All In A Days Grace

  For many, Christmas time is a joyously anticipated time. I know people that would probably put their Christmas tree up after Easter if they didn’t think they would receive some flack about it. Maybe that’s exaggerating a bit. Well, actually, maybe not. The thoughts that Christmas brings for many are times of happy gatherings and celebrations. A time for gift giving and receiving. A time for peace, hope, love and joy. For others…not so much. Christmas can evoke allot of different feelings for different people. It can be a time that rekindles pain from the loss of a loved one. It can be a season that brings financial stress. It can be a holiday that exasperates a person’s loneliness, or shines light on some broken family relationships.   Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. -Matthew 5:4 Something so joyful to one person can be the antagonist of pain for another. Each year there are many that move forward through this time, feeling forced t...

  The past month I have seen stores with a number of different items that have the same word on them. Towels, frames, decorative items, mugs, pictures, t-shirts…. The word that they are all adored with is THANKFUL. We pass by and read this word over and over. I think in a way we become numb to it. In passing it might remind us that Thanksgiving is coming. Time to buy a turkey….or figure out where we are going to be celebrating this glorious annual meal. For so many it simply represents a time of year. Maybe we have a fleeting thought of some great things going on in our lives, or some great people that have blessed our lives. In a flash we might envision all those good people, places and circumstances surrounding us. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” While we might be caught up in all those great memories and wonderful visuals 1 Thessalonians shares with us...