Christmas Angels

By Kathy Carlton Willis –

As a child, I longed to be the angel in our church Christmas play. Everyone said Mary was the coveted role, but I disagreed. Mary had to wear pregnancy belly covered by a drab gown. She endured a bumpy camel ride, hung out with the stinky animals in the stable. (At least she bore Jesus in a stable home!) She had few lines. In contrast, the angels wore glittery costumes complete with wings. They got to fly and sing. They had a recurring role in the play. And they were the ones who delivered the good news!

Let’s think about how the folks in biblical times responded to the visitation of angels.

First, Gabriel visited Zacharias. Through his story we learn God breathes hope into the stale air of impossible situations. Does anything seem hopeless to you today? God is the expert at taking impossible situations and turning them into blessed possibilities.

Second, Gabriel visited Mary. Mary’s was a response of faith. Even though Mary couldn’t understand everything, she willingly trusted God. If we walk with God, there will be times He asks us to do the incredible. Even though we don’t know the end result we need to step out in faith.

Third, An angel visited Joseph. That night an angel told Joseph he would need to be faithful to Mary regarding this suspicious pregnancy. Joseph obeyed, and brought Mary home to be his wife, trusting her word. And with that decision he became the earthly father of the Son of God.

Fourth, the angels visited the shepherds. Theirs was a response of praise. These weren’t ordinary shepherds. In that time unblemished lambs were sacrificed in the temple as sin offerings. The temple authorities kept this flock in the hills surrounding Bethlehem. It’s fitting that the news of the One who would be a sacrifice for all was announced to those who tended these sacrificial sheep.

What is your reaction to learning of Jesus? Like Zacharias, do you entertain doubts? Are you speechless or dumbfounded when it comes to the things of the Lord? Perhaps, like Mary, your reaction to the news of Jesus is true worship and humility. Maybe you are obedient to God’s direction in your life, like Joseph. Or perhaps, you come to God with fear and trembling, willing to follow, like the shepherds.

AUTHOR QUOTE: However you come to Jesus, this Christmas season, come to Him!

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!’” (Luke 2:13-14 NKJV).

Today’s devotional is by Kathy Carlton Willis, Christ-servant, wife to Russ, editor, publicist, certified CLASSeminars speaker and faculty member. Kathy Carlton Willis Communications encompasses her many passions. Kathy’s tagline captures her essence—Light & Lively: His Reflection/Her Laughter. Schedule Kathy for a speaking event or contact her firm for promotional assistance. KCWC gets jazzed shining the light on God’s writers and speakers.

Bursting With Thanks

By Robin J. Steinweg –

I decided one year that Mom needed a break from cooking the whole Thanksgiving dinner. She and Dad determined still to have it at their house. They would provide the big pull-out table and some side dishes, while traveling relatives could bring fresh fruit and relishes. It was my graduation from Pillsbury Crescent Rolls and Niblets. I would roast (heavenly choir sings) The Turkey.

In preparation, I watched PBS cooking shows and checked out cookbooks from the library. I even found a video for my husband on how to carve a turkey. Thus equipped, I felt confident. After all, I come from good Scandinavian cooking stock.

We ordered a turkey big enough to feed nearly twenty people. He barely fit in my oven. I took no chances. He came with a pop-out thermostat and gravy pouch, and I stuck him in one of those convenient cooking bags. I glanced over the directions, noting how much time he’d need to cook. After a newlywed fiasco in which I served my husband’s bosses nearly-raw chicken, I thought I’d err on the side of well done. I’d cook it a bit longer, but with a cover over the pan so no moisture would escape. The fragrance soon promised a mouth-watering meal.

Pressed for time at the end, I whisked the food from the oven to a towel-lined box along with some pumpkin pies and Potatoes Supreme. I thought I would burst with pleasure at supplying the main dish for the first time! Mom stood by to help lift it out. My husband stood by ready to carve. My older sister stood by, curious. The guests, seated, seemed to suspend their breathing as I raised the cover to reveal a perfect wreck of a bare carcass. It looked like a bomb had landed in its middle. My husband would not need his carving lessons, with the turkey in bite-sized bits. I’d forgotten to cut venting holes in the cooking bag.

Let’s see; humility? That’s an important lesson. Plan ahead more? Be better prepared? Count it all joy when you face trials of many kinds? They say that at such times one’s life passes before one’s eyes. But I took comfort as instead, a verse from 1 Peter in The Message flashed to mind: “Love makes up for practically anything.” Then I obeyed the next verse: “Be quick to give a meal to the hungry…”

AUTHOR QUOTE: Thank God if you belong to a family who loves you whether you succeed or fail (even if they never let you live it down).

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

Deadly, Dawdling Dial-up vs. Instant Eternal Access

By Robin J. Steinweg –

Click. Hear the bloops and bleeps as the telephone dials for Internet service. Feel the impending tedium as you prepare to wait. Pretend with me exactly as I did—when I still had deadly dial-up:

Click—wait for Home page: Pretend to walk upstairs, put on coat, grab keys, go out to the garage, get in the car, put keys in the ignition, buckle seat belt, adjust mirrors, turn on Life 102.5 Christian radio…

Home Page at last! I want the library’s online catalogue. Click—wait: Put car in reverse, back out, wait for neighbor to cross the street for the mail, head for fifteenth street, turn onto Grande, pass high school at 15mph, stop at crosswalk for sleepy-looking teens…

Library page! Click—wait for Search page: Drive 4 blocks to stop sign at 5^th, wait for crossing guard to maneuver a 3-foot tall boy with a 4-foot tall backpack across the street, wait for bus in front of me to turn, make silly faces at waving children in back window, pass grade school, continue 4 blocks to stop sign at Water Street, wait for five cars, turn right…

Finally! Type in full title of book, Click—and wait: Proceed south on Water for 2.2 miles, turn in at library parking lot, park, turn off car, remove seatbelt, get out, lock doors, walk up sidewalk, in the door, wipe feet…

Ah Ha! Click to check out book—and wait: Walk past check-out, greet friendly librarian, admire her antique pin, head for the stacks, look for desired book, back to check-out for expert help, follow librarian to the stacks, find book plus three more, back to check-out, lay books on counter, dig for library card, hand it to smiling librarian (who swipes it, swipes books and hands back my card in 4 seconds flat because she has High-Speed Internet), take books to car…

What? The book I want is not available; I need to execute a search for another? Ack!

Before High-Speed Internet, before Dial-up, before computers, before electricity, there was instant communication with the Source of all knowledge and wisdom. The Maker of all makes Himself available to all at all times. Unhindered by time, He has all eternity to consider each word we pray. Before a word is on a person’s tongue, He knows it completely.

AUTHOR QUOTE: Prayer. Faster than High-Speed Internet / More powerful than the IBM Roadrunner /Able to leap cyberspace or the entire universe in less than an attosecond.

“Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear” (Isaiah 65:24 NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

Bark, Please

By Robin J. Steinweg –

The front door stood open a few inches. I knew I’d locked it that morning. As we returned after dark, our son saw someone in the living-room, hunched over. I backed out and called 9-1-1. From a safe distance I watched two police officers enter my shadowy house with guns drawn.

They came out with good news. Nobody there, nothing harmed. How to avoid this in the future? Have a locksmith refigure the locks and get a dog. Barking dogs are a great deterrent to intruders.

At the humane shelter, Buddy sat politely in the midst of the other dogs’ frenzied barking, gazing at us. We brought home our canine alarm system.

But Buddy didn’t bark. I determined to train him. How does one train a dog to bark?

One barks.

I barked. Buddy and our boys watched. When I’d barked enough, I gave myself a treat (cookie). If Buddy even looked like he was interested, I gave him a treat (bone). I barked daily. Weekly. Monthly. I barked myself hoarse. We went through boxes of expensive treats for people and dogs with no sign of progress. I felt pretty foolish barking when there really was someone at the door. But I didn’t want my sons to see me give up. I wanted them to learn perseverance (I also wanted the dog to bark).

Finally Buddy’s lip twitched. I praised and petted him. When his lip curled, I praised him more. When he snorted a bit as his lip curled, I fawned over him. Eventually, he vocalized the tiniest bit. I went nuts. When he finally did bark, I rolled over, howled, sat up, everything but play dead. He knew he’d done something great. And he kept on doing it (in a week or so we’d trained him to quit barking when asked).

Someone has said, “The race is not always to the swift, but to those who keep on running.”

What do you face today that you’re tempted to abandon? Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who endured the cross—so that you won’t grow weary and lose heart.

QUOTE: “The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground” (unknown).

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9 NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

Let ’em Fly

By Hally Franz –

For months I have admired the ornate and bold Zumba skirts worn by fellow Zumba classmates. The skirts, of shiny, gauzy fabrics come in orange, fuchsia and purple, are bedazzled with gold beads and spangles, and resemble the shape of a sarong. Zumba, in my mind, is jazzercise for the 2010s. The skirt, basically a scarf worn around the waist and over clothes, is a cutesy accessory that jingles and shimmers during the workout.

I’ve previously resisted the urge to skirt-up for class, recognizing this would draw attention to an already fairly noticeable part of my anatomy. However, today, it was too much. Our instructor arrived with a tote of zumba clothes, and I could restrain myself no longer. Plus, it’s Friday. So, I tied one on just in time for the music to start. Within seconds, worry replaced excitement. What if I got a defective skirt, scarf, whatever? What if the strain is too much? What if three songs in, the few hundred charms and jewels no longer hold and begin flying through the room at other class members? Two hundred renegade beads, twenty sweaty women…they wouldn’t stand a chance!

Imagine the wimpy waistband button turned lethal weapon after Thanksgiving dinner as it soars across the room and into your aunt’s eye. Consider a devilish cherry tomato escaping the point of the proverbial pitchfork and landing shamelessly on a plate across the table. Frightening scenarios, aren’t they!

None of us chooses to be noticed like this; no one wants to be so obvious. We prefer to be poised and dignified in social situations and, many times, in our expression of faith as well. Here’s a thought. Perhaps, we should choose to be bold when demonstrating our faith.

Rather than simply having an aura of Christianity surrounding us, maybe we should shoot for a neon sign effect. Instead of merely implying our belief, we should bold, highlight, and underline it for others. Shouldn’t we strive for more than just giving the impression that we are followers of Jesus? I think we should knock ‘em out with nuggets of faith. We should let our love for the Lord hit them between the eyes and land square in front of them. No doubt this is a challenge for all of us who wish to blend, but one that may be worth trying on, Friday and every other day of the week!

PRAYER: Father God, help me to boldly and courageously share my faith and Your Word with those that I encounter each day.

“And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31 KJV).

Today’s devotion is by Hally Franz. Hally is a former teacher and high school guidance counselor, turned homemaker. She enjoys volunteering at her childrens’ school, teaching Bible classes at her church, leading projects in 4-H, writing, reading, scrapbooking, and rousing (though, sometimes, not pretty) Zumba classes.

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