Blessed by Brenna

New blog entries and devotions will return in February....

But, in the meantime, I wanted to share a blog with you today about a little girl in Springfield whose story has touched my heart this morning:

http://blessedbybrenna.blogspot.com/

Be Bold

Will 2012 be a year defined by
fear or faith in your life?

We've all seen the signs on the side of the road that say PROCEED WITH CAUTION. Many times this is how we live our lives. We move forward with a bit of trepidation because we have forgotten who we are.

While it is true that many of life's situations require discernment, this need for wisdom and direction is different than fear or hesitation. I really believe that every situation in life allows us the opportunity to either respond in fear or faith.

How are you dealing with what life has handed you today? Maybe you have spent months looking for a job or are facing a daily struggle to make ends meet in your business. Perhaps you are allowing past hurts to shade the present and the way that you perceive the future. Possibly you have found yourself in a situation where you feel unworthy to ask for help in your time of need. Many times we find ourselves in these types of moments. Our confidence is lacking because we have forgotten who we are and that we can approach the throne of grace with confidence.

You can stop living in fear and start holding onto faith. Hebrews 11 defines faith as being SURE of what we hope for and CERTAIN of what we do not see. It is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen. If you've been living in fear, it's time to change the sign to APPROACH WITH CONFIDENCE. Be bold and live in expectation of what will happen this year.

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." --Hebrews 4:16

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! I hope and pray that your family is blessed as you celebrate the birth of our Savior.

You can see my digital Christmas card by clicking here.

Here are some of the Christmas features you may have heard this past week on "A Positive Start to Your Day." Feel free to share them with your family and friends.
The Real Story of St. Nick by radiomelody


Silly Song - My-In-Laws-are-Coming-to-Town by radiomelody

READY FOR CHRISTMAS
Author Unknown

"Ready for Christmas," she said with a sigh,
As she gave a last touch to the gifts piled high.
Then wearily sat for a moment and read
Till soon, very soon, she was nodding her head.

Then quietly spoke a voice in her dream!
"Ready for Christmas! What do you Mean?
When only last week
You wouldn't acknowledge your friend on the street."

"Ready for Christmas, while holding a grudge!
Perhaps you better let God be the judge.
Why, how can the Christ child come and abide
In a heart that is selfish and filled with pride?"

"Ready for Christmas, when only today
A beggar lad came and you turned him away
Without even a smile to show that you cared!
So little he asked, he could have been spared."

"Ready for Christmas! You've worked, it is true,
But just doing the things that you wanted to do."
"Ready for Christmas, your circle's to small.
Why, you are not ready for Christmas at all."

She awoke with a start, and a cry of despair.
"There's so little time, and I've still to prepare!
Oh, Father, forgive me, I see what you mean;
To be ready means more than a house swept clean."

"Yes, more that the giving of gifts and a tree,
It's the heart swept clean that he wants to see,
A heart that is free from bitterness, sin,
Ready for Christmas means ready for Him!"

Pray Until Something Happens

This morning, I posted something on my Facebook that I've heard many times before but I occasionally need to be reminded of, especially when the difficult season seems long or when it seems as though I have been praying the same prayer for so long. It's a simple acronym - PUSH -

P=Pray

U=Until

S=Something

H=Happens

I wanted to share a song with you from Selah today. The first time I ever heard this song I was standing at the back of a room full of people at an industry breakfast in Nashville and I remember standing there awed by the beauty and pain of this song, astonished by the power and passion in Amy's voice, and overwhelmed by tears....tears not just because the song was so beautiful, tears not just because I connected so deeply with the lyrics, but tears because (at that moment) I had no idea how God was going to begin to redeem parts of my story.

I was desperately trusting God in the midst of a difficult time in my life, hoping that He had a plan that I couldn't see, wanting it to all make sense right now. I was struggling to forgive, trying to heal from past hurts and move forward. I was questioning whether God still wanted me in ministry and what that might look like. And, I was praising God for how faithful He was and is and would be even when I would have moments where it didn't make sense.

What I didn't know in that moment was that parts of God's plan wouldn't really make sense to me for more than a year but that God had a plan and purpose for every step of the way, He had a work He was doing in my heart to bring healing and restoration.

As I was sitting here to write about this today, I kept thinking about the stories of so many people that I've prayed with and for over the past few weeks - people needing restoration in their relationships, people struggling with depression, people dealing with sadness and loss, people overwhelmed and at the end of their rope because of financial difficulties. I can see some of their faces and I can hear some of their voices and all I know to do is pray. You see I don't know how these stories are going to turn out but I know one thing - I know WHO does and I know it will not be Unredeemed. If you're at that place this morning where it doesn't make sense right now, the moment seems dark and if your only response is to try to hold it together as you wipe tears from your face.....I want to encourage you to WATCH AND SEE.....God has a plan.

The Plight Before Christmas

If you're having trouble staying on budget this Christmas season, you may be able to relate to this poem that a friend sent me.

It's called “The Plight Before Christmas.”

'Tis the month before Christmas and all through the house,
Our two teens leave gift lists for me and my spouse.

They scribble and write, compose and compare,
In hopes that St. Nick has some big bucks to spare!

But Dad with his wallet and I with my purse,
Realize things have taken a turn for the worse.

Gone are the days of toy cars and doll beds,
When visions of sugarplums danced in their heads.

It's CDs, and sweaters, and watches and rings,
Computers and Play Station Games of all things.

More rapid than reindeer the items ring up,
We'll have to get second and third jobs to keep up!

So I think for a minute, and then start to smile--
The answer's been with me, there all the while.

Then I gather my children and with hugs and a kiss,
I remind them it's not about presents and lists.

It's about friends and family, and laughter and love,
And the blessings we're given from God up above.

In the midst of the frenzy and the lure of the mall,
We shouldn't forget..the greatest Gift of all.

And then I'll exclaim 'ere I turn in for the night,
"Happy Christmas to all, and... may we all get it right!"

(author unknown)

Rescuing Hug

You may have seen this before; but, I think this is such a beautiful story and I wanted to share it with you today...

This picture is from an article called the “RESCUING HUG”

The article details the first week of life of a set of twins. Apparently each were in their respective incubators and one was not expected to live. A hospital nurse fought against the hospital rules and placed the babies in one incubator. When they were placed together, the healthier of the two, threw an arm over her sister in an endearing embrace. The smaller baby’s heart stabilized and temperature rose to normal. The children survived their rocky beginnings and in time went home with their parents.

I think this is such an amazing story and such a great reminder that we all have people in our lives who are hurting and struggling. Sometimes they simply need someone to be there - someone who will reach out and extend a hand or give a hug or sit and listen and pray - someone who will just be there until things begin to stabilize, until things return to normal, until they have the strength to carry on.

Do you have someone in your life today that could really use a rescuing hug?

"If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together." --1 Corinthians 12:26

"If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble." --Ecclesiastes 4:10

"Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." --Romans 12:15

Does Your Family Think You're Weird?

As we get ready for spending some quality time with those with love this week, we were "celebrating" this morning by giving you the chance to "Confess Your Weirdness." You think your relatives are strange :) - listen to this:

I think we can all be kind of weird sometimes (there's no doubt about that) and my family is no different. I don't think there is a "normal" family - we're all kind of quirky. But, over the years, I know that some of my relatives have thought that I was a bit weird because I chose to live my life differently than they did. Because you see - I'm kind of a Jesus Freak.

Today, I thought I'd share a blog that I wrote more than a year ago about being a Jesus Freak....don't be afraid to freak out as you live life in front of your family this week!

--Melody
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"What will people think when they hear that I'm a Jesus freak? What will people do when they find that it's true? I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak. There ain't no disguising the truth." --DC Talk

Let's face it - we all do things sometimes that are a bit quirky. Perhaps it's part of being human. Perhaps it's because we are all uniquely made so we think that everyone else is strange and we are the normal ones. Perhaps we just have become self-conscious about our own weirdness because we can never seem to achieve this expectation of normalcy.

When I was a little girl growing up in Oklahoma, I remember pastors talking a lot about being a peculiar people (that's how it is written in the King James Version).

"For thou art a holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth." --Deuteronomy 14:2

"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." --1 Peter 2:9

"Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." --Titus 2:14

Peculiar in this sense means set apart for God, that we belong exclusively to Him, that we were created for a peculiar (particular, singular, specific purpose). I think that if we are really following Christ, we will be seen as peculiar though.

The life of the Christ-follower does not look like how the world lives. We are called to be in the world but not of the world (John 17:14-16), we are encouraged not to conform to how the world operates (Romans 12:2), and we are inspired by the words of Paul to live by faith and not be ashamed (Romans 1:16-17)

Jesus said in Mark 8:34-35, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it." Deny yourself? Lose your life? The world does think that's a strange way to live, just like they thought it was strange that the One who would save the world was born in a manger.

I don't really care if they label me a Jesus Freak - there ain't no disguising the truth. I say let people around you think you're weird today. Freak out for Him.