New Blog Title - Fulfilled By Christ

Writing this blog is something the Lord has gently nudged me to do over the past year or so.  It created in me such a desire to write that at times it was overwhelming.  So after a time I created the blog and began to note some things as I felt like it. The topics have been extremely random. I was afraid to narrow it down. Sometimes I feel that I am so heavenly focused that I no longer know how to live here today. Now, please understand, that I am not saying I am perfect (or that I think I am). I am far removed from such thoughts or reality. However, my Savior has captured my heart completely. I am bound to Him in such a way that I fear that I might write about Him and His Word even if not called to do so.  Well, the time has come to submit to His service.  I have feared that I could not write anything that would glorify Him enough but I forgot His ability to use those who would serve Him. And for that I must ask His forgiveness.
So with that being said, I have renamed my blog.  My hope is that it will glorify Him.  That He will transform my words into His words. That something here would touch the heart and make a difference for at least one person.  I wanted to give an elaborate reason for the name and verse used. But truth be told, it would not leave me. God brought this verse to mind and would not allow me to move from it. And then I thought ~ how fitting. All that I could possibly share in the stretch of this blog could not be more than a taste. But a taste is enough for you to know beyond understanding that He is good and so many need His refuge. So if you are here taking your time to read this, my prayer is that you will get a taste of Him and find the refuge you seek ~ and that by Him you will be fulfilled.

Hope

It has occurred to me so many times over the past year that we live in a dry and thirsty land. As such, we are often robbed of something critical in our lives and that something is "hope". Without hope, what is there? Without hope, how could we possibly make it? At the end of the day when we lay down with our own thoughts and dreams, hope is everything pure and simple. Unfortunately, there is little in this world that offers real hope. In a second, dreams can be dashed, hearts can be broken and lives can be ruined. Even when we think all is well. . .that can change in a second. However, I believe that most people are already crushed to some and possibly great extent. It could have been any number of emotionally or physically destructive things that have happened in their lives. The person may be recovering (if a bit calloused) or floundering completely. None the less, dreams have died perhaps along with a bit of self and hope is lost. If we count on ourselves or this world, then that is the end of the story. Sure it plods on but it continues in the same sense of despair. Praise God we are not dependent on the hope we or the world can offer. 1 Peter 3:15 says, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;". Did you get that? It says, hope is within us. But yet we cannot depend on ourselves. This hope within us is different. It is, according to Colossians 1:27 ("To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.") Christ within you is your hope. The Holy Spirit living within you will give you hope where there otherwise there would be none. To know this hope, you must spend time with Him. It is the only way to experience the hope He offers while still on this earth. God made it so simple. . . we make it so complicated. His whole purpose for creation was to have a relationship with us. When we spend time with Him we begin to understand and He (by faith) gives us hope. A most beautiful treasure!

Nooks

One of my favorite possessions, no doubt, is my Nook. I started with the black and white version, then moved to Nook Color and recently to the new Tablet. So I wanted to share thoughts for those who might be trying to decide. Now these thoughts are for the basic user, not the techno geeks who will immediately make changes that Barnes and Noble would not be so happy with. First thing to note is that even with the more expensive versions, I have still missed the black and white Nook at times. For basic reading, it is definitely superior as long as you have light. It is easy on the eyes and the sun does not glare from it. The main reason that I went to the color is because it does not require a light to read. However, it is definitely harder on my eyes. So if you will be simply reading and always have light available black and white is the way to go. Now in addition to reading, the Nook color is wonderful for playing games. I have loved some Angry Birds on Nook Color. I have used it to go online when necessary but it is cumbersome at best. Recently, my husband so graciously acquired the Nook Tablet for me. It does everything the Nook Color does but has some extra features. It is a tad lighter in weight. Getting online is less cumbersome. It also comes preloaded with Netflix and Hulu Plus. Now you still must do the monthly subscription on these but it is impression that you can watch TV or movies on this small device. It also can be used for Facebook and other social media. Basically, it depends on the user as to which is best. But if you have someone on your list who is an avid reader. . . look at the barnesandnoble.com Nook. By the way, one last note is that I get many of my books free from www.christianbooks.com or www.barnesandnoble.com. Just check occasionally and grab them up when they are available. Hope this is helpful.

New Toys and Warranties

At a time of year when so many new toys are bought and many of them pricy, I want to pass on a hard learned lesson. This is the warranty lesson. We have always been ones to search for the best deal when buying most anything but especially something as big as appliances. Well we learned the hard way that price isn't everything. In fact, these days many stores will match the price from another making the price matter even less. So the talk goes to extended warranties. Now I am skipping the debate on their general value. Anyone who has purchased an appliance in recent years knows they do not last. All you need to do is read online reviews to be scared witless. So to get back on subject, read all the fine print on the extended warranty. Look at it this way, you will be forced to sooner or later. For example, when do they consider the product a lemon and simply replace it. We found on our Lowes extended plan, it had to be the exact same repair three times in the same year. Unfortunately, a lemon can have lots of problems and since the parts get replaced as the problems occur they can be different. Of all the plans we looked at, hhgregg.com and sears.com seem to be the best. Overall, I felt Sears won out. However, even the salesman had special instructions on how to get the best service which required involving him in the repair. Not sure how effective that would be long-term. I guess the moral is that none of them are great but some are definitely far better than others. So shop wisely this season.

Christmas Gifts

Every year we put so much thought into gifts for those we love. We spend hours hunting that perfect gift through a madhouse of people who have become ill tempered in their own quest. We give our hard earned money to pay for the cherished item. Then we bring it home and feel the delight as we wrap it with care. Anticipation builds as the day arrives and our heart nearly burst when the time comes to share the prize with the intended.Today I found a couple of those gifts and carefully did the wrapping. My heart was already full with excitement. Then it occurred to me. . .how much more must God be full of excitement to share His gift. That is the gift of His Son. The one He sent into the ill tempered world for one purpose. His purpose was to pay the price for the most precious gift of all. . .US. Yet so many of us have failed to accept His gift and those of us who have often don't understand the value or the responsibility. I pray that my goal this Christmas season will be to know the Savior more than ever before, cherish His gift like the prize it is, and share with some that need to know their gift is waiting too. Oh how that will make this Christmas the most special ever!