Friday, December 19, 2008

No Cabin for a Bed





"And she brought forth her firstborn SON, and wrapped HIM in swaddling cloths, and laid HIM in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:7


Dear Friends,

Last week, Hannah Beth and I were blessed to spend the week up in Gatlinburg. Our friends, the Hembree's, invited our family to stay in the amazingly beautiful 3 story cabin they were renting. I know some of you must be thinking, every time you read these emails I'm in Gatlinburg...well, I have been blessed to go several times this fall, that's for sure. We ate at several really scrumptious restaurants we haven't eaten at before...and getting on the scales to weigh this morning reflected that...ugh, and we went to several shows we'd never seen like "The Miracle," a show about the life of JESUS, the Blackwood Brothers and "the Black Bear Jamboree." Hannah Beth ice skated with our friends up at Ober Gatlinburg and went to "Wonder Works," a "souped up" hands on science museum that had laser tag, rock climbing, and a bunch of other neat stuff. I made it to Dollywood, in my long johns, and warm clothes, and a rain coat, to see the beautiful CHRISTmas lights (the old white church decorated with hanging greens and white CHRISTmas lights was my favorite), ride the train through the cold, dark mountain, and shop a little, for an hour and a half before they closed due to ice and snow moving in. We shopped in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg where the streets were decorated with snowflakes going up and down the poles, and all decked out in ribbon and lights for CHRISTmas. We went in art stores I've never been in, but I sure was blessed by the artwork of JESUS and scenes from the Bible and nature scene. We hit a bunch of shops I've never been...honestly, they hit a bunch of stores, and i waited outside most of them, i had had my chemical fill from the cabin, and was trying to survive. We did manage to squeeze in a trip to Greenbrier Thursday morning in the rain. Greenbrier is one of the most peaceful and picturesque areas of the Smokies, with it's beautiful waterfalls, the highest one in the park is there, and I've never had the opportunity to hike up to it yet, hiking trails with the rhodenderon and mountain laurels blooming in the spring, and the Little Pigeon River running through it. Riding through there, getting out on the walking bridge and setting foot on the Ramsey Cascades trail, gave me my nature fix. It was just the therapy i needed...I'm not a shopper by nature, and was longing to get out in the woods all week. We saw kayakers taking advantage of the rapids in the Little Pigeon River and I sure did envy them playing in the water. We watched as the water billowed over the huge rocks like I've never seen before due to the torrential rain the LORD was blessing us with most of the week. The rain was a great blessing from the LORD, a couple of years ago we were there and the rivers were almost dried up due to the drought.

Before anyone might be tempted to get envious... I wanted to show you a side of my traveling that is not so glamorous, but it does draw me closer to the LORD, and causes me to lean on HIM while HE takes us to these wonderful places, and we get to be with dear friends. I was a bit apprehensive about this trip because when we travel, we usually stay where it's "semi-safe" for me if we can. What i mean by that is GOD has allowed my body to have a "detox" system that is missing a few genes, or they're damaged, and I don't process chemicals too well. We usually try to stay at a place that is not too smelly with fragrances, or not too new-formaldehyde, paints, etc, etc. etc...but that doesn't always happen and sometimes i just end up sleeping in the car, on the balcony, on the deck, porch, I've done them all. On this trip, our friends were gracious enough to invite us to stay in the beautiful, 3 story cabin that slept 36, on the ridge of a mountain just outside of Gatlinburg they rented for the week. It was absolutely gorgeous, the most beautiful cabin we've ever stayed in and I immediately thought of the different "LODGE's of LOVE" that I've been writing about the past few weeks as soon as we saw the place....wow.

When we walked inside the spacious living area with the huge fireplace (it had 3) and large kitchen and dining area on the first floor, i knew that i was in trouble...I could smell "new." I thought it was formaldehyde, but Mr. Hembree said he smelled the varnish on the logs, and they sure were shiny...and they were all over the place. They showed us around the cabin, which sure was more like a "Lodge" instead of "Little House on the Prairie." They took us downstairs where mine and HB's bedroom was...it had two large bunk beds made out of logs, and a double or queen size bed, and a love seat all in the bedroom. Our bathroom adjoined Emily Hembree's bathroom and it was really nice...but i knew i was going to have trouble staying in there. At first i thought i might try staying in Emily's room, they were so gracious to offer whatever i needed. Her room had a door to the outside, but i knew i wasn't going to be able to stay in there to sleep...it was just to "new." We got settled in and i opened a window in the bedroom and that really helped a ton. When it got to be bedtime, I did what I've often done on our "road trips," and i left the family inside, and bedded down in my sleeping bag in my car. It was very comfortable, on my middle seat, and thankfully it wasn't cold...that's what i was afraid of. One year we stayed in Gatlinburg during Dec. celebrating Hannah Beth's 13 birthday and we were staying in our camper that we no longer have:). I couldn't sleep inside the camper, (the heater was putting out a bunch of dust), and I slept outside in the van in 15 degree weather...and about froze to death. Thankfully, i slept pretty well that first night, and enjoyed the coziness of my car and spending time with the LORD reading my Bible and praying early the next morning. After getting up and getting ready for the day, we hung out inside the den are...with the door opened, and visited, and the kids played their guitars, and i pecked around on my mandolin, while Linda Hembree played the keyboard...they all are the true musicians while i struggle to play simply by ear. It was a lot of fun playing "Away in a Manger," "How Deep the Father's Love for Us," and some other tunes...but it wasn't too wise on my part to hang out inside. Later on, we went to eat lunch,seems like we were always eating or going to eat, and then walked around a little shopping area and looked at the really neat artwork I told you about earlier. That evening is when we went to see the show "The Miracle." We had a little bit of trouble managing our time...and were only 30 minutes late, after eating pizza up in Gatlinburg...we just missed the live animals for the nativity scene...no big deal:). It was really a good show, and i highly recommend it, and all the shows we went to...JESUS was truly lifted up in each one.

After the show, it was getting late, 10:00p.m. their time, I decided to go and sauna ( to get the chemicals out of me) where i usually do when we stay in Gatlinburg, and Hannah Beth rode home with the Hembree's. Where i sauna is on the mountain behind the main drag in Gatlinburg and you drive up Ski Mountain Rd to get there. Pretty curvy, but not too bad of a drive. I sauna at Highland Condominium's inside by their pool and the view of the mountains is gorgeous from there. They gave me permission years ago, so i just go in do my thing, and I'm out of there... it's really nice during the day, with the beautiful view, but this night it was dark, it was late, after 11:00 a.m. and when i got through saunaing and taking a shower, it was beginning to rain. I called HB to let her know i was leaving cause i didn't want them to be worried. Her voice mail answered and i left a message. As i started driving back down the mountain, it started dawning on me that i wasn't exactly sure how to get back to the cabin we were staying in...i had only driven there once or twice before, once at night, and once that day, and i was always following someone else. As i drove through the streets of Gatlinburg, and headed out Hwy 321 toward the cabin, i started praying, " LORD please help me find the little road sign that showed me where to turn off," and thankfully HE did. That was one hurdle...the cabin we were staying in was about a mile and a quarter up the mountain, and it sure was dark and curvy and i was driving slowly through the misting rain. I did pretty well until i got further on up, and it started looking unfamiliar. I backed up and decided to turn up "Antler Ridge Road" or something like that and it didn't look familiar in the dark...but it did look narrow, and it did look curvy, and it did look high up on the edge of that ridge. My "fear of heights," started kicking in and i started getting a little panicky. I was praying, "Hannah Beth, please answer the phone, cause i was lost, it was dark, and i had no way of finding them if she didn't answer her phone except to hunt and peck...and pray. I dialed her number and thank the LORD, she answered! Five minutes before that, Linda Hembree had suggested to Hannah Beth to keep her phone nearby just in case i called and thank the LORD HE was taking care of me. HE always does, sometimes i just have a little doubt:). HB put Josh, the Hembree's son, on the phone, and he started trying to tell me what to do...though he wasn't sure where i was, it was just comforting to hear their voices on the other end. As Josh held on and i got turned around off that narrow mountain road, and started easing back down, the phone started beeping and the battery was running out..for a brief moment i thought, "Oh no," and about that time, i turned on the road that led to our cabin, and it wasn't long before i was pulling into that big "LODGE of LOVE." I have never been so glad to be back to a "new" smelly place with familiar faces in my life. It was really scary out there in the dark, rainy night, on a mountain ridge by myself-well, me and the LORD:)...and i was so thankful to be back. The kids were up watching a movie with Josh's grandparent's, and it was past midnight when i got home. I was so glad to see them all...and I told Hannah Beth not to ever repeat that dumb thing her Mom had just done staying out that late and not knowing the way back. I was so thankful to be back, even if it was for a brief time, and i returned to my car, very gratefully to sleep for the night. That night it rained, and it rained, and it rained hard (i was so thankful it wasn't raining that hard when i was lost) and the wind blew hard. I could just see the cabin, and then my car just washing right off the side of the mountain. Thankfully it didn't, and the next morning i asked if they'd heard the wind blowing and the rain falling during the night. They didn't hear it inside the warm and cozy cabin where they all slept , but i sure had outside in my car. That's okay, it was GOD's place for me, and HE had kept me safe, inside my car, where HE dwelt with me.

As i thought about the events of last week, and what i was going to write this week, i started thinking about Mary and Joseph and there being no room in the inn for Mary to birth our Savior...and they had to manage outside in a dirty, smelly stable...I'm sure there was probably cow manure and all that good stuff that goes with animals...don't ever see that in the CHRISTmas stories. I wonder if Mary and Joseph ever felt sorry for themselves...i don't know. I kind of felt sorry for myself not being able to sleep inside that wonderful cabin and hang out more with the Hembree's and their parents and my daughter. But GOD had a different place for me at night and in the early morning,to be alone with HIM as HE, my "LODGE of LOVE," dwells inside of me. HE and i sure had some sweet time alone in that car, sitting in front of that big old cabin, with the rain pouring down. In fact, as I've shared before, my car has become a refuge for me, HE is our Refuge, from things that make me sick, so my body can rest from the chemicals and i can be recharged for the next day...sort of:). It's also a time that as much as I'd like to be fellowshipping with the folks inside, JESUS calls me aside to be alone with HIM and spend time with HIM in the quietness of my car.

As i was thinking about what to write, my favorite CHRISTmas story that I used to read to my kids when they weren't 17 and almost 19, came to mind, called "The Crippled Lamb." I've always loved that little made up story about the Crippled Lamb who couldn't keep up with other sheep when they followed the shepherd to greener pastures, and had to stay behind at the stable. He felt sorry for himself because he had to stay behind, but that very night, Baby JESUS was born in the stable, and the "Crippled Lamb" kept baby JESUS warm by snuggling up to HIM. Yes, it's a made up story, don't recall that being in Scripture, but the thought of it has been very true for my life as well as countless others. I am the "Crippled Lamb," and i often am not able to keep up and do the things that other folks do, like staying inside new cabins, shopping a bunch, or even hanging out in the wilderness for long periods of time, because of my "thorn." But, as CHRIST as shown me time and time again, including when i slept in the car in Gatlinburg, this is the time, that I can snuggle up to HIM, and HE to me, and I get to know HIM more dearly. I wouldn't trade that for being able to stay inside a "new" cabin or anything else. I had some really sweet time with the LORD out there in my car in the mornings as i waited for the rest of the family to arise, and even during the middle of the night when i couldn't sleep. One night the LORD woke me up, and there was the moon, not completely full, peeking down at me through the window of my car. Granted it wasn't too glamorous staying in the car when i had to get up and go "potty" with it pouring down rain, twice in the same night, but then i don't imagine the CHRISTmas story was as glamorous as we make it out to be either when we sing "Away in a Manger," or act out the CHRISTmas story such as in the play "The Miracle."

As i was thinking about what to write, and i thought about this long and hard...i hated being lost out in the dark rainy night, on a narrow curvy road, with the thought of not being able to communicate with anyone...not a good feeling. What a blessing it was when Hannah Beth answered that phone, and even though she couldn't tell me how to get back( Josh could have if i had to start all over), it was so comforting to have someone on the other end of that phone to talk to...it was scary being lost, and not knowing which way to go. I was so relieved when GOD brought that huge cabin in my view...it truly was like a "city set on a hillside for all to see," and i was so thankful to be brought safely home to the "Lodge of Love." Matthew 5:14 says, "You are the light of the world, a city set on a hillside cannot be hid." You know, i thought once again, about those who are outside of CHRIST, our "Lodge of Love," and they are walking around, driving around in the dark, "running a 100 miles an hour in the wrong direction," and they are lost, dying, and on their way to an eternity in Hell. You and I are the "city set on a hillside," to share CHRIST's love with them, and tell them the good news that CHRIST came into the world, died for our sins and rose from the dead and "Whosoever believes in HIM shall not perish but have everlasting life"John 3:16. And the very next verse is, "For GOD did not send HIS SON into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through HIM might be saved." We have the privilege of being used by CHRIST to point others to HIM, the LODGE of LOVE, and bring them safely in from the danger of the dark, lonely, and cold night of sin.

We also have the privilege of encouraging our brothers and sisters in CHRIST, who are in the "dark night of their soul," and just be there for them...like Josh and Hannah Beth were for me. We may not have the perfect words to say, but just being there and showing others that we love them, care for them, and are praying for them, helps them walk through those dark, curvy mountain roads, and make it safely to the "Lodge of Love," CHRIST HIMSELF, who alone can comfort, and give peace and be their "All in All."

I know I've shared some of these same things just recently but CHRIST keeps taking me back to the "Lodge of Love." Even as i lay inside my car and thought of that huge "Lodge of Love" right there in front of me, and all of those rooms filled with all that a person could ask for to make them comfortable and i couldn't enjoy them:), i thought of those rooms in our "LODGE of LOVE," CHRIST JESUS, and how they are filled with the treasures of HIMSELF, "WONDERFUL, COUNSELOR, MIGHTY GOD, EVERLASTING FATHER, PRINCE of PEACE," - everything and more we will ever need or want for now and all of eternity. I can enjoy HIM wherever i am, whether it's in my car, a luxurious mountain cabin, or a hot sauna late at night on a curvy mountain road... but HE's not just for me to enjoy or use or have a relationship with HIM, He wants to use me and you to share HIM with others, through the gospel and through HIS love, that others might believe in HIM, repent of their sins, and JESUS CHRIST might come and dwell inside their hearts.

A dear friend of mind sent me a video earlier this week of a young man that is definitely crippled from birth, but CHRIST is shining through his weakness, and dwells in that young man's heart. I'm sure his "thorn" has been the very thing GOD has used to draw that young man closer to HIMSELF and reveal HIMself to him and through him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MslbhDZoniY


After watching it, i started thinking about the story of the Crippled Lamb. We all have something that GOD uses to draw us closer to HIM and with me it just happens to be my health issues, with you it may be something else...it may be the loss of a dear loved one, a broken relationship, the loss of your job, loss of health, loss of your home, struggling in your marriage, issues with family members or co-workers. Whatever it is...CHRIST wants to use it in our lives to draw us to HIM, to actually help us "Come Let Us Adore HIM," in a way that we can't when we have no struggles. HE who comes to "dwell in us," "the HOPE of GLORY", uses our adversity, our difficult times to show HIS dear love to us and reveal HIMself through us- these "weak vessels," "clay pots," to lead others to HIM...the SAVIOR of the WORLD.

You may have some things in your life like i do mine, that aren't "picture" perfect this CHRISTmas, but so did JESUS and his parents. I can relate to that line in "Away in a Manger," where it says, "no crib for a bed." I had "no cabin for a bed," but i sure am thankful for a car where i was able to sleep comfortably. Not what most folks picture when they go to Gatlinburg to spend a cozy time in the mountains. GOD is teaching me to be thankful for the places HE leads me, dwells in me, and reveals HIMself to me... places that this Crippled Lamb can snuggle up to my JESUS and experience HIS wonderful love to me, any time and any place.

The last night of our trip to Gatlinburg, it snowed up on the mountain, and from the pictures our friends sent us, it was beautiful up there at the cabin. HB and I missed the snow, my body had stood all it would from the beautiful "new" cabin, and we stayed in a "safer" motel for me the last night down in Pigeon Forge. Oh well, another picture of things not being so perfect, but i sure was thankful to get a good night's rest, with the balcony door opened in my room. Poor HB, I about froze her to death...i accidentally turned the heat off, and with the door open and temps in the low 30's, she got really cold. We hated we missed the snow up on the mountain, but the next morning, we enjoyed our tradition of eating at the Pancake Pantry there in Gatlinburg where i enjoy eating the buckwheat pancakes, and HB had an omelet i believe. After a quick breakfast, we had to get back that afternoon for HB's dance recital practice, we drove home through the mountains, along the rolling, cascading river, and saw the beautiful snow in the trees and higher elevations along the winding road that leads to Townsend. GOD is sooo good!

You, my dear friends and family, who take time out of your busy lives to read these emails and so often encourage me are such a blessing to my heart. I thank GOD for you all this CHRISTmas season. Thank you for honoring me, for encouraging me, and praying for me and my family ...and i do pray these emails will be a blessing to you in some way. I love you and pray that you and your dear family will have a wonderful CHRISTmas celebrating our dear SAVIOR's birth and love for us.

Merry CHRISTmas,
mitzi



"Away in a Manger"

The video below is not "picture perfect"- there are several pauses. But if you'll stay with this video of Kelly Nelon, her daughter, Amber, and the Bill Gaither Homecoming choir, JESUS CHRIST, our "HOPE of GLORY," will shine through the "imperfections," just as HE does in our lives. I hope and pray you heart will be blessed as mine was as i watched the video of "Away in a Manger."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL6cn97LEhs&feature=related


" The manger is a symbol of what can happen when JESUS CHRIST resides inside us. The ordinary suddenly becomes extraordinary."
-Billy Hybels

Friday, December 5, 2008

JESUS CHRIST our LODGE of LOVE

"He satifies the longing soul and the hungry soul HE fills with good things." " I am the BREAD of LIFE, whoever comes to ME shall not hunger and whoever believes in ME shall not thirst." Psalm 107:9, John 6:35

Dear Friends,

Earlier this week, I decided to decorate for CHRISTmas...it was a picture perfect night like you read about in a storybook. My husband was at work, Hannah Beth was busy talking on the phone, emailing her friends, folding clothes and feeling sick...she went to bed at 8:00 p.m. My son was studying for finals in his bedroom, working on a project for school, and me, well, I was in the mood to decorate for CHRISTmas after supper. I went out to the garage and started bringing in the large plastic bins that store our decorations. We used to store them in the attic, but I kept getting really mad when we decorated. I caught on that the insulation on the decorations was making me really irritable and was really "dampening" our CHRISTmas spirit when I yelled at folks. So we store them in the garage now in plastic bins and that seems to work much better...no more yelling while decorating for CHRISTmas:). I put on some music, not CHRISTmas music, but Kim Greene Hopper's new CD I got last week, "I Just Want YOU to Know" on HB's CD player...and started putting out CHRISTmas decorations. I got our little tree out of the box that lights up, it's one of those fiber optic trees that we've been using for years now, about 2 1/2 feet tall. I'm allergic to the real ones and newer ones (one CHRISTmas we had to put our decorated tree was out on the back porch where we looked at it through the window. Another year, we had a live one on the front porch in a big five gallon bucket with big colored lights wrapped around it-the family loved that one:). I cleared off the round glass coffee table, trying to figure out what to do with all the stuff that usually stays on it, put a pretty off white table cloth over it, and set up the "Snow Babies" ice rink my Mother-in-law gave us several years ago. It still works, though it was a little slow getting going. The little Eskimo kayaking figurine (my favorite piece) started "paddling" on the "frozen pond-bet that's some tough paddling through the ice:). The pond is actually plastic with a magnet underneath going round and round, and alongside the kayaker were some other little skaters going around the "pond." I set up the collection of snow babies around the ice rink, and put out a large white ceramic church on the wooden antique table against the wall. After that, I decided to go back and look in our cedar closet in our bedroom for the CHRISTmas ornaments. We don't store them in the garage because they might melt. Ughh what a mess that closet was with gifts and gift wrapping paper, bows, boxes, and other stuff all over the place. I had to pull all that out before I could get to the box of ornaments in the back of the closet...and that mess took a while to clean up. While I was in the closet, I saw two of my favorite CHRISTmas pictures that we put up every year...one was a picture of a church out in the country, all lit up, with snow all around, and the folks walking up to it and coming in sleds. I always think of "Oh Come All Ye Faithful," when I see that picture...such a "perfect "CHRISTmas scene. We've had that picture every since Johnny's seminary days, and we lived in Ft. Worth... It was given to us at a CHRISTmas party one night at the little church Johnny was serving in at the time, and brings back really good memories. This was before I got sick and life suddenly became less than perfect...in fact, it became downright very difficult at times,for long periods of times. The other picture is a picture of the manger scene, with Mary, Joseph, Baby JESUS, the cows, hay, donkey, and the wise men (not completely accurate since JESUS was older by the time the wise men brought gifts to HIM) bringing gifts to the baby JESUS. I got that picture out from the back of the closet, climbed over the mess on the floor and put it up on the wall. That was about it for my decorating that evening. By the time I got through cleaning the closet out...it was bedtime. Like I said a "picture perfect" night of CHRISTmas decorating:).

Last week, I told you about my friend Bebe Williams', "Lodge of Love." It was an extremely nice and big house, on a mountain, filled with the love of CHRIST that flowed through Bebe and her husband Larry. I wrote about how that big home filled with love reminded me of HEAVEN and how heaven is a "Lodge of Love." Those who have accepted CHRIST as their LORD and SAVIOR will spend eternity in the loving presence of our LORD JESUS and with our loved ones and folks we don't love now but will who have gone on before us. I also wrote about how CHRIST wants our hearts to be a "Lodge of Love," that He can flow through to reach others for HIM and love one another deeply. The next day after I wrote that, it's like a light bulb went off inside me as I was having my morning devotions and JESUS whispered to me, "I am YOUR LODGE OF LOVE." I thought, ooh, that is so true, and I felt like I had gotten the cart before the horse writing about the other "Lodge's of Love," last week. But GOD's timing is perfect, and HE takes our imperfections, and mess ups and works them for good. As I looked at that picture of the manger scene this morning during my prayer time, I thought about JESUS CHRIST being our LODGE of LOVE, and how very imperfect the LODGE was that HE came to be born in...some type of shelter for the animals and it may have even been a cave...not the "picture perfect," CHRISTmas we try to create each year.

I have written about this before at CHRISTmas, how thankful I am that the perfect JESUS did not come in perfect circumstances, to a perfect "Lodge," but in fact HE left HIS glorious "LODGE" in heaven, and was born to two very poor parents, in a really poor "lodge," a place where the animals were kept. I've been around a lot of stables and barns and they are usually pretty darn stinky. When Mary and Joseph went to sacrifice at the temple they offered the sacrifice of the poor... pigeons or turtledoves. Isn't it amazing that JESUS CHRIST, the KING of KINGS, and LORD of LORDs, who could have been born anywhere, to anyone, in the design of GOD's plan chose to "LODGE" in that stinky place, in their poor home? HIS Love brings me, exceeding joy as I think, of how JESUS HIMSELF, the LODGE OF LOVE, chooses to come and "Lodge" in my stinky heart, filthy with sin, cleanse me with HIS precious blood, and make it HIS dwelling place...that is amazing love. It is amazing love, that HE left HIS "LODGE OF LOVE" to come and be born in a simple "Lodge of Love," a stable, to common, poverty parents, live a common life and die a most humiliating death,falsely accused, beaten to a pulp, hung naked on a wooden cross, and drove stakes through HIS hands and feet for you and me. HE did all this because, "GOD so loved the world that HE gave HIS only begotten SON that whosoever believes in HIM shall not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

You know, my life, like yours is not perfect, and there are some very difficult trials along the way. The older I get, the more I realize and understand what a dear gift is ours in our "LODGE of LOVE" our LORD JESUS CHRIST. HE has brought me through so many difficult health issues through the years, and how I thank HIM and praise HIM, my GREAT PHYSICIAN for teaching me to learn to trust HIM through my health problems...and teaching me to love HIM. It has been a gradual process, learning to realize how much CHRIST my "LODGE of LOVE," loves me. I can look back and see it has been through the very difficult times, that HE has revealed HIMSELF so tenderly to me. and been that "LODGE of LOVE" to me in every circumstance. In HIS "LODGE," HE has sheltered me in HIS arms through every storm, HE has enriched me with knowledge, blessed me with friendship, provided all my needs and most especially, blessed me with HIMself, as my 'LODGE of Love " in the dark nights of my soul.
Even in the death of our dear loved ones, CHRIST our 'LODGE of LOVE," binds our soul with theirs, ours as we dwell in HIM here, and them as they dwell with HIM there...we continued to be bound together by HIS sweet love. The longer HE walks with me and I with HIM, the more I realize that this KING who has "stolen my heart," and come to "LODGE" in me, truly is my "LODGE of LOVE," both now and forever.

"E'en for the dead I will not bind my soul to grief;
Death cannot long divide,
For is it not as thought the rose that climbed my garden wall
Has blossomed on the other side?
Death doth hide, but not divide
Thou art but on CHRIST's other side!
Thou art with CHRIST, and CHRIST with me;
In CHRIST united still are we.
-Streams in the Desert, Dec. 3

Earlier this year, I shared about a broken heart that I incurred through a relationship that I very much desired, but GOD shut the door. In the course of my broken heartedness, I have never known the love of CHRIST in the intensity that I did right after that happened. HE ran to me in the Scripture that I read, the hymns I sang, the friends and family that showered me with HIS love and encouraged me. HE truly showed me what a comfort HE is and how my heart was gradually healed in HIS "LODGE of LOVE." Although the pain was very real and hurt very deeply, it makes me not afraid to suffer the next time, because of the preciousness of HIS presence HE poured out on me during that time...and how thankful I am to say, that HE is giving me my heart's desire and growing that relationship that my heart so very much longed for...HE is our Promise Keeper..."Delight yourself in the LORD, and HE will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

HE is teaching me that HE is my 'LODGE of LOVE," each and every day, not just when the trials come, but in all times. Every day HE is my HUSBAND, the Lover of my Soul, my "Bread of Life," and HE feeds me with HIS Word, leads and guides and teaches me with HIS HOLY SPIRIT, and provides all my needs in CHRIST JESUS. HE is my Bright and Morning Star and brightens my path, HE is my Counselor, and a Friend that sticketh closer than a brother. HE is my Deliverer, Rock, Refuge and Strong Tower, and what a comfort that is when the enemy assails us, and falsely accuses us. Our LODGE of LOVE runs to us, to rescue us and deliver us. HE is Emmanuel, GOD with us, and how I thank HIM for choosing to "Lodge" in our hearts, the Eternal Lodge of Love. He is a Friend of Sinners, and how thankful I am of that...that HE loves me in my imperfections and sin, and puts up with "my silly heart and bad manners," as Charles Spurgeon puts it. HE is my GOOD SHEPHERD, and HE leads and guides me, ever providing HIS "LODGE of LOVE" to surround me with HIS grace. HE is the great, "I Am," everything that we need HIM to be in every situation...HE is our LAMB, LIGHT of the WORLD, LIVING BREAD and MESSIAH, our GREAT PHYSICIAN, PRINCE of PEACE, ROCK, TEACHER, TRUTH, WAY, WONDERFUL and WORD, and in HIS LODGE "are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." JESUS CHRIST, our "LODGE of LOVE," who chooses to "Lodge" in the hearts of all those who accept HIM as LORD and SAVIOR is all this and more...what a "LODGE OF LOVE," is ours in CHRIST JESUS our LORD!

There is that matter of making room in our hearts and accepting CHRIST as our LORD and SAVIOR before JESUS can become our LODGE of LOVE. JESUS cannot come and dwell in a heart that is full of itself. We must be empty of our pride and our independence and our "good works," and confess our sins before HIM, before HE can give us a new heart and a new spirit and come and "Lodge" inside us. Oswald Chambers shared in his Nov. 28th writing "The Bounty of the Destitute:"






THE BOUNTY OF THE DESTITUTE



"Being justified freely by His grace. . ." Romans 3:24

The Gospel of the grace of God awakens an intense longing in human souls and an equally intense resentment, because the revelation which it brings is not palatable. There is a certain pride in man that will give and give, but to come and accept is another thing. I will give my life to martyrdom, I will give myself in consecration, I will do anything, but do not humiliate me to the level of the most hell-deserving sinner and tell me that all I have to do is to accept the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

We have to realize that we cannot earn or win anything from God; we must either receive it as a gift or do without it. The greatest blessing spiritually is the knowledge that we are destitute; until we get there Our Lord is powerless. He can do nothing for us if we think we are sufficient of ourselves, we have to enter into His Kingdom through the door of destitution. As long as we are rich, possessed of anything in the way of pride or independence, God cannot do anything for us. It is only when we get hungry spiritually that we receive the Holy Spirit. The gift of the essential nature of God is made effectual in us by the Holy Spirit, He imparts to us the quickening life of Jesus, which puts "the beyond" within, and immediately "the beyond" has come within, it rises up to "the above," and we are lifted into the domain where Jesus lives. (John 3:5.)



Truly, our LODGE of LOVE, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, offers a "bountiful supply" for those who are destitute and empty of themselves...and through HIS LODGE of LOVE, "... has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in CHRIST. For HE chose us in HIM before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in HIS sight. In love, HE predestined us to be adopted as HIS sons through JESUS CHRIST, in accordance with HIS pleasure and will-to the praise of HIS glorious grace, which HE has freely given us in the One he loves. In HIM we have redemption through HIS blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of GOD's grace that HE lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And HE made known to us the mystery of HIS will according to HIS good pleasure, which HE purposed in CHRIST."Ephesians 1:3-9

On that new not CHRISTmas CD I mentioned up above, Kim Greene Hopper (sister to Tim and Tony Greene) sings a beautiful song of praise to our "LODGE of LOVE" telling HIM how much she loves HIM. HE yearns for us to return HIS love, and come and abide in HIS "LODGE OF LOVE," enjoying the warmth and comfort and peace of all HIS abounding gifts. which HE lavishes upon HIS children. HE teaches us to love HIM, in HIS LODGE, and tells us to diligently teach our children to love HIM, and new believers to love HIM, "with all of our hearts, all our soul, all of our mind and all of our strength."

Well, Hannah Beth and I put the ornaments on the tree last night, and put the wreath above the mantle with the little white lights on it, between texting and phone calls, and face book (it's a lot different decorating with teenagers than when they were little, and I did my share of emailing too while we were decorating:)... with Amy Grant singing Christmas music. We still haven't finished decorating, the plastics bins are outside the door on the porch, but as I put the old Advent ornaments on the little CHRISTmas tree in our "Joy" room, I was reminded again of JESUS being my "LODGE of LOVE." We made those ornaments when the kids were little out of red felt, gold glue, and different pictures on them for the names of JESUS. As I put those ornaments on that little tree going round and round, there was a little picture of a gift, for JESUS being the Greatest Gift, and a picture of Mary, for the Virgin Birth, a Shepherd's Crook, for HE is our Shepherd, a picture of the stars and universe- HE is our Creator, and the Creator of the Universe, a picture of a Candle, for HE is the LIGHT of the WORLD, and I picture of a Lamb, the Lamb of GOD, who takes away the sin of the world, and my sin. Truly, HE is our LODGE of LOVE, and in HIS LODGE are many rooms, filled with the fullness of HIS love. In each room, in HIS LODGE, we find CHRIST for whatever our needs may be. I am learning things rarely go "picture perfect" in our lives...just at those little simple ornaments aren't perfect, and neither are our decorating skills. But I am so thankful that our CHRISTmas decorations and gifts are not what CHRISTmas is all about...but it is about JESUS CHRIST, our "LODGE of LOVE," being the greatest and perfect GIFT of all. "Thanks be to GOD for HIS indescribable GIFT 2 Cor. 9:15...our LORD JESUS CHRIST. Kim Hopper shares it best when she sings, "My love for You is overflowing JESUS...and I just wanted You to know."

With all HIS love,

mitzi



"I Just Wanted YOU to Know" by Kyla Rowland

Where there is fear, LORD You will hide me
When winds of danger around me blow
I feel Your arms of grace surround me
And I just wanted You to know

There's strength in knowing You are near me
And peace that You alone bestow
I love you more today than ever
And I just wanted You to know.

You make dry ground where once were oceans
Where once were mountains You make them low
Where there were stones now there is water
You satisfy my thirsty soul.

There's strength in knowing You are near me
And peace that You alone bestow
I love you more today than ever
And I just wanted You to know.

For all the time, I've seen Your glory
And watched You conquer my every foe,
My love for You is overflowing,
And I just wanted,
Oh LORD I needed
My heart is longing for You to know.