The Crazy for Christmas Tour--And Giveaway!

Enter Here!

By the time you finish my "tour" you'll probably agree--I'm crazy for Christmas! Leave a comment following the post to enter the giveaway.  

Front Porch

Welcome!

A little hokey--I try different things every year. (Not all are successful--ha!)

(I forgot to put a huge bow at the stair post)

The stockings don't go up until Christmas Eve

Close up

Santa's beard (right) is missing--my doggie ate it off.

My mother is a quilter. I hang this over a Monet print every December.

My youngest--caught eating in the livingroom!

Kitty--who isn't supposed to hang out up here--but always does.

Close up--I like to hide little surprises in the greenery

Another little surprise!

She's suffered a few chips over the years, but I keep this

Christmas angel. I love angels!

No piece of furniture is "safe" from a Christmas touch!

Our Nativity--pieces from three sets. (Chalk it up to raising five kids!)

I live outside of a town loaded with antique shops. Found this vintage window cling there. (It's on the fridge.)

On facebook people ask, "Do you decorate for Christmas in your bathrooms?"

YES!

Ditto.

Crazy for Christmas!

That's not quite everything, but I believe you've got the gist of it!

Why am I crazy for Christmas? Because it's the time of year when we are reminded of the Incarnation--God coming to earth in human form. God with us.

Coming to know Christ changed my life completely, eternally, and in ways I could never have imagined. I pray and wish that all would come to know him and the joy that is found only in him.

From my house to yours,

With warmest blessings for a happy and healthy New Year! 

Linore

PS: Was this crazy enough for you? Do you go all out when it comes to Christmas? What's your favorite decoration? Leave a comment and let me know. I'll choose one commenter to win a copy of one of my books.

All photographs copyrighted by law. 2016 Linore Rose Burkard.

Jesus, the Wind and the Waves

You know, the way we perceive our lives and especially our troubles might have more to do, not with how we choose to look at them, but with what we choose to ignore. Let me explain.

Remember the story of Jesus walking on the water. Scripture tells us that "When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. They said, 'It's a ghost!' and began to scream because they were afraid."(Matthew 14:26)

These are grown men, remember. Screaming from fear. I love how the Bible never white-washes the humanity of anyone in its pages. Not their proudest moment, to be sure, especially when Jesus "immediately" responds "Calm down! It's me. Don't be afraid!" (Matthew 14:27)

Peter at this point, delighted the Lord by asking Him to let Peter "come to (him) on the water." This was a great comeback for the disciple. His wounded pride, after screaming like a baby from fear, is ready to participate in the miracle of walking on water. His faith has been fully restored. Peter is wonderfully able to swing from terror to faith in seconds.

But what happens? After starting out strong "when he noticed how strong the wind was, he became afraid and started to sink. He shouted, 'Lord, save me!'" Not only does his mercurial faith spout in a second, it recedes just as quickly.

But, stop here with me for a moment. We've all heard the story and been told that we should keep our eyes on Jesus, not on the storms (of life). And this is true. But notice another thing. When Peter cries out, it is only reasonable to assume that he still had some distance to cover before reaching the Lord. If Jesus had been RIGHT BESIDE him, or DIRECTLY AHEAD of him, within arm's distance, say, how likely would he have been to succumb to the wind and waves?

Not likely at all. When you have GOD right in front of you, what is there to fear?
So it is reasonable to assume that Jesus still looked a bit far off. In the distance. THERE, but not so close that wind and waves didn't matter. Isn't this how we often see God?

When you have GOD right in front of you, what is there to fear?

So, here's the thing: After he cried out, "IMMEDIATELY, Jesus reached out, caught hold of him, and said, 'You have so little faith! Why did you doubt?'"

Do you see the amazing thing here? Jesus looked far off to Peter--far enough away to think he was in danger of drowning. Far enough away to make a grown man so afraid that he would SHOUT "Lord, save me!" But in an instant, a blink of an eye, IMMEDIATELY, in other words, the Lord "caught hold of him."

This is why I say that how we perceive our life, our troubles, our personal wind and waves, is not only a matter of how we choose to see, but of what we choose to ignore.

THE LORD IS NEAR. (Phillipians 4:5b)
Don't ignore that. No matter how distant he seems to you, he can IMMEDIATELY catch hold of you. In fact, he does hold you, and all of your circumstances, within the boundaries of his loving plan for your life, just as He does, mine.

How silly Peter must have felt when "they got into the boat,(and) the wind stopped blowing." (Matt.14:32) This was no coincidence. Jesus could have stopped the wind while Peter was out of the boat just as easily as he did when they were safe inside.

This is another take-away from the story. Our wind and waves are a test. They are only a test. We are always safe with the Lord, no matter where He takes us.
Let us CHOOSE to see Him near. Ready to catch hold of us, no matter the circumstance.
Let us CHOOSE to delight Him with our faith.

Warmest Blessings,

Linore
Linore Burkard.com. Sign up for my monthly mailing list and get a FREE pdf! Just click the link and give your email in the pop-up box.

Image source:http://www.allaboutthebible.net/art/st-peter/

Victor Hugo said, "The supreme happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves."

I mention this because it seems to me that only the Christian faith gives us precisely such assurance of being loved. Only Jesus Christ, in dying for us who were rebellious, unlovely, and sinful, demonstrated the supreme love that can give us the supreme happiness.

God, who knows our every thought, who knows us just as we are, not as we would like to be or wish we were--died to win us for heaven, and for Himself.
"Oh, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us!"

A Phenomenal Statement

"Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him." Luke 15:1

If there was nothing else written about Jesus, this one verse alone would tell you something important. Thankfully, we do have a great deal else written so that we can put this into a better context, but this single verse is nevertheless phenomenal in what it tells us about Jesus.

1. Tax collectors and sinners--ie, the dregs of society at that time--were not afraid to come to Jesus.
2. They didn't feel condemned by him, as they would have by a Pharisee, for example.
3. They didn't feel so ashamed that they wanted to hide.
4. He caught their interest, and gave them hope. Why else would they go near an evidently religious person? Someone who would never be a compatriot in their deeds or lifestyle?

Contrast this to how these same people would behave around a Pharisee or Sadducee. These men were the "elite" of the Jewish faith. Their desire was to be seen and acknowledged as the holiest, the most reverent men of their time. They were the ultimate in respectability.

Sinners and tax collectors would most likely cower in their shadows, if not hide outright if they were seen approaching. Not that the Pharisee would bother to notice them, of course, because such people were not worth his trouble. If he did notice the sinner, he'd most likely bestow a sneering glare of disdain before turning away.

Jesus felt differently.
Somehow, he communicated this.
He appealed to them.
He loved them.

Do you know a "tax collector or sinner?" Are you showing love towards that person?
Maybe you ARE that person.
If so, come near to Jesus. He promises to never turn away anyone who seeks him. Anyone.
He does love you--just the way you are!

Does He expect you to change? Not without his help!

That's good news, people.

If you have a minute, scroll down and let the first song on my music list speak to your heart.
("How Deep the Father's Love.")
Warmest blessings,

Linore

Our DRASTIC God

This morning as I gathered my equipment for my quiet time, (pen, notepad, Bible, devotional book), I suddenly realized that there are only two things that are essential for an effective time with the Lord. Two things.

1. ME (YOU)
2. GOD

The astounding thing about this simple realization is that there is never an excuse for anyone not to spend time with the Lord, at His feet, like Mary. We have ourselves (for better or worse); and God is always with us. No matter how busy we are, we can stop at any time and spend at least a few moments with the Savior. This is not an ideal way to expect change in your life, for that requires intention, purposeful listening, studying the Word. But, at its essence, you have yourself, and you can put yourself in a position to seek God. (ie., on your knees, or butt in chair.) Silence around you helps (immensely).

The thing is, some people seem to think that if God is real, (and worth my time) then He'll have to do something to prove it to me. Send a lightning bolt. Invade my mind forcibly, or do SOMETHING really drastic because they are just not convinced He is there, ready to hear them.

Let's review the facts: God has already DRASTICALLY, ONCE FOR ALL TIME, taken these steps:
1. He CREATED this huge, amazing, intricate, beautiful, unfathomable world. The earth and all that is in it is a drastic proof of His existence.
2. He ENTERED His creation in the most vulnerable way possible to experience it as we do--"in every way tempted"--He was born through a VIRGIN (how's that for drastic?), became a wriggling, wrinkled, squalling infant: Very man and very God! I mean, that's drastic, folks! [All you software developers and game creators, it's like you turning yourself into pages of code, a piece of software, so that you could enter the cyberworld as a genuine part of it--putting yourself in the midst of the rest of that code--smack dab in the middle of it--(sort of; there's no perfect analogy to this single, drastic action that God took, because it was SO singular, SO unprecendented, SO compassionate--SO gosh darn DRASTIC--that nothing can fully compare to it in all the world!]

3. This next drastic action requires a small story: The gospels tell of a rich man who daily walked past a poor beggar, paying him little heed. He was too busy with his successful business, thinking of ways to manage his wealth (think: investments, new bank accounts). (Luke 16:20-25)

When he dies suddenly and unexpectedly, and finds himself in a terrible, torturous place, he begs for the poor beggar (named Lazarus) who he sees (surprise!) in the "bosom of Abraham," a euphemism for heaven--to give him a drop of water to help his terrible thirst in that dry and hot place he is in; (thinks of his own needs first). Then, he begs Lazarus-- who is now the one in the enviable position--to return from the dead, go back to earth and to his brothers so that they won't end up in the same horrible place as he has.

This is perfectly understandable; having discovered that his whole life was wasted on erroneous principles of gain and pleasure, he doesn't want his brothers (who he KNOWS are doing the same thing) to end up with the same result. So again he calls to Lazarus the beggar to go and warn his brothers. If one returns from the dead, he says, they will listen! He thinks that returning from the dead would be so drastic that it will get the attention of his hedonist family.

But what does Lazarus tell him? For one thing, it's impossible for him to go back; he's receiving his reward, and there is no way to return to earth. Secondly, and this is the most interesting part, he points out that even if someone were to return from the dead, his family still wouldn't listen. Hmmm.
How does he know this?

He knows this because Jesus has already raised two people from the dead. The other Lazarus, from Bethany (a twist of irony, that this man, who WAS raised from the dead, DID go back, had the same name); And He raised the young man whose mother was weeping for him, an only child, and restored him to life. Did these resurrections make people listen? Some, but not most.

IF YOU RETURN FROM THE DEAD, the rich man says, THEY WILL BELIEVE.
Ahem.
Jesus returned from the dead. He is alive today. Millions of people all over the world attest to this, and I am one of them. He changed my life, and continues to change me as I submit to Him.

You want a God who does DRASTIC things to show you He is real?
You got it!
The question is what are you gonna do about it?

Jesus entered the world of his creation by becoming like you, and then dying for you (through the drastically cruel method of crucifixion) and was raised from the dead. He lives again. These facts, my friend, are drastic.

Now, what will you do with this man/God named Jesus?