God’s Love For Moms ~ A Sunday Lesson

We have to stop beating ourselves up – we ARE enough!

Misifusa's Blog

 LOVE ~ A Sunday Lesson

I recently watched the movie, Moms’ Night Out which was a cute ‘chick flick’ as they say.  Alone in my home, I took a break to happily munch popcorn and laugh aloud through the silly antics of the movie.  It was not a movie my family would necessarily enjoy, so it was a perfect one for me to watch while everyone else was busy.

Below is a scene from the movie which I found so poignant and just perfect for a Sunday blog.  Many times we are so hard on ourselves as Moms, parents and people.  We raise the bar of what we feel is what we should do and scold ourselves for not meeting our own high-set goals.  Then many times, we rail against what we should do, what we have in our heads as the right way to do something, the perfection in…

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A junkyard of dreams

Everyone likes nice things.  I certainly do.  But sometimes getting nice things takes priority over the more important things in life.  Have you ever driven by a junkyard or landfill and looked at the piles of stuff that has been thrown away?  Did you ever think about where the stuff came from?  Most of it came from people’s houses:

• worn out furniture
• ornaments that are no longer wanted
• old clothing
• appliances that don’t work
• electronics that have been traded for the newer model
• broken toys

People probably worked long hours to pay for all these obsolete items that no longer have any value to them.   Some of us are even considered to be workaholics and put our work and the desire for money and possessions ahead of everything else.  We don’t spend enough time with our families or have any quiet time for ourselves because we are just too busy.  But at what cost?

Instead of investing in things that don’t really have any value, we need to spend more time creating and keeping good relationships with our families, friends, neighbours and co-workers.  We also need to take time each day to relax and take care of our bodies and minds.  Don’t spend your time building up a junkyard of dreams.  Spend your time creating a beautiful world around you.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

What is love?

We all have different ideas of what love is.   Some of us can really feel love and share it with others.  Some of us only see love as another word that means nothing.  For anyone who has grown up surrounded by love that is openly and genuinely expressed, they will understand love to be a warm, caring connection to others.   For anyone who has grown up surrounded by some type of dysfunction or indifference, they may not understand what love really means.

Love can be understood as a feeling of affection for a family member or friend, a deep emotional attachment to a member of the opposite sex or the desire to do acts of kindness for another human being.   Love is often the fuel that keeps people together in tough times.

Everyone needs to feel loved and be able to give love to others.  Love is a powerful emotion and without love our lives are meaningless.    What is the true meaning of love?

• love is patient and kind, showing goodness to others
• love is not jealous of other people, it is pleased when others are honoured
• love is not boastful or proud, it accepts what it has
• love is not rude, it honours others by being considerate and courteous
• love is not self-seeking. it is interested in assisting others
• love is not easily angered, it is willing to endure insults and nasty comments
• love keeps no record of wrongs, forgetting and forgiving what has been said or done
• love does not delight in evil, taking part in things that are wrong, instead rejoices in the truth
• love protects others by concealing or hiding the faults of others
• love trusts and tries to believe the best
• love hopes that all things will eventually work out for the best
• love perseveres, it never gives up

These are tough standards to live up to but we should always try our best.  Remember, love is powerful and love never fails.  It just goes on and on for eternity.

Love is the only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence. ~Erich Fromm

The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread. ~Mother Teresa

• Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end. ~Author Unknown

Love one another and you will be happy. It’s as simple and as difficult as that. ~Michael Leunig

The Origin of Easter

I’ve been doing research on Easter and I discovered that the name ‘Easter’ is not of Christian origin as I thought.  It actually was a pagan festival that worshipped other gods and there are some interesting stories including a cult that claims a virgin birth, death and rebirth about 200 BC.   Then about 325 AD, it seems the Roman Empire decided to replace this pagan celebration with a festival that observed the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Since then, Easter has become a tradition.

If Easter was really the name of a pagan celebration, why did they replace it with such an important and passionate event?   It seems interesting that many people today celebrate Easter as the pagans did thousands of years before.

I’ve heard people refer to Easter Sunday as Resurrection Sunday and I think that is a much more appropriate name.   It reflects the meaning of the day much better.

Here is a great Resurrection Sunday song that was written by our Worship Leader Greg Sykes and our pastor’s wife.  Enjoy Greg as he sings, “The Rock that Won’t be Moved”.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAQur9WKotE&list=PLxW5UZOSreHXbJIAKHSxbFPzkuZf96eC3

 

 

 

 

What does Easter mean to you?

When you  hear the word ‘Easter’ what comes to your mind?   Chocolate eggs and candy, bunnies and chickens or something deeper and more meaningful?

Easter was instituted to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and is also linked to the Jewish Passover.  Easter customs vary across the Christian and non-Christian world including:  church services, family get togethers, decorating Easter eggs, Easter parades and various events.

Here is what Easter means to me:

E- eating a meal with my family

A – attending church

S – spending time with my grandson

T – taking time to reflect

E – enjoying some quiet time

R – renewing my faith

What does Easter mean to you?   Try making your own Easter acrostic.

My favourite quotes about God

No God, no peace.  Know God, know peace.  ~Author Unknown

Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.  ~Garth Brooks   God enters by a private door into each individual.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Any fool can count the seeds in an apple.  Only God can count all the apples in one seed.  ~Robert H. Schuller

Every evening I turn my worries over to God.  He’s going to be up all night anyway.  ~Mary C. Crowley  

God understands our prayers even when we can’t find the words to say them.  ~Author Unknown

What we are is God’s gift to us.  What we become is our gift to God.  ~Eleanor Powell

You can tell the size of your God by looking at the size of your worry list.  The longer your list, the smaller your God.  ~Author Unknown

God:  The most popular scapegoat for our sins.  ~Mark Twain

People see God every day, they just don’t recognize him.  ~Pearl Bailey

Let God’s promises shine on your problems.  ~Corrie Ten Boom

God’s gifts put man’s best dreams to shame.  ~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle.  I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much.  ~Mother Teresa

Are you wrinkled with burden?  Come to God for a faith lift.  ~Author Unknown

Peace on the outside comes from knowing God on the inside.  ~Author Unknown

I would rather walk with God in the dark than go alone in the light.  ~Mary Gardiner Brainard

Exercise daily.  Walk with the Lord!  ~Author Unknown

 

 

the day a scale gave me more than a number.

This is a very well written post about beauty from Erin at There’s a Spirit. Woman all need to be reminded that we are all unique and wonderful just the way we are.

There's a Spirit

Today, I ran across a scale that I found to be pretty incredible. Underneath the top where it would read your weight, it said the words “you are beautiful” in purple script.

Okay, so I’m a total sap. I accept that. But it turns out that I’m the kind of sap that just about sheds a few tears in HEB. Because, honestly, this really stuck me. I think that as women we really need things like this in our lives. Because, if you’re anything like me, you probably forget.

I forget that weight is just a number.

I forget that it’s a number only I can see.

I forget that that pound or two fluctuation that I see in my weight isn’t evident to the human eye.

I forget not to let petty things like a number weigh in on my heart.

And I forget…

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happy birthday, jesus.

This is so inspirational that I wanted to share. Happy birthday Jesus. There are so many reasons to love You.

There's a Spirit

Dear Jesus,

I wanted to make sure I took a little bit of time to tell you happy birthday. There’s something I like to do for my friends and family on their birthdays. I like to list reasons that I love them. Sometimes I list 50 and other times I list 100. But for you I want to list 25. Because tomorrow is the 25^th of December. So here goes,

25 Reasons I love Jesus Christ:

1. Because of Jesus, I know that I am never isolated from the people I love- not even in death. Even in the times I feel alone, he reminds me that I live in constant communion with those individuals in both heaven and on earth. He calls me to live in community with others, and welcomes me into his family that I might answer this call.
2. Jesus saved me when I was lost. Even…

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Happy birthday baby Jesus!

Today Christians all over the world celebrate the birthday of Jesus.  I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas.  Here is a link to a version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah sung by the Canadian Tenors who appeared on the Oprah show back in 2010.  They got a surprise they weren’t expecting.  Beautiful song!  Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/zDQyvLtAaQM

 

Who are you waiting to see?

During the Christmas season, the malls are full of shoppers rushing here and there trying to get all their presents bought.  At almost every mall, big box store and even on some street corners you can see Santa in his big chair waiting for children to sit on his lap and share their list of wants with him.   Having an imagination is a good thing for children as it helps them develop ideas but how many children do not even know why we celebrate Christmas?

When I was a child, I learned about different religions and how they celebrate different holidays and special occasions.  I was taught to respect the beliefs of other people and always thought they would respect my beliefs.  I knew there was a Santa Claus and as I got older I realized that he was just imaginary and that many people dressed up to play his role.  I also knew that Christians celebrated Christmas to acknowledge the birth of Jesus and this was not imaginary.   It seems that over the years, many people have lost the real meaning of Christmas and there is more importance placed on Santa and receiving gifts.  Children are encouraged to ask Santa for expensive toys and lots of them which just encourages greed.  Then the parents go out and spend lots of money on presents thinking this will make their children happy but this only creates false happiness.  Children soon tire of their presents and then want more.  It would be far more beneficial to spend more time with their children and less money on presents.

At Christmas time, are your children waiting for Santa so they can have more presents?  Or are they waiting for Jesus and celebrating his birthday?

A singer and songwriter, Becky Kelley sings a beautiful song that was inspired by her four-year old nephew who knew that Christmas was the celebration of Jesus’ birth.   While he was watching the line of kids waiting to see Santa Claus and he asked his mom where the line was to see Jesus.   Becky’s dad wrote the words, Becky sang the song, they did a video and before long they song became reality.   Here is the link to the video:

http://www.godvine.com/Where-is-the-Line-to-See-Jesus-An-Incredibly-Moving-Christmas-Video-4410.html#.UrHj3iZaW1E.gmail

If you want to read the entire story about the song, click here:  http://wheresthelinetoseejesus.com/