What A Pastor Does On His Day Off

"See" What This Season is All About

Here's a poem written by my sweet friend, Amy Katterson.

See

See the donkey, bearing Mary,

See the dark and barren stall,

See the Christ Child, squirming, crying,

See the God who made us all.

See the shepherds, breathless, frightened,

See the sky alive with song,

See the travelers with their presents,

See King Herod’s rage grow strong.

See the Teacher, squatting, speaking,

See the crowd that mutters, eats,

See the broken-hearted mother

Hug her child whom Jesus treats.

See the leaders, growing darker,

See the hatred in their hearts,

See the Maker, quiet, moving

Toward the storm that broils, starts.

See the friend betray his Master,

See the frenzy of the crowd,

See the Sovereign Jesus, standing

Waiting there with head bowed.

See the fear in Pilot’s actions,

See the mocking soldiers laugh,

See them beat Him, bruise Him, break Him,

As He ripped the veil in half.

See the angels, vast, unnumbered,

Poised to smite the crowd below,

See the Father, silent, bidding

Evil men to crush their foe.

See the soldiers laughing, gambling,

For the tunic, smooth and whole,

See the broken body, bleeding,

By His wounds to save their soul.

See the realms of darkness shouting

As they view the death they crave,

See the silent women weeping,

Bringing spices to His grave.

See the first soft light of morning,

See the radiant Son arise,

See the claws of death are broken,

See the King has won His prize.

See Him, and in seeing, trust Him,

Let His coming be for you

Not just Christmas gifts and carols,

But awesome pardon, life made new.

My Girls- The Singer & The Giggler

A Must See!

Last night, Kempton & I had a sweet date! We went to one of our favorite restaurants, P.F. Chang, and then to a free screening of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of Dawn Treader. I liked it alot better than the 2nd Narnia movie. This was my first time watching a 3D movie. It was GREAT! I'll keep the details to myself so I won't spoil it for you. It will officially be in theaters on December 10. Make it a family outing or better yet plan a date night with your sweetie.

Grieving June Cleaver?

“Do we as a society believe that family is so important that we uphold caring for home and children as the best and most important job a woman might ever have?”

That question was asked by Mary Kassian in an article she wrote for the True Woman Blog.

All women should read the entire article.

I totally would have joined in!

Worth braving the weather!

Today, I attended the Special Moms' Retreat at Grace Church. What a blessed time we had! I braved the 1st snow of the year and unplowed highways, but it was worth it. This was the 3rd moms' retreat that I've attended and I always leave refreshed. It's like getting my spiritual gas tank full so I can keep striving for Christ in my role as mom of a child with special needs. My sweet friend and "Aunt" to my kids, Mary Horning, was the keynote speaker. Here's a snapshot of her talk.

* Suffering takes us from a "God serve me" mindset to a how can "I serve God" mindset.

*Depression often occurs because we listen to ourselves instead of talk to ourselves. We need to turn off the thoughts of anxiety, fear, & doubt and start preaching God's truth to ourselves.

* God cares about the concerns that we have for our children. However, He cares more about our soul than our child's syndrome.

* The sin in our heart is a lot uglier than any physical deformity.

* Being weak is the best place for us to be because in our weakness Christ is our strength. (2 Cor. 12:9-10).

* Our lives should be about loving Christ. Everything else is temporal.

* We can love and serve Christ whether it's by wiping the dirty butt of our adult child or going on the mission field!

* God is preparing His children each day for heaven. He desires to make us more like Christ until He returns.

* We need to daily: 1) read God's Word, 2) pray truth to our soul, & 3) quietly wait for the salvation of our Lord.

God truly used Mary to speak the truth to our hearts. Next time, I plan on posting all the practical ideas that the panel of moms shared about loving and caring for our children who do not have special needs.