The Gingerbread Man

Thanksgiving should be daily throughout the year, but as the holiday closes the Christman season enters in with thoughts of spiced apple cider and gingerbread cookies.  School classrooms are preparing for making those famous gingerbread houses.   That is what inspired the following, and it was written for my favorite classroom teacher, my daughter, and her class:

 

The Gingerbread Man

It’s Christmas!

Bah Hum Bug …
What was this all about?
I rolled under the sheets and gave them a tug.
I was just a ball of dough
 with nothing much to show.

Then something magical happened-

First one hand rolled out;
 then another began to sprout. 
I soon found two feet,
 that kicked me out of bed.
Eyes appeared upon a small round head.
I was all smooth and flat
 with a beautiful tan-
just like a gingerbread man.

“Wow! Look at me!”

I exploded in glee.

Christmas! It’s Christmas!

I was going to have to rush!
My scent filled the air,
 and I had not a second to spare. 

I grabbed for my vest

 and began to get dressed.
There was a class full of girls and boys
 choosing me over bright red toys.

Brandon, Coe, and Jay

 had all said, “Send a gingerbread man my way.”
Lia, Cade, Savannah, and Reed  
 put me on their list, as they all had agreed. 
Tyler, April, Emily, and Alex
 wanted me to fill their stockings and sacks.
Noah, Sapana, and Trae
 had requested that I come their way.
So many were looking forward to a spicy Christmas day.   
Even Carson, Seth, Autumn, Zac, and Caylin
 said I was just the right mix and blend.

Then I could’nt forget Ms. Legg!

She didn’t want any ole dough from a store-bought egg.
She’d requested me for her gingerbread house.
I’d surprise her! Slip in quiet as a mouse.

Excitement overtook me

 as I sent myself a kiss,
 for I was top on their list.
I dashed on more ginger, added sugar and spice-
Hmmm, I smelled really nice.
In my haste,
 I snuck a taste.
Yes! I was all sweet,
 from my head to my feet.

Next I buttoned my vest,

 which fit tight across my dark tan chest.
I fumbled with its buttons of red
 as the scent of ginger filled my head.
Then looked in the mirror -
 but  something was all a’miss!

“Oh my! Where was my sugar coat?”

I had to have that around my arms and my throat.
I quickly donned those beads and pearls,
 for that would be missed by those curly-lock girls.
But what about the boys?
Not to worry-
 they’d be too busy with their games and their noise.

A magic suddenly filled the air

 as I tapped my heels with a flaire.
I had much to do -
“It’s Christmas!” I said with adieu.
I’m spicy, all sugar and sweet-
 just right for sampling, and oohh - so sweet to eat.
I’d fill out those stockings- Just right!
All eyes would be happy and bright.

“OH,Yes! It’s Christmas,”  I shouted out.
This was what Christmas was all about!
I was in such a thrill,
 it gave me a chill. 
I thought, “It’s all up to me.
I’d be just the key,  
 to complete Ms. Legg’s gingerbread fam’ily.”
                              Mary Crisp Jameson -11/25/2012

 

For Love of Country

     With the upcoming election for President of the United States of America Mitt Ronmey asked,  “Will you vote for “love of country,” or as President Obama stated, “for revenge”? 

     I believe that God is the One true Leader of our great nation.  Without Him in it, whatever the cause, we are nothing.  I believe that we, as a nation of people, must adhere to the principals established and given to us through God’s word.  We are not a people who should “take revenge” toward another party within our blessed nation.  We should strive to work together.  To listen to the President of the United States of America make such a statement is alarming.  God said it Himself in Romans 12:19: “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”  

     We are a blessed nation because of God, and it is only God who can divide the waters and save the nation like He did for Moses as he led the Israelites into God's promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey.  Our nation has been prosperous in the past, and we can be prosperous in the future if we trust, believe, and seek God.  It is only God who can deliver our nation like He did when the walls of Jericho came tumbling down.  Time and time again, we are given accounts in the Old Testament of victory, only when the people listened and obeyed the Word of God. 

     It is time that the people of the United States of America come together.  We should not just be  Democrats or Republicans; we should be a nation of people who love each other; we should work together; we should do what is to the best interest of its people, and, most of all, we should get back to the principals of life as established by God.  Those principals can be found in the living word of God. 

    

 

Down Payment

     I had to put a down payment on a contract the other day.  This was something I really wanted, but I sure didn't like having to shell out the money it would take to secure the contract.

 

     Do you ever stop to think if God had second thoughts about the down payment He made when He allowed His Son to die for our sins?  Yet He did it anyway, knowing all the while, that this deed would be rejected by so many.  There would be people who would mock Him.  They would do anything in their power to prevent prayers, His commandments, His people from existing in this very world, today.  God knew, even those who accepted Christ into their lives, what kind of life they would live. 

     I am guilty on so many counts.  I am sure I disappoint the indwelling Spirit much like a child often disappoints a parent, or vice versa.  Rebellion and discord are built into our very nature.  They are not placed there by God, but by our own fleshly, self-fish motives. 

     Do I think and say the right things at the right time?  Do I care? Do I watch what I put into my body, keeping it clean for the indwelling spirit? Do I love others or just, at times, wish they would go away and leave me along, taking their burdens with them so I don’t have to shed a tear, help, tend, and care about them?  Do I resent giving my time and tithe to God and to others, even when I know without a shadow of a doubt that all I have and all I will ever have comes from God?

    Even if God had second thoughts, I am so glad He sealed me.  I am so glad He loves and forgives me.  I am so glad He directs my path.  I am so glad He laid out His promises for me to read about, seek, and to claim. 

     God is All Power.  His power can move mountains; His power can heal; His power can change lives.  What is so amazing is that God shares His power through the Holy Spirit living within me.  He bestows His power to me!  That power will allow me to change.  It can turn my self-fish desires into love.  It can take my weakness and turn it into strength.  It can give me the desire and the will to break the chains of any bondage in my life so that I can have a truly joyful walk with Him.  
     I do not believe that God regrets, for an instant, the downpayment He made for our lives.   

“For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.  Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is god, Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” 2 Corinthians 1: 20-22

 

 

Maybe It's Not Too Late

     This morning as I was trying to find a way to remove specks of rust from a stainless steel soap dispenser I began to wander how this had happened.  Had I been too busy and neglected the dispenser over the course of time? 

     The soap within, of course, was still good and there to assist in removing germs, the enemies of cleanliness.  It was just the outer container that was the problem.  As I continued to examine those small specks of rust, I began to make excuses.  It must be the quality of the metal.  We all know there are different qualities of stainless steel. Some are just more rust resistant than others. Much depends on the elements added as it was developed.  “That was it!  I had just bought a cheap stainless steel dispenser,” I reasoned, as I reached for my faithful brillo pad.  It took a little scrubbing, but the rust was coming off a little at a time.   However, the shine was not what it should have been.  Then I thought, “A little wax of some kind will help to polish out the scratches and put it back to normal.  It wouldn’t hurt to try.  Maybe it wasn’t too late.”  

     Is that the way it is in our Christian walk?  Maybe it’s not too late!  As Christians, Jesus lives within our very souls.  He is there to lift us up, to keep us clean, and to keep us on the right path.  However, outwardly, many Christians fell to add the right elements, and we develop poorly.  Overtime rust begins to form.  The Element of cleanliness, lying just beneath the surface, is kept at bay.  When that happens, our enemies spread like germs, making us sick.  Depression erupts, selfishness takes over, and self-pity enters our thoughts.

     It would be good to wash and clean our vessels, our minds and our hearts, every day by having quality fellowship with the One who lives within instead of waiting until we have to reach for the ‘brillo pad’ to scrub away the rust of neglect.  Only by having a daily walk with God can we create a pure shield of protection; a shield that will stand firm and endure through the rusty times in our life; a shield that will fill in the scratches made from having to scrub away the areas in our lives that we have ignored and neglected for far too long. 

     Maybe, just maybe, it is not too late!      

A New Armor

A NEW ARMOR

 Take me out of the battlefield

I prayed and appealed!

 

I was shackled and worn-

Beaten and torn;

Then the sun shone through-

A light appeared as the dark sky turned to blue.

 

I was re-dressed-

Given a shield to cover my breast;

A new armor of protection-

A light for direction.

 

I was given victory in the battlefield.

Wounds were beginning to heal;

My chains of weakness disappeared.

The helmet of faith covered my head-

My weariness was quickly shed.

 

Take me out of the battlefield

I prayed and appealed.

“The demons are too strong to bare!”

My shout rang out, and He heard my prayer.

 

He set my feet on solid ground.

His mighty Book was in my hand;

A weapon polished from His word.

I was strong in battle with the sharpest sword.

 

Shackled and worn-

Beaten and torn;

Taken out of the battlefield,

As I had prayed and appealed.

                                              Mary Nell Jameson -10/18/2012

 

 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.  Psalm 24:8

 

The Gift of Joy

     Joy is defined as the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something good or satisfying; it is the expression or display of glad feelings.

     Too often, we allow our joy to be stolen because we do not feel that good or satisfying feeling we think must come with joy.  Personally, I think joy comes from the indwelling spirit of the Lord living within.  I like the prayer of Habbakkuk who said that “although the fig tree shall not blossom…and the fields shall yield no meat;…Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.”

     Throughout our life we may be robbed of possessions and health, but we are in control of our joy.  It cannot be stolen unless we allow it. 

     How many times have you walked into the workplace in a cheerful mood only to be confronted with a sour attitude or expression from a fellow co-worker or friend, and it just messed up your whole day?  Your smile went away, and you took on their attitude.  You listened to their groanings, and then you began to grumble with them.   Why did you allow it to happen?  Did your joy get stolen?   That joy you had was in your possession; you were the one in control.  That joy was yours to keep. 
     How many times have you been in a room full of people who were laughing and talking, and then someone disagreed with a comment you made.  Did you grit your teeth, frown, and let your laughter go by the way-side?  Or did you accept the comment for what it was- their opinion, and continue to maintain the joy that was actually in your heart?    

     Keep in mind that if you are waiting for all to be right and your life to be void of problems, before you allow joy to enter your heart, you will be in for a long wait and an unhappy life. In Act it says, "...that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, ..."
     I pray that when troubles come my way and the tears roll down my face, I will still have the joy in my heart that God so graciously gifted me.  It is a gift of love which I never want to allow someone or some event or some loss to steal away from me. 

 Psalms 118:24  This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” 

Spirtual Strength and Growth

     For some reason I keep coming back to write about the rainbow and the many different ways it can be used.  If you go back to my archives dated May 22, 2011 you will find how I described the way God used the rainbow to leave a  lasting memory in the lives of two young children who had just received Jesus as their Savior.  Then August 7, 2011 I used Roy G Biv, the name that helps us remember the rainbow colors, to emphasize how we can overcome the drought in our lives. Today, I will use the rainbow as an example for growing in our spiritual strength with God.   

     The rainbow is defined as a bow or arc of prismatic colors appearing in the heavens opposite the sun and caused by refraction and reflection of the sun’s rays in drops of rain. 

     God set this bow in the sky and it has special meaning.  It emphasizes a promise and can be thought of as a bridge.  Although there is only one thing we have to do to gain salvation, God gives us many promises that, if sought, will lead us into a peaceful and abundant life.

         Rainbow                                                         

R-ead God’s word daily                                    

A-void temptation                                                 
I-nvolve yourself in Christian fellowship      
N-urture your relationship with God           
B-elieve in Jesus                                             
O-bey God’s instructions                               
W-walk in faith
                                         
        Roy G. Biv

R-esist evil
O-pen your heart to God's love
Y-earn for a walk with God
G-ive your tithe in money and time
B-attle your temptations
I-nvite God into your life
V-alue your communication with God