It's the Black Friday Frenzy

I remember when I lived in Tulsa and on Thanksgiving night, I drove by our local Best Buy store. I just had to take this photo of people camped out already for the doors to open the next morning and then they could get their “deal”. No need to camp out this year -- stores opened at 6 pm on Thanksgiving night!

I read that, if today is like last year’s Black Friday, half of all Americans will be shopping this weekend. Aw – the blissful start to Christ’s birthday party. Hail holy consumerism! Rather, Hail Mary, full of grace and truth, and God, who got this holy birthday party started over 2,000 years ago.

The truth is this day and Advent that begins this Sunday starts the most wonderful time of the year that gives us the greatest opportunities to make a difference for Jesus. Yesterday, my Frisco family and I had a precious Thanksgiving Day filled with all the trimmings of an amazing feast and delicacies. We celebrated by sharing how grateful we are for our many blessings, played games, and took fun family photos!

My son and family always spend Thanksgiving Day in Muldrow, OK where Shawntel’s family lives and celebrates in grand style with Grandma and 60+ family members show up. I love that! Today they’ll join us here in Frisco for our traditional day-after-Thanksgiving feast of my Waikiki meatballs and all the trimmings. We won't be taking the time to join in the Black Friday frenzy. We'll still be savoring so many reasons for Thanksgiving.
The key to celebrating the coming holidays lies in the holiday we just concluded.

My son and family always spend Thanksgiving Day in Muldrow, OK where Shawntel’s family lives and celebrates in grand style with Grandma and 60+ family members show up. I love that! Today they’ll join us here in Frisco for our traditional day-after-Thanksgiving feast of my Waikiki meatballs and all the trimmings. We won't be taking the time to join in the Black Friday frenzy. We'll still be savoring so many reasons for Thanksgiving. The key to celebrating the coming holidays lies in the holiday we just concluded.

This Thanksgiving week, we’ve focused on God’s command to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). And here's what I want to leave with you this day after Thanksgiving. I don't see today as "Black Friday".. Every Friday is Good Friday and here is what I wish as we approach the most beautiful time of the year: That we stop to feel, smell, savor and acknowledge the precious gifts that God provides for us every single day. That we fully appreciate the blessings in our lives and not miss a moment. That we take them in and savor them in our senses as if we might lose them tomorrow. And thank our God for the gift of it all. I hope you embrace the moments, the season, the joys and the hopes that this beautiful season of Advent and Christmas brings -- like never before -- even if you enjoy "the hunt" during the Black Friday frenzy!

Is Jesus an Invited Guest at Your Table?

This day after Thanksgiving comes with relaxation for those that poured their hearts and souls into their grand Thanksgiving feast day – preparing for days, baking, cooking, cleaning up – with the best part that makes it all worth it, being so thankful to serve and embrace family time together. We had a special invited guest that joined our Frisco crew, a beautiful single mom that admitted she would be alone on Thanksgiving. Well, we weren’t about to let that happen, so this precious woman joined us. We held to our annual tradition as each one at the table shared what they were thankful for and I could almost see Jesus sitting with us at the table. Scripture says in Psalm 22:3 “God inhabits the praises of His people!” When we are thanking and praising our Lord, He takes a seat at the table with us.

The big day is past now, but I’m still basking in the joys of yesterday. Though Christmas is already in full swing with the hustle and bustle that Black Friday holds for so many, Black Friday will be glorious Friday for me as my Austin family will arrive (after having been with Shawntel’s family in Muldrow, OK) and we’ll have our “Good” Friday Thanksgiving together today. We’ll have more opportunities to give thanks and praises and welcome our Lord Jesus to the table with us.

Yesterday, my scripture reading was about Jesus weeping over Jerusalem because the people were missing Him so much. (Luke 19:41-42). He, their greatest gift, had been with them every day, talking with them, feeding them, teaching them, loving them. And they missed Him. They missed Him because He didn’t seem like anything or anyone special. He looked and talked like them. They didn’t fully understand (or agree with) what He said. Many knew Him from childhood. They knew who His parents were, where He grew up, and what He did for a living. Nothing special. Nothing impressive. Our Lord was among them and they didn’t notice Him.

And here’s a very important matter to consider: because every human person is created in the image and likeness of God, our Lord visits us in every human person we encounter. Every. Single. Person. Did you miss Him at your dinner table yesterday? You know, the one who served and waited on you after working for days on a meal that is consumed in a matter of minutes? Or did you miss Him in the one who sat at the table and might have been concerned and worried and couldn’t really get into the Thanksgiving conversation? Did you, by chance, get past “passing the sweet potatoes” to take a moment to put your arm around them because you saw Jesus in them. Oh, pray tell, you noticed Him. “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.” Matthew 25:35

The closer we get to Jesus, the more we’ll recognize Him in both strangers and those who eat at the table with us. The more of Jesus in us actually makes us more aware of His presence in other people. If we truly deeply care about others, as Jesus cared about others, we’ll pattern our lives after Him and He will help us see Him in others and respond to their existence with profound thankfulness (even those who are hardest to love).

Shouldn't it be Black Friday instead of GOOD Friday?

You know the feelings...you, or someone you love is hurting so much, and no one else seems to understand your pain. Maybe your closest family member just passed away, and it seems everywhere you look people are just fine -- they're laughing, they're carefree, they're going on with their busy lives, and you think, "How could life be going on when I hurt so much?"

I've been there, and I know how life can go on. It's because of this day. This is Good Friday, day that should be commemorated with thanksgiving, celebrations, and everywhere we looked were crosses adorned with neon lights, and music and bands playing and choirs singing -- and we'd see people paying homage and offering tributes about what this day means.

Good Friday -- It seems like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? How can anything GOOD come from an innocent, kind, good and loving man to be killed by an angry mob on this day? How can anyone celebrate Jesus’ death on the cross today? We can, because Jesus could have called 10,000 angels to save Him, but He didn’t. This good, good Man was willing to endure the cross for the sake of our salvation -- to pay all the debts of sin we owed. He embraced this fate because He loved us so much!

On this day, the most scandalous betrayal of justice in human history took place. Jesus wasn’t guilty of any crime or sin. After the illegal trials, this loving, giving, compassionate, caring, innocent Man was stripped and tied to a post. He was whipped and beaten -- too horrible to even imagine. He was betrayed by His friends, and spit on by countless people. He was forced to carry a wooden cross to Calvary where nails were driven through his wrists and ankles and He was left to die. He could have called ten thousand angels to his side, but He refused. Instead, He died there for you and me. He loved so we could LIVE!

HALLELUJAH! We can, and should celebrate this day that SAVED our lives….literally! THIS IS THE DAY Christ bore every sin we've ever committed, He carried every sickness we have ever had, and will have. He gave His life so that WE WOULD LIVE FOREVER and EVER! How could we be so distracted and be so oblivious to this DAY OF ALL DAYS? Never again, do we wonder if we are loved. God thought our eternal life was worth the death of His only Son. Now that's TRUE LOVE! GOOD FRIDAY! Oh, happy day! Now, let's strike up the band and shoot off the fireworks. This DAY is worth the grandest celebration -- this day marks our FREE PASS to heaven.

Remember Him on the cross today...praise Him...thank Him.... worship Him...and give Him your life today, because He gave Himself so completely for you! Then, be a part of the ultimate victory celebration when He arises on "Resurrection Sunday"!!! Good Friday really is so so GOOD!

On Your Mark -- Get Set...GO! It's Black Friday!! Let the Christmas Season Begin!

Thanksgiving day was everything I had hoped it would be -- worshiping God, hearing a beautiful message on "Instead of just Thanksgiving -- make it Thanks-Living" and then being able to serve blessed communion at church early morning. I headed home to go into hyper-speed mode to get the turkey cooking with all the fixin's for my family here in Frisco and my family coming in from Austin. It is so worth all the prep for the joys. This year I asked each family member to express their gratitude for one minute. Well, most of the adults couldn't keep to the one minute rule -- there's just too much to be thankful for. I loved the grandchildren and their precious words.

But today is the day AFTER Thanksgiving. Shopping is in full force this morning -- well, actually, it was in full force at 5 pm yesterday. Why is the day after Thanksgiving called "Black Friday"? I did a little research. Originally it was Black Friday because so many people went out to shop and it caused traffic accidents and sometimes even violence. The Philadelphia Police Department coined the phrase to describe the mayhem surrounding the congestion of pedestrian and auto traffic in the downtown area.

No wonder retailers wanted to make the name "Black Friday" mean something positive. So they did. They used the name to reflect their success. Accountants use black to signify profit when recording each day's book entries. Red is used to mean loss. Therefore, Black Friday means PROFITABLE FRIDAY to retailing and to the economy.

Now you know a little more about BLACK FRIDAY. Indeed, it seems a bit negative to me because I see it as the ending of thanksgiving and gratitude, and the beginning of bedlam, hustle and bustle and all the joy of this new joyful season getting lost in the midst of the chaos. Clearly, the Thanksgiving holiday is over for another year. Yes, we'll be watching out for Christmas sales now. After all -- Christmas is only one month away and in the words of John Wayne, "Slap some bacon on a biscuit and let's go! We're burnin' daylight!"

But, as I posted earlier this week, Thanksgiving doesn't have to end when Black Friday indicates the start of the Christmas season. Christmas is too big for just one day and Thanksgiving is too important to only be reserved for one day. Thank God that President Lincoln in 1863 signed a proclamation calling for "a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwells in the Heavens…..." And, I’ll take that one step further, one day is just not enough to offer enough thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God for his goodness and mercy to us. Just think, if we carried over Thanksgiving right into the Christmas season and if we purposely live with an “attitude of gratitude”, maybe those frenzied shoppers wouldn't bug us so much when they almost run us over to get that "special".

God tells us to "enter His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise" (Psalms 100:4). Gratitude is that gate and doorway to God’s joy and peace, and praise is the key to His presence. Being aware of His presence may just be the key to having one of the best Christmas seasons EVER. Instead of today being "Black Friday" to us.....we could turn it into a "Good Friday", that becomes the doorway to the beautiful season of Advent which begins this Sunday -- that sacred, focused and deliberate time when we ponder the coming of our Lord from His heavenly throne to earth to become one of us. It really was a time of HEAVEN ON EARTH. Unlike the innkeeper who said, "No room in the inn", may we cross over from the hustle, bustle, stress and mess that can accompany this season and do our best to make room for Him..May this Black Friday become a Good Friday to YOU today!

Shouldn't "Good Friday" be called "Black Friday"?

At first I thought "Black Friday" specials on "Good Friday" -- how dare they? But then I thought maybe Home Depot is on to something with their Black Friday specials.

After all, on this day, the most scandalous betrayal of justice in human history took place. Jesus wasn’t guilty of any crime or sin. After the illegal trials, this loving, compassionate, giving, caring, innocent man was stripped and tied to a post. He was whipped and beatened -- too horrible to even imagine. He was betrayed by His friends, and spit on by countless people, some of whom, just a few days before, treated Him as royalty as He entered the city. He was forced to carry a heavy wooden cross to Calvary where nails were driven through his wrists and ankles and He was left to die. And, bottom line, He could have called ten thousand angels to his side, but He refused. Instead, He died there for you and me.

What is this message? For us, to never again wonder if we are loved. God thought our eternal life was worth the death of His only Son. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, would never perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16) His GOOD Son, died for us on GOOD Friday. We, in so many ways, are the guilty ones that deserved to die in HIS place. Instead, He died in OUR place. NOW, we know why it's called "GOOD FRIDAY". He paid a debt He did not owe. He paid our debt.

Someone asked Jesus, "How much do You love me?" He answered, "This much," as He spread out his arms and died. This is a TRUE love story written with you and me in mind. Isn't that enough reason for us to slow down, literally put on the brakes, today, to remember and give thanks for this GOOD Friday when HE loved us -- TO INFINITY and BEYOND!
#GoodFriday

On Your Mark -- Get Set.......GO!

Shopping is in full force this morning -- well, actually, it was in full force at 5 pm yesterday. Seems "Black Friday" is no longer reserved for just Friday. In fact, I purchased an item several days ago that was advertised as a "Black Friday" sale. Clearly, the Thanksgiving holiday is done for another year. Yes, we'll be watching out for Christmas sales now. After all -- Christmas is only one month away.

But, as I posted earlier this week, Thanksgiving doesn't have to end when the Christmas season begins, Christmas is too big for just one day and Thanksgiving is too important to only be reserved for one day. Thank God that President Lincoln in 1863 signed a proclamation calling for "a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficient Father who dwells in the Heavens…..." We need our leaders to consistently remind us of being grateful. WE NEED to BE leaders that remind ourselves and others to be grateful. Gratitude is so good for us -- it makes us kinder, more patient and humble. And, I’ll take that one step farther, one day is just not enough to offer enough thanksgiving and praise to Almighty God for his goodness and mercy to us. Just think, if we carried over Thanksgiving right into the Christmas season and if we purposely live with an “attitude of gratitude”, maybe those frenzied shoppers wouldn't bug us when they almost run us over to get that "special".

God tells us to "enter His gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise" (Psalms 100:4). Gratitude is that gate and doorway to God’s joy and peace, and praise is the key to His presence. Being aware of His presence may just be the key to having one of the best Christmas seasons EVER. Instead of today being "Black Friday" to us.....we coud turn it into a "Good Friday", that becomes the doorway to that beautiful season of Advent which begins this Sunday -- that sacred, focused and deliberate time when we ponder the coming of our Lord from His heavenly throne to earth to become one of us. It really was a time of HEAVEN ON EARTH. Unlike the innkeeper who said, "No room in the inn", may we cross over from the hustle, bustle, stress and mess that can accompany this season and do our best to make room for Him.. And while we're at it, let's continue to make room for gratitude to God for His love that gave us the Reason for this Season -- the gift that keeps on giving -- our Heaven on Earth -- our Savior and our Lord! May this Black Friday.....become a Good Friday to YOU today!

Good Friday or Black Friday?

Shouldn't "Good Friday" be called "Black Friday"? After all, on this day, the most scandalous betrayal of justice in human history took place. Jesus wasn’t guilty of any crime or sin. After the illegal trials, this loving, compassionate, giving, caring, innocent Man was stripped and tied to a post. He was whipped and beatened -- too horrible to even imagine. He was betrayed by His friends,and spit on by countless people, some of whom, just a few days before, treated Him as royalty as He entered the city. He was forced to carry a heavy wooden cross to Calvary where nails were driven through his wrists and ankles and He was left to die. And, bottom line, He could have called ten thousand angels to his side, but He refused. Instead, He died there for you and me.

What is this message? For us, to never again wonder if we are loved. God thought our eternal life was worth the death of His only Son. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, would never perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16) His GOOD Son, died for us, Who, in so many ways, are the guilty ones that deserved to die in HIS place. Instead, He died in OUR place. NOW, we know why it's called "GOOD FRIDAY". He paid a debt He did not owe. He paid our debt.

Someone asked Jesus, "How much do You love me?" He answered, "This much," as He spread out his arms and died. This is a TRUE love story written with you and me in mind. Isn't that enough reason for us to slow down, literally put on the brakes, today, to REMEMBER and GIVE THANKS for this GOOD Friday when HE loved us -- TO INFINITY and BEYOND!

#GoodFriday

It's NESTING Time or is it BUY NOW and DO MORE Time?

Day 338 of Photo Inspirations -- It's NESTING Time or is it BUY NOW and DO MORE Time?
Oh my -- the holiday ads, promotions and marketing campaigns are amped up.   Everyday, the message is "buy now for best bargains", 50% off today only, deal of the day.  BUY -- BUY -- BUY!! There are banners outside stores, ads coming in the mail and tons of them coming through on social media.  It takes great willpower to NOT be drawn in.  After all, it's only 21 more days until Christmas!

On Thanksgiving Day, (my first photo inspiration for today), folks were camped out at our Best Buy since early hours, to get their "must have" merchandise when the store would open up for Black Friday sales.  It was so cold and raining out that day.  We pulled up beside a couple of guys and asked "What is it that you're waiting for?"  They responded "A  $450 TV for $150!"  I guess, for them, it was worth the wait to save $300.  And, I'll admit, yesterday, I was drawn into Michaels to save 50% (that day only) on an item I wanted.  Peer pressure -- rather, buying pressure.

Then there's the chatting on Facebook and Pinterest about really awesome decorations and craft items for Christmas -- so, once again, our reasoning is we need to do more to make this season just right.

Isn't there something we can do to stop the deafening sounds that separate  us from what this season is all about?

This is the most awesome season of Advent where tranquility is so needed -- to find that "nesting" place where we're awaiting the birth -- the coming of our Lord.  Don't we really want to push the MUTE button to separate ourselves from the crowds and busyness to enter into His stillness by taking some R&R (rest and relaxation) time to go find HIM in the secret place?

I'm a realist and I know we often don't have much choice but to stay on hyper-mode, but somewhere there must be a quiet little "nesting" spot we can find so we can pause for some silence when we can. It may mean we have to turn down the TV or the radio so we can hear God's still small voice.  It may be we practice God's presence even if it's just to read a short devotion or simply to whisper His name in a prayer.  Advent is about preparing for the Christ Child to arrive.  Maybe that means, like a Mama Bird preparing for the arrival of her babies, to sit and wait and breathe in peace and quiet and exhale the worries, the stress, the fears and concerns.  I promise, God is quite aware of all that's on our plates.  He totally gets us, but all the while....He's over in a quiet "nesting" spot just waiting for us to cozy up to Him for refreshing and restoration.

"Come to me, all of you who are weary and loaded down with burdens, and I will give you rest."  Matthew 11:28