Tag: Jesus

Jesus Rode in on Donkey

Published on by Sandie DLeave a comment

Today at church my mind was wondering in a few different directions. First it is Palm Sunday.

ImagePalm Sunday commemorates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.
Palm Sunday is one of the most important days in my opinion when it comes to remembering what Christ did for us on the cross. Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter, and marks the beginning of Holy Week, the week of events leading up to Jesus’ death

First off, one our young ladies Samantha Tommer sang a beautiful song by Nicole Norderman. This is one of my favorite Easter songs and comes in right after Ray Boltz’s “The Hammer”. I will include a link to both of these songs in case anyone wants to hear them. Today I also thought about another

After this is about the time my mind got wondering. The reason I say that is because the air conditioning wasn’t working right and it was more than warm in my opinion. Some of the older ladies may differ with me. Pastor Ray goes to turn the air down, since I he was hot too. I wasn’t focusing too much on that actually. What I was focusing on was that they turned the lights down and opened the doors to let a cool breeze come in. You may be wondering why this got my brain to wondering, which isn’t hard to do.

Right after they opened the doors and the breeze was going through I kept thinking about Jesus’s triumphant entry into our church. I was curious if maybe Jesus didn’t want to have us focus on the heat as much as He wanted us to come to church and the Holy Spirit was the gentle breeze that seemed to cool things down. I may have to relisten to his message because my thoughts were on what if Jesus were to walk through our doors or coming through them on a donkey? What if Jesus came today and that cool breeze was the beginning of His appearance at church. Or maybe the Holy Spirit wanted to remind us of the peace and His victory because of His death and His resurrection.

When Jesus rode in on a donkey and having his way paved with palm branches is a fulfillment of a prophecy spoken by the prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 9:9). Way back when in Biblical times, the custom called for kings and nobles arriving in procession to ride on the back of a donkey. The donkey was a symbol of peace; those who rode upon them proclaimed peaceful intentions. The laying of palm branches indicated that the king or dignitary was arriving in victory or triumph.

As church proceeded and I resigned myself to the thought that Jesus wasn’t going to come riding into the church on the back of a donkey, I realized that Christ was already there. And for me at least, the cool breeze and the doors open was a way of saying to “come on in, all is welcome and Christ is present.” Now, my guess is that many may just being thinking it was just a breeze that was cooler than they wanted it to be and they couldn’t read the words in the Bible. Maybe, just maybe God didn’t want the air conditioner to work and He wanted to be our cool breeze in a heated desert.

Links to video’s and Easter Songs…

Blessings

Published on by Sandie DLeave a comment

Image

Life seems to come rushing at us full force. If you are like me, you are on the go and barely have time to breath and take in the goodness around you. Anymore, we barely have time to stop and look around us and smile at what we have. We shouldn’t think about our blessings just at Thanksgiving. We should all the time, because they are happening each and  every day. Sometimes, we just miss them because of all the bad things going on around us. Or those things we choose to focus on instead.

I want to do a little project this year for those around me. It will be a Random Acts of Kindness Scavenger Hut. You may be wondering what that is. Give me a moment to share my list of things I would like to do for this Scavenger Hunt of Kindness.

  1. Give a random person a flower
  2. Buy breakfast for an unsuspecting person
  3. Write a note and let someone I don’t know that they are special and that God loves them
  4. Go to the nursing home and pick a room and read to that person or let them share what ever memory they would like.
  5. Hold the door open for someone
  6. Smile- That can go along ways
  7. Invite someone to dinner that may be eating alone
  8. Buy a gift card at a store and give it to the person behind me
  9. Take my grand-kids out and let them do a Random Act of Kindness
  10. Do a video for a Facebook friend that may need a lift in his/her spirit

ImageThere are endless possibilities that I could do for others that doesn’t cost anything but a little bit of time. These acts of kindness isn’t only for them, but for myself. I think when we do for others, we also lift our spirits and helps us appreciate what we have.

When I think about all the blessings I have in my life, I would say I have a bounty of blessings. Here are just a few. I could write a book, but I won’t…

  1. The other day during the prayer over the city, I was given a picture from a dear friend. I shared a dream I had and she had a picture that represented that dream.
  2. My daughter Beckiah sent me a text message just to say she loved me and asked how my day was.
  3. JJ asks me out of the blue what he can do and if he could help with anything. I had to think hard on what he could do for me though. But I let him and he was so proud.
  4. I love to watch the birds outside and it is funny to see how they play together or hang out. The other day I was watching them on the power lines just sitting there. I know it’s weird. But they had me wondering why we can’t just be and sit and observe the world.
  5. I have many wonderful friends that pray for me. And I appreciate those prayers. Even when I don’t say I’m having a hard time, they know and take it upon themselves to be there.
  6. Health is a major thing. Yeah I have many health problems. At the same time, there are millions who have a lot more and young children dying every day from cancer and other diseases. There are countries who have no medical care and people are left to die. I’m very blessed to live in a country where there is medical care.
  7. How can I leave out God? Well, I can’t. I wouldn’t be blessed without Him. He tells me no when the answer needs to be no. He lets me throw my temper tantrums and loves me anyhow. He knows my weaknesses and doesn’t leave me. Wow, not too sure others would do that to the degree God does.
  8. I have the best kids and grandkids ever. Yeah, I may get mad or say stupid things. But that’s OK.
  9. Chocolate is a great blessing too… It has a way of calming my soul and shutting my mouth when I need to say nothing… So something sweet goes in, so nothing sour comes out… OH yeah…
  10. Notes in the mail. I kinda miss those because my mother in law would send a little thinking of you note and letting me know she is thinking about me. I still have some of those notes from her. When I get one out of nowhere I think of her and how nice that someone took the time to say hi and your in my prayers.
  11.  I get a kick out of this lady at church Evelyn. She always asks me how I’m doing and I start saying “I’m Fine”,  then she finishes before I can say it and tells me, I know your fine, but your lying, lol. I find that funny for some reason. She knows me for who I am… So many at church are that way. They give me that look and I know they know, but I try to convince them anyhow, lol… 
  12. There are many many things I’m blessed for. Even for doing dishes that I don’t like doing or laundry. At least I have dishes and food to go on them. I have cloths that need to be washed and a washer and dryer to do them in. Not everyone can say that.
  13. I don’t appreciate having to wash my car, but I have a car that runs and that needs washing.
  14. Computers can be a hassle and run slow, but I can’t complain much because I have a computer to use and blog about these things on.
  15. How can I leave out music. I love to listen to Casting Crowns, JJ Heller and most of the Christian singers and groups. I have heard many grumbles, myself included about music at church. I’m not into funeral music for church derives  So some time ago, I came to the conclusion that I’m going to church for the message and worshiping  And if I want to listen to my style of Christian music, I can turn on KLOVE (huge blessing for me) or go to a special at another church. Music is a gift and I appreciate those who get up and sing and lead at our church. Instead of complaining, I’m choosing to be blessed and enjoy the time I’m there.
  16. Pastor Dean at our church allows a time to offer praise reports and what a blessing it is to see how God is working in everyone’s life. They may not have everything, but they have God and so do I.

I would love to hear what you are blessed with. People can name alot to grumble about, but what taking a chance and saying the good things going on in your life.

Jesus as a Child?

Published on by Sandie D4 Comments

ImageWhat would Jesus have been like as a Child? There isn’t too much that is mentioned about him as a child other than when he was born and when he went to the Temple at 12 yrs old. I’m left to my imagination of what it would have been like to be Jesus.

Jesus didn’t live a life that was for the wealthy, he would have lived in a modest home since Joseph was a carpenter. He would have to go out and work with his earthly father, and help bring food home for the family. Jesus would rather go out and play with his friends, but he knew he had to obey his parents and they needed his help. One of the many chores Jesus had was feeding the little lambs. It was his job to make sure they were fed and watered.

When Jesus was done with his chores, He would have gone out to play with the other children during the day. Children love games and Jesus would have not been the exception. I can see him out there in the playground playing their version of tag your it or kick the can. I’m pretty sure it would have been like a hacky sack. Children from Jesus’s time would fill a little sack with seeds and play with that. His favorite game though might have been where the children get on each others back and they try to knock down the other person or Romans and Countrymen. I guess that would be something like Cowboys and Indians ancient days style, lol. If girls were there playing, they would have asked Jesus to hold the end of the jump rope and he would have been happy to do that even when his friends would laugh at him. But Jesus was OK with that.

ImageSince Jesus had such a kind heart, he would see someone hurting because they fell down and he would be there to hold their hand and help them up and dust them off. He would be that little boy who would knock on the neighbors door to see if they needed any help. All the other parents knew that if Jesus was with their children or around that everything was OK and they were safe. He wouldn’t let anyone bully or put anyone down. He would be ready to defend them and stick up for the underdog.

I would think that he loved to study nature and watch the birds fly. If there was a little bird that fell and needed to be nurtured, he would come to his aid. Jesus would have had a favorite little lamb that would be trying to keep up with him and wait for him to come home. Boys love to fish and Jesus would have loved that too. He would go out with his friends and catch fish and bring them home for his mom to cook up. His eyes would light up over how pleased his mom was over his kindness and willingness to help feed the family. Since they had so little and was poor, all the help was appreciated.

ImageWhen the family would go on their travels each year, Jesus would stay by them until he was about twelve and thats when they went to the Temple. His mom and dad were ready to leave and they were missing Jesus. I think about my fear when my kids aren’t where they are suppose to be and they could be lost. I’m pretty sure they were pretty stressed out. They head back to find Jesus and he is found talking to others about his Father. I’m pretty sure Joseph and Mary must have been more than a little upset. They found him and asked him what he was doing and he looked at them puzzled like any child would. Well, a very smart child, lol. But he told them that He was doing His Fathers business in Luke 2:48, 49.

Jesus would have had a childhood like all the other children and would have shared those experiences. He was tempted and had to learn and mature. He was never gave into sin though, he was the perfect child and person.

Now, I would love to hear what others think Jesus’s childhood would have been like.