Abba's Girl

You see it on Facebook, on magazine covers, in newspaper articles, hear it on morning talk shows - the new year new you thing. Does it grate on your nerves or elicit an eye roll? I think having dreams and goals is a wonderful thing. Resolutions can be a positive thing in your life, however, you became new when you accepted Christ as your Savior.  II Corinthians 5:17 tells us:  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a  new  creation. The old has passed away; behold, the  new  has come. Verses 18-20 add the context, God gives this to us and reconciles us to Himself:   All this is from God,  who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us  the ministry of reconciliation;     that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,  not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us  the message of reconciliation.     Therefore,  we are ambassadors for Christ,  God making...

I had decided to forego a Christmas Tree this year. December has been busy in unusual ways. I bake little these days, holidays are less complicated as I rarely cook complicated meals due to several interruptions as I try to cook. So the busyness was not the holiday hustle and bustle just weird stuff with caretaking. I decorated my dining room and the mantle above the fireplace. Hung icicle lights in the windows and a wreath on my front door and decided that is it, enough holiday cheer for the season. Saturday as I performed a few household chores, I thought well Annette, the day has been pretty quiet, drag out the ornament boxes and tree and get to it. So I assembled and decorated the tree. All the lights worked the 1st time. No searching for the 1 missed cord in the midst of the branches. As I sit here on this dreary morn and look at the pretty lights on the tree, I am so happy I decided not to be treeless this year. Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas! And there were she...

I've been away from the old blog for 6 months. Life as a caretaker is mundane in many ways, trying, stress-inducing, time-consuming, and joyful when you see a spark of your care recipient's real personality. For one brief moment, Alzheimer's is gone. As we prepare for Christmas, am I preparing my heart to receive more of Him? Is Advent a season of expectancy for me or another season of the mundane? Life circumstances should not colour my relationship with the Lord. However, at times I let them. At times I think would like to  __________. Fill in the blank. A vacation, a new job, to visit with friends in person. If you celebrate Advent, I pray it is a season of expectancy. Come Thou long expected Jesus. For to us a child is born,     to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder,     and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,     Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Merriam-Webster's definition of Praise - to glorify (a god or saint) by the attributions of perfections I look at my life and think what or Whom do I glorify? Is it always the Lord or an idol? Sadly, at times it is an idol. In my case the solution after repentance is praise.  Dedicated time in praise to God not asking Him for anything, not thinking about my to-do list, praise and praise alone.  A verse which really speaks to me in this area is because it is the desire of my heart: Psalm 34:1  I will bless the Lord at all times; His  praise   shall  continually  be  in my mouth. Two more verses concerning praise I love: Hebrews 13:15  Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of  praise  to  God , that is, the fruit of  our  lips, giving thanks to His name. Revelation 4:8 T he   four living creatures, each having   six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not res...

I spent much of April trying (at times successfully others unsuccessfully) to meet the increased needs of a loved one diagnosed with Alzheimer's 16 years ago. I met some days head-on, others only because of a sense of duty. There is no reasoning with the person, time/days of the week has no meaning for someone that far along in the disease, hard to plan ahead because each day presents its own challenges. There is no constant... But wait,  there is a constant, our Savior. We find His promises in Scripture. He tells us (Matthew 28:20) He is with us always, even to the end of the age: And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying,  “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.     Go therefore  and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,   teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always,  even  to the end of the age. ” A...

Hard to believe Palm Sunday is tomorrow. Jesus' triumphal entry, the crowds waving palm branches shouting: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed   is   He who comes in the name of the L ord !’ The King of Israel!” The crowd knew he came in the name of the Lord, they knew he was the King of Israel, but most did not know he was the Messiah, the Holy One of Israel.  My heart's desire is to know Him even more day by day, especially as we enter Holy Week. I do not want to take for granted what He did for me, for us, for everyone who has lived, is living, and will live.  If you are far off from God there is no better time than the present to come near to Him again. He is waiting for you to clasp His hand.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Yesterday at Rodeo Houston, a cowboy's horse fell and he was offered the option for a re-ride. His score was 81 which was not enough to advance to the semi-finals so he chose to ride again.  When we are contrite and confess our sin to God, we turn away from it, we get a "re-ride".  I John 1:8-10 reminds of us this: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.    Start today with a clean slate, take your re-ride and confess to God what you need to confess.

Luke 7:36-48 is a familiar passage for many of us. Jesus is dining with a Pharisee when a sinful woman drops by, she brings with her a contrite heart and a costly flask of fragrant oil. She was behind Jesus weeping. She washed his feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair and anointed them with the fragrant oil. The Pharisee was perturbed, to say the least.  NKJV: Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat.    And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that  Jesus  sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil,    and stood at His feet behind  Him  weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped  them  with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed  them  with the fragrant oil.    Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw  this,  ...

A loved one forgot to pay her phone bill, I tried to pay it by phone and online. The phone company's record of the last 4 digits of her SSN does not match what is printed on her SSN card. I suspect the phone company has her deceased husband's SSN on file. I wanted to shout to no one in particular, all I want to do is PAY her bill!!!! Technology is a wonderful thing, but at times I want to ditch it for a simple cabin in the woods or a hut on the beach with a few modern conveniences.  You know, be a hermit until I emerge to have my hair colored. I often wonder if the smart appliances and smartphones add to our quality of life, or are they an equivalent to a butter churn in the long run? We have grown used to high-speed Internet, high-speed trains in a few countries, zapping coffee in the microwave to warm it. We don't wait often these days unless we are holding for a government agency. Do we have the same attitude concerning answered prayer? I prayed it 5 minutes ag...

Rodeo Houston begins next week, 20 days of rodeos, livestock shows, carnival, shopping, and every food you can imagine fried and served on a stick!  Over a million people will attend the livestock show and or rodeo. Big money will be raised at the livestock auctions for college scholarships.  It is fun to see the children dressed in western wear. They are so cute in their hats and boots, usually with cotton candy in 1 hand and their other hand held tightly by a family member. Have you ever thought about the Lord holding your hand? John 10:27-29 (NKJV) tells us: My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.   And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.   My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch  them  out of My Father’s hand. Jesus tells us we cannot be snatched out of our Heavenly Father's hand. We may loosen our grip,...

Well over 25 years ago I had 2 jobs, office job by ay 9a-4p, ballet and pointe teacher by night 6p-9:30p 4 nights a week. After a few months of working this schedule, I dropped the ball with housework and my husband hired a maid to come once a week. Her name was Lupe. She arrived after dropping her children off at school and worked until it was time to pick them up in the afternoon. She would walk in with a big smile on her face and say Good Morning, Mrs. Harper and I would tell her to call me Annette, have a great day, your money is on the table and I was out the door for work. She cleaned my house for years, yet I barely knew her, I knew other people she worked for the other days of the week, but I did not know her. Then one weekend I saw her in a restaurant, she joined me and we discussed everything under the sun including the Lord. We discussed the Bible, talked about Christian books, and prayer. That day a friendship was born. I am the richer for it. She was married to a natur...

This afternoon while most Americans will be watching the pre-game shows and the Super Bowl, I hope to be pulling weeds and planting flowers. My flower beds are almost a blank canvas due to the snow in December and January's ice storm. The Larkspur, most Snapdragon, and Pansies survived the ice, everything else in the flower beds died. Yet somehow, weeds are rebounding and have emerged from the soil with vigor. One variety is Galian Aparine, also called Sticky Weed and my favorite name Velcro Weed. It sticks to my gloves, blouse, and pants. If I ignore it, it will grow and throw seeds which I will be forced to pick off one by one from my shoes, shoelaces, pants, and shirt. The seeds stick with more gusto than the weed. I plan on pulling every last sprout I can find while they are only 1/2 inch tall. I can't help but think of the parable of the sower talking about flowers, weeds, and seeds. The soil in my flower beds is good soil. I hope the "soil" of my heart is good...

We've all said things in the heat of the moment we wish we could take back. We all have at least 1 memory of unkind words spoken to us. The ripple effects of hateful words are enormous.  I was taken aback today by a rude comment left on a YouTube video. I thought this would not be an acceptable comment at a dinner party in person, why did the woman think it was acceptable to type?  Have you ever found yourself on the verge of typing a stinging comment on a social media platform? If so, have you examined what caused you to have the nasty thought and or desire to express it? At times, I am amazed at nasty thoughts (sinful thoughts) that pop into my head about people, at my age, I am successful at keeping the thoughts to myself. I shudder to think back at the "truth" I shared with people in my teens, 20's, and 30's. My excuse for cruel words was it was the truth and they deserved to hear it.  I do repent and pray when I have sinful thoughts about a person or ...

My husband celebrated the new year with the flu, in an attempt to outdo him, I celebrated the new year with pneumonia. We gaze adoringly at one another over Kleenex boxes. January is almost to the 1/2 way point and I am behind "schedule" already! My Christmas decorations are not boxed up and in the closet, items to donate to Salvation Army are not boxed up and ready to go, and I am several days behind in a reading through the Bible in 90 days plan. However...I am ahead in the weight loss category! (There is always a bright side.) Time passes so quickly, we do not have the luxury of wasting it, yet I do. That is a habit I hope to break this year. Another habit I want to break is online shopping for items which are available in my area. All those cardboard boxes in our landfills! For years we wanted stores in our area, they open 5 minutes away, we buy online. Our local stores employ local people, online giants do not employ people from my community. I have a few more goals, b...