Tag: joy
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Squirrels
My family gave me a squirrel-proof bird feeder that has proven to be very accommodating to the squirrels. The “protective” wire that houses the seed holder gives them a nice foothold as they devour the seeds meant for the many beautiful birds that inhabit this area. Squirrels! There is an interesting dynamic as I observe…
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What I love about grapefruit.
My daughters and I love grapefruit. We like the large ones with pink centers. We love the citrusy taste offset by the sweetness of a little sugar (Stevia for me the diabetic). We love them cold from the refrigerator. The exhilaration of the sensory blend of smell, taste and temperature delivers something very satisfying…and they’re…
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Slow Learners
There are all kinds of ways to quickly cook barbecue but any ‘barbecue master’ will tell you that the final result is in the preparation. I am somewhat of a pork tenderloin and babyback ribs master. My secrets? Haha, wouldn’t you like to know! How do you think the Israelites would have looked upon God…
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Praise in the Storm
A few months ago I publicly wrote and announced that I was no longer hiding or avoiding Satan and his minions. I arrogantly wrote that I was declaring war on him and his evil. I naively shared that I was ready. I wasn’t and I am not. “If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover…
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Some Assembly Required
In those early years of having kids, Christmas was a time of sweet, coupled with sour, highlighted by Christ and offset by the stress test of gifts with the anxiety producing announcement/warning, “Some Assembly Required.” I recall those Christmas Eve evenings where frenetic activity replaced the calm of a Christmas Eve service at church, a…
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Oh Christmas Tree
My White Grandma (my dad’s mom) would typically wait for us to get to her house before she put up her Christmas tree. As I’ve come to realize, now having siblings and friends who are grandparents, she waited for her grandson because her joy was magnified by my joy. If you will allow it, joy…
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The Raise
I guess it was around 1975 when I got “the raise.” There was never confusion about Christmas in the Mullins/Mason group of families. In that holler in Rockcastle County, KY, Jesus was (and is) the reason for the Season. He was (and is) the center of the celebration and the focus of all events that…
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Do you hear what I hear?
My wish for my kids would be that for just one Christmas they could experience what God blessed me with for a dozen-plus Christmases. I was the youngest in our family and was robbed of more of the years together than my siblings and cousins, but boy was I blessed. When you have 11 people…
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Precious Memories Happening Now
“Precious memories, how they linger How they ever flood my soul In the stillness, of the midnight Precious sacred scenes unfold” “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27…
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It’s Actually Quite Simple
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.” John 15:4 (NKJV) The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) are actually quite simple and simply marvelous in their assurance of truth and life. Sin leads…