Monday, December 17, 2012

Merry Christmas!

Oswald Chambers wrote, "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."
Whether Christmas hides just around the corner ,or Resurrection Sunday is two seasons away, or no holiday or holy day stares at me from the calendar, God's goodness to me in His Son Jesus Christ remains the gift that keeps on giving.
Whether your Christmas is tainted with tragedy or resplendent with joy, I hope you can hold onto this truth: "For our sake he (God) made him (Christ Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:21, ESV). Soli Deo Gloria.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Christmas in Swanton Craft Show



This Saturday, December 1, Kathy will have her books for sale at the annual Swanton Christmas Craft Show. Bargain prices! Event is at Swanton High School and runs from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Christmas is coming faster than a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer! Hope to see you there!

Thursday, September 20, 2012

NW OHIO CHRISTIAN WRITERS FALL SEMINAR

SATURDAY OCTOBER 20, 2012  HOLLAND, OHIO

Come join us for the 24th annual NWOCW Seminar from 8:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. at the Holland Free Methodist Church in Holland, OH. This year's keynote speaker is editor, author, and humorist James Watkins. Cost of the seminar includes lunch and is $55 ($65 at the door) for non-members. If you want more information, contact Kathy at 419.825.1376 for a downloadable brochure.

This is a great opportunity for those just getting the writing bug as well as published authors. Local authors will have books available for sale. Kathy's new releases, Dog Lover's Devotional and Cat Lover's Devotional (pictured below) will be available for sale at a reduced rate too.We hope to see you there!


 


LIGHT

Fall Arrives...unofficially


Mid September and only the fewest of leaves have begun to tumble. Soon "tumbling" is all they'll be doing. The marvelous sights and aromas that assault us every autumn will begin soon enough. As beautiful as it is, the shorter days of fall bug me.

Some time ago I read that Shakespeare was no longer required reading for literature majors at one of our state universities. Today I read something William wrote centuries ago. "The bright day is done and we are for the dark."
Shakespeare said much that he alone had the wisdom to say, but this was one thing he learned elsewhere. Jesus said it first. "Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19).
I want to be one who loves light's true source.
The Bible says the unfolding of God's words gives light (Psalm 119:130). Christ proclaimed, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12). The Lord Jesus said too, "Put your trust in the light while you have it, so you may become sons of light" (John 12:36).

So let the shorter days go and the longer nights come. The day approaches when there will be no more night (Revelation 21:25). You know why?

Look it up in the three verses that precede that one. Soli Deo Gloria.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

A Hole in Two

My dad always said he'd rather be lucky at golf than good at it. He didn't start golfing until he was in his 50s. As a natural athlete, he took to it like the proverbial fleas to a dog. He was somewhat skilled, but luck may have played a "roll" in his career THREE holes in one.
My Uncle Tony, on the other hand, had the form of a pro. He was an excellent golfer. But the best he ever did was a hole in two. He teed up his ball and promptly hit it into the water. He teed up a second ball and it went right in the hole. That was the closest he ever came to a whole in one--his infamous hole in two.
The best I can hope for in my efforts to please a holy God is a hole in two. Only with Jesus Christ taking on my sin and imputing His righteousness to me can I have any hope of heaven. Christ alone lived a sinless, perfect life. "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them" (2 Corinthians 5:19 NIV). Through the atoning work of Christ on the cross I can enter heaven with a perfect score. Not only because He is in me, but because I am in Him, the perfect One. SDG.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

WORRIED ABOUT YOUR STUFF?

"Did you know the word 'stuff' is in the KJV?" my husband asked me one night.
"NO WAY!" said I.
And there it was right in Genesis 45:20: "Also regard not your stuff."
Joseph told his brothers to leave all their stuff in Canaan and move--as people used to say--lock, stock, and barrel to Egypt. Rough times were behind them, but things were going to go from bad to worse. So he told them to high-tail it out of there and move to where he could generously provide for them during the remaining years of drought and famine. They did, and he did.
Sooner or later we all have to leave our stuff behind.
One of my favorite stories is about a business man whose office got flooded. Just about everything was destroyed. When he saw it, he did something he hadn't done in decades. He started sucking his thumb. He said he sensed God there with him to comfort him in his loss. "It's okay, Charlie," that still, small voice whispered. "I was gonna burn it all anyway."
Fretting over the loss of stuff today? Focus on those things that flood, fire, famine, or drought can't take away: the "stuff" of heaven.
...because all the rest of it? Yep, God will burn it all anyway. SDG.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Glory!

"They exchanged their Glory for an image of a bull, which eats grass" (Psalm 106:20).
"...my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols" (Jeremiah 2:11).
"Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images..." (Romans 1:23).

Not much of an exchange going on, wouldn't you say?

I want to give glory to--give a proper estimate of--this one whose name is Glory. He alone is worthy, this amazing, Tri-unity God. He, the only God who has wounds. Wounds from us. Wounds for us.
Soli Deo Gloria.


                                          --Sombrero Galaxy; photo from NASA website
                                                         

Friday, March 16, 2012

It's Friday, but Sunday's Comin'

Resurrection Sunday is coming. Best holiday/holy day of the year.
We received word recently from friends that a young teacher and colleague of theirs was killed by one of his high school students. The teacher, only 23 years old, was a committed follower of Jesus Christ. When the father spoke at his son's funeral a day or so after the shooting, he told those gathered this:
"My son's life wasn't just taken from him. He gave his life away to Jesus years ago."
What we give away can't be taken from us.
How like Jesus Christ Himself. "I lay down my life--only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord" (John 10:17, 18).
"God has raised this Jesus to life...(and made him) both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:32, 36).
Soli Deo Gloria.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Happy 2012!

For those of you who might check my website, I've cancelled it. Once I find a way to do it cheaper and better, I'll announce it on this blog and on FB. In the meantime, please follow this blog and I'll post new releases and such.
Heavenly Humor f0r the Grandmother's Soul came out a month early and is now available for purchase. This devotional can be purchased at Christian bookstores, online, or from me. It's a fun read with contributions from a dozen authors. Like all of Barbour's devotional books, it makes a nice gift.
As we start a new year, it's good to know that God is in charge of all things. Not only is He sovereign, but He's good. Psalm 135 tells us, "The LORD does whatever pleases him." But before the psalmist writes that, he reminds us that "the LORD is good" (verses 6 & 3). Whatever 2012 holds for us as individuals or as people of planet earth, "our Lord is greater than all gods" (verse 5). Our part is to: "Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil" (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22). Our God is faithful. SDG.