Joy to the World...

To the orphan and the widow, 

Heartbroken and alone,

I pray for you the Comfort of the Christ Child,

On this beautiful Christmas morn.

To the prisoner in isolation

Deserted, all alone,

I pray the Presence of Jesus will surround you,

On this glorious Christmas morn.

To the sick, the dying,

The fearful, the afraid,

May you be able to trust in Jesus,

On this fearless Christmas morn.

To the children, the mother or the dad,

Abandoned and alone,

I pray you know His love for you,

On this loving Christmas morn.

To the sinner falling in despair,

Afraid you've gone too far,

May you know the freedom of forgiveness,

On this grace-filled Christmas morn.

To the one who stands outside the church,

Afraid to enter in,

I pray you find your Savior's love for you,

On this peace filled Christmas morn.

To the poverty stricken,

Too poor to buy a gift,

Receive the gift of Jesus,

On this extravagant Christmas morn.

To the child abused, abandoned,

Confused and all alone,

May You feel His arms around you,

On this tender Christmas morn.

To the martyrs laying down their lives today,

Suffering and alone,

May the angels welcome you to heaven,

On this glorious Christmas morn.

To the one surrounded by riches that never satisfy,

May you come to treasure riches of a very different kind.

May you find the only gift that matters,

On this priceless Christmas morn.

Joy to the World

to the Prisoner and the King.

Proclaim the glorious message

Of Jesus Christ we sing.

Joy to the World

to rich and poor alike,

Joy to the World,

Our Christ is born tonight!

Joy to the World

to everyone of us,

He came for you, for me,

He came for all of us.

Joy to the World,

the little baby Jesus

loves you, loves you, loves you!

The little baby Jesus,

Asleep on the hay.

Joy to the World

This beautiful Christmas Day,

No matter where it finds you,

He was born for you today.

Joy to the World

Let every tongue proclaim,

The riches of His love for us

This gorgeous Christmas day!

Scripture Reference: Luke 2:10 NKJV

Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold,

I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all the people.

For there is born to you this day, in the city of David,

a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

The Fruit of the Spirit is...JOY!

I absolutely love the passage in Galatians that describes the Fruit of the Spirit "against which, there is no law." (5:23)  Although I love them all, one of my personal favorites is the spiritual fruit of JOY!  I gravitate toward joy as surely as flowers turn their faces to the noonday Sun!  I drink it in.  I bask in it!  I sing praises to my God in the voice of Joy!

I tell you this to share with you that one of the sources of joy in my life is rapidly becoming this blog!  I started this a little over a month ago, believing that God was leading me to write something to speak to the heart of those who are searching for God and to be willing to be a flashlight in the hand of the searcher, pointing the way to Jesus Christ.  Secondly, but equally important, I believe God wants to use this little blog to encourage other followers of Jesus to stand up, gird up for the battle, get involved in the work of the Kingdom!  For those who are struggling with discouragement in a trial, I want to speak a word of encouragement.  We are not alone in all of this.  God is with us.  Emmanuel!

It gave me a tickle of joy today to discover that I have a new member - my little sister, Teresa Berki!

It made me realize that I want to invite more of you to become members when you visit this site.  Just go down to the bottom of the black box to the right of this post.  Under 'Followers' click the box that says 'Join This Site'.  When you become a member, it enables me to see who you are on the other side of the blog page - something very valuable to me!  I really want this blog to be a community gathering place for me and you.  I want to meet you and get to know you, as you are getting to know me through my writing.  It is my hope that this blog will become, more and more, a two-way communication tool for us to connect over the miles.

I want to know what you are looking for - what encourages you - what are you struggling with in your walk with the Lord?  Are you an unbeliever looking for answers about Jesus Christ?  Are you going through a trial that is testing all your strength?  How can we, as your sisters and brothers in Christ, pray for you?  We all have struggles we are dealing with, myself included!  The wonders of the Internet are erasing borders, pulling down walls, and connecting us to one another in ways never before possible!  We are living in amazing times!

I have decided to periodically profile members of this blog so that you can get to know them and pray for them, as well.  Here is a snapshot picture of my newest member, Teresa Berki.

Terry is my sister, the youngest of eight children.  She is an obstetrical nurse in the OB department of St. James Hospital in Chicago Heights, IL.  She is also a newly licensed Lactation Instructor in her department.  (As any of you ladies who have ever tried to nurse a baby knows, someone who can help us with this is a tremendous blessing!)  Terry teaches birthing classes to expectant parents at St. James.  She is married to my favorite brother in law, Gabe, and is the mother of two adult children, my nephew, Gabriel, and my niece, Meghan (a new bride this year!)

Terry is an extremely hard working and dedicated nurse. I had the great joy of sharing the birth of my youngest grandchild, Ella, with Terry present as a nurse the night that Ella was born.  Unbelievable night!  I have enormous respect for how hard she works, how skilled she has become, and how much she loves her patients.  Lest you think, as I did, that a nurse in the obstetrics department just experiences the fun of having new babies born, I have learned that this is an extremely challenging department to work in.  Nurses in this department minister to young single mothers, first time mamas who are scared of the baby! (I was there, once!), still born babies, babies born with heartbreaking diseases, babies born addicted to drugs...and the list goes on and on.  This is a unique and challenging calling, to say the least!

I share this with you to give you a chance to be part of the prayer support for Teresa and the nurses who work with her.  It is my prayer that God will continue to use her, strengthen her and encourage her on those dark days when it is tempting to give up.  Always remember, Terry - You are not alone! God is in it, God is in it, God is in it ALL!

Please sign up to be a member so we can get to know you, pray for you, and connect with you across the miles.  Also, leave a comment, telling me what you find helpful or what you are looking for when you come to visit me on my 'virtual front porch'!  I have added a Translation Button at the top of the page for those of you whose native tongue is not English!  Don't hesitate to leave a comment in your native language - I can quickly translate it to English, using the same button! God has thought of everything to bring us together from around the world, hasn't He?  All we have to do is press a button to make it happen!

Blessings to You All in this Beautiful Season of Advent!

Maureen Sebek

Scripture Reference:  Galatians 5:22, 23 

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness,

 faithfulness, gentleness, self-contrtol. 

 Against such there is no law."

Rivers of Joy

Many years ago, when I was going through the heartache of a painful divorce, a very dear friend gave me a wall plaque with the words “The Joy of the Lord is your Strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)  I wondered what in the world that meant to me, as I struggled to come to terms with the harsh realities of divorce and single parenthood. Joy was the last thing on my mind.

I dismissed my friend's gift, deciding that, although she meant well, she just didn't have a clue what I was going through. On the contrary, she most certainly did. She saw the pain written all over me and came to me in a spirit of love and generosity that was so characteristic of her as a friend. She sat with me, and she cried with me, deeply joining me in my grief. But, she refused to leave me there.

She called me to come out of my despair and self-pity and choose instead to “Count It All Joy.” (James 1:2)

It's easy to embrace joy when everything is going right, the sun is shining, we are healthy, the bills are paid, and life is good. But, what happens when life “blows up” on us and everything is up for grabs?

Life can change in an instant. We get a dreaded diagnosis from the doctor, we lose our job, we lose our house, or, worse yet, we lose someone we dearly love through death or divorce. Where is the joy then?

In my own life, these kind of crises have visited me more than once. Ever so slowly, I have learned that I could choose to be buried in the grief and pain - or I could choose joy. I could pray that God would fill me to overflowing with His joy, in spite of the circumstances. That He would surround me with friends that wouldn't allow me to sink into self-pity. I could pray that He would draw close to me and, especially in those painful times, 'The Joy of the Lord' would be my strength...

I have found Him to be faithful, beyond measure, to answer those prayers. He knew, as my friend did, that I would have to choose joy in those moments when I would rather not.

My friend lovingly called me out of my misery to look for my Redeemer. She taught me not to bury all of life's goodness in the grave of despair. With a gentle push to look to the Lord as The Source of My Strength and My Joy, she taught me to listen for His still, small voice, over the screaming voices of pain and heartache.

It is so often in the middle of a heartbreaking or frightening crisis in my life that I hear Him calling me to come a little closer and let Him carry me into the River of Joy...

Scripture Reference: Zephaniah 3:17

“The Lord your God is in your midst,

The Mighty One will save,

He will rejoice over you with gladness,

He will quiet you with His love...”