Santa Didn't Bring Me What I Wanted and Now I am Pouty!

I sent a letter to Santa, or maybe it was God. I remember writing the same thing last year, I thought perhaps the first got lost. So I picked up my pen and again jotted down my request, but once again on Christmas morn I realized I'd been forgot. I want to give the benefit of the doubt to the Giver of Gifts, but right now, my human nature is really throwing a fit. I want to stomp like a toddler and scream, "Hey, I've been really good!" Why didn't my two year old Christmas gift come wrapped as I think it should?
So what do you tell yourself when the magic is not found, when the Christmas lights still glitter, the songs are still sung, but your heart is not into it, when all's said and done. What do you tell your heart when it is crushed with disappointment? When the Gift Giver, the Answerer of Prayer, doesn't answer the way you think fair?
You can do what I've done and throw a sullen fit. You can walk around in a miff because of what you didn't get. Or you can write another letter, or rather get down on your knees and ask the Giver of Life for forgiveness....if you please. And while you are bowed down to the One who gives good gifts, present your requests to God again, and let Him decide what is best.
He knows what I need, but sees the desires of my heart. He loves me enough to say no and perhaps even before Christmas, He will answer this request for a Home.

Wrapping up the Year...

Merry Christmas! I’ve been thinking about what to wrap up for Jesus, as He is the birthday King. I was left with a sense of empty hands and didn’t know what to bring. I pondered what would honor Him and show Him my grateful love and this thought that moved me deep within, I encourage you also to give.

Each year, six days from now, we all begin a new. A list of resolutions we write to change and undo, the damage of the past years habits, the choices we’d like to see removed and so this list we create with a solemn vow to improve. And yet we endlessly fail again, perhaps with the same vows from last years end, and so this year I suggest that we wrap up these lists and place them before the One who can indeed help us succeed.

The problem with resolutions is the problem with man, we simply can’t change on our own and that is God’s plan. We have to realize that we will fail, and in knowing this weakness we will then succeed. Our resolutions are only as good as our recognition of God’s power in our lives and God’s power in our lives is only as good as we are willing to surrender to His will. Our gift to Jesus this year should be our wrapped up lists of what we will change and recognize that it is only He who can change us. This is what we need and what He wants for His birthday.

So I am making a list and checking it twice, I encourage you to do the same, I’ll make sure that I’m honest with what needs to go and give it to the King. Then I’ll take out the gift-wrap and boxes and bows and place this list under the tree, I’ll address it to Jesus and sign it with love from His creation, His child, from me.

Merry Christmas dear friends, we pray that you will have a New Year full of God’s grace and His Power of change in your lives as you surrender to His will in 2009!
Under His Mercy, The Selby Clan
Russ, Mary, Alethia, Abigayle, Adilynn and Austin

Sadness For My Country

I have been reading the blogs on Change.gov in regard to healthcare. In the conversation, the idea that somehow this is a "right", that this is all important and what will save our country, makes me sad. Our country needs missionaries! Our country needs the Lord Jesus Christ, not a Universal Healthcare System! The heart of our country is deceptively wicked and going to hell, but they are looking for a free government handout to fix their perceived woes.
Jesus said it best when he said that the sick need a doctor. Our country is sick, morally so, and in need of a Great Physician.
Pray for healing. Pray for our America and the "right" that it was founded on. The right to worship in freedom and in truth. Our dear country needs a Savior, not a Universal Healthcare System!

Sacrifice? Give me a break!

Oswald Chambers kept me from being a Jonah the other day. God asked us to stay and continue to help with the Greer kids even after Kevin returns from the Ukraine. In my heart, as we were talking to them on Skype, I knew the answer was yes, but of course we prayed first, because it is the 'spiritual' thing to do. The following morning, all three of my devotionals screamed: You will say "yes". Mr. Chambers spoke loudly in 'My Utmost for His Highest', "How can we talk of making a sacrifice for the Son of God! Our salvation is from hell and perdition, and then we talk about making sacrifices." Okay, Lord, I hear you. This is not a sacrifice.

Then I read in 'A Pillar By Day' this statement, "When we choose to take up the cross and say, "It's not about the what's easiest for me. It's about what's best for the most people I can possible reach and help. I'm going to go and do this, it's the way of the cross." (Jon Corson) Again, nailed between the eyes and the heart...I say "Yes Lord, I hear You."

Then, as if this was not enough, (Peter do you love me, feed my sheep!) I read Philippians 3: 7-11, "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider the passing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." Father, I hear you. There is no sacrifice in doing this, it is just what your Son would have done with joy in His heart and a smile on His lips. This is not the way of the cross, this is a walk in the park with the Lord.

I am so guilty of thinking that I am doing such a sacrificial work for the Lord when I step up and "do" for the Lord, but am I bleeding? I am not a martyr! Am I giving up my very life blood for another? Do I have scars in my hands to prove this sacrifice? We American Christians think we give up, 'sacrifice' so much....PLEASE! Name one thing that falls in the category of "The fellowship of sharing in His sufferings" that occurs in our lives in the United States. Quickly, the Jeopardy theme song is playing....name one sacrifice that we have made that is the way of the Cross. Times up. Nothing. Right?

I hope that this has speared your heart straight through, as it did mine. We look around and see what we are missing, the bad economy and the lack of vanity items we may be forced to give up, the time we lose by being a 'servant for God', in the nursery, babysitting, helping our neighbors, the list can go on, and yet the is no blood, sweat or tears. Tragic that we are soft, pampered and ill prepared for the fire that previous Saints have suffered through and even those in the persecuted church around the world today endure, they have shared in the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, I will not be a Jonah. Whales are beautiful on the outside only. I will go to Nineveh and not take a side trip inside this beast because I choose not to obey when I am called to serve.
How about you? Feeling sacrificial?

voting made possible by a long wait in line

An hour and a half ticked by as I watched the people around me stirring in their seats, talking with the stranger next to them, all waiting for the same event. I have never had the privilege of waiting so long to cast my ballot. It was exciting to see the amount of people who were voting today. There was a sense of urgency and perhaps pride in the crowded waiting room. The lack of apathy should be cause for celebration, and yet I feel doomed to the inevitable. As I looked around the room, I was the minority in almost every sense of the word. It was America in waiting, as far as the melting pot image goes, that we have grown to know and appreciate. All walks of life were represented. I saw several gays, many Latinos, two old couples who just arrived off the bus from Woodstock, a woman sporting her donkey covered democrat t-shirt stating: Sex and Voting....you fill in the blank. and the Afro-American (to be pc) were out in force. I am sure there were some conservatives in the mix, but if looks could kill, the conservative vote was in the line of fire.

I had a blog discussion with a young man this past week regarding Obama and his extreme stance on abortion. Abortion has been on the back burner this campaign season, because the saviour effect, the economy and biased media has controlled the discussion. But abortion should continue to be a key talking point for Conservatives and somewhere along the way, it was stashed in the baggage hold of the election train. The young man didn't want to really discuss the abortion issue, he was taking offense to the comparison of abortion and slavery. He thought it was in poor taste because of the color of the Democratic Candidates skin. This comparison has been strongly made in past forums and long before Obama ever came on the scene. The young man encouraged me not to vote for a candidate based on one issue. I agree, but turned the table on him as his argument fails in view of the fact that most of the people I saw voting today were voting because of the one issue: Change "A black man for president". They haven't really read what the Obama plan means for them. They probably haven't been on the official website and looked into what he believes for education, war, energy, health care. I have read the fine print and would not vote for him even if he was my favorite shade of green. His philosophy of life is not the Christian World View that I hold and that I love and cherish.

So is there hope for those of us who cling to a Biblical World view? Can conservatives still win in this election? Only if the grassroots conservatives make up their mind to not lay down and play beat already can we save this country from a dangerous left turn.
Vote. Wait in line and vote. It matters more than ever. Make history and know that no matter what happens, you have earned the right to complain.

boycott obama

Hi everyone,
My dad, Tom Logan, sent the following letter to Fox because of the audacious amount of time that has been given to Obama for a commercial during the World Series.

Dear Sirs: It has come to my attention that Major League Baseball has moved the start time of World Series game 6 back 8 minutes to accommodate FOX so they can air a 30 minute campaign message by Sen. Obama. Who applied the pressure to cause such a decision? It is obvious that FOX will be paid handsomely for that air time, but what caused Major League Baseball to buckle under . . . more money? or a political agenda?
I will be watching each game and taking note of every sponsor. I will not buy one product from any of them and I would think others might do likewise.
Tom Logan

Here is a new article regarding the commercial.
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) –
Barack Obama might have the power to move the World Series by a few minutes.To accommodate the half-hour October 29 time buy by the Obama campaign, Major League Baseball has agreed to move the start time of World Series Game 6 by about 15 minutes, from about 8:20 p.m. ET to 8:35 p.m."Fox will accommodate Senator Obama's desire to communicate with voters in this longform format," Fox Sports said in a statement. "We are pleased that Major League Baseball has agreed to delay the first pitch of World Series Game 6 for a few minutes in order for Fox to carry his program on October 29. If requested, the network would be willing to make similar time available to Senator McCain's campaign."Along with CBS and NBC, Fox was approached by the Obama campaign last week to purchase the 8-8:30 p.m. time slot October 29. If a Game 6 is needed, Fox is obligated to carry the game. That prevented the network from agreeing outright to carry the commercial, which was cleared by CBS and NBC last Thursday.The blessing from MLB clears the way for Fox to air the promo and collect upward of $1 million in ad revenue for the half hour, more than what either CBS or NBC was charging.While a big network ad buy from a presidential candidate is rare, it's not unprecedented for a network and sports league to move the start time of a sports event to accommodate a political broadcast. In early September, the National Football League moved up the kickoff time of the opening-night game -- which aired on NBC -- to 7 p.m. to make sure that the game would be over before Sen. John McCain stepped up to the podium to accept the nomination of the Republican party during its national convention.Reuters/Hollywood Reporter Please respond in like manner, passing this boycott on to other friends and letting the news media, who has worshipped and promoted the ground that Obama has walked on, that Americans are not pleased to have America's game politicized in such a blatantly partisan manner.

Thank you for your Patriotic help!
Under His Mercy,
Mary Selby

to be

To just "Be" in Christ...that is the question. How to "be" at His feet on Sunday (or any day), when you are called to serve is a line I am trying to walk. How to Prepare for the Sabbath, to gather the quail and manna the day before, prepare the meal, and gather the firewood so that the day of Worship is a "being" day in Christ not a "doing" day.
God created the Sabbath for man to find rest in Him, to be still and know that He is God. I am trying to find that balance and yet serve Him by leading others into worship. Even if I were sitting at His feet, physically before Jesus as Mary was, could I shut down my concerns and my desire to please and "do" perfectly and really worship? How do we take the gifts that are only ours because they come from the Giver of Life and cast them before His throne is such a way that we leave earths presence and enter into His?
How to "be" in a "do" world is a life long lesson I am afraid, and I don't think I am anywhere close to getting it.
But I pray today, that I can "be" with God in worship and see His face while all else fades away.