Thursday, December 24, 2009

Free indeed

Ah, so many things have happened in the last couple of weeks. Good things I tell you, good things! Yes, the computer crashed not once, but twice. First time we restored it but this time it is taking more of a break. Funny thing is that it happened when I was installing updates and running a virus scan...hmmm...is there anything to that?
Anyway, the Lord did once again what only the Lord can do. He went above and beyond all that we can even try to consider in our feeble minds.
I woke up the other morning thinking about how freeing it is to be able to pay some of our bills and started thinking about how it is even more freeing to be set free from the penalty of our sin! It really amazed me once again. He whom the Son has set free is free indeed. There is a joy, an overwhelming joy when we are free. Free from bondage, free from the heaviness of the world and all it pours upon us each day. Having the weight lifted is freeing! Have you seen those pictures where someone's arms are lifted up in the air, legs are jumping...well, mine don't jump anymore, but I can lift my arms up in joy, excitement, an exhilarating sense about everything because I have been set free. God is so good! He sets us free from our sin, the hold it has/had upon our lives. He constantly reminds us of His great love for us. I often find myself sitting back and wondering why. Why Lord have you chosen us, chosen us as Your vessels, chosen to bless us as you do, chosen to love us as you do. The though overwhelms me at times.
Our Heavenly Father loves us so much. Just as we love to give to others, God loves to give to His children.
What peace there is in knowing Him, what joy there is in serving Him, what freedom there is in following Him.
If I don't get back here by tomorrow I wish you a very Merry Christmas. May you ponder the verse we all know so well. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosever believes in Him would not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16. Read it like it was the very first time you read it and consider such a love!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Did you notice the festive looking blog? I thought it would be fun to create something a bit more seasonal from time to time. Hopefully this won't be up until Easter like this LOL
I feel like crying today, actually, I am crying on the inside and it's trying to come out but I won't let it.
Maybe it's because what I am so sad about isn't anything earth shattering and some might say it is just materialistic. Yes, it is materialistic in some ways, but I am sad because of the memories and what I wanted to do for my daughter. Marla is coming a week from today and I am so beyond thrilled to have her to myself for 3 weeks (ok, Jim can share her too) I asked her a few weeks ago if she wanted to help decorate for Christmas or if I should just do it and have it ready when she arrives. She opted for me to have it already finished when she arrives since it will be so close to Christmas when she gets here. I wanted everything to be just right. All the decorations we have had for years and years and years. My Christmas villages that we would put out, fake snow, the pointsettias, garland, lights, etc. All these things I wanted to share once again with her. It's really hard for her to be in the states without us for the holidays. No home to really enjoy as her own, no familiar decorations, no stocking with her name on it. I can't tell you how excited I was to start decorating.
Well, when we moved to Italy we could only fit so much in the truck/car, so Jim when Jim would go to Hungary he would bring more things back home with him. Last year, he didn't go around Christmas so I had no decorations. This year, he purposely set out to get the decorations so we could have them for this year. Well, he came home and they weren't with him. Only a few things that were in one container. Noone can find the other boxes of stuff. It is things that wouldn't mean anything to anyone else. The villages weren't expensive, they were bought with coupons and after Christmas sales, take 50% off the sale price, etc. That is how I shopped! My ornaments were mostly home made by friends who came to the ornament parties I used to have. Years of collected things just disappear. I can only pray that somewhere in a dark corner of some obscure place they are sitting there, all tucked away waiting for me to find them once again.
It doesn't matter in the long run I know. But right now, it matters to me.
Please pray we can find them one of these days...along with some other special things that are missing!
Sorry for the downer, but it's just one of those days!