Slow Slide Into Sin

By Shae Hamrick

“Mom. The speed limit’s 40,” my daughter said as I sped down the street to take her to a friend’s. I was hurrying. I had been working on a project and was anxious to return in order to finish as much as I could today. She always asks to be driven somewhere when I’m in the middle of something. I sighed and slowed from 45 to 40.

Over the last several weeks, I have taken notice of my tendencies to push the boundaries of right and wrong. Listening to the news, I wonder about our nation’s tendency to change what is right and what is wrong. A bill was put forth to protect the sanctity of marriage, while at the same time, measures are being pushed to protect gay rights to employment under the hate crimes bill. Our freedom of speech, protected by the first amendment, is threatened in the same manner under the same bill.

When did it become wrong to have opposing positions and beliefs? To exercise our rights to them?

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Reflections

By Caroline T. Jackson

This was to be a year of reflection…..kick back….find out what makes me tick and where I want it to take me. In addition we were expecting our first grandchild, and I wanted to be available at the drop of the hat to help them. These were excellent intentions, well thought out and purposeful…..right! I did all the right things, declined some volunteer opportunities which ONLY I could do, got out my art supplies and dusted off the easel as I was going to explore my artistic side. I even signed on to TCP to write because I love to play with the written word and it gave me an opportunity to buy myself a little notebook to take with me when we travel. My husband is very territorial about his computer! Doesn’t this sound like a plan to you?

On September 2, our daughter gave birth to a beautiful baby girl…2 weeks early who just happened to be breach. This prompted an unplanned C-section which required me to stay with them for 3 weeks. Oh, how I hated every minute of that situation! Right……I could hardly tear myself away to return to my home….they NEEDED me. Truth be known, they were probably glad to see me go! So I returned home to ready myself for a long planned trip to Big Bend National Park and the Davis Mountains located in the far corner of West Texas. I capitalized “west” because it is big enough to be its own state! I had joined up with 8 artists to “paint Texas,” and we were off on our first adventure.

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Two Marys Celebrate Christmas

By Julie Morris

“I hate Christmas!” Mary spewed out the words boiling inside of her as she rushed into my church counseling office. “Every Christmas I spend money I don’t have buying presents no one appreciates. And I waste time going to parties I don’t enjoy where I eat food I should do without.” After a deep breath, Mary sighed, “I can’t wait to get Christmas over with so I can get on with my life!”

Mary’s feelings are shared by stressed-out people across the country, and others have a love/hate relationship with what should be the most joyous season of the year. I have to admit that I, to, used to get caught up in a tornado of meaningless activities that brought only chaos. I missed out on the joy of Christmas until several years ago another Mary–my Aunt Mary–showed me the real meaning of Christmas.

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A Child’s Prayer

By Norma Vera

A year ago I sat in my daughter’s living room and stared at their beautifully decorated Christmas tree. For the first time in my life, I was speechless. Christmas had always been my favorite time of the year. This time I was struggling to smile. Losing two sisters just before the Holidays had been the hardest thing I ever experienced.

 We loved the Lord and prayed together often. However, during those days I did not know how or what to pray. I felt rejected and abandon by God, even a little angry. Where was He when we needed Him? We stood on His Word and lost the battle anyway.

Though, mentally and spiritually I was going through the motions. Emotionally I could easily fall apart. I felt like God was a million miles away – but I was very wrong. He was as close as our own breath. I could not see Him but seven months later I would know without a doubt how close He always was.

My daughter called me a few days before Christmas and said, “Mom I have to tell you something so sweet. Guess what Emily did?” Emily is her now 3-year-old daughter.

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The Taste of Our Lives

By Lane Johnson

“Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!”

1 Corinthians 9; 19-22 The Message Bible

As I write this, Sandy is preparing another batch of “friendship bread”. This particular recipe produces a very tasty cake type treat that is excellent with butter and coffee. I have begun to dislike “friendship bread”, however, not for its taste but because its recipe requires that you end up with four “starter” packs that are supposed to be passed on to your friends. These friends then will, in turn, end up with four starter packs themselves each time they make the bread. This then requires them to find four new unaware friends to which they can then unload the starters on who will soon be looking for other virgin friends who have not previously been initiated into this baking pyramid, multi-level, pass it on nightmare.

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