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Advent Reading – Day 2

To follow along as we read through highlights from the twenty-four chapters in the book of Luke in our “countdown to Christmas,” be sure to subscribe to Petals from the Basket.

Full chapter:

Luke 2: Read Luke 2 by clicking here.

Today’s focus verses:

Luke 2:1–14 (NASB):

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.

2This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.

3 And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.

4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,

5 in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.

6 While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth.

7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;

11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

Today’s meditation verse:

Luke 2:11 (NASB): “For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

By Petals from the Basket | December 2, 2018 | Bible Reading |

Advent – Day 1

To follow along as we read through highlights from the twenty-four chapters in the book of Luke in our “countdown to Christmas,” be sure to subscribe to Petals from the Basket.

Full chapter:

Luke 1: Read Luke 1 by clicking here.

Today’s focus verses:

Luke 1: 46–55 (“The Magnificat”):

46 And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord,
47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
49 For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
54 He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
55 As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

Today’s meditation verse:

Luke 1:37 (NKJV): “For with God nothing will be impossible.”

By Petals from the Basket | December 2, 2018 | Bible Reading |

Thirty-Six Years of Gratitude

The Captain’s Corner

I was honored to work with many passionate professionals over the course of my thirty-six-year career with the airlines. These included crew members, flight attendants, mechanics, passenger agents, and baggage handlers. However, I had contact with one group of people more often than all of the others. These were the airline’s crew schedulers. Usually via phone contact, crew schedulers worked to ensure that all flights had the necessary crews. I often would be called for a trip during any time that I was available for duty.

You can imagine that crew schedulers worked with all kinds of people: the cooperative and the difficult, the helpful and the burdensome, the pleasant and the unpleasant. The schedulers could “make my day,” and with the right response, I could make theirs!

I eventually found out that these individuals had given me a nickname: “Thank-You Joe Henderson.” This nickname sprang out of my habit of thanking them for calling me to check my availability for a trip. Some of the crew members didn’t like to get that call. However, I was so thankful to be flying—from my first day of training to my very last flight–that I was always certain to say, “Thank you!” Of course, I was also grateful to God for giving me a wonderful job, particularly one that I loved doing!

It’s easy to be thankful for good jobs and pleasant situations, but God commands us to be thankful for all things. This includes difficult times and hard circumstances.

Philippians 4:6, NASB: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

1 Thessalonians 5:18, NKJV: “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

Ephesians 5:20, NKJV: “Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

There are several examples in the Bible of this kind of praying. Let me share three of them with you.

  • The prophet Jonah, while in the belly of the big fish, said, “I will sacrifice unto Thee with the voice of thanksgiving” (Jonah 2:9, KJV).
  • Daniel continued kneeling in prayer to God, giving thanks to God, even after being threatened with being thrown into the lion’s den. (See Daniel 6:6–10, NKJV.)
  • The apostle Paul had an affliction that he asked God three times to remove. God did not remove it, but He gave Paul sufficient grace for the trial. Paul was able to say that he actually gloried in the situation so that God could show Himself strong in the midst of it. (See 2 Corinthians 12:7–10, NASB.)

Therefore, we must make saying “thank-you” part of our everyday lives.

Hebrews 13:15, NASB: “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God,
that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.”

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By Petals from the Basket | November 29, 2018 | Bible Reading, God-and-I-Time, The Captain's Corner, Thirty Days of Gratitude |

A Gratitude Giveaway!

How are your thirty days of gratitude going? We are thrilled by the number of you who have joined us on this journey of intentional expressions of gratitude. Every year, about this time in the month of November, however, it starts to get old. You’ve worked hard, but now the holidays are getting closer, and there is a lot of work to do. Don’t give up. Keep choosing to express gratitude! And keep reading, because it’s about to get all giveaway-ish in here!

Sunday evening, our church was privileged to have the Mieczkowski Family present a sacred concert following our church-wide Thanksgiving dinner. Joe and I have become avid listeners of their music, and we decided to share their information with you today.

Philippians 4:6–7 (NASB) states: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” We all long for, crave, and desire peace. These verses remind us that God’s peace is available to us (even promised to us!) when we thankfully present our requests to God. 

My friends, I take from these verses that an attitude of praise creates an atmosphere of peace.

So today, let me encourage you to create an atmosphere of peace in your home (your car, too)! My dear mother often told me that it’s hard for contention to exist when there is beautiful music playing. I follow her example by having instrumental music playing in the background from the minute we wake up until bedtime. (Thank You, Lord, for the “Repeat All” button on the CD player!)

As I hinted at above, Joe and I have a new favorite CD: Reflections of Praise, by the Mieczkowski Family. Two important things:

  1. Visit their website THIS week, because they are offering FREE SHIPPING (woo-hoo!) through November 25. Seriously. And the more CDs you buy for Christmas/Birthday/Just-Because-It’s-Tuesday gifts, the cheaper they are! Double woo-hoo!!!! After you read the next important thing, click here to visit their website: https://www.mieczkowskifamily.com/
  2. Leave a comment below (and/or below today’s video on our Petals from the Basket Facebook page) telling us one thing that you are thankful for today. The giveaway ends at midnight tonight (11/20/18, PST). A random number selector will choose from the entries one winner of a FREE Reflections of Praise CD! Oh. my heart. You will love how this CD helps to create an atmosphere of praise in your home, classroom, car, workplace, etc.!

We appreciate you! Now go…enter the giveaway!

By Petals from the Basket | November 20, 2018 | Bible Reading, Contests, Events, Family, Friends, God-and-I-Time, Ideas, Life Changes, Thirty Days of Gratitude |

A Month of Gratitude

We should be grateful every moment of every day of every month!

Several years ago now, I began using the month of November to demonstrate either verbally or in writing my gratitude to those who have touched my life in some way. Don’t get me wrong, as I stated above, I think that we should be grateful every day of every month, but I think sometimes it’s important to acknowledge it in either verbal or written form—partly for the sake of the one who may be wondering at that moment if what they have done or what they have taught you really mattered. I did this little exercise in gratitude for many years and then sort of set it by the wayside until 2007.

At that time, I decided to create a “gratitude spreadsheet” that others could use, and I posted it publicly so that we could encourage one another to focus our thoughts on our blessings. It has become an annual favorite for many of my friends. I would love for you to join us this year!

However, this year, even though Joe and I will continue to blog about two or three times a week, we won’t be posting on the blog every single day. That can get annoying, we know! So below are four options for you to choose from if you’d like to join us in this effort. (Just ignore the year and follow the days of the month! Some of these are “reruns!”) Simply click the orange words on the left to be directed to that tool or resource:

Facebook Live posts – On our Facebook page for Petals from the Basket, we are doing a “Live Feed,” a two-to-four-minute devotional at 7:00 a.m. For now, we’re planning on three days a week, but we may end up doing more…perhaps even daily! The wonderful thing about Facebook Live videos is that you don’t have to watch them “live.” You can watch them anytime during the day!

Follow-along PDF “booklet” – Though this was one that I created in 2013, it’s probably my favorite “viewable” download. It’s a PDF with an idea for each day of the month. Each page includes: Gratitude Focus; Recommended Reading; Name or Quality of God to Meditate On. Simply download it to your computer and follow along each day!

Follow-along, printable chart – This is actually the chart from last year, but it’s a clear and concise way to be intentional about expressing gratitude to others.

By category – Simply click on the orange words “By category” and look up all previous blog posts in the “Thirty Days of Gratitude” category. Not including this one, there are eighty-three posts for you to choose from!

And just for fun, click here to check out the original coloring pages available for you (or your children) to color this month!

Feel free to leave a comment to let us know which option you chose!

“In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18, NASB).

 

 

By Petals from the Basket | November 1, 2018 | Bible Reading, Events, Family, Friends, God-and-I-Time, Ideas, Thirty Days of Gratitude |