Category Archives: To His Glory

Laboring for Love

04 Sunday Sep 2016

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Christine Sunderland

Writing2We celebrate Labor Day tomorrow, a national holiday honoring the Labor Union Movement and the contribution of workers to our country. But we all labor in different ways, unionized or not, and it is good to consider the place of work in our culture.

Work may be defined in many ways. There’s working to pay the rent and put food on the table. There is volunteer work, actively helping others without payment. A mother’s work is never done, it is said, and probably true. Most of us wake with the first cry of our children and work for their well being on and into the night. They may grow up and leave home but will always be our children. We will always be their mothers. And so it ever shall be.

There is the work of those lucky few who have found joy in their calling, especially those who are…

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Don’t Look Back

30 Wednesday Dec 2015

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I loved this!

Karen Jurgens

The door of our house shuts with a slam. I stop kneading dough in my porcelain bowl and look up as my husband runs into the cooking room.

“Quick, woman, where are our daughters? And their fiancés? ”

He pulls me by the wrist to the living room where two men stand. Tall, handsome, and with shining faces, they greet me with a nod and a smile.

My husband makes introduction. “These are angels sent to us by God Himself.”

I start in shock. Angels?  I’m puzzled until I hear the shouting, cursing, and loud knocking on our door. I know the men of our city are rioting again, and as I regard the angels, I know why. The pounding grows louder, and I fear our door will break.

“Yes, ever since these two arrived in our city, the Sodomites have become violent, demanding that they have relations with our…

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Last Day of Advent – Christmas Eve

24 Thursday Dec 2015

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The church is about ready for our Midnight Mass service. I love that we, at St. James Anglican Church, have a midnight, candlelight Mass (beginning with Lessons and Carols @ 10:30 pm).

To me, the Anglican Mass is the most beautiful (Downton Abbey style) reverent worship experience. Our cantor is amazing and our small choir makes a big, beautiful sound in our little church. It’s an “old school” type liturgical service, but one that resonates with the way I’m spiritually wired..liturgical and traditional.

Such a lovely way to celebrate the birthday of our Lord. Thanks for joining me on this Advent blogging journey. Merry Christmas. May the peace of the Savior be with you during this season and always!

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Advent Day 21-Silence

19 Saturday Dec 2015

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Less than a week until Christmas and I find it difficult to shush my mind from a million thoughts ricocheting in my brain-writing projects, decorating for Christmas, kids coming home, shopping, church activities, dealing with shingles (yes and ugh!)…

…but aren’t we supposed to be preparing our hearts for Jesus now?

…aren’t we supposed to be seeking peace?

…isn’t Advent all about quieting our minds and drawing near to the Lord?

Not so easy to be silent and still, though, especially during the busiest time of the year.

But, we should. Even if only a moment here and there. We need to carve out quiet time, be still, slow down, come into His presence and just be quiet.

No thinking.

No worrying.

Just sitting at His feet.

Jesus came in the night, in the darkness…and when He did, Light came into the world.

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Riley’s Bay, Sturgeon Bay, WI photo by Holly Michael

But now…

…we wait in the darkness, in the quietness, in hopefulness.
…until Love comes. And renewal and peace enters our hearts.

This last week of Christmas, let’s find some time for silence…to prepare for the Light, for the Lord!

“Could but my soul become a silent night, God would be born in me and set all things aright.” – 15th Century

The Bible tells us we should be silent.

“But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.” (Habakkuk 2:20)

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Near Casper, Wyoming photo by Holly Michael

“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.” (Isaiah 30:15)

“[Elijah] went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him… a gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:9, 12).

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35)

“Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” (Luke 5:16)

In the still, silent, darkness…the Lord comes…and Peace enters our hearts.  

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:1-3)

Here’s a little Elvis Silent Night…

Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin Mother and Child,
holy Infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Silent night, holy night, shepherds quake at the sight,
Glories stream from heaven afar, heavenly hosts sing
Alleluia.
Christ the Saviour is born,
Christ the Saviour is born.
Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love’s pure light,
Radiant beams from
Thy holy face, with the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.
Silent night, holy night, wondrous star, lend thy light;
With the angels let us sing,
Alleluia to our King.
Christ the Saviour is born,
Christ the Saviour is born.

 

 

Advent Day 19: LIGHT

17 Thursday Dec 2015

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Love this…sharing from another blogger! The Hills

Finding Hermione

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Seventeen days in, and the tide has officially turned.  After 400 years of nothing but the memory of ancient promises and a never-ending wait for deliverance, an old man met an angel and a young girl became pregnant.  On their own, these two events may have seemed small and rather insignificant, but then – to paraphrase a common saying – all Heaven broke loose.

Imagine it for a moment:

The night is dark and perhaps a bit cool with the slight dampness of the midnight hour.  The world is quiet.  A gentle wind rustles the branches of nearby trees and sighs through the grasses before brushing softly against your cheek.  Now and then a soft bleat can be heard from one of the sheep on the hillside, but no other sounds break the stillness of the night.

You know that the village lies just beyond the next hill, but it…

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Advent Day 17: Read

15 Tuesday Dec 2015

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Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. Philippians 4:8

Love this verse. During this season of Advent, preparing our hearts for the coming of the Lord, we should read and think about excellent things.

Bible reading is excellent of course, and as an author, I also recommend lovely and admirable, excellent and praiseworthy Christian literature.

Today is a perfect day to invite you to meet and chat with some wonderful Christian authors during a really fun Facebook party. Win prizes, learn about new books, and more!

12246851_929639063756252_8134900347406777748_nJust click on this link: CELEBRATE LIT CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION  . It’s on now and continues Dec 15 at 12 PM to Dec 17 at 9 PM (EST).

Stay for the entire time, or pop in when you can. Just keep refreshing the Facebook page.

The grand prize package for our Celebrate Lit Christmas Celebration is amazing. It includes:
Kindle Fire 7″ (8GB),
More Water Into Wine & Reflections – Australian stories from my Father’s Past by Helen Brown,
The Amish Christmas Sleigh by Molly Jebber, Amy Lillard & Kelly Long,
Finger-less gloves (tablet not included), 
The Lost Heiress by Roseanna White,
The Forgotten Recipe and The Amish Christmas Gift by Amy Clipston,
Halo Found Hope by Helo Matzelle,
The More the Merrier ebook,
The Yuletide Angel by Sandra Ardoin,
In Good Company by Jen Turano,
The Reckoning by Mary Lu Tyndall,
The Healer’s Touch by Amber Schamel,
Sabotaged Christmas by Carole Brown,
Sword of Forgiveness book and bookmark by Debbie Lynn Costello,
A Shenandoah Family Christmas and Shenandoah Nights by Lisa Belcastro,
The Truth About Drew and Goodbye, Magnolia by Krista Norman (both ebook format),
Light Bird’s Song by Sydney Betts,
The Feather Case by Shannon Brown,
The Brightest and Best by Olivia Newport.

Look forward to seeing you there! 

And also, more big news…today my book, Crooked Lines, is on sale for .99 Cents! Click here

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Merry Christmas!

 

 

Third Sunday in Advent-Gaudete Sunday

13 Sunday Dec 2015

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The Third Sunday in Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday, Rejoice Sunday, or sometimes Pink Sunday. Today, at St. James, the Bartlett Family lit the third of the advent candles, the pink one. The clergy also wears pink vestments today.

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Gaudete in Latin means “rejoice.” Advent is a time of penance and preparation. Gaudete Sunday, in our Anglican tradition, is a mid-advent time to break and rejoice.

Our cantor begins the introit (Philippians 4) with: Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice ye; let your moderation be known unto all men, the Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing, nor troubled; but in all things, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving; let your request be made known unto God. (Psalm 85) Lord, thou art become gracious unto thy land: thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob. GLORY BE…

C. Behold .. the Lord shall appear …

R. and will not tarry, and will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will manifest himself to all nations, Alleluia.

Scripture Reading for the Advent wreath ceremony, third Sunday: Isaiah 4O:1-5 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lords’ hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
C. Christ, arise, help us.
R. And deliver us for thy Name’s sake.
C.. Come and save us, O Lord God of hosts.
R. Show the light of thy countenance, and we shall be whole.
C. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
C. Let us pray. Incline thine ear to our prayers, O Lord, we beseech thee; and lighten the darkness of our minds by the grace of thy visitation; Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth ever one God, world without end.  R. Amen.

And after the Advent Wreath Ceremony, the priest celebrates the Mass. Today’s Gospel reading was from Saint Matthew 11, beginning at the second verse:

Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

John was in prison and had a moment of doubt. He is supposed to be the voice in the desert, pointing the way to the Lamb of God and he did. But now that he has been inhibited and imprisoned, he doubts and wants to make sure Jesus is the Messiah.

And Jesus gives John and his disciples clear evidence and signs of vitality in God’s Kingdom.”Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blink receive their sights, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the def hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Gospel preached to them. And blessed is he, whosever shall not be offended in me.”

Like John often we could be imprisoned by our own life situation through our feelings, struggles, thoughts, and belief system that can undermine our faith in a loving and living God. We wonder where God is.

I think the point today is no matter what, rejoice always. When everything is dark and gloomy, rejoice! When everything is good, rejoice! Call out to Him always, no matter what we feel and REJOICE!

Corrie ten Boom once said, “When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.”

Trust God. He’s the Greatest Engineer. And Rejoice. Always!

THE BEST GIFT EVER

04 Friday Dec 2015

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Advent Day 6: Best Gift Ever…from Writing Prompts where I blog with other writers….

Inspired Prompt

This month’s topic is “What Christmas Means to Me.”

As a child, Christmas was all about the gifts. Oh, I knew the “true meaning” of Christmas–the celebration of the birth of Jesus–but the anticipation of gifts loomed larger and mightier than anything else. By December 1st I had already made my list.  The gifts were the reason I counted the days…hours…until Christmas morning. Gifts kept me on my best behavior for nearly an entire month.

Christmas mornings, I wasn’t thinking about Jesus as I tore down the flight of stairs, racing my siblings to the Christmas tree. My heart was thrilled with the anticipation of discovering the best gift ever…the one that I put three stars beside on my list.

IMGP2605 photo by MorgueFile

Maybe that’s how most kids are…then and now…but years go by and we mature. Those best gifts of childhood are long broken and have become faint memories.

When I…

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Advent Day 5: Knowing

03 Thursday Dec 2015

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There’s a beautiful song played a lot during Advent, Mary Did You Know. 

Do we know?

Do we truly know and feel the need for a Savior?

Mary knew a lot. The Bible says…”But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:19

What are we pondering in our hearts this Advent?

Are we thinking about our need for a Savior?

Spiritually, we are a fallen race, prone to sin. Many don’t know that their soul is in need of a savior. Many don’t have a spiritual life. Many have closed their hearts to God. Many think in the flesh, not the spirt. Look at the violence, the sadness, the lost in this world. Some look to drugs and alcohol to numb themselves from the aching need in their souls. Some look to self-help books, mental health care. Sometimes they get answers, but never true healing as the Savior gives.

There’s an old hymn:

Soul, a Savior thou art needing! Soul, a Savior waits for thee! Hear His words of tender pleading, Hear His gracious ‘Come to Me.’ He hath died for thy transgression, If thou wilt, thou canst be free; Soul, He waits for thy confession, ‘Savior, I will go to Thee.”

Still, Many Do Not Know.

Some say , “but so-and-so is a good person.” That may be true, but sadly, they don’t know…

…that our hearts were made for God…that our souls long for our Savior. As we say often say in church, “We come from God. We belong to God. We go back to God.”

Ephesians 4:17-18: So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.

When our hearts are softened, broken (often through tragedy) and we finally feel the souls calling for a Savior and invite Him into our lives, our hearts leap for joy just as John the Baptist leap for joy in the womb of Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:41

Then, when we know, we come out of the darkness and into life and we truly live! We will leap for joy!

WE WILL KNOW!

Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live” (John 5:24-25).

Love this amazing rendition of Mary, Did You Know? by Pentatonic. Wow!