Yes, my Christmas decorations are all up. Well, all except for our Christmas train. I have to clean the floor first because it's too hard to do after the train tracks are assembled.

I sure do enjoy Christmas decorations and music. I've got some decorations in every room. I always end up not finding them all until after I've put the decorations away in the attic. Now watch me forget to remove the holly from this page after Christmas. HA HA HA  (Sometimes I decorated the Bible study page with holly.)

As I have shared with you, I have been struggling in advancing in my spiritual walk. I was encouraged by my prayer partner who called me last week to let me know that she felt led to tell me to read Psalm 27 with special emphasis on verse 14. That verse says, "Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD."

Another friend of mine had mentioned that same verse the prior week. He had been going through some spiritual difficulties and another person had shared that verse with him. Plus, it was the verse the Lord gave me on the day I had my big spiritual breakthrough (or Big Wow as I like to call it).

This was what I needed to be encouraged. I am to wait on the Lord. I am to wait and be strengthened. I was wondering if I was the one who was responsible for what felt like a standstill in my relationship with the Lord. Perhaps I am partly responsible, but I am now waiting instead of blaming myself. I am waiting in anticipation of the resumption of my climbing to greater spiritual heights with the Lord! Hallelujah!!

I would like to point out that had my prayer partner not called me I wouldn't have had the encouragement I so desperately needed. It may have hindered my walk. She felt like the Lord was telling her to call me and share that scripture and she did.

Each person in the Body of Christ is placed in a unique position. If each of us is seeking God's will then we will be a small, working part of a greater picture. If we are obedient in even the small things, then we will be assisting others in the Body to do the job the Lord has given them. Then they will be encouraged, edified, and equipped to then assist others. It goes on and on.

We can never see or understand the plan that God has prepared. We only have a tiny tiny portion in that plan. However, much depends on our portion being done. He's not going to force us to do it. I, for one, don't want to ever see the results of any disobedience on my part. It could be mighty ugly!

Link to the 12/6/99 Bible study.

Well, band's busy season is finally over. However, the closer we get to Christmas the crazier the scrip fund raiser I run gets. This last week we hit over $10,000 worth of scrip IN ONE WEEK! AHHHHHH!!!

If anyone out there has an extra "accountant's brain" please email it to me! Numbers and my brain do not get along very well. The ordering, itself, isn't so bad, it's keeping track of who gets what credit, who backordered what, who underpaid/overpaid, etc. etc. etc.

This is the last week of school before Christmas break so I have to start baking cookies. My hubby takes cookies to the school and gives them to the office staff, administration, and friends on the last day before vacation. What is wrong with that picture? She bakes, he takes. Who is getting the better end of that deal, hmmmm?

Tonight is a band booster club meeting and Wednesday night is a football booster club meeting. I have a lot to do before Wednesday's meeting.

I still have more Christmas shopping to do. At least I got my packages mailed and my cards mailed.

I guess the bottom line is that I've got one more busy week ahead of me. Oh, boy, do I need a vacation!! (By the way, if I owe anyone email I'm sorry it is taking so long! I will get to a slowing down place sometime soon.)

I believe I am nearing the end of my spiritual lesson I am learning. I believe that the reason I have felt so separated from the Lord is because He is teaching me what it is like to not hear His voice so when I do hear His voice I will know for sure it is Him. I don't pretend to know the mind of God, but I got a glimpse of what is going to be accomplished in my life because of this spiritual desert I've been traveling. I know there are lots more things that will come out of this. God is the only one who knows the full extent.

I look forward to the sweet fellowship we had in the past. I look forward to feeling His love for me again. I have sorely missed hearing from Him! It has been very painful, but I know it has been very needful.

Right after I first had my "Big Wow" (my biggest lesson from God about hearing His voice) I went to the book of Psalms and read it all the way through. I knew that David had a special relationship with the Lord and I wanted to see if it was related to the relationship that I found with the Lord.

I have been finding more and more in the Psalms that help me to understand the spiritual things I am experiencing. I see where there are places where David cries out asking God not to be silent to him. He also speaks of patiently waiting for the Lord. He asks God to save him because he is sinking in deep mire. The longer I seek to know the Lord better, the more I seek His face, the more I get into the Word, the clearer the things of God are becoming.

Don't get me wrong, I don't know everything! I am saying I am learning more and more. I will never know everything. I will never even have 100% understanding and knowledge about any one subject! I am climbing a stairway to the heavenlies that stretches on forever. However, each step upwards is more glorious than the last!

Link to the 12/13/99 Bible study.

Oh, my goodness! I've lost a week! Last Wednesday I caught the flu and have been down for the count! Each time I felt like I might be getting over it I would find out it just was teasing me!

My sons are getting a kick out of it today because I have lost my voice. I've had to forget about doing most of the rest of the things on my "to do" list. I just haven't had any energy. This is the pits!

I believe I am nearing the end of my spiritual lesson I am learning. I believe that the reason I have felt so separated from the Lord is because He is teaching me what it is like to not hear His voice so when I do hear His voice I will know for sure it is Him. I don't pretend to know the mind of God, but I got a glimpse of what is going to be accomplished in my life because of this spiritual desert I've been traveling. I know there are lots more things that will come out of this. God is the only one who knows the full extent.

I look forward to the sweet fellowship we had in the past. I look forward to feeling His love for me again. I have sorely missed hearing from Him! It has been very painful, but I know it has been very needful.

I've had no choice lately but to hand everything over to the Lord. I've had no control over anything. Like I said last week, "God is still on his throne!" No matter what is happening down here on the earth, He does not change.

Maybe he allows things such as the flu in order to get us to throw our hands in the air and allow Him to take over our lives! I know that I've had no choice in the matter. He has been teaching me things lately and this just might be what will cement them into my head.

Saturday is Christmas. I pray that this Christmas your understanding of how much God loves you grows immensely. I pray that you truly learn the "reason for the season."

HAVE A BLESSED CHRISTMAS!

Link to the 12/21/99 Bible study.

Yes, this flu bug going around in Southern California is a bad one! I am finally starting to get a little energy and I've only had the flu TWO WEEKS!

God is working on me through this, however. I've had little or no voice for over a week. I have been learning how to keep silent. My mouth has been the least spiritual part of my body. I've had great difficulty in keeping my observations to myself. God shows me things that some other people cannot see. He shows me those things for other reasons than to share that information. Many times I am to pray for something instead of talk about it. I have been learning how to keep silent since I cannot be heard. It has been a humbling experience. I'm rather ashamed of the fact that it has taken such a drastic measure to teach me.

So, Lord, if I am learning how to be more obedient by having the flu, I thank you and praise you for the flu!

One of my sons got me a new desk chair for Christmas. It is much more comfortable and easy to adjust than my old one. Maybe now my arm won't hurt so bad when I've been working on the computer for a while.

It is sad to think how so many people are getting panicked about this Y2K thing. I read an article that says some people are worried their pacemakers will stop. Oh my, oh my.

The only thing about Y2K is that some old computers will look at the year "00" as 1900. That's all. Way back when they first made computers they didn't have enough room to put much stuff so they abbreviated the date to two digits for the year. It never occurred to them that those computers would last long enough to see the year 2000.

Computers are not going to die. Pacemakers are not going to die. Refrigerators are not going to fail. The sky is not going to fall. Think of it this way, what control do you have over this situation? Some sources have recommended you have three days worth of food on hand. Do you think if a problem was unable to be fixed in ten years that three days would make a difference? Face it, you have NO control.

OK, now that you realize that you need to focus on the one that has control over everything. God even has control over computers. Do you think that the one who created every single thing is computer illiterate? Relax. God is still in control! He knows his machines! He fixed a copy machine for me! If you haven't read the story then go read Nothing Wavering.

See you in 2000!

Link to the 12/28/99 Bible study.