December 1, 2020

Dear Friends,

As I write this December newsletter, I am waiting with anticipation for the glorious celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior! Everything about this season gives us reason to hope as we put up our Christmas trees and hang  garland and wreaths, light candles and watch the twinkling lights. It’s all done in celebration of the King of Kings. He is the twinkle that we see in the lights, the shimmering glow of candles throughout our homes, the gifts under the tree, the garland and wreaths. The round shape of the Christmas wreath is reminiscent of the circle, which symbolizes eternity; an emblem of our everlasting God.

As believers, the Christmas story is the foundation of our faith; the birth of Jesus Christ. It is the beginning of the life and story of Jesus our Messiah, born to a virgin in a lowly stable. The stars lit up the night sky and paved the way through the darkness for people to come see him, pay tribute and worship the newborn king.  And so it is that the Savior of the world was born in a manger, no crib for a bed to a virgin named Mary.

I have a feeling that right now, right where we are–in the midst of a worldwide pandemic and the troubles of mankind, we could all stand to hear the story of the Messiah and the hope that He brings to the world.I have included it for you, here: The Christmas Story Read Aloud

If you want to learn just a bit more about Jesus, the Bible shows us that as a child, Jesus was drawn to the temple to worship His Father in Heaven. Traveling on a pilgrimage with his parents, He disappeared in Jerusalem. After frantically searching for the boy, this is what happened:

“Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.  And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem; and Joseph and his mother knew not of it. But they, supposing him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey; and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.  And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him. And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers. And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?  And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” Luke 2:41-52 KJV

I could go on and on sharing with you the stories of the life of Jesus, as I find them so fascinating! Wishing you all the beauty and wonder of Christmas! I pray that you are all safe, healthy and filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit. Pray continually. Be kind and speak words of hope and life over yourselves and others. Know that this too shall pass and that in due time, we will be beyond this pandemic. I am looking forward to gathering with, hugging, laughing  and breaking bread with our extended families. We are planning a reunion weekend at our house with a celebratory date yet to be determined. Keep hope alive in your hearts, sweet friends.

If you are looking for something to keep your mind focused on Jesus or a new study to start after New Years, or a gift for a friend or loved one, here is a link to my new workbook on Amazon, (where shipping is free with a Prime account). Otherwise, you can order it from my website.

Sending you all of my love,

Mary

11/01/2020

Dear Friends,

As we enter into November, we have so much ahead of us in the near future. I write this letter to you just before the presidential election and although we do not yet know the results of this election, we can be sure that this has been a year which has challenged the world more than ever. We are all in need of healing-spiritually, emotionally, financially, socially and physically. My prayer is that at the other side of enduring the hardship of this season in our lives and history, it will have made us kinder, gentler, more compassionate individuals.

We must do our part in caring for ourselves and our neighbors by voting, being kind to all, more tolerant of differences, listening well and praying for the best possible outcome in all situations. Are you a person of prayer? If so, the harvest is plenty!

We have all been through so much in 2020! If you are like me, it is taking a toll. Please consider the well-being of the collective whole and wear your mask to protect yourself and others. Care for yourself by being cautious and steadfast in prayer, knowing that we are not out of the woods with this pandemic. Not a single one of us are immune from this potentially deadly virus, making us ALL vulnerable. As we care for ourselves, we care for others by doing all that we can to stay healthy and safe. As we watch the news or read headlines, it presents each of us with the ongoing trauma of lives lost. This may make you feel afraid or powerless, but together, we can respond to those feelings by nurturing a love for others and a social responsibility toward the world around us. As we assume this responsibility, we will feel an increased sense of the things which we CAN control. All of this being said with love, compassion and a deep sense of concern for the welfare of the collective whole. One life lost is too many.  Set an example to everyone so that we can all share a future together. There are so many happy memories yet to be experienced!

November is a time to look back and give thanks for the good, lovely, pure, true and honest blessings in our lives. As I look back on the year, I remember all of the plans that I had, books I wanted to read, books I wanted to write, concerts, plays and other venues I had hoped to attend. I think about my senior parents, living out their final season of life and all of the plans that I had made to spend time with them to make up for years that I had lost. I thought I could fit it all in…and looking back on these notions, I understand now that I am just one person–one woman with one life–doing my best. We miss so much when we speed through our days trying to make up for things we didn’t do. The reality is, I am chronically ill and I have more bad days physically than good days. I do what I can. We all do what we can.

This pandemic helped me to see that it’s okay to go slow and steady. I have learned to be a better listener as I adjust to new ways of seeing and hearing my loved ones who are far away through technology. I have spent much more time in prayer, meditation and grounding myself in the healing words of Jesus. I allowed myself to rest on sick days and soaked up vitamin D by reading books in an old adirondack chair in the garden. I disconnected from social media and learned that life is beautiful without the noise of thousands of other people and the life negating, time wasting habit of scrolling. I enjoyed quiet afternoons on the front porch with my daughter, sampled various herbal teas and picked flowers from the garden. I fully lived. Present. Breathing quiet gratitude for such a magnificent life. Perhaps these are the lessons that were preordained from this season. God chose them for me. 

I wrote a workbook, “Finding Your Path to Faith, Hope & Healing” during the midst of the pandemic and quarantine. It was a project that I had started and one thing after another kept me from finishing. Sometimes, we face resistance to the things we need the most or those things which are closest to our hearts. In doing so, there were many afternoons where I was comforted by the prayers or scripture that I was infusing into the workbook. Good things are often uprooted out of the recesses of our hearts; the pulling, tugging and unsettling of the roots can be painful.

 

 

As we slowly turn the page toward 2021 and new beginnings, what lessons have you learned in 2020? What are you thankful for? I urge you to think upon these things and journal about them. You will find that although you may have faced difficulty in 2020, there were also many blessing born. The practice of writing those things for which you feel grateful is grounding as you imagine a better tomorrow.

 

The workbook is available through pre-order and will ship sometime in November. I am just getting the proof copies back…so not too long! I know that some of you have been waiting a really long time for this. Thank you for being my cheerleaders. I love  you all so much. I will link it here for you, if you want to go through checkout and get on the mailing list before Christmas.

Remember friends, we still have so much to celebrate and so much to learn! Slow and steady wins the race! Onward! As always, you are always on my mind, my heart and in my prayers. I urge you to take inventory of the things that bring you joy and usher in a spirit of gratitude. Think ahead about how you desire to spend your days this winter and make plans. Evaluate your learning library and if you don’t have one, establish a place in your home to gather books and materials that will enrich your mind and feed your heart and soul.

In Love and Gratitude,

Mary

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ggh

Dear Friends,

Happy August! It’s been a long while since I have written a Monday Morning Inspiration post for you. Before I begin, I wanted to share some of my recent joys! July was a busy month, starting out with a hospitalization for my mother and then my birthday celebration on the 4th. Due to Covid19, we stayed home and celebrated in the garden, but the greatest gift was that my mother came home and was safe after her hospitalization in a Covid unit. 

Russ built me the most beautiful stand for my harp. It was truly one of the most thoughtful gifts because he created it with his own two hands and then painted it with musical notes and fancy legs and it’s just the right height. I adore it and him. My adult children, Ashley and Daniel bought me a gorgeous crystal flute with hand painted roses. My birthday was extremely warm but we sat in the yard and played instruments. While we missed celebrating with our larger family, we are learning to make the most of our new norm (social distancing). 

This pandemic has made our worlds much smaller, but slowed us down enough to feel fully blessed to spend time with those who are closest to us and to give thanks for our time together. It has forced us to ignite old passions and creative pursuits as well as reading great books, listening to music that brings us joy and a general sense of peace and happiness.

I would never have thought that I would be spending so much time alone with my immediate family at this time last year. We all have busy lives and pursuits that we enjoy, but this pandemic has invited us to slow down and celebrate togetherness. The gift of presence is something that we are all learning as we spend days together, talking and listening. Now more than ever, it seems important to hear what is on the minds and hearts of loved ones. Now more than ever, it seems appropriate to recognize and celebrate the inner strengths and victories of our loved ones. Now more than ever, it has become important to celebrate this small community and the priceless contribution that each person makes to an overall sense of collective joy.

In July, I finally got close enough to offer pre-orders on my next workbook, “Faith, Hope & Healing”, which will be out in November. This is a tremendous victory for me, as I have had so many setbacks with my own health and healing over the past year and so many new realities to accept in my extended family as we go through the hard season of ups and downs with aging parents. It’s been tough. 

All good things take time because we have to go through the process of birthing them out of our own personal experience. Life gives us wisdom. In 2019, God gave me a vision for my work in 2020 and I wrote a year full of e-courses. I teach one each month and just completed the July course, “Cultivating an Inspired Life.”  Since it is now August, we have started the “Cultivating a Joyful Life” e-course, so my personal theme for the month of August is “JOY”.  Needless to say, I have been utilizing this quarantine time to do the inner work of seeking, praying and writing more regularly. 

 

I feel confident that you are also learning new things during this pandemic-new ways of seeing, thinking and doing. New ways of loving and honoring the important people in your lives. We are all in a state of transition and we all need one another. This can be a time of great personal and spiritual growth if we are receptive to change. I encourage you to keep a prayer journal as much as possible in the coming months. We are living through things that our country and the world have never experienced. 

Here is something for you–feel free to right click and download:

Enjoy every moment with those whom you hold dear. Take time to listen and be fully present. Make it a personal quest to think upon all that is good. I will end by sharing some fun garden quotes and a few scripture passages:

“The man who has planted a garden feels that he has done something for the good of the whole world.”

Charles Dudley Warner

“They kill good trees to put out bad newspapers.” James G. Watt

“There is just as much beauty visible to us in the landscape as we are prepared to appreciate–not a grain more.” Henry David Thoreau

“The darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.” 1 John 2:8

“Under His wings you will find refuge.” Psalm 9:1

“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” Matthew 5:8

Happy August to each of you! May you find beauty in the splendor of God unfolding all around you as we inch toward Autumn.

xoxo.

Mary

 

 

 

Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill His promises to her. Luke 1:45

One of the secrets of a happy life is fulfilling our purpose and accepting our blessings with gratitude. When we recognize our need for a Savior, we make the very best of what He has given us. In doing so, we bloom where we are planted and we live out of the abundance that God has shared with us.

Little did I know-that this was the beginning of a long and winding path which led me into the pastorate and a call as a preacher/evangelist, but I can remember falling really hard for Jesus when I was 18. I was young and I didn’t have much to share except my heart and my own personal experience with a relationship with Jesus. I had barely any resources, but I wanted to minister to people and tell them about God’s promises. I wanted to share how amazing it felt to know that my Savior could bear all of my burdens and theirs as well. I went to the 5 and dime store and bought a couple dozen lapel pins with crosses. Everywhere I went, as the Spirit led me, I asked people if they wanted a free lapel pin and to learn about Jesus. People were very receptive and some even cried because they were so thirsty for hope. I can remember my sister marveling and giggling at my boldness to tell people about the Lord and to approach strangers, but I couldn’t help it! I wanted everyone to feel as loved and accepted as I did. I wanted everyone to know that they were never meant to bear their burdens alone.

God will fulfill His promises to us, but we must believe and begin. His desire is always for His people. That’s why He died on the cross. Don’t hide your light under a basket. Share it and watch it bloom. As we age, our eyes may grow dim and our bodies may fail us, but the Spirit of the Lord, which lives in our hearts, is forever young. Make it a goal to let your light shine and be a light bearer to others. Do you remember the old Sunday school song, “This little light of mine”? We are the light which leads others to His Light.

Start right where you are with what you have and give thanks for your blessings. There has never been a better time than now to bloom where you are planted. Use what you have to bring a cool cup of water in a dry and thirsty land. People need to hear words of life, truth, God’s promises and be assured that He is in control.

God gives us momentum as we take initiative to share His living hope with others. If you feel as though you have no light to shine, perhaps you have lost your connection and need to recharge. His strength is made perfect in weakness, so just begin. How much more creative, joyful, loving, generous and spiritually rich would the world be if we all believed that the Lord would fulfill His promises to us???

Bloom.

Shine.

If you want to develop the practice of living in gratitude, here is my Gratitude workbook: