Luke 2 KJV

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. ² (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) ³ And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. ⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) ⁵ To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. ⁶ And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. ⁷ And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. ¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

¹⁵ And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. ¹⁶ And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. ¹⁷ And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. ¹⁸ And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

²¹ And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

²² And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; ²³ (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) ²⁴ And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

²⁵ And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. ²⁶ And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. ²⁷ And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, ²⁸ Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

²⁹ Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:

³⁰ For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,

³¹ Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;

³² A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.

³³ And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. ³⁴ And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; ³⁵ (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

³⁶ And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; ³⁷ And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. ³⁸ And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

³⁹ And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. ⁴⁰ And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

⁴¹ Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. ⁴² And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast. ⁴³ And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. ⁴⁴ But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day's journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. ⁴⁵ And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. ⁴⁶ And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. ⁴⁷ And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. ⁴⁸ And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. ⁴⁹ And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? ⁵⁰ And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. ⁵¹ And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.

⁵² And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

 

NOT MINE: http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Luke-2-kjv/

The Messiah is born

The Verses from which I get this Post are from Luke 2 KJV, I will post them in a different segment!
A stoic Greek philosopher, Epictetus, who was born in A.D. 55 as the early church was spreading, wrote: " while the emperor may give peace from war on land and sea, he is unable to give peace from passion, grief, and envy; he cannot give peace of heart, for which men yearn far more than even outward peace" How true is that today. The birth of the Saviour, the Light of the world, made it possible for mankind to have true peace in the heart. Will we, like the Shepherds of old, and the godly of that day joyfully spread the good news of the Prince of Peace?

John 1:14 says And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."

wow soak that verse in. The word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Doesn't that just give you goose bumps It just reminds me of how much I should be willing to give up for my Savior not only because of how much he loves me but also because of how much he sacrificed for me so that I one day may live with him in Glory.


Oh how well we know the story of Jesus' birth, but do we just read it and go on with our lives and not allow it to change the way we live and interact with people. To think this tiny baby that Mary held in her arms had left the splendor of Heaven, but not only that He left His Father to come to this earth and be born of a virgin, proclaim His Father's name through his teaching and miracles, And then to die on the cross for the sins of the world.

And also think of Joseph and Mary's side of the story having a child out of wedlock was very looked down upon in those days and their reputation would forever be ruined. Little did they know that years later we would still be talking about them and pondering in our hearts the amazing journey they went through and the wonderful role they played in bringing Jesus to this earth.

And the shepherds oh their lives would forever be changed. They got a visit from Heavenly host proclaiming to them the birth of the Savior of the world. Can you imagine how excited they were! It says them made haste and went to where the child was. And then they continued and proclaimed all that they heard and saw to those around them. They were technically the first preachers of the gospel. But in Luke 2:19 it says "And Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart"

The Savior of sinners was born and the world rejoiced, or most of them anyways. The low and common people the ones that would be humble enough to accept Him (Jesus) were the ones that heard about him first and the ones whom it changed their lives forever and they went and truly worshiped him as the true King.

Luke 2:27-35

Can you imagine being Simeon. Watching. Waiting. Longing to meet this child the God of Heaven promised that he would be able to meet before he died. Oh what a day of rejoicing that was for him! Seeing the life of Simeon and how he rejoiced over this child and praised and thanked God for being faithful in his promise of a Messiah.

Simeon recognized this child as the promised one, but yet many around him were blind to the fact that this newborn baby could take away the sins of the world and bring true peace and joy. Simeon was looking for this baby for many years so I am sure that is one reason he realized who this baby was. I want to model my life after the faith fullness of Simeon and be watching and waiting for my savior when he comes back again someday.

 

And then later in Luke 2:36-38 we see a woman named Anna who was a widow for 84 years and it seems she had given her life to worship God in the temple. It says she served God with fasting and prayer. I believe this is also why she recognized Jesus as the promised Messiah is because she was wholly devoted to serving her God. In verse 38 It says she gave thanks to the Lord and then she continued to proclaim the gospel to all those looking for redemption. Here we see a wonderful picture of servants for Christ. Devoting their entire lives to searching for Jesus and then proclaiming His name to all those who would listen.

Salvation through Jesus Christ the light of the world was first for Israel but also for the Gentiles If he is truly our light we will not walk in darkness but will spread the light. What am I doing in the world around me to spread the light to the world around me?

　

November Update

Well greetings there, readers :) Hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving and that you got to spend lots of time with family! We had my dad's parents over on Thanksgiving day and had a wonderful meal!! On Saturday we got together with all of dad's siblings and had a wonderful evening of lively chatter! I always look forward to this time of year and catching up with everyone again! It had been two years since I had been at a Weaver reunion so it was good again!

Work has been a bit slow recently, but I do believe after the holidays it will pick back up again which will be nice! I love to be busy and even the dog business is a bit slow since we haven't had puppies in over a year! Matilda is at the breeder this week so hopefully in two months she will have a litter of puppies! I am so excited to help raise a litter again (yes, it does become a disease after awhile).

My best friend Dorothy is over in Thailand right now and she will be coming home in January I am sooooo excited to spend some quality time together again. We haven't seen each other in over 4 months. We served at Mountain View together and I think this is the longest we haven't been together since we met. Happy reunions await :).

Some of the girls from work and I went to Lancaster Bible College's Christmas program on Friday. Wow that was so amazing to listen to the orchestra and the people singing!! We as a group had a fantastic time as well! We went to Tori and Jalisa's house for supper beforehand and then to Taco Bell afterwards and had a jolly time!!

Tori, Me, Jalisa, Katelyn

 

About two weeks ago Tori, my little sister Rachel, and I went riding at one of my friend's houses. It was my birthday gift to Rachel and she was in her delight! She loves to ride and the one time I looked back and she was just riding along with the biggest smile on her face :) hopefully we will get to do that again soon!

 

Last week on Tuesday mom and I got to go shopping with my aunt and cousin and a lady from church! We went to lunch together and laughed and talked it was such good women time :) We then went thrift store shopping.

 

Well that is my life in November!! Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Until Next Time~ Rose Mary

 

Grace, God's Grace

No, I don't have it all together and I probably never will on this earth, but with God's help I can power through whatever life throws my way. Especially because there are two things I am sure of

1)God will never send me a trial that with His help I can't have victory
2) He promised to never leave me or forsake me. He is always here ready to enable me.

I have also experienced the power of God in my life. The many times that I have called and pleaded for his help he has come through in some amazing ways.

I'm going to be a bit vulnerable in this post so please bear with me. Growing up I had many insecurities and as a protection for myself I had built many many walls, in an effort to protect myself and to control the circumstances around me. Because as long as I didn't allow people to get close and care about me they could never hurt me. And that even included God, because he was Authority and he required respect that I did not feel he was worthy of.

It wasn't until by the grace of God that I realized that God has a plan and a purpose for each one of our lives and that he placed me in the situations that he did for a reason. And that is simply to bring him honor and Glory through my life, I had to choose to follow him no matter the path that he chose to take me down. Because ultimately he has my best in mind.

It was not until I realized that is because he loves me that he wants to refine me and make me a better person to serve him. Because it is through those trials and hard times that  we realize who we really are in our carnal selves . And that we are not  truly complete without Jesus in our lives. He knew the path that I had to go down in order to bring me to him and Draw Me Closer to his side because without some of those trials that I went through I don't know where I would be today.

Zechariah 13:9 KJV
And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.

Yes, I can now honestly say that I am so grateful for all the things that I have experienced on this Earth. There have been times of heavy trials , many tears, and heartache. But you know one thing that has been a steady constant even when I chose not to serve him, is my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He has been there every step of the way. Showing me a little ways that he loves me and that he would always take care of me no matter what. And all that time is drawing me a little closer to himself.

When I totally surrendered my life to him that is when he started to break down those walls. And teach me to love as he loves. Yes, we will get hurt in this life people will take advantage of our kindness , generosity, and love. But God calls us to love them anyways just as his son loved us enough to die on the cross so that we could have an abundant life in him. No, loving isn't always easy sometimes we feel that the person absolutely does not deserve it. And no, sometimes they don't deserve it neither do we deserve what Jesus did for us on the cross.

Romans 5:8 tells us
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

It doesn't say that while we were perfect he died for us. It says when we were yet sinners ,when we were at our weakest moment needing him the most. It was when I was the most unlovable that he gave his life so that I could live a full life in him.

As it took time and years to build those walls, it also takes time and years to break them down. It is a work in progress but I am grateful to say that it is so encouraging to look back and see that I am not the same woman I was 2 years ago. Not On My Own Strength but it is because of the grace of God that I am who I am.

1 Corinthians 15:10 KJV
But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Please understand that I am definitely not completely there ,to the place that I am able to love with abandon, or even to completely surrender every area of my life all the time. But God is working in my life and I'm a work in progress. I just wanted to share a bit of my story that maybe someone can glean a bit of Hope for their own story.

May God Bless you as you make the journey of life through His grace and strength. Because it is only through Him we can be truly whole. Until Next Time ~ Rose Mary

Warning: this may be a 2 part post.

Freedom.......True Freedom

Freedom....a word that we as Americans can tend to take for granted. How many men and women have died so that we can have the freedoms we enjoy every day. But there is one person who gave up so much so that I can have eternal peace and freedom, true freedom.

There are so many different types of bondage ,but I do believe the worst type is the bondage of sin. Many people do not realize this bondage and how much it truly weighs them down until they are loosed from it, or at least that is how it was for me. I did not realize the pain ,agony, and anxiety I was putting myself through by not surrendering my life and will to my Heavenly Father who knows so much better how my life should go.

Oh the freedom of surrender. No, I am not going to tell you every step of the way is easy to the path of surrender, but oh dear friend it is SO worth it. At the time it may feel as if you are giving up everything and gaining nothing but oh my there is a peace and joy you receive that the world can't give and the world can't take it away!!

Surrender is a process and it is very different for every person. For me it was learning to desire what God desired for my life instead of just bulldozing ahead and doing what pleased me and what I could get from this old world than what I could give to it to make it a better place. But oh how your perspective and desires change when you totally give your life to the one who can give you total and complete freedom, oh that may sound scary now but once the process is done you will be so grateful you went through with it.

Some people see the Christian life as a type of bondage because we have so many "rules and regulations" But it is a freedom inside the will of our Father. Yes, he gives us guidelines to go by, but that is because he desires a relationship with those he created. We were created for the sole purpose of giving God honor and glory and for companionship for him. And he also extends his mercy and grace to all those who believe.

If you only would stop and ponder for a moment of all that Jesus gave for me, for you so that we can obtain this freedom in HIM. He came down from Heaven this wonderful place where worshiping God is your only focus, to come to this earth to die a very cruel painful death. All that we someday can live with Him in GLORY.

If you ever want to read the crucifixion story I recommend reading it in every gospel because it gives a very rounded complete picture of what he did for us!
Matthew chapter 26,27,28
Mark 14,15,16
Luke 22,23,24 (Luke I think is the most detailed account)
John 13,18,19,20

May the Lord Bless you this week! Until Next Time,
~Rose Mary

Just Life!!!

October has almost come and gone. Life has been crazy busy for me and I don't foresee it slowing down anytime soon. The beginning of this month was pretty normal with no trips planned. The 3rd  weekend I went to Mountain View for a farewell that was such a refreshing time. I came back that Sunday and went straight to my boss Christy's house because her and her husband were in Punta Cana for their 10th anniversary and I was taking care of her children while they were gone.

Christy's parents dropped the children off with me Sunday night. My job was to A. keep them alive and B. make sure they were dressed fed and ready to be where they needed to go at the proper times :). All went as planned and amazingly well (her children are basically perfect angles). I also worked while they were at school so that made me even more busy but that was ok. I had so much fun hanging out with them for three days! We even got the chance to have a photo shoot together!

 

I have been kept busy with cleaning and the occasional weekend trip out of town. And anticipating the arrival of a new litter of puppies in two weeks (Lord Willing). On my days off I catch up on the work on the dog kennel part of it. Today I replaced to linoleum in the whelping pen and cleaned out all the leaves. Ah I feel so successful when the barn and kennels are sparkly clean :).

 

Well that is all for now!! Hope ya'll have an amazing rest of October!! Until Next Time!

Trust? or Fear?

Trust. Something a lot of people struggle with. Maybe because they have been severely hurt by someone in their past or because someone broke their trust. Whatever the case may be I don't believe trust comes naturally to us as humans. It is something that needs to be built over time, and if ever broken it takes even longer to earn back again and that relationship will never be the same.

But there is one person who can always be trusted no matter what. He has never broken his promise and has never left anyone behind. And that is Jesus. The person that cared so much for each and every one of us that he left behind all the splendor of Heaven to rescue us from our sin by dying on the cross so that we one day can live in glory with Him. I think someone who is willing to give everything on my behalf is worthy of my faith and trust!

I am not saying this trust comes easy, because yes, sometimes it seems that God has no idea what he is doing in your life and that he is giving you the trial just to see how you will respond. But trust me that's not how God works. He has a divine plan and purpose for everything he brings your way! He knows exactly what we can handle and how much. He will never give us something that with His strength we can't get through.

I think that little phrase is something we often forget though, the whole "With His Strength". We can't do it on our own and God knows that, that is why He is there ready, able, and willing to help us. He also knows that without the trials we would never become the refined, broken, humble people that He can use to better His kingdom. God can't use a proud, selfish person to accomplish his will in their lives because if you are proud and selfish you probably think you can do life on your own without His help.

There are so many times in my life that I am so thankful that I had God to lean on. And can't imagine how people go through life without trusting in God. He has been a very faithful companion and has given me the strength, grace, and courage to go through every day. It is because of my trust in him that I can have the peace and joy inside even when things are going haywire around me.

No this trust in Him obviously does not give us a free no pain ticket in life it just gives us the guarantee that we will have the grace of God to get through all that comes our way! I love the quote "God didn't promise days without pain, sun without rain, but he did promise strength  for the day and light for the way" that is so true! He is always there whenever you need him and even when life is good he is there all the time!!!

God Bless you as you go through this week!
~Rose Mary
"God is good all the time, and all the time God is good"