JESUS Is The Reason For The Season!!

Monday, December 22, 2014

IT’s MONDAY BLOG time and since it’s almost December 25th, I decided that anything other than a conversation today about the one ‘n only Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, would just be thoughtless of me… I woke up this morning with Jesus on my mind. Now, this isn’t unusual for me at all, however, this morning my heart was aching a little bit as I pondered my thoughts wondering why was I a tad sad. As I lay there, I concluded that it’s because I know I don’t do enough for our Lord Jesus.

Christmas time causes me to think even more about Jesus and what He truly means to me. I always like to look on the optimistic side of Life, but I’m realistic enough to know that Life can be a   complex matter at times, for us mortals. In such times, I’ve been known to play little games with myself, thinking, “well I’m not perfect like Jesus!!” Of course that’s just my way of getting myself off the hook when I think I’ve got a better way of doing things. It’s about that time that I get one of those “hello, heaven to Margaret” calls and I simply must face the issue truthfully and turn it over to Him. All I can say is, thank the good Lord He has such a great sense of humor! And, never-ending patience! Thank You, Jesus!!

I know I can do better, I just have to hush & listen—to Him. It’s not my will that matters—only His. Where there is His will, there’s a way. “Thy will be  done, in earth as it is in heaven.”—The Lord’s Prayer, The Bible

On Christmas Day, let’s honor Jesus Christ and praise Him for all He’s done for us…and continues to do for us! If we trust in Him without fear, we’ll be deserving of all our blessings. “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear.”—1 JOHN 4:18

Happy Birthday Jesus!! YOU are the reason for the Season!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I love you,                                                                                                                                                  Margaret

PS  Make your heart a manger for Jesus.

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Chapter 29—I Love You The Most (Part Two)

Monday, December 15, 2014

Welcome to my MONDAY BlOG everyone!!

Well, It’s almost that time again. The day Jesus came to earth to save us all from ourselves! That’s a big HALLELUJAH, right? As for me, it’s truly my favorite time of the year; year after year, after year.

This week in my book, That Melvin Bray, Maggie and Lizzy are still searching for him. Let’s see what’s going on as they prepare to travel back to their little home town in hopes of a miracle!! They definitely need some divine intervention!!

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Excerpts and Thoughts from “THAT MELVIN BRAY”

“Hope for a great sea-change, on the far side of revenge. Believe that a farther shore is reachable from here. Believe in miracles, and cures and healing wells.”                                                   —Seamus Heaney, Iris poet and Nobel Prize recipient

Chapter  29—I Love You The Most –  Part Two

Katherine and Ballen entered the office and we all greeted one another with affection. Right off the bat, Lizzy asked them to compare the FedEx photo of That Melvin Bray to the Mr. W sketch on the table. Ballen was ecstatic, and Katherine had to sit down.

There was no doubt in my mind that Katherine felt an intense, ice-cold chill run up her spine. As I sat there and watched her, I thought, “It is not the  conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.”

It became apparent to me as I watched the bittersweet tears trickle down her cheeks that Katherine was in the process of preparing herself for a possible what-if.

I began a silent prayer, asking for one of Pastor Meyer’s earthly angels to come and guide us. Then I thought, Hey, such an angel may already be here. All of a sudden, I could hear myself thinking, Hush and listen.

As Ballen and Katherine both stared at the FedEx photo intensely, Ballen remarked how odd it was that during all the investigation that had gone on for almost three years after Ricky’s disappearance, not one person, including Katherine and him, had even considered Mr. W a person of interest. He had definitely been there a the bus stop that day, but somehow he had gone completely unnoticed by everyone.

“Since our last meeting here on Wednesday, Maggie and I may have discovered the whereabouts of the infamous Mr. W. I’ve just spoken with the sheriff in that town and made him aware of the fact that we have a new information in reference to Mr. W that is possibly related to Ricky. The sheriff suggested Maggie and I catch a flight out tonight and meet him at his office first thing in the morning with our evidence. Once we’ve met with the sheriff and hopefully located Mr. W, I’ll call you at home, and we’ll discuss the best way to proceed on Ricky’s behalf, based on exactly what we discover, if anything.”

It was all Katherine could do to hold back her tears as she listened to Lizzy’s words. With her head bowed, she began to cry. Her loving protector, the kindhearted Ballen, put his arm around his cherished wife as he responded to Lizzy.

“We understand completely, Dr. Benis, and we’ll do whatever you think is best.”

Lizzy and I watched them drive away, our hearts breaking for them, and then we both made a beeline back into the office, filled with a  dogged focus to find out what happened to their little boy.

“Well, here we go, Maggs,” Lizzy said as we drove to the airport. “I’m really feeling good about this; how ’bout you?”

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So Maggie and Lizzy are actually almost on the plane to head South to their hometown, where it all started over thirty-five years ago! They feel pretty good about finding That Melvin Bray, but little Ricky “is a whole ‘nother story,” as Maggie would say.

Next week, we’ll get even closer to unraveling this mystery, in Chapter 30—”Shedding The Cloak on the Road to Forgiveness.”

As I mentioned earlier, we have only a few more days left before celebrating the most important day of our lives—Jesus’s Birthday. So, as December 25th draws nearer, let’s revisit in our hearts and minds exactly what Jesus Christ means to us and where we’d be without Him.

GOD is Good! GOD is Great!!

I love you,

Margaret

What we do today is what matters most. The devil is always hanging around with his “but, what if…”  Ignore him!

Jesus saves!!

Hallelujah!!

Chapter 29—I Love You The Most

Monday, December 8, 2015

Happy Monday, Everyone!!

It’s BlOG time again and as usual, it’s great to be back!!

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Excerpts and Thoughts from “That Melvin Bray”

Chapter 29—I Love You The Most   (Part One)

“Hope for a great sea-change, on the far side of revenge.                                                             Believe that a further shore, is reachable from here.                                                                    Believe in miracles, and cures and healing wells.”                                                                      —Seamus Heaney, irish poet and Nobel Prize recipient in literature

“Sure, my pleasure, sister—sorta.” I picked it up and painstakingly opened it, so as not to damage the photo in any way.

The anticipation was so intense that someone probably could have heard our heats beatin’ from the patio. I was holdin’ my breath, thinkin’, Have thine own way, Lord. I paused what seemed like forever, but I finally pulled out the old eight-by-ten-inch photo and laid it on the table next to the Mr. W sketch. Lizzy was standing by me, patiently impatient, watching my every move.

“There! Now, look at that photo. If they’re not the same person, then they’re identical twins, Lizzy!”

She took only a minute, maybe less, to examine the two photos before responding. “Incredible, Maggie—without a doubt! You are right, little sister. And you trusted your instincts. See? It works!”

Just then, the phone rang, reestablishing our earthly footing. It was the sheriff returning Lizzy’s call. He was only a couple years younger than us and we’d all grown up together back in Grace Chapel. His father, who had been our little town’s sheriff for over twenty years, was the same sheriff who always came to our house armed with a deputy or two to pick up Lu’s Mr. Hyde, a.k.a Lee’s monster. Why did I call him Daddy?

It was only logical that Sheriff Todd would be aware of the disappearances of Ricky and That Melvin Bray, because his daddy had remained focused on both cases for quite some time. Todd and Ricky were about the same age, so no doubt back then at Todd’s house, these cases were often the topic of conversations around the supper table. Being a father as well as a sheriff, Todd’s daddy had desperately wanted to find Ricky. It was no surprise that Todd jumped all over it when Lizzy made the first phone call to him and told him what we suspected. Because Ricky was a child, Ricky’s case was widely publicized, but That Melvin Bray was an adult, and people did not scrutinize his disappearance in the same way. His disappearance certainly was not considered an unsolved crime; people figured he had just left town. Strange? Yes. A crime? No.

Lizzy’s logical theory connecting That Melvin Bray and Ricky was still disjointed, but Sheriff Todd assured her he would join forces with us and pursue the old cold case as if it had just happened, thus enabling us to come to a factual and provable conclusion. Before they hung up, Todd promised Lizzy he’d call back once he’d contacted the Jennings folks and had something solid arranged to let us on the property as soon as possible.

“The Lawrences are here. Shall I bring them on in, LIzzy?” Paula asked as she peeked into Lizzy’s office.

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Next week, we’ll get to know little Ricky’s Mother and Father on a much deeper level…as in soul. They are in for a huge awakening—and maybe even thanking GOD for unanswered prayers.

Next week —CHAPTER 29, Part Two – “I Love You The Most”

I hope you ALL have a happy, healthy, PRODUCTIVE and prosperous week— in every way!

GOD is Good! GOD is Great!!

Love,                                                                                                                                            Margaret

Oh, one more thing:

What’s the Will of the Father for each of us?

GOD has a perfect plan for ALL of us. Sometimes however, waiting on the Lord is not an easy thing for us, even though His plan is perfect and His timing is perfect. He’s perfect.

So, what do we do while we’re waiting on the Lord?

He does not want us to be lazy. He wants us to be PRODUCTIVE, while we’re waiting with love and gratitude for Him.

THE BLAME GAME—It’s Not MY Fault!!

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Welcome to ALL my Wednesday Blogger-Buddies!

Can you think of a time when BLAME wasn’t in a huge abundance? Me neither.

The Blame Game has been going on since the beginning of creation.

As we see in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, third Chapter, 3:11-13, we find that Adam and Eve broke GOD’s command by eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. When GOD confronted Adam with his sin asking him, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not eat from?”  Adam said, “The woman who you gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord GOD said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” and the woman said, ” The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

You see what happened? Adam disobeyed GOD and blamed Eve, and Eve disobeyed GOD and blamed the “serpent”. Right from the very beginning, Adam nor Eve, wanted to accept their own responsibility of their sin in disobeying GOD. They both blamed another for what they, themselves did.

The serpent, the devil, Satan, they’re all one in the same and very cunning—Satan is full of lies and tricks; out for one thing and one thing only: our precious souls. Satan will find our weaknesses and taunt us with that knowledge. He promises to give us our heart’s desires—He lies big time!

When we fall prey to Satan, we are straying in the opposite direction of GOD, our heavenly Father, who truly can give us our heart’s desires. HE never lies to us.

When we play The Blame Game, refusing to be responsible for our individual part in any difficult situation, whether it be family, friend or foe, we are not following The Lord’s Prayer, which Jesus, himself gave to us to live by, while He was still here on earth:

“Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.  Amen.”

If we truly live our gift of Life by this simple, yet powerful prayer, we will in deed, live by His teachings and have a fulfilled Life.  If we break this prayer down, piece by piece, we’ll find that GOD has covered every situation we will ever face. He is all-knowing, all-wise, all-everything.  No matter what we do, we can’t hide our indiscretions from Him. In His wisdom, He knew we would need a special road map on our journey here on Earth—The Lord’s Prayer!

That’s why when we play The Blame Game, GOD’s not going to buy it. He knows the truth. We know the truth, also. So why play that awful game? GOD frowns upon us when we engage in this. Accept your part in all situations and do your part to forgive and heal the disharmony, no matter who is involved or who is the most responsible. Very seldom is there blame on only one side of a situation. It takes at least two to disagree. However, it takes only YOU to forgive, mend and forget. Don’t play The Blame Game. Please! Now, it’s true also, that YOU can’t do anybody’s part but your own; however, YOU can be the one to start the healing by forgiving, mending, and forgetting.

“Blessed are the peacekeepers, for they will be called children of GOD.” — Matthew 5:9

Hey, why not wear one of my favorite hats below?

A Peace-Keeper

A Fence-Mender

A Do-Gooder

A Love-Machine

A Forgiver-Forgetter

Try one on. I’m certain you’ll find one that fits YOU just perfectly!!

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only LIGHT can do that; hate cannot drive out hate, only LOVE can do that.” —MLK

GOD is Good! GOD is Great!!

I love you,                                                                                                                                               Margaret

“Life is how you spend it. Each day is your own choice. You can count your blessings or count your troubles. Your gift of Life is always a choice. Spend it wisely. ” —MMcB