A New Thought for the New Year

"Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com"

Warning: This is a long one folks, hope you're up for it,

because I believe strongly there will be a blessing from it!!

I'm tired of the old adage, "New Year's Resolutions"

quickly followed by the "shoulda, coulda, woulda's"

that's not all, then the "I'm gonna', and I will's"

but never do's!" (for all those grammar

enthusiasts, this sentence was deliberate)

How about a new thought for the new year!

Is anybody game for this?

I was reading some devotions this morning and one quote in

particular really struck me. It says, "Being deprived of something

you desire is better than having something you despise."

This quote is my running theme of this message by the way.

First thought... Ah! WHAT? That's from a selfish perspective of course.

But seriously, read that again and then again. Does this make sense

to anybody? My guess... not a first sight!

But then, after re-reading it, it occurred to me that it makes

total sense but can be quite a challenge to admit and here's

the kicker... accept it!

As far as my personal desires... gee, where do I start? I have probably

too many of them, some justified, realistic... others, I could still

live without. God knows em, in fact, He knows everyone's desires,

which is where this story gets more interesting... or at least, I think

so!

"Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires

of your heart" Ps. 37:4.

After remembering and reading this scripture verse, I'm

thinking, but why God, why do you take SO LONG to

answer them??? Does anybody else go through this?

Then, His spirit tugs on me again, Nichole, 'have you

really been delighting yourself in (Me) the Lord?" OR

are you relying too much on others to satisfy? Ouch!

Sometimes, I really dislike the truth, because it hurts.

Now that first quote is really making sense isn't it?

But its that dreadful word: DEPRIVED that

saddens me and even, some may agree, disappoints

honestly. I can't help but think about this verse

when I hear that word, DEPRIVED."1 Corinthians 13:1-3,

something like, ...but do not have LOVE, it profits me

nothing.

The crux of the matter:

The bible speaks about this subject more deeply in

1 Corinthians 7:5 -

Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time,

so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together

again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack

of self-control.

I believe, this quote applies to every part of our lives, not

just intimately.

In closing...

Here's the NEW THOUGHT for you and me:

Let's STOP depriving one another and challenge

this quote to its limit! Then, when you do, and still

nothing changes around you (lest you begin to

despise others), remember, God has your back

and will commit and fulfill His promises for your life

no matter how difficult it can be to live without.

Just LOVE, when people fail us, Just LOVE

when husbands won't understand and seem

angry all the time, Just LOVE

when wives are emotional and you can't figure

her out, Just LOVE, when parents

push our nerves, Just LOVE, when children make

mistakes, Just LOVE, when your friend forgets

something special, Just LOVE, when churches

fall away or apart, Just LOVE, when presidents follow

their hearts instead of God, Just LOVE, when a co-worker

refuses to cooperate, Just LOVE, when neighbors aren't

there for you, Just LOVE, when relationships don't seem

to ever look up or are unwilling to change, Just LOVE,

when landlords are greedy, Just LOVE,

when you are misunderstood, Just LOVE,

when someone gossips about you, Just LOVE,

when dreams are unfulfilled, Just LOVE,

when a loved one devastates you, Just LOVE,

when you are out of money and a ton of bills,

Just LOVE, when you

get what you want and find out its not what

you need, Just LOVE, when

your self-esteem is low, Just LOVE, when

promises are broken, Just LOVE.

LOVE... what does it really mean?

Seek Jesus Christ, He'll give you the strength to

even LOVE the unlovable.

We all have desires,

so why not BE the vessel God wants, to fulfill it for

others? Otherwise, you may very well end up

looking like the clipart image above if you don't act now...

Life is too short, lets start

loving through our actions, not just with our

thinking caps!

Jesus arrived... for us!

People were bringing little children

to Jesus to have him touch them,

but the disciples rebuked them.

When Jesus saw this,

he was indignant.

He said to them,

"Let the little children come to me,

and do not hinder them,

for the kingdom of God

belongs to such as these.

I tell you the truth,

anyone who will not receive

the kingdom of God

like a little child

will never enter it."

And he took the children

in his arms, put his hands on them

and blessed them.

Mark 10:13-16

As another Christmas season comes to pass, I'm thinking about the

reason we celebrate this moment. I've been known to get caught up
in the movement with the rest of the world during this time, you know,
fast paced shopping, spending, spending, spending, not spending
quality time with those close because I have too much on my plate to
handle with the holidays, "it can wait" mindset and
then wondering if my children will really enjoy the gifts we bought for
them and dare I say, IF it was enough...

The Holy Spirit has been patient with me and has been tugging on
my heart strings during those busy times and so I've decided to
stop and listen realizing and bringing back into perspective that,
God is greater than me and "my shopping", because He is greater
than all of the toys and other material possessions out there...
because He is worthy and enough for me and that is what I want
my boys to know.

As I look at Joshua in this photo, that song comes to mind: "be
careful little eyes what you see..." and basking in his innocence
and don't want him to ever lose that! However, knowing that

because we are all born in sin, we can still make opportunities

to guide them away from evil pursuits and teach them the

Good News (aka: The Gospel) that Jesus came to SAVE -

He really didn't have to people, but, He did! All because

we matter to Him. We love, because He first loved us...

I am so excited to see what God has in store for my

children's lives, as they too, have a purpose to fulfill for the

kingdom and that is so cool to me!

Remembering the Lord and feeling so grateful for the God Man, Jesus,
who physically came down off of His throne to become one of us,
and bonus, in the form of a baby growing through adolescence into
adulthood... did you catch that? He physically left His place on High
for you and me and discovered all of our temptations and fought
them and succeeded!
Logic would conclude... that that, makes Him The One who
we CAN fully trust and have faith in!
WOW... have you ever really thought
deeply about that part of the Christmas story, The most

Holiest of all, Almighty King became

man in the flesh... human.

May this post and those coming thereafter reflect Jesus, the
One true God of the universe, His universe.

The coolest thing ever... is that, Jesus is preparing me, my kids

and you, if you believe, for Holy worship in all of its forms and much

more we can't even fathom, for eternity with God!

What a truly magnificent

place that must truly be.

So, as our lives unfold, may they be as bold as our living King and
an honest example that, God IS alive and well within us and shaping His
people for great things!

Merry Christmas my brothers, my sisters... my family!

Happy 9th Birthday SPENCER!

Spencer turned 9 on December 18th, 2009!
We celebrated his birthday on Saturday, 12/19 in the hopes
of having a lot of friends and extended families over, however,
a rather uninvited guest arrived instead... SNOW!!!!

But that didn't stop us! We started the day off
with his favorite breakfast (lucky charms) then
playing with his new toys/games (star wars light saber)
dinosaur dig, air plane shooter and for the big surprise....
a new educational laptop from Mom and Dad!
We had one of his favorite dinners too, dinosaur chicken
nuggets and fries then topped it off with candy treats
and cupcakes for dessert.

The boys played all day long and even enjoyed some of the
snow, they never missed a beat! Me on the other hand, I stayed
warm and cozy inside with Josh :)

We LOVE YOU Spencer and hope you had a great day with your
family!!! You are getting so grown up and we are very proud of
all of your accomplishments this year.

No regrets...

As another year approaches, do you find yourself
thinking about the shoulda, coulda, woulda's?
aka: "regrets" in your life?

Emotionally & Visually Provoking... this video reminded me that,
whatever season
of life we encounter, admittedly, having regrets about my past
making bad decisions, poor choices or question our lot in life...
I/we must learn to embrace every challenge
and learn to forgive ourselves and ultimately others,
with the divine forgiveness God offers to us,
unconditionally!

It can be difficult to live joyfully without having first confessed our sins,
our deepest need for repentance
and mercy.

Each day I live, I do know that God can take something so broken and make it
whole & new again
but not without our personal decision toward change.

My Prayer to all this season!
Jehovah Lord of Heaven, You are unchanging and so faithful
to Your word,
may we learn to imitate Your character more often toward
our loved ones and those we encounter with a
compassionate and tender heart. Help us
to bear each others burdens and learn to forgive so
others can truly be set free.

May this New Year be one
that is mighty indeed with Your strength to mark a special
occasion that You are our coming King to save
us from the evil one. God's blessings to you and your
families, Love the Allen's