Friday, December 31, 2010

Hope Rings Anew!

This is the last day of 2010! Can you believe it? As I watched the "Year in Review" segments on many television shows, I was blown away by how much actually happens in a 365 day period. Some things triumphant and some things tragic and a little of everything in between. Personally, each of us has faced highs and lows, created memories, and reached milestones. Isn't it amazing that God already knew the outcome of every situation and all of the small (and large) details? No matter how surprised we were by anything that occurred this year, God was not.


I am happy to see the year come to a close. I admit that I have been blessed in big ways and small. However, when I reflect on the year, I struggled a lot. I struggled as a wife and a mother. I struggled with attitudes and finances. I struggled with my inability to change some situations that God was probably using to build my character. I could go on and on but I refuse to complain. I know any and all of you can relate. There is good and bad in all of our lives and sometimes it is easier to bear than others. For me, I am embracing the promise of a New Year. I am not really making resolutions. I always have a challenge going on in my head and I always purpose to live it out. If you read my blogs enough, you can probably figure out my goals for the year.


A New Year brings hope and promise. It brings a fresh perspective. It creates another opportunity to grow and change, spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Resolutions or none, we all have something we want to see manifested in the promise of what "NEW" brings. We are not satisfied with the monotony of life; there is a change to be made somewhere be it in our relationships with God or others, or in our career or in our dysfunctional family. Change is always sought. Sometimes the changes are disappointing and sometimes they are more than we expected. Funny thing about change is this, we never stop expecting it no matter what it brings.


So as we send 2010 packing and welcome 2011, I hope you can reflect on the past and embrace the future. I hope that you can leave the baggage of 2010 behind and begin 2011 afresh and anew. You can choose your purpose and attitude for the year to come. It takes dedication and determination. It also takes the ability to try again if you happen to fail. Baby steps folks, baby steps.


My friend, Tracie, has challenged her friends to find a word for 2011 and let it be the focus for the year. I think my word is going to be contentment. It is a good choice but will probably be more difficult to live out than I think. We live in a world where we always think we need more and deserve more. I Timothy 6-8(NIV) states, " But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.  But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that." Having read that verse, I note that in order to be content, I also need godliness. So I guess my work is cut out for me. I am thinking that if I work on the godly part, the contentment will come a little easier. I will keep you posted on my journey! Prayerfully, when I get to the year end reflection on 2011, I will have been successful in both arenas.


What about you? Where are you as we close out this year? Have you made up your mind about how you want to begin the New Year? It really is a good time to take stock of the past(hurts, pains, trials, and tribulations) and renew your vision for the future. I wish you the best of the best for the year to come. I hope you reach your goals. I hope you change for the better, I hope you learn to trust God more. I hope you choose to see the good in those around you! Finally, I hope that you purpose in your heart to bless someone else this year with your time, talent, or resources. That sense of charity will instill in you a feeling of hope and give you a new perspective. Be safe everyone! Thanks for allowing me into your lives. Till next year! Enjoy the rest of 2010 and let's make 2011 the best one yet! Happy New Year to you and yours!


Copyright December 31, 2010 by Pamela Cole Thorpe

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to each of you, my devoted readers. Christmas is almost over. All the gifts have been purchased and most of them opened. Our tummies are full and our children are very happy and extremely blessed by their gifts. We have been bombarded by more sale advertisements than our brains could handle and I am sure many of us braved the stores trying to catch a sale or score a bargain. We are all acutely aware that a New Year is coming along with a mailbox full of bills too. Now we are contemplating and pondering how the New Year will be different and all the changes that we are gonna make.

I hope as this day has come to a close we each have taken the time to reflect on the true gift of this season. I hope we have done this many times over the past month despite getting caught up in the rat race of holiday madness. God's gift of His Son, Jesus is the reason we celebrate. The best gifts are not those we place under the tree but those we give of ourselves. Our time, our service, or talents. Let each of aim to remember that as we make our resolutions for 2011. I continue to remind you that on our worst day, we really are extremely blessed. That said, we all have something to give. Sometimes it is a simple smile to a stranger on the street. Others, it may be the clothes we have sitting in our closet that we will not be wearing. It can be holding an infant in the hospital or reading to a class. The list goes on and on but trust me there are needs all around you, you only need to look in your own backyard.

None of us know what it cost to willingly sacrifice our child for the world, and we never will. We will suffer loss, we will face defeat, and some times we may even lose heart, but God has given us His Son to carry us through all of those things and then some.  I hope you know how special that gift really is for each of us. Every individual has an opportunity to have a relationship with Christ and all of our relationships will look different. It is called a personal relationship, you know? I trust that whatever your relationship with Him is, it will grow in the year to come.

Luke 2:10-11 states, "But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord." That is the gift we as Christians celebrate(and a whole lot of non-Christians, too). Let your gifts shine forth all year not just in December. That would be the best gift we could give to the Greatest Gift of All! I certainly hope you found your Christmas merry and your holidays happy! I also hope you took time to really reflect on the true meaning of the season...Without Christ, there would be no Christmas. I hope you took time out of your busy celebrations to wish Jesus a very Happy Birthday!

Copyright December 25, 2010 by Pamela Cole Thorpe

Friday, December 17, 2010

Tis The Season

Hi Everyone! I hope you are all well. I have been missing in action but I kept thinking, "I need to post a blog." Well I have been tired and unmotivated. As is the norm, I have millions of thoughts in my head fighting to be put into print. To bad, I can't type from my head. Anyhoo, it really is my favorite time of year. I absolutely love Christmas. Yesterday, God even blessed our area with a little snow(and the kids got an unnecessary snow day, today).

I love the Christmas season. I am most happy when I focus on Christ, not the mundane activity and busyness of the holiday. If you read my last blog, which was a great guest spot by my dear friend, Tracie, you would understand why I loved it enough to post it. For some reason, it is difficult to keep Christmas simple. People and advertisers make it complicated. Well this year, my joy for the season seems less bright than in the past. I have been pondering on the reason why.

Christmas is about Christ. It is a holiday that celebrates the birth of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. When we reflect on the original Christmas story, there is no busyness and things are simple. Joy is present too. Mary and Joseph were together and they had no place to stay. Mary didn't complain about having to birth her special gift in a manger with animals on a bed of hay. We are complaining about the cold(or the bills, or the children). The Three Wise Men were just happy to travel the roads to behold the newborn King and present him with their gifts. I am guilty of complaining and so are many of you.

We forget that on our worst day, we are still so very blessed. I am guilty of thinking about the perfect gift for this person or that. Today, as I type, I have done little shopping but lots of stressing. Would people be mad if I didn't get them anything? The reality is that some folks would. I am beginning to think that all gifts should have to come with a note about why you bought the gift and an explanation of what the recipient means to you. It would go something like this...."Mom, I bought this gift for you because love you so much and without the sacrifices you made for me, I wouldn't be the woman I am today." or "DJ, I gave you this game because the empathy you have for others, has made me more sensitive to others." Wouldn't that be awesome?!?

Giving is what the season is about. We need to remember this all year long. There are organizations that need food, clothes, and volunteers all year long. As a parent, I am extremely conscious of the fact that my children have way more than they need. It is important for me to impress upon them that there are children who are not as fortunate as they are. It is not their reality. I want them to have a heart to serve and bless others with their resources, time, and talent. All giving is not material.

This is not quite what I thought I was going to write so I guess this is the message God wanted me to impart....Jesus is the reason for the season. Have you taken any moments out of the past month to reflect on the grace and mercy of God? A new year is coming quickly. When I reflect on 2010, I can see that God has remained faithful even when I lost my focus on Him. He has protected me and kept me. He has given me peace in the midst of marital storms and parental storms. He has provided all of my needs and many of my wants. He has put people in my life who validate me, encourage me, and admonish me. He has given me the gift of health, creativity and love. I could go on and on, but this I know to be true, Christmas can be a joyous time of celebration and all kinds of other things but if you haven't put Christ into any of it, it really is pointless.

So a week before Christmas, I ask, where is your focus? Has Christ been at the center of any of your holiday activity? If you have been running around to mall after mall, and store after store, searching for this or that for this person and that, SLOW DOWN. No! Just stop! Meditate on where you were a year ago and where you are now. A lot has happened, correct? Yep, I know! Don't you just become overwhelmed by just the small minute blessings in your life? It is mind blowing, huh? God has been good to you. I know He's been all that and a bag of chips to me. Give Him the praise and honor He deserves. Look at your nativity set and really focus  the real CHRISTmas Story. Do the gifts matter? Not really. People do though. Have you smiled at your elderly neighbor or offered to run an errand? Maybe he just needs an unhurried conversation to brighten his day. Have you offered the single mom with four kids a few hours of babysitting so she can get somethings done? Have you given away a coat or any gently used clothing so someone can be warm this winter. Well what are you waiting for? The best gifts are those that cost us little or no money. The gift of God in us goes a long way. Till next time remember, without Christ, there really would be no Christmas!!!!

Copyright on December 17, 201 by Pamela Cole Thorpe

Saturday, December 4, 2010

A Mary Christmas

So December has rolled in rather quietly and the reality is that the celebration of Christ's birth is imminently near. It is easy for us to get caught up in the holiday bustle and FORGET that the true focus of Christmas is Christ. No matter how much we love Him, it is easy to get caught up and thrown off balance. The other day, my dear friend Tracie asked me to proofread a devotional that she would deliver to the leadership team of our Bible Study. I loved it and asked her if I could share. She was willing and the following are her words. Let us know what you think!

As the calendar turned to expose November, my mind immediately turned to Christmas…(how could they not when the stores had already decked their aisles)...how were we going to afford it, where were we going to put the tree and decorations, we are in a new house after all, would Meredith be here, would my mom visit, I really would like to get the kitchen painted before the holiday, what picture will we send out this year…..but regrettably I admit, none of my thoughts were consumed with how can I “Worship my Savior”, how could I “Prepare for His Birth”….they were all selfish/self-centered thoughts and worries.


So I began to be convicted daily about the amount of time I spend Preparing to Celebrate the Season when what I truly wanted/needed to do is Worship my Savior….. How do I Worship rather than Celebrate….To Celebrate is to observe or commemorate and event through public festivities and gatherings…To Worship is to express adoring reverence or regard personally through ardent devotion….WOW, I don’t’ know that I have ever really worshipped Christmas (the coming of the Savior...) but I know I have done a lot of celebrating.


In my effort to seek out how to do just that…Worship my Savior this year rather than merely Celebrate the Season, I began daily reading the account of Christs incarnation and studying the ONE biblical example of a woman who had Prepared for the Saviors arrival….Mary.


So how do we have “A Mary Christmas”? Revisit and re-read Luke 1:26 – 39 and Luke 2:4 – 20 which tell the original Christmas story. Let's use the word "SIMPLE" as an acronym for how we can keep Christ in Christmas and not major on the minor this holiday season as well as follow Mary's example.

S – Scriptural : Mary sang hymns and spiritual songs…”The Magnificat”, she recognized the Messiah of Old Testament as the angel appointed her mother of the Most High God. So often this time of year when our focus should be on God and His Word, it is laid aside in an effort to accomplish the many other tasks on our to-do list….we’ll get back to a quiet time in the New Year…we’ll resolve. Make Christmas Scriptural….We give our children three gifts each year, a gift of want, a gift of need and a gift of love…in keeping with the 3 gifts Jesus received from the Maggi. I read an article this year of a family whose gifts are based on Luke 2:40..”And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom and the grace of God was upon Him.” Is your Advent calendar filled with candy or treats, do you open the door to receive a sweet, or do you open the door to taste and see that the Lord is good…add a short Scripture reading to each day.


I – Intentional: Mary was intentional about her preparation…she asked the angel a specific question in v. 34 of Chapter 1, “how will this be”. In v. 39 of that same Chapter, Mary got ready and hurried to Elizabeth's home. We receive so many invitations and offers, we have so many commitments this time of year, each student has a concert or performance, the angel choir is singing, the company Christmas party, the ladies Christmas brunch….the list goes on and on….but we need to be intentional with our time…Determine in your heart and mind ahead of time what you will and wont participate in, the activities you do and don’t have time for….and I promise you, it is easier if you keep in mind that you want to Worship the Savior this year rather than Celebrate a Season.


M – Memorable: Luke 2:19, But Mary, Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart”….The word treasured in that verse in the Greek means to “preserve” or “to make a memory of”…Mary made a memory of these things…..Is my Christmas memorable to me and my children, or do I want to forget them at the end of December and rush into January….am I making memories?
P – Purposeful: in verse 31 – 33, Mary receives her purpose, and she then lives the rest of her life fulfilling that purpose. If my purpose is to Worship the Savior this December, then the commitments I make, events I attend and gifts I give should be fulfilling that purpose….what is my purpose behind baking 15 types of cookies..? To bless the neighbors with a plate, or to win the Betty Crocker award? What is my purpose for attending all of those events….to be the Christmas Queen, to impress someone else, or because it’s an opportunity to witness to the lost world around me…? What is your purpose…?


L – Lasting/Eternal: Mary had an eternal perspective…in v. 33, the angel told Mary, he (the son you will bear) Jesus will reign over the house of Jacob forever and his kingdom will never end. Is what I am doing to prepare this Advent season temporal or eternal….do those 15 different types of cookies have any eternal value….Yes, if they are given with a card that shares the true meaning of Christmas, but No, if they are just for the neighborhood cookie exchange. Luke 2:19 again says Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart….What are you treasuring up this Christmas…? Matthew 6:19 - 24 tells us, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.


E – Enjoyable: In the midst of announcement, anticipation and arrival…Mary pondered which in the Greek means “to meditate, to think quietly, soberly, deeply” “ to appraise, to weigh in the mind the value of”…Mary sat in the straw of a stable, cuddled the Savior and enjoyed….as the angels around her rejoiced, the shepherds beside her shard, and she enjoyed…..

I pray you have “A Mary Christmas”….May you Worship the Savior!

Copyright by Pamela Cole Thorpe on December 4, 2010