A Season of Joy

By Judy Davis –

Christmas, what a wonderful time of the year! I’ll never forget the memories of our older grandchildren celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. Each Christmas Eve I baked a cake and lit a candle as we all sang “Happy Birthday” to Jesus. After we finished singing, I read the Christmas Story.

As I read the Christmas story, I was captivated by the simple words that there was no room in the inn. On the morning our Lord was born, there was no room for Him. In many lives today, there is still no room for Him. The Jesus of the first Christmas is the Jesus of this Christmas. Christmas means that God is where you are with your needs. Whatever you are going through, the answer is and always will be Jesus Christ.

Billy Graham stated in his message “Christmas: God With Us,” that “many cynics will blame God for the troubles of the world. We should blame ourselves. We have a spiritual disease, and that disease is called sin. Until sin is conquered, the world will not be a better place in which to live.”

Christmas is more than tinsel and lights. It is more than gifts under the tree. Christmas is a joyous time to experience Christ, to have our needs met and help meet the needs of others.

I’ll never forget the Christmas when our younger grandson Connor started to open a present. He saw my little olive wood manger scene I bought in Bethlehem many years ago. He slowly picked up Baby Jesus, the manger, a donkey, and a camel, in his tiny hand. He laid down his gifts that were still wrapped and began to play with Baby Jesus.

It was not long before he ran to me and said, “Nana, where is Baby Jesus? I can’t find baby Jesus.” We began to look for Him under the rug, etc. We both got down on our hands and knees, crawling all over the living room searching for Jesus. “I found Him! I found him!” squeaked Connor. At that moment I thought of the verse, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14).

Jesus told his disciples not to keep Him from little children, He wants them to know and love Him. As we prepare our homes for this festive holiday let us also prepare our heart and make room for Christ in Christmas.

When the holidays seem hectic with all the shopping, gift-wrapping, decorating, baking, addressing Christmas cards, and cleaning house, take time to plan. Start early with a list. If you do, you can get ahead and be ready to enjoy this most wonderful time of the year.

It’s Celebration Time

By Judy Davis –

My husband and I love celebrating our anniversary and my birthday in the mountains. Both of these special occasions are in the fall. We are staying at the Dillard House Inn located in the lovely mountains in Georgia. The Dillard House offers a variety of spacious, modern rooms with excellent and hospitable service. They have beautiful views of the surrounding mountain landscape. This time of the year the trees are stunning with the bright colors of autumn.

All rooms are within walking distance to the restaurant, stables, swimming pool and tennis courts. We enjoy eating delicious meals at the Dillard House. They serve a breakfast loaded with eggs, pork chops, ham, bacon, two kinds of sausage, grits, potatoes, gravy, pan cakes, cinnamon rolls and fried apple pies. They also have a fruit bar with the largest blackberries I’ve ever seen.

On the first day of our trip, we drove up to Black Rock Mountain. My husband’s driving is fine, but going around those sharp curves around the mountain make me a bit nervous. He looked over at me and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Holding on to my seat, shaking, looking down into the deep ravine, I whispered, “I’m scared.” It’s always a relief to get back to lower ground. I give thanks to God for His travel mercies. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name” Psalm 100:4.

Last year we celebrated our 45th wedding anniversary in Tennessee. We arrived in Pigeon Forge and checked in to our motel, the Inn by the River. It’s a lovely place and our room was so nice and cozy. We ate a delicious dinner at the Partridge and Pear restaurant. The Christmas decorations in the restaurant were delightful. After finishing our dinner, we walked next door to the Incredible Christmas Place to shop.

The next morning we visited the Apple Barn. They have scrumptious Homemade Apple Butter, Apple Fritters and Apple Julep and serve them with every Applewood Farmhouse meal. The landscape is magnificent with the mountains gleaming with all the bright colors of the rainbow!

Our last day we went to a wonderful dinner show called the Dixie Jamboree. The next morning we headed home enjoying our trip through the mountains around the Cherokee Indian Reservation in North Carolina. This truly was an anniversary and birthday never to be forgotten.

Visit to NASA

By Judy Davis –

During a visit to the Kennedy Space Center, the awesome accomplishments of space travel amazed me. Rockets from Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions stand as monuments to the scientific achievements of mankind.

I visited the Space Center several times when I attended the Christian Writer’s Conference held each year in Florida. However, I have never seen a rocket blast off into space. I came so close to seeing this happen several years ago. I was staying with some friends and we got up in the middle of the night to go and see this spectacular event. We stood for hours it seemed in an open field near the rocket site. As we were waiting patiently, and so excited, the final countdown finally arrived. 3…2…1…and then suddenly an announcement over the loudspeaker: “this mission has been aborted due to technical problems.” Needless to say it was disappointing. Later, we laughed as we thought of how we waited and waited….and then missed it!

Even though I’ve watched many launches on television, it’s hard to comprehend that a rocket weighing hundreds of tons can be blasted into space. When Neil Armstrong took his first historical step on the moon, some people doubted whether he really did. Though I don’t understand how, I believe astronauts have orbited the earth and landed on the moon. I believe because eyewitnesses who were at the space center reported what they saw, whether by television, radio, newspapers or magazines.

As a believer in Jesus Christ, it’s hard to comprehend that the son of God actually walked on this planet over 2000 years ago. But just as I believe man can defy gravity, I believe in Jesus’ divinity and humanity. Jesus came to earth on a mission from God. He walked on the earth because many eyewitnesses saw Him. They didn’t have the technology of today to photograph Him, but they wrote plenty about what they saw. If there were a monument to the mission of Christ, it would be the cross He died upon.

Whether you and I understand it or not, God sent Jesus on the greatest mission ever. “For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:17).

Free Spirit

By Judy Davis –

For months I had been searching for a bicycle. I  looked for one on sale and priced several, but they were too high. Every time I went to a store that sold bikes, I would price them. Early one morning after my daily prayer walk, I glanced at the For Sale section of the paper and noticed a new 26 inch, 10 speed ladies bicycle for $65.00. Wow, I could not believe this low price.

Immediately, I called the lady and she said she had paid $130 for the bike but only rode it once. She had fallen and broken two vertebrae and would not be able to ride again. I got directions to her home. It would take me over an hour to get there and back home.

Since I  made arrangements to meet several ladies from the church at 10:00 to set up tables, I felt it would be best to wait and go get the bike. However, I knew if I waited, the bike may be sold.

I ran into my bedroom and got the $50 I had been saving. I had a crisp five dollar bill in my billfold. I looked on my husband’s desk and found 13 dollar bills. I grabbed them and left, knowing I would not have time to go to the bank.

It took over an hour to find the little green house at Lake Wildwood. As I walked into her lovely home, I couldn’t help but notice all the beautiful dolls in her den. She had dolls from Holland, Germany, England and all different shapes and sizes.

She showed me the burgundy bike waiting for me. I paid her the money and as I started to leave, I thanked her. She mentioned how she had broken two vertebrae recently in a fall. I immediately asked her if I could pray for her. She said, “Oh, honey yes.” I knew even in the rush, I could not leave without praying for this dear lady. I then took the bike and squeezed it into my Mustang.

The next morning, just like a child with a new toy, I couldn’t wait to ride my new bicycle instead of walking for my daily exercise. The cool breeze blowing against my face made me feel like a free spirit. It was then I thought of God being a free spirit, moving through each of His children wanting to give us the desires of our heart. “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart” (Psalm 37:4).

After I returned home and was putting my bike away, I glanced at the frame of the bike and written across my brand new bike were the words “Free Spirit.”

Are You Ready?

By Judy Davis –

It was 12:30 a.m. when I woke to the sound of a loud, screeching siren. I jumped up and started shaking my husband. “I think there may be a fire in the building,” I shouted as I grabbed my housecoat. Having recently returned from my nephew’s wedding reception, we had been asleep about an hour. It was our first trip to West Palm Beach, Florida, and one I will never forget.

I slowly opened the door to our hotel room. There were several people standing out in the hall. I asked if there was a fire, but no one knew. The siren was still blaring. I ran back into the room and called the desk clerk asking, “Is there a fire?” He told me the fire fighters were still checking and instructed me to stay put.

We were on the fourth floor and I realized I didn’t want to “stay put.” I went across the hall to my mother’s room. Her room adjoined that of my sister and brother-in-law. I kept knocking and finally woke all three of them. I told my sister to hurry because we had to go down four flights of stairs.

Needless to say, I was concerned about my mother who was 75 years old. As we were rushing down the stairs, I almost bumped into a fireman coming up the stairs. He asked what floor we came from and told us he believed the alarm was set from the second floor.

Outside, all we could see were people in robes and flashing red lights from the fire trucks. Later, we were told it was a false alarm. Now we had to climb those four flights of stairs, but we were so relieved there was not a fire. We were anxious to get back to our rooms and go back to sleep.

The next morning I read in my daily devotion God sends messengers in the form of pastors, prophets, and teachers who announce the present kingdom of heaven. It reminded me of the events of the night before and what could have happened. I realized how important it is to be ready to meet the Master at any time. “For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night” 1 Thessalonians 5:2.

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