Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everylasting Father, Prince of Peace

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined......For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end,

I came across these verses in Isaiah 9 during my daily reading this past week. A clear prophesy of Jesus long before He as born. Yet, how many times do we just read over verses like this and not take the time to meditate on them and what they mean. So I decided to look up each word describing Jesus and then put the phrases back together to see if we can get a clearer picture of our awesome God. Then, I chose the terms that meant the most to me, but you may choose different terms to define each descriptor. They are all correct, but sometimes we need to remind ourselves of certain attributes of God, attributes that we really need to lean on in our present circumstances. Which terms would you use to describe each attribute of God? And what do they mean to you?

Mighty: Strong, all-powerful, tremendous, exceptional, enormous, tremendous, superior

God: Supreme being, Creator of all things, Eternal Spritual Diety

Mighty God: All-powerful, eternal Diety (Nothing He can't do!)

Wonderful: awesome, wondrous, miraculous, prodigious, astonishing, amazing, astounding, phenomenal, unique, causing wonder, marvelous, lovely, admirable, magnificent, enjoyable.

Counselor: Advisor, Mentor, Advocate, instructor, teacher, guide

Wonderful Counselor = Astonishing guide (He leads me on an astonishing journey!)

Prince: a soverign, a ruler, royalty

Peace: Harmony, freedom from strife or dissention, serenity, tranquility, untroubled, quietness, wellness, calm, ease, order, contentment

Prince of Peace = Soverign of contentment (He is the author of contentment. Without Him, we will never be content!)

And my personal favorite!

Everlasting: Eternal, forever, no end, ageless, constant, enduring, unceasing, imperishable, immortal, continual, durable

Father: Protector, provider, person who cares for someone else, Daddy

Everlasting Father: Eternal protector (He never leaves me. He's always watching out for me!)

I hope you take some moments to ponder these attributes of God and apply them to your own heart, and your own life.

Answers to Thanksgiving Quiz

Thanksgiving is held on the final Thursday of November each year.

False. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln designated the last Thursday in November as a national day of thanksgiving. However, in 1939, after a request from the National Retail Dry Goods Association, President Franklin Roosevelt decreed that the holiday should always be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of the month (and never the occasional fifth, as occurred in 1939) in order to extend the holiday shopping season by a week. The decision sparked great controversy, and was still unresolved two years later, when the House of Representatives passed a resolution making the last Thursday in November a legal national holiday. The Senate amended the resolution, setting the date as the fourth Thursday, and the House eventually agreed.

One of America's Founding Fathers thought the turkey should be the national bird of the United States.
True. In a letter to his daughter sent in 1784, Benjamin Franklin suggested that the wild turkey would be a more appropriate national symbol for the newly independent United States than the bald eagle (which had earlier been chosen by the Continental Congress). He argued that the turkey was "a much more respectable Bird," "a true original Native of America," and "though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage."

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln became the first American president to proclaim a national day of thanksgiving
False. George Washington, John Adams and James Madison all issued proclamations urging Americans to observe days of thanksgiving, both for general good fortune and for particularly momentous events (the adoption of the U.S. Constitution, in Washington's case; the end of the War of 1812, in Madison's).

Macy's was the first American department store to sponsor a parade in celebration of Thanksgiving
False The Philadelphia department store Gimbel's had sponsored a parade in 1920, but the Macy's parade, launched four years later, soon became a Thanksgiving tradition and the standard kickoff to the holiday shopping season. The parade became ever more well-known after it featured prominently in the hit film Miracle on 34th Street (1947), which shows actual footage of the 1946 parade. In addition to its famous giant balloons and floats, the Macy's parade features live music and other performances, including by the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes and cast members of well-known Broadway shows.

Turkeys are slow-moving birds that lack the ability to fly.
False (kind of). Domesticated turkeys (the type eaten on Thanksgiving) cannot fly, and their pace is limited to a slow walk. Female domestic turkeys, which are typically smaller and lighter than males, can move somewhat faster. Wild turkeys, on the other hand, are much smaller and more agile. They can reach speeds of up to 20-25 miles per hour on the ground and fly for short distances at speeds approaching 55 miles per hour. They also have better eyesight and hearing than their domestic counterparts.

Native Americans used cranberries, now a staple of many Thanksgiving dinners, for cooking as well as medicinal purposes
True. According to the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Association, one of the country's oldest farmers' organizations, Native Americans used cranberries in a variety of foods, including "pemmican" (a nourishing, high-protein combination of crushed berries, dried deer meat and melted fat). They also used it as a medicine to treat arrow punctures and other wounds and as a dye for fabric. The Pilgrims adopted these uses for the fruit and gave it a name—"craneberry"—because its drooping pink blossoms in the spring reminded them of a crane.

The movement of the turkey inspired a ballroom dance.
True. The turkey trot, modeled on that bird's characteristic short, jerky steps, was one of a number of popular dance styles that emerged during the late 19th and early 20th century in the United States. The two-step, a simple dance that required little to no instruction, was quickly followed by such dances as the one-step, the turkey trot, the fox trot and the bunny hug, which could all be performed to the ragtime and jazz music popular at the time. The popularity of such dances spread like wildfire, helped along by the teachings and performances of exhibition dancers like the famous husband-and-wife team Vernon and Irene Castle.

On Thanksgiving Day in 2007, two turkeys earned a trip to Disney World.
True. On November 20, 2007, President George W. Bush granted a "pardon" to two turkeys, named May and Flower, at the 60th annual National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation, held in the Rose Garden at the White House. The two turkeys were flown to Orlando, Florida, where they served as honorary grand marshals for the Disney World Thanksgiving Parade. The current tradition of presidential turkey pardons began in 1947, under Harry Truman, but the practice is said to have informally begun with Abraham Lincoln, who granted a pardon to his son Tad's pet turkey.

Turkey contains an amino acid that makes you sleepy.
True. Turkey does contain the essential amino acid tryptophan, which is a natural sedative, but so do a lot of other foods, including chicken, beef, pork, beans and cheese. Though many people believe turkey's tryptophan content is what makes many people feel sleepy after a big Thanksgiving meal, it is more likely the combination of fats and carbohydrates most people eat with the turkey, as well as the large amount of food (not to mention alcohol, in some cases) consumed, that makes most people feel like following their meal up with a nap.

How many did you get right????

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!

Take the Thanksgiving day Quiz!

Happy day before Thanksgiving! Test your knowledge of the holiday.

Answer True or False to the following 9 questions. I'll post the answers tomorrow so you can see how well you did!

True or False

1. Thanksgiving is held on the final Thursday of November each year.


2. One of America's Founding Fathers thought the turkey should be the national bird of the United States.


3. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln became the first American president to proclaim a national day of thanksgiving


4. Macy's was the first American department store to sponsor a parade in celebration of Thanksgiving.


5. Turkeys are slow-moving birds that lack the ability to fly.


6. Native Americans used cranberries, now a staple of many Thanksgiving dinners, for cooking as well as medicinal purposes


7. The movement of the turkey inspired a ballroom dance.


8. On Thanksgiving Day in 2007, two turkeys earned a trip to Disney World.


9. Turkey contains an amino acid that makes you sleepy

Trust Him in the details.

Lately, God has been dealing with me on the issue of trust. How about you? Does trust come easy for you? Not for me. I grew up in an environment that didn't foster much trust. I never knew my father and none of my step-fathers stuck around long enough for me to develop any trust in them. Which was a good thing, since they always left. I basically learned that people leave and can't be counted on. When I gave my life over to God, I really struggled with trusting Him. For goodness sakes, I can't even see Him. How can I trust Him? How do I know He's there? How do I know He's got my back?

For years, I struggled to believe Him, to believe His word. And finally, I've started to really trust Him for the bigger issues in my life, like making it to heaven and my kids' salvation and having enough money to live on.. those sorts of things.

But what about the little things? I'm talking about things that hit your life everyday. Responsibilities, pressures, pains, failures, hurts, people who drive us nuts! Does God care about these things? Surely He's too busy with bigger world issues and saving the lost. So, I never really bothered God about the little things, and because I never bothered Him with them, I never learned to trust Him in the details.

I think part of my problem is that I all too often picture God as wise old man sitting on a throne in heaven surrounded by light. He's somewhere else where I can't go. He's busy. He doesn't see that I'm stressed or busy or frustrated. But the Bible says something very different.

But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Phill 4:5

Come near to God and he will come near to you. Hebrews 4:8

My husband is a scientist, and I don't understand much of what he says, but he got me interested in the topic of demensions. There are 4 demensions as we know it. Length, Width, Height and Time. But there are therories (string theory among them) that say several more dementions exist beyond our four. As my husband explained it to me, there could be creatures or beings or things in demension 5, 6, or 7 that are as solid and tangible as we are, but we cannot see them. What this means is that our Lord can be standing right beside us. He could be touching us, but we would not be able to see Him or feel Him. This really changed my perspective on things.

The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephania 3:17

Do you know God rejoices over you with singing?? God is with us. He is right beside us. And He cares whether you're stressed or frightened or you have a headache, or your feelings just got hurt. I'm not at all advocating that we walk around absorbed with our own petty problems. But I think it's so important for us to know that God cares about every detail of our lives. There's a scripture that says "He delights in the details of our lives" I couldn't find the reference but I know I've read it multiple times. He wants to be involved in every detail of your life! He wants to help you.

So, when I get stressed about my next deadline or hurt by a bad review! Ugg.. Or a friend ignores me or I burn dinner, I plan on just turning to God (cause He's standing right there) ask for His help and receive from Him a big heavenly hug!

He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. Psalm 18:19

Winner of Havah by Tosca Lee is....

Annabell!! Thank you all for entering!

I want to remind everyone that next month is The Raven Saint month. In honor of the book's release in January, I'll be giving away a free copy of The Raven Saint each week, starting Dec 4th. Plus I'll be posting different things about the story and the characters. I hope you can drop by and enter to win one of the books!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

Pictures from Fort McHenry, Baltimore. A view back in History! Enjoy

For such a time as this

"Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Esther 4:13-14

If you don't know the story of Esther, I encourage you to read the book in the Bible. It's one of my favorite stories. It has everything: Romance, Adventure, Intrigue, Deception.... you name it!

One of my favorite parts of the story is found in the scripture above. Esther, a lowly Jewish girl, by the divine providence of God has been made Queen of Persia. Due to a single man in power who hates the Jews, a decree has gone out by the King that all Jews in his kingdom are to be slaughtered. Of course, the King doesn't know his queen is a Jew! Esther's uncle begs her to go to the King to plead their cause, but Esther knows that if she approaches the King unannounced, she could be put to death.

There is so much about destiny in the book of Esther. If you have ever thought that your life is meaningless and you have no purpose or that God could never use you for anything important, you need to read about Esther! She was nothing but a lowly Jewish girl living in the middle of a very wicked kingdom.

Esther's uncle gives her a choice. She can either try and save her people or she can do nothing. Either way, God's will will be done. But the truth of the matter is, if she chooses to do nothing, she will have missed her destiny.

We can refuse to walk in obedience to God or cower in fear from our calling and God will undoubtedly still accomplish His agenda without us. But we would have passed up the fulfillment of our own entire life-purpose and we will miss out on being a part of something mighty, eternal and extraordinary.

Don't wait until it's too late to follow God with all your heart. How tragic it will be for those who choose to serve themselves in this life all the way into a meaningless existence. As they stand before God on judgement day, they will no doubt wail in agony for all they missed in this life.

If you are here today, then God has something for you to do.

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. Acts 17:26

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, Ephesians 1:11

Esther made the right choice. She risked her own life to obey God and in the process she saved an entire nation of people from annihilation.

What are you going to do? Only God knows the plans He has for you. All you need to do is listen and obey! And fulfill your destiny!