Isaiah 9:6-7

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

Just a Blubbery Blurb

Around 3:45 this morning I violently jumped out of what I wished was a nice deep sleep.  I don't typically remember my dreams, a lot is going on in my life right now and I suppose my subconscious is telling to slow down a bit. 

Like I said, I don't usually remember my dreams, but when I do they are normally just silly, random dreams.  Not this morning though.  As I'm writing this, just over an hour ago I was ripped from sleep with the vivid images of my youngest son taking off on his bike really fast when a car turns the corner.  I see the car and yell "STOP!!!" And before his little bobbly helmet head could maneuver out of the way he was being slung up in the air, over the hood, and into the ditch.  

I'm still shaking.  I'm still drying my eyes.  I'm still trying to erase the images from my mind because I know they are not real.  I tend to overanalyze things so I'm refraining from turning to Google and explaining what this nightmare means.  Mainly because I already know what it means.  Ya see, just before I thrashed out from under my covers I saw myself drop to my knees and pray.  I didn't run to help my son.  I ran to God for help instead.  He would help my son.

I admit that I'm not sure how I would handle that situation in real life.  The thought of not running to my son is confusing, but the thought of knowing God was going to help us is comforting.

Now, maybe I can drift off to a more pleasant dream.  I've got a fun filled four day weekend ahead.  Until then...

by Jessica Dudley 

Let the SON Shine In

I love my house. I love keeping it clean. It is such a gift from God. We live in a 100 year old farm house that my great great grandfather built. I never could have imagined living here, and now that we do, I can't imagine living anywhere else. It's just perfect for us.
A few months ago I was cleaning in the kitchen. I had done all of the dishes. I had scrubbed all of the counter tops. I had vacuumed and washed the hardwood floor. It looked IMMACULATELY clean. I  stepped back to admire my hard work. It looked pretty good to me. That was until...I OPENED THE CURTAINS! It was an unusually nice day out, and I decided to open the curtains and let some sunshine in.  In that instant, my kitchen which looked so perfectly clean before, now looked....well, not so clean. As I opened the curtains to let the sunshine in, it revealed streaks on the floor, crumbs under the cabinets that I missed, and spots on the counter top that weren't quite cleaned off all the way. My first instinct was just to close the curtains and say "It looked good before." But, I didn't. I got back out my cleaning supplies and took care of the areas that the sunshine had revealed.
As I was cleaning, I was thinking. This is how my life becomes when the SON shines on it. I may think that I've got everything all under control. I'm reading my bible....almost every day. I'm going to church every Sunday. I'm teaching my kids about God. I'm sponsoring needy children in other countries. I'm giving money to the church. My life, to most people, probably looks like I'm a "good person." However, when the SON shines on my life, I realize the areas that I need to work on. I lose my temper too quickly with my kids and my husband. I am too quick to judge others. The list can go on and on some days.

But just as my kitchen needed that sunshine to reveal to me the spots that needed deeper cleaning, so do I need the SON to shine on my life and show me where I need to make changes to walk more closely with him. I want to be the kind of mother, wife, friend, sister, daughter and Christ follower that He wants me to be. And I can't do that if I'm not letting the SON shine into my life to show me the way.

Lisa Powell