting in and out of cars parked in the handicap spaces that are not handicap. They don't have a handicap license or placard. These are the same people that abuse the motorized carts in the stores.

Yes, I am aware that there are some handicaps that you can't see. Those people I am not mad at. But, when a person parks in a handicap spot they should have either a handicap license plate on the car or a handicap placard hanging from the rear view mirror.

Then there are those who have handicap parking items and want to tell me what the law says about parking in a handicap spot. It is all because there are very few handicap spots in the lots, I am parked legally, and this person has to park in a regular spot.

Then there are those that can't park correctly in a handicap spot. If they park next to a van spot then park close to the other car so that if the van has a lift that it can't be used. This aggravates me that someone would do that. It is like they are taking up two spots.

My advice is that if you don't have handicap parking or are transporting someone that has handicap parking please don't park in the spot. It makes life easier for the ones who really need it. Thank you!

Tolerance

Webster's defines the word Tolerance as sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own (this is one of 4). Recently a friend of mine wrote about how she was being tolerant of something going on in her life. I have had times in which I was tolerant of things going on in  my life and the lives of those that I loved. I didn't want to loose them from my life so I decided it was ok to be tolerant of their behavior rather than to be objective of it.

You see Jesus taught about tolerance. In his day Jesus communed with people who were the outcast of the society of that time. He did not judge them for the things they did or who they were. He loved them all the same. John 15:12 says This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Right there in that verse he says that we need to love each other as he loves us. That is unconditionally without fault. This theme is found many more times in the bible. This must have been a very important concept that Jesus wanted to make sure that we got.

Tolerance is a concept that a lot of churches today are missing. A lot of churches have not tolerance for people who do not fit into their preconceived cookie cutter idea of what a Christian is to be like. If someone comes into their church and does not fit their idea of a Christian then they will not tolerate them being at their church or having any part in the church.

Then there is the work place. Sometimes co-workers can be cruel with intolerance. They will not tolerate you if you don't conform and do what they think is the right way to do things. Their intolerance of you makes it hard to do your job. You begin to wonder each day what is going to happen bad to you. You feel uneasy. It is like they are trying to break you down so you will quit and that they can find someone else to replace you with that will follow their rules.

I have felt intolerance. It is not a good thing. When this happens to me I pray and let God be in control. Things like this are out of my hands. There is no need in getting all bent out of shape over it. A lot of times the person being intolerant has no right to do so. They just want to make themselves look better. 

This is all to often the case. People hear something that they don't like so they want to gossip about it. They may even want to those involved what to do in the situation. We need to be more tolerant of things. If it does not affect us then we need to be tolerant of it and move on. Let people live their lives. 

Remember that God loved all people. He didn't care. He was tolerant. We need to be more like him. 

I Will

I recently was watching a sermon from Pastor T.D. Jakes in which he was saying that if you speak I Will over your life that you will start to see changes in your life. I never thought of that before. So I thought about it for a bit. I am reminded of the woman with the issue of blood. She said to herself that she was going to touch the hem of Jesus' garment and was going to be healed. This was something that had never been done before. She said it over and over again. She was reminding herself of what she wanted. She did what she set out to do. It made God ask questions. 

That woman had faith. We need to be like her. We need to have faith that when we say I Will do whatever it is that it is going to happen. When you say I Will whatever you have sent the devil running in the other direction and allowed God to come into your life to do great things. 

We need to speak I Will statements over our lives everyday. We will in time see results in our lives. We will see our lives change. We will begin to see good things happen. We will drive the devil away and let God in to do his work. 

So I encourage you in 2018 to speak statements of I Will so that you can begin to see changes in your life. Have faith that good things are going to happen through speaking statements of I Will.

Thanks Journal

As we go into 2018 I have been thinking about things that I can do to strengthen my relationship with God. One of those things is to keep a Thanks Journal. A Thanks Journal is a journal in which each day you write down all the things that you are thankful for. It will remind you of the good things in this life that come from God. 

Here are some tips for keeping a Thanks Journal.

• Don't just go through the motions. Journaling is more effective if you chose to be happy and grateful.
• Go for depth over breadth. Elaborate about several of the things that you are thankful for because it carries more benefits.
• Get Personal. Focusing on the people that you are grateful for has more of an infect than focusing on things of life.
• Try subtraction, not just addition. Take time to focus on one blessing and state what your life would be like without it. 
• Savor Surprises.  Try to focus on those in expected blessings cause they help you be more thankful.
• Don't over do it. Writing one or two days a week is more beneficial than writing every day.

A Thanks Journal does not have to be something fancy. You can take a simple notebook and use it to write your thanks in. Mark out two or three days a week in which you will write in your journal. Make sure to write several items each day. Write in detail about each item. Then after a period of time you can look back and reflect on those things which you are thankful for. 

A Thanks Journal makes you more aware of the blessings that God has for you. You will find yourself being happier. You can look back on the things that you write and smile. You will be so happy in the end. 

I encourage you to consider making a Thank Journal 2018. It will help you see more of God's blessings for you.

 

Christmas Traditions

Many of us have traditions of things that we do at Christmas each year. Some are things that we have done since we were a child. Others are things that we have come to do later in our life because of how our lives have changed. 

As a kid we had traditions at Christmas. On Christmas Eve we would go to my Aunt Sandra's house for dinner and opening of gifts. Then at 6:30pm those that wanted to would gather up and go with Grandma to her church for the Christmas Eve Service. On Christmas Day the Grandparents and Aunt Virginia and Uncle Ed would come to our house for soup and sandwiches as well as a gift exchange. 

Times have changed and family members have gone on. My sister and I are making new traditions. With her work schedule it is sometimes hard to spend Christmas together. So we have our Christmas on Christmas Eve. We have a meal, open presents, and then we go to some of the local Christmas Eve Services. This year we are going to the Valley Baptist and Wardensville United Methodist Services.

On Christmas Day I will spend it with our adopted family, The Strosniders. I am thankful that I have them in my life after Mom passed. I am thankful that they have opened their home and life to me. 

Also on Christmas Eve this year I will be taking my Uncle Woodie and going to our church for services. I will be singing a special song as part of the service. Then he will come home with me to have lunch. 

Everyone has special traditions. A friend of mine told me about how when she was young they would gather around the Christmas Tree on Christmas Morning for the reading of the Christmas Story. I thought that was a beautiful tradition. 

Another tradition from my child hood was making goodies with Aunt Virginia. She had a list of cookies and candies that she would make at Christmas. Some of those she would put in the fruit baskets at her church that went to elderly folks who were home bound. Then there were some that she would give to others as gifts. I still remember making homemade mince meat filling for cookies or making rocky road fudge. 

As a kid a tradition was to always be in a Christmas Play at church. Each year the play was different, but it was special. One year we did the Nativity and I got to play Mary. As part of the play I got to sing Away In A Manger. That is my favorite Christmas Hymn. 

Whatever the tradition it is special to you. Something that you remember and cherish. As a part of those traditions we should never loose site of the true meaning of Christmas. That is that Jesus is the reason for the season. 

Not In The Mood For Christmas

I love Christmas. It is my favorite holiday. Most years I am ready for it and can't wait. I am like a kid in a candy store about it. This year is different. I am just not feeling it at all. I feel like skipping the whole thing. The holidays though are to be a happy time they bring with it for some depression. At the holidays some miss family members and become depressed.

Christmas is more than just giving and receiving of presents. It is the remembrance of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is remembering that Jesus came as a baby boy and grew to become a man that would later die on the cross for you and me. I remember that thought, but I still can't get into the spirit of Christmas.

It seems like this year the spirit of Christmas has been zapped out of me. It is like there is no joy in the holiday for me this year. I just can't explain it. This too shall pass. I will get over it. It is just a phase.

I think that once I start playing my Christmas music that I will get in the mood. I just need to set my mind on he holiday and all that comes with it. I will be fine. I will feel better.