I’m sure it’s always been an issue that people tend to get so busy at Christmas, that they don’t focus on what Christmas is really all about.  I remember when the saying

Last weekend I had the joy of taking my four and five year-old Sunday school class to the nursing home where we sang, recited a poem, and then my husband gave a short Bible challenge to a group of the residents.  Here the children are getting ready to sing.  Are they precious, or what?

While they were singing, one of the sweet female residents came in, and with each step she took closer to the children she said, “This is terrific! Terrific! Terrific! You’re terrific!  He’s terrific!”  Then she walked up to each child as she made her way down the line, cupped their face in her hands and said to each one, “Pretty, pretty, pretty!”  The children were so kind to her and weren’t afraid.  I think it was due to her sweet nature.  It was apparent that she was in this particular locked down area of the nursing home for a reason,  but I have to tell you, I have thought about that dear lady all week.  You know, some people grow old and crabby, but this sweet lady had obviously spent her life looking for things to praise, and now that she didn’t quite have all her mind, she was still in that same attitude!

While reading through Luke 15 this week I found over and over the words joy and rejoicing.  Verses 4/5 say, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 

Verse 7a –I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth.

Verses 8, 9 say Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. 

Verses 23, 24 add – Bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.


Heaven is a place of joy and rejoicing.  Jesus has joy and He came to give us joy.  He said in John 15: 11- These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. We may think we have reason to be downhearted today, but that’s not what Jesus wants for us!  Joy and rejoicing should be a part of every day for the believer.  If there’s nothing in your life to be joyful about, look to heaven and rejoice over sinners coming to Christ.  Rejoice in the birth of Christ.  Rejoice in the coming of our Savior – it will be soon!  Rejoice in the things around you that are “pretty, pretty, pretty!”  Encourage others by telling them how “terrific” they are!

The truth is, we will be what we have been becoming.  Will you and I be “little old ladies” of praise?  If so, we better be praising now.  Take a look around – things really are “terrific!”

With love,

Take a deep breath.  I’m serious. Inhale.  That is a blessing!  Swallow.  That is a blessing.  Did you eat today?  Another blessing.  Do you have sight, smell, the ability to walk, work, and laugh?  All blessings.  I’ve experienced them all today, and I’ve learned that they really aren’t so little.  What if they were all taken away tomorrow?  We would have wished we had been more thankful – that we had taken time to tell the Lord how grateful we were for the ability to live a somewhat “normal” life. 

After watching one of our dear church families lose all of this on Sunday after a meal, as a result of getting choked on a piece of meat, it’s been very real to me that we have so much to be thankful for every single day. The people with whom we live, those that we love, can be taken from us in a matter of minutes.  Do we verbalize our appreciation for them? Or do we only talk about the frustrations they bring?  If we knew they’d be gone, or even changed forever in the next hour, how would we live differently right now?

I don’t mean to sound so sober, but you know, when you watch someone else face death, it makes life sober indeed.  I have been thinking a great deal about the Lord’s many undeserved blessings in my life.  I thank Him for my own salvation, for the godly parents that brought me up with a knowledge of God, for my sweet sisters, who not only shared my home, but my heart.  I have a husband that loves me, daughters that are such a blessing to me, a church family that others covet, and you dear readers of this blog!  I won’t enumerate here in this post all the other things for which I’m grateful, but I will mention them to the Giver while on my knees in prayer.  I am so very blessed!

Oh, may I not grow apathetic and ungrateful for the smallest of blessings that all come from my great God’s hands. This moment is a gift…and this one…and this one. Have you told Him thank you?

With a grateful heart,

“So what’s the big tadoo about being a woman of character?” someone may ask.  The world says we are all a little good.    Is it that hard to be a woman of godliness?  And what about men?  Is it any easier to be a man of strong biblical character?  Let’s see what Scripture says…

Proverbs 20:6b asks a noteworthy question, it says, “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?”  The implication here is that a man may boast about his ability to do this or be that, but when it comes right down to it, faithful men are rare!  That question reminds me of Proverbs 31:10 – Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. This virtuous woman, this woman of striking character is also a rare gem!  You don’t find women like this in every house in the neighborhood!  You won’t find men like that in every business office or college campus. 

Why are faithful men and virtuous women hard to find?  I believe it’s because it is hard work.  It takes discipline to stay by the stuff when things are difficult; it takes no effort to quit.  It takes strength to say “No” to sin; it’s much easier to cave in to the temptation.  Name any character trait and look at its antonym and it’s understandable why a person could shake their head, shrug their shoulders and go the easy route.  There’s nothing to it!

The blessing of the pursuit of godliness is that we’re not in this alone!  “For it is God which worketh in us, both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”  Philippians 2:13  The One Who is exemplary of character enables us be women of character!

We need to be encouraging our sons and daughters not only to be this kind of man or woman, but also to be looking for this kind of mate.  It’s easy to find someone to marry, but it’s worth waiting to find a faithful man or a virtuous woman!

Who can find a faithful man, or a virtuous woman?  They don’t abound, but you and I can be one, all by His amazing grace.

With love,

Have you ever been asked about your most embarrassing moment?  Yesterday when I wrote the post about pressure cooker times, I was reminded of mine.  I don’t guess you’d care to hear about it?  Well, it was like this…

We had a four year-old daughter who was attending pre-school at the Christian school in our area.  Ministry was busy and finances were tough.  Then out of the clear blue I got a phone call from the principal where Whitney was attending pre-school.  It seems they were in dire need of a second grade school teacher because the current teacher had quit.  He asked if I would pray about teaching the class for the year.  The whole year?  How could I swing that with all my other responsibilities as a wife, mom and pastor’s wife?   As my husband and I talked and prayed about it, we felt that perhaps this was the Lord providing for our needs. 

As we prayed, I consulted with my parents for their advice.  I clearly remember having a phone conversation with my dad where he discouraged me from taking the position because of the age of my little girl and her needs.  She would be home in the afternoon when I would still be at school.  I regretted later not heeding his warning!  But we reasoned that she would have time with her daddy while I was gone.  We failed to consider the many ministry responsibilities that would call for his time.

So, yes, I took the teaching job.  From the very first afternoon when I saw my husband pull out of the school parking lot with our daughter in tow, I regretted signing my name on the dotted line of that teaching contract!  But now it was too late.  We got into a routine – Whitney rode to school with me in the morning where she went to pre-school and I headed to the second grade classroom.  Her daddy picked her up at noon when her class was finished and they would visit church members together in the afternoon or she would play while he studied.  Some days, due to the need to visit the hospital or attend a funeral, she would spend the afternoon with a friend and fellow-pastor’s wife.  When I would hear that they had made cookies, played house or beauty shop, it would tear my heart in two!  

Along with school, of course, were my ministry responsibilities.  I tried to keep up with activities and the people of our congregation.  One evening, desiring to show my concern, I approached a woman whose mother had been very ill.  “Mae, how is your mother doing?” I asked.  Her expression turned to disbelief, and she said in a somber tone, “Denise, my mother died two weeks ago.”  At that moment I wished I could die!  How embarrassing!  I apologized for my blunder and somehow found my way to my seat where my face slowly gained its natural color.

That’s what happened as a result of having too many plates spinning in the air and trying to keep them all going.  Now one had crashed to the floor – and in church of all places – the place where I should have been demonstrating care and concern!  I realized at that moment that I was doing too much, and that I wasn’t giving ample time or attention to the things that were most important.

Though that year was difficult, I learned the greatest lesson from that experience.   I learned what my priorities were, and working outside my home while I had children to raise was not one of them!   Hence, that was my first and last job, not because I was too lazy to work; I had just learned the hard way that the best (and most fulfilling) job for me was raising my girls and being a helpmeet to my husband.  Nothing else in the world really mattered.  There were still times when I’ve felt I was spinning plates, but I had learned through my embarrassing moment not to allow those plates to be the ones that were closest to my heart. 

How do you balance all the busy things going on in your world?  Is there something you feel the Lord would have you to give up?  Don’t do what I did!  Ask and then obey!

From my parsonage window,