Abba's Girl

2010 - A year which brought many blessings and joy with a few bumps along the way. A year in which friends and family endured illness and deaths. A year in which we welcomed babies. A year in which my heart healed after dad's death. A year in which my priest left our parish and began an exciting new ministry. A year in which my husband and I celebrated our 25th year of marriage. A year in which old friendships were strengthened and new friends were made. A year in which my faith increased and I drew closer to the Lord. I look to 2011 with expectancy and hope. Happy New Year!

I have publicly stated many times - I am NOT a morning person. I get up at least 2 hours prior to my husband so I can be nice when he awakes all cheery, happy and ready to go. (I didn't know that about him before we married!) This morning we were getting up around the same time because he was leaving the house very early. I started his pot of coffee 1st, I then made my 2 cups of coffee with my small coffee press. As the caffeine raced through my system, I thought I've forgotten something. A few minutes later, I noticed his coffee overflowing on the counter and down the cabinets. I could not understand why this happened, and then it dawned on me...I never washed the pot and there may have been 1 or 2 cups of coffee left in it. Then I realized I had served a cup of this coffee to my husband already. I told him to dump it and I would begin again. He said it was fine and drank it. (YUCK) By this time I was awake! The incident gave me an illustration as to how occasionally I ...

I love the Christmas season. I remember as a child we decorated the day school was dismissed for the holidays and saved a gift to open on Epiphany to celebrate the wise men arriving in Bethlehem. The decorations came down January 6th. It's too bad we rush to shop, decorate, celebrate, worship and then so many of us pack Christmas away December 26th. In 2008 I decided to leave the decorations up until Epiphany, I took 1/2 down and planned to finish the rest when I had to rush my father to the ER which began the year from you know where with the 11 1/2 months he was hospitalized. I then thought, this is 2009 - I am leaving the decorations up until Epiphany this year. I then rushed my father to the hospital and he died at the end of the month. I have not decided if I will leave my decorations up until Epiphany this year; but I will celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas and savor the time we celebrate the birth of Christ the Lord. Merry Christmas! For to us a child is born, to...

I am going to sow at least 24 Scriptures into my heart in 2011. After prayer, I think they will all come from the Gospels. I am looking forward to seeing which verses other Siestas choose. I need the accountability of the roll call, I didn't commit many Scriptures to heart in 2010. How about you? Will you join the Siestas once again in 2011? In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in ...

I am saddened today by the necessity of a "Line of Love" at Elizabeth Edwards' funeral. Her children are dealing with the death of their mother and a protest group wants to make their day much worse. I saw pictures of the protesters a couple of days ago. They were carrying signs some of which read: God Bless Breast Cancer. Their reasoning - She was hell bound because her son died and she had cancer. (I wonder if they think her's estranged husband's adultery is also her fault?) How do they think this demonstrates loving their neighbor as Jesus commanded us to do? I pray their hateful words and curses are shut down. I pray the people in the Line of Love reflect Christ's love and in no way come down to the protesters level of Phariseeism (I know - no such word) and hate. As for the protesters, we must pray for them to be transformed by the love of Christ, for their hearts of stone to become hearts of flesh and we must do so because Christ also commands us: ...

Some of the greatest gifts I've received in my life have been friends the Lord placed in my life. I met Kay when I was 9 years old. We took ballet at the same studio. Our teacher called us Mutt and Jeff because she was tiny and I was tall. She was brunette and I was blonde. (We still claim our original hair colour!) We spent many a night at one another's homes laughing, practicing difficult steps, and dreaming of marriage (We might not have had a real understanding of marriage back then!). We've both experienced a lot of life since we met in the early 1970's. We met for dinner Friday night, such a wonderful time of fellowship. I am so thankful through Christ Jesus our love and friendship have endured the seasons of life. I am thankful for the sisters I've made in the blogging (many of you walked with me during my father's illness and death) world and the friends I've made via Facebook who met me as I was grieving dad's death. I ask the Lord to bles...