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Chaos reigned supreme. That's how it seemed as we rehearsed our Christmas play. The first rehearsal didn't really happen. The second one was only a bit better, and three quarters of the cast didn't make it to the third. Those of us who were supposedly "in control" wondered if we were going to have a play at all.

That was nothing new. Every year it seems to happen. Kids run helter-skelter, some don't show up, some can't find costumes or those made for them don't fit. The choir director is tearing her hair out This year seemed a bit more chaotic than usual. But somehow it all came together in the end. The night of the performance seemed to go well. I say seemed, because I was too busy trying to keep my "cast" quiet and focused, to notice if the play was working. One of the magi discovered he could use one of the shepherd's headbands as a slingshot to wing the beads off his crown clear across the front of the church. That delighted the kids in the front row who dashed out to pick them up. Mary couldn't stop squirming because her costume was made of wool, and Joseph kept changing his mind about which robe fit best ? right up until he walked out onto the 'stage.?

Read more: The Promise of Christmas

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Colossians 3:12-17
"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." vs 13  

A few days ago I was listening to an NPR radio station from Seattle. An artist named Bo Bartlett1 was being interviewed about an exhibit of his works currently in Seattle. He was describing the feature painting named "Heartland". It is a painting of a boy pulling a wagon filled with sticks. As he spoke about the painting he said that part of the inspiration came from his own childhood. When his mother would discipline him, she would make him go and cut the stick, or the "switch" which she would then use to spank him. He said that he had wondered to himself..."what if I had kept all those sticks over the years?"

Read more: The Why and The How Of Letting Go

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I've have the funniest set of Christmas candles in my office you'd ever want to see! They're supposed to be standing straight and tall--and somehow, the ceiling vent's been blowing warm air in their direction--until they're tilting sideways. One is extremely bent over, sometimes even falling out of its holder, poor thing.

Sounds like some of us after Christmas! Bent over from all the packages we've picked up, opened up, and now have to return; all the decorations for which we've stretched and strained, not to mention the hot stoves and baking ovens over which we've watched and worked...oh, our aching backs!

Read more: The Case of the Crooked Candles

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How many remember crossing the Rockies before the Roger's Pass highway? It was an adventure of swithbacks and steep drops if you missed a corner. Valerie and I drove a short portion of the famed Route 66 this spring. For the most part, it has been supplanted by Intersate 40, but in north and west Arizona a portion exists. The portion that heads west into the mountains between Arizona and California is also an adventure. It is narrow, twisty with many switchbacks and portions are subject to falling stones and in season, flash floods. Anyone wanting to make time safely through the desert and mountains takes the interstate.

I imagine that the Judean wilderness north and east into Iraq is similar geographically to the Mojave. Not only did travellers have to contend with natural hazards, out of the way roads were notorious haunts for brigands and bandits.

Read more: The Highway Of God

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Luke 3:7-16

Just after 4:00 am, April 29, 1903, a mountain fell upon an unsuspecting town in the Alberta Rockies.1 The town of Frank Alberta was buried under about 100 million tons of limestone that day. There were a few survivors and around seventy dead. Growing up not far from Frank, I have often driven the highway through the middle of the slide. Decades later in the 1960's it still looked like a moonscape. A piece 2100 feet by 3,000 feet by 500 feet thick had broken off Turtle mountain and tumbled into the valley below. The town was there because Turtle Mountain had rich seams of coal and was being actively mined at the time of the slide. The Blackfeet nation did not like to . . .

Read more: Advent: The Winds of Change

  1. The Fright of Christmas!?!
  2. Root and Branch
  3. This Road Leads Home
  4. Carol of the Heart

Subcategories

The Spur Article Count:  92

Marcia Laycock is a pastor's wife and freelance writer living in Alberta Canada.  Her devotional book The Spur of the Moment has been endorsed by Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and others.  To order, and to view more of Marcia's writing, see her web site - www.vinemarc.com

Wonders of Creation Article Count:  37

Written By Richard Gunther.

Harris Dvores Article Count:  1

Harris Dvores is a corporate lawyer in Orlando, Florida. But only from 9 to 5. For more than 20 years, he has pursued his passion to create: everything from Christian music and church skits, to Star Trek scripts and board games. His new website, www.harrisdvores.com, is a playground for the mind and spirit. A Jewish believer, Harris has been given truly amazing stories to share about the power of God.

Rev. Spence Laycock Article Count:  49

Rev. Spence Laycock pastors at Church of the Open Bible, Ponoka, Alberta, Canada.

Pastor Bert Nieuwenhuis Article Count:  2

Pastor Bert Nieuwenhuis is the interim pastor at Somerset Bible Chapel, Manitoba, Canada.

Diane Davis Article Count:  1

Diane Davis, a former policewoman in Toronto, recently retired from a lengthy career as a civilian member of the Ontario Provincial Police.  Amongst many things, she is now turning her attention to writing, music, and her 5 grandchildren.  She is also Pastor Tim's mom.

Melva's Devotions Article Count:  48

Blog Writings by Melva Cooper.

Melva Cooper is a wife, mother and grandmother from Jonesboro, Arkansas. God has given her, in her retirement years, the ministry of writing for HIM. "Even in old age, you will still produce fruit" is a verse He has given her (Psalm 92:14). And it is her desire to serve Him all the days of her life.

Barb's Mantle Article Count:  59

Barbara, a Christian homemaker, began her Web Site through encouragement from her son, and a dream. It quickly became a ministry for the Lord. She began writing devotionals to encourage, inspire, and build up spiritually those coming to her site.  Barbara is a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother.

Sandra Boyte Article Count:  10

Writing poetry that brings glory to God is Sandra's passion.  No matter where she has lived, or what she has gone through, she has found that God is always there before her to lead her in His paths and to catch her when she falls.  Married, with two sons two granddaughters on the way, Sandra's future goals include writing more poetry trying her hand at writing short devotionals for children.

Dr. Harold McNabb Article Count:  98

Dr. Harold McNabb pastors at Westshore Presbyterian Church in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Peggie's Den Article Count:  77

"Ever feel as though life is a lions' den and like Daniel, you're right in the middle of it all? Enjoy these "Devotions from the Den" (Lions 'n Life at Peggie's Place) and delight in God's promises of love, joy and peace for whatever is happening in YOUR den today!"

Misc Article Count:  77

Miscellaneous archived items.

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