damascus.road

So we've seen so many pictures, movie scenes, etc of the Nativity. Well like many things in Israel they just don't look quite like you have imagined. I wish that I could go back a little over 2000 years ago and be able to show you some pictures of the place as it was with Mary holding the baby Lord Jesus, God with Us. I would try to get a wide enough shot to get the Wisemen as they knelt there with their gifts. The Shepards would be there too. They would be there in their filthy clothes. They'd still be pale from seeing the angel and the Glory of God that they had just experienced. I can't give you any of that, but here is where the place looks like today... This is the Church of the Nativity: After walking deep into the church, you walk down into a shallow cave that the church was build on top of. This was the spot that Jesus was born. If you turn 180° from the above shot, you see the spot where they laid him. The manger would have been somewhere in this tight spot.

As soon as we got finished eating supper Alan starts wrapping Christmas presents. He is in the back for a while and he comes out with some gift boxes and a few presents. I instantly notice the PINK wrapping paper!!! I didn't say anything at first, but then I just couldn't resist. I asked him what is the deal with the pink paper? He replied, Its for the girl gifts. He came back with a red and green Christmas sack but instead of having the traditional red, green, or white tissue paper to match..... BLUE! Yep, you guessed it. That was a boy gift! There will be no getting Tyson and Zoe's presents confused this year. SMILE!

I belong to the body of Christ. I no longer live, but Christ lives within me. So, I say that to ask for a favor. Since I am a representative of Jesus Christ and claim to live how the Bible tells Christians to live..... if you see me living outside of God's clear and perfect guidelines I want you to CALL ME ON IT! The Bible actually says that Christians should do that. (1 Corinthians 5:9-12) God will judge the people of the world, but Paul tells the church at Corinth to judge people who are in the church (actual believers). That is what I want you to do for me. I will not be offended at all. I will be thankful. I never want to displease my Lord by saying I am a Christian and not live Christ like.(or being a stumbling block) I hear many people who claim to be saved stating that it is hard to live the Christian life. They use Paul as an example to justify this. Well, Paul didn't struggle living for God. His struggle was wanting to live perfect and knowing he could never be. Paul c

Ok folks. Go to the bathroom, Grab you a cup of joe, and hold on for the ride because this my take a while. Yep, I'm letting it all hang out. Here's what Jesus has done for me. ( And the list is still growing) Like many people in the Bible belt, I was raised in church. Actually, I was made to go to church pretty much all my life until I was off to college. I was raised by my grandmother since I was 2 months old, and she made sure that I was in church practically every time the doors were opened. There were times that I liked it and there were times I resented it. As I grew older, I started questioning things that I was taught, God, the Bible, Jesus, etc. I NEVER wanted to believe something "because my grandmother said so" (Even though I highly regarded her opinion most of the time). Throughout my elementary and high school years, I lead a "Christian" lifestyle. By that I mean that I didn't party or drink or cuss (much) or fight, etc... If you would h

I overheard Zoe playing school last night. She was calling roll and being very enthusiastic for each child. She would welcome them in the class and even comment on how nice they looked. I recognized names of kids in her class as she called them and she had family members as well. Then I heard.... "Jesus". And a second later she replied "here." (as she had for each child) Tyson: Zoe, Jesus doesn't go to school. He already knows everything. Zoe: Tyson, do not talk out in class or I will pull your card. A few minutes later...... Zoe: No you can not go to the restroom. You need to get in your seat now! Why cant you stay in your seat like Jesus? SMILE!

I'm having a Christmas tree crisis this year. I have to laugh because well its one of those "that only happens to me" things. You may know that I was unable to get the Christmas tree's light to work when I originally tried to get it up one night last week. All week I patiently waited for Alan's return so he could get the lights working and we could decorate and all would be well in the land of Christmas trees. Alan started looking at the tree and he determined that it was just a broke tree. ( this was determined after shaking and twisting every single bulb ) Alan was also on call on Saturday so he is constantly being pulled away from the tree and time was ticking away. My precious time! I had made a schedule in my head as to how my Saturday was going to be played out. I even made the verbal announcement to the entire family during Saturday morning snuggle time. Well it was already well past noon and still NO TREE! So, I did the only thing I knew to do! Get the &qu

A few days after I made Jesus the Lord of my life I decided to compare my salvation security that I had before with the security I have today. I wanted to see why I was so convinced for all my life (except the last year) that I was going to go to Heaven when I died, and now how I can see so clearly that my religion was going to send me straight to Hell. To do this I made a list of things that I would have told someone how I knew I was saved or going to Heaven if they were to ask me at any point in my life from my profession of faith until October 9th. I was able to prove myself wrong with scripture. This is a really wise thing to do. (try it) I want to share with you my list and the scriptures. I ask that you take the time to read the scripture!!! I believe in Jesus (birth, life, death and resurrection). James 2:19 says that the demons believe in one God and tremble. Even Satan himself believes in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and the demons or the Devil aren't going to go to Hea