Choose Joy in the Journey

My sister’s guest room ranks favorite when I think of best places to stay in Chicago. It’s a cross between a resort and a family guest chamber and I smile when I think of   it. No one grows African Violets like my sister.  A half dozen of the delicate plants sit proudly in the guest room on racks in front of the room’s north window.   A recliner chair sits alongside them with a small table topped with the kind of books I like to read.  Oh, the delight to rest there! A large comfy queen bed with a white comforter and pillows galore provide wonderful sleep.  End tables on both sides of the bed hold lovely lamps and delicate collector items.  She makes it personal for me with small framed photos of my family. A bookcase lines one wall with frames of happy family times as well as photo albums that date back to when we were kids.  Besides a TV, she displays artifacts of trips as well as her accumulated Willow Tree collection.  N...

My best friend’s husband died, but she did not place her wedding ring in a draw.  She designed a new ring, an everyday kind of ring, and incorporated the diamonds from her wedding ring.  I cheered her on for her ingenuity to keep his memory close at all times. A gal in my critique group wrote about the best Christmas present she ever received.  She inherited her late mother-in-law’s mink coat.  She loved her dearly, but when she put on the coat, she felt like she stepped out of the 1950’s.  She hated the thought of it placed in a box and stacked on a closet shelf.  Her husband took it to a furrier and surprised her at Christmas with a brand new mink stole.  I choked up when I read her words of love for her mother-in-law and the beautiful mink cape she wore for a classy event in frigid Flagstaff during the holidays. The Spiritual Trade off I don’t have a mink coat or extra diamonds to create something new.  I do have some thin...

I heard a great truth during one of my pastor’s sermons during December and it grabbed a hold of me.  He said:  “I think Christmas should be changed to “ Christmess .  Because when Jesus is invited into our messes,  He rescues us from all of our shame, all of our depression, all of our sickness,  all of our sinful choices.” That line stayed with me throughout this holiday season carving new life in my soul and in the way I pray for myself and others. Yesterday I overheard my husband speaking on the phone to our youngest granddaughter.  “ I’m happy you are coming to Papa’s house and I can’t wait to see you.  We have lots of toys and lots of lights.” We have lights! I pray that to be so spiritually as well.   1 John 1:5 states that Jesus is the light.  In Him there is no darkness at all.  No messes; He is perfect.  I ponder the messes I create and realize my need for Him to clean them up as only He c...