Not so long ago, I spent Christmas alone and isolated. It has been a few years back, but I don't think I will ever forget that time period of my life. When you find yourself alone, suddenly, in early November, you begin to realize how many celebrations occur between November to February (for the record...there's a bunch!) and how empty it can feel when you don't have someone to share in those times. Those dates on the calendar that everyone else happily anticipates...you dread and cringe as they approach. I have first-hand knowledge of that emptiness, so my heart goes out to those of you who are alone this Christmas season. It can be a very difficult, depressing, and non-joyful time for those that are struggling with losses.
Here's the thing...the Christmas I spent alone turned out to be one of the very best in some very non-traditional ways. Because of prior plans with my own family, we celebrated the holiday the week before Christmas. I had friends take me in and invite me to their gatherings for Christmas Eve and Day locally, but here's where that whole "planning" thing came to bite me yet again. All my planning did not factor in the fact that a great blizzard would hit North Texas that particular Christmas. The roads were treacherous as I drove home from a Christmas Eve service at my church and by Christmas morning, we had what we never have here in Texas....a beautiful WHITE Christmas.
Everyone else was celebrating and staying indoors with their loved ones, opening gifts around the fire, and probably celebrating the fact that it was too icey to get on the roads to Grandma's house, while I realized the thing I feared the most had just happened. Yep, I was alone, trapped at my house, secluded out in the country for Christmas. What a loser I felt like in that moment! I was determined to make the most of the situation and I spent a lot of time that day in prayer and reading my Bible. And as only the Lord can do, He turned what could have been a very depressing day into a great and memorable day. Through His word, He revealed so many things to me that turned out to be blueprints for the future, even if I couldn't fathom the how's and why's quite yet. His presence was so heavy and tangible that day, I ended up not feeling alone at all. I was so excited about the revelations He gave to me, that I called an emergency meeting of all my prayer group and friends for a few days later! I think they were worried I was going to be a mess when they showed up, but instead I was re-charged and energized for the fight I had ahead. Looking back, that was a pivotal moment for me and it was a turning point in my struggles. Not to say, it was all rosey and uphill from there because there were some dark, painful, and tough times ahead. But I see that particular Christmas as a turning point in my walk with the Lord. I really understood what it meant to lay it all down and let Him be my Comforter and my every present help in times of trouble. I now see that snowstorm as a gift from God...it made me slow down, and in the isolation He did His best work in me.
So what could have been a no-good-very-bad-terrible day, turned into a wonderful day. I ended up outside making snowmen, spending time in my barn with my horses in the snow and just being happy to be right where I was in that moment because I had the comfort of God's plan and it was going to be good despite what my current circumstances looked like. Now, a few years down the road, as I approach this Christmas, I'm so very thankful that I allowed that work to be done in me. It was painful and it was a tough process, but I wouldn't have the happiness I have today if it wasn't for those tough times. I'm also thankful for that Christmas, because it MADE me focus on the real reason and meaning for the season. Everything else had been stripped away, so I was forced to get back to the basics. Turns out, that's where the real JOY of Christmas was all along!
For those of you who find yourself NOT looking forward to the holiday season everyone else is so ecstatic and crazed about...I encourage you to find the good in your situation. Draw near to God and He for sure will draw near to you. This is a season in your life and it won't last forever. There are good days, full of laughter and happiness ahead. Trust in your LORD and SAVIOR...the very same one that had the ultimate plan that Christmas night so many years ago to send a baby into this fallen world, in order that we could one day have eternal life with HIM...that same Lord is still on the throne. He's still in control and He's still the King. If HE can come up with that plan...well then, He can do anything He wants in our little lives if we let Him have the reins and be the ONE in control!
Listen to one who has been there, done that and has the T-shirt...life as you know it will get better. I promise. Let Go and Let God do a work in You!
Isaiah 43:19
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
Praying for the hurting this Christmas,
JOY
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
Making My List and Checking It Twice
In the midst of the busy holiday season, I find myself always creating a plan: a plan for shopping, a plan for holiday events on the calendar, a plan for who gets what for Christmas, a plan for how we spend the holidays with family, a plan for....well you get the picture. I have a plan for my plans! It's ridiculous!
Here's the thing though...I got a pretty big wakeup call from my "planning" during Thanksgiving. A few hours after I wrote about being thankful for my family's health, my sweet mother ended up in emergency surgery on Thanksgiving day for a bowel obstruction. How's that for irony? Thankfully, after a week in the hospital, she has recovered and is resting at home now. During that holiday week, I kept readjusting my plans due to emergency situations...and they kept changing by the hour! After a day of planning and re-planning, I finally just prayerfully submitted and admitted I was going to take things one day at a time and roll with the flow and hand the reins over to the ONE who was actually in control all along. I was finally tired of planning, if you can believe that! Because guess what? My plans just kept failing...over and over and over again.
Does anyone, other than me, see the lesson in all of this? I think the Lord was gently reminding me that He's the ultimate plan maker...not me. Because let's face it, our plans fail a good portion of the time. When hectic schedules come, the answer is not more plans. The answer is trusting in Him, laying down the frustrations at His feet, and just taking it one day at a time, because that's all we have been promised anyways.
Since that prayer of submittal, I've been tested more than once. Our family Christmas plans, on both sides, have changed yet again. That normally would have frustrated me to no end, but this year, I just had to laugh and almost expect it in some ways. I'm reminded, especially this time of the year, of what is truly important. Not the gifts, not the plans nor the food (although I really do love the food), but the real celebration of the miracle birth of my Lord and Savior. If I concentrate on THAT...then everything else lines up and my perspective shifts, my heart changes, and all that planning really doesn't mean a thing anymore.
This Christmas, my wish for each of you is to enjoy each moment and celebrate what you do have and focus on the here and now. Cherish the time with your loved ones! Don't get lost in the hustle and bustle and commercialism of this season...choose to get lost in the love of our Savior who was born so each of us can find rest in Him every day of the year for now and forever more.
Merry CHRISTmas!
JOY
Here's the thing though...I got a pretty big wakeup call from my "planning" during Thanksgiving. A few hours after I wrote about being thankful for my family's health, my sweet mother ended up in emergency surgery on Thanksgiving day for a bowel obstruction. How's that for irony? Thankfully, after a week in the hospital, she has recovered and is resting at home now. During that holiday week, I kept readjusting my plans due to emergency situations...and they kept changing by the hour! After a day of planning and re-planning, I finally just prayerfully submitted and admitted I was going to take things one day at a time and roll with the flow and hand the reins over to the ONE who was actually in control all along. I was finally tired of planning, if you can believe that! Because guess what? My plans just kept failing...over and over and over again.
Does anyone, other than me, see the lesson in all of this? I think the Lord was gently reminding me that He's the ultimate plan maker...not me. Because let's face it, our plans fail a good portion of the time. When hectic schedules come, the answer is not more plans. The answer is trusting in Him, laying down the frustrations at His feet, and just taking it one day at a time, because that's all we have been promised anyways.
Since that prayer of submittal, I've been tested more than once. Our family Christmas plans, on both sides, have changed yet again. That normally would have frustrated me to no end, but this year, I just had to laugh and almost expect it in some ways. I'm reminded, especially this time of the year, of what is truly important. Not the gifts, not the plans nor the food (although I really do love the food), but the real celebration of the miracle birth of my Lord and Savior. If I concentrate on THAT...then everything else lines up and my perspective shifts, my heart changes, and all that planning really doesn't mean a thing anymore.
This Christmas, my wish for each of you is to enjoy each moment and celebrate what you do have and focus on the here and now. Cherish the time with your loved ones! Don't get lost in the hustle and bustle and commercialism of this season...choose to get lost in the love of our Savior who was born so each of us can find rest in Him every day of the year for now and forever more.
Merry CHRISTmas!
JOY
Matthew 6:25-34
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving Ya'll!
As we begin to prepare for the big feast tomorrow and before the official hustle and bustle begins, I want to take a few moments to reflect and express gratitude on this Thanksgiving Eve and I encourage you all to take time to do the same. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays, and that's probably no coincidence since it falls in my favorite month of November!
This year I'm thankful for:
This year I'm thankful for:
- A wonderful husband who loves me no matter what and who is my best friend
- A step-son who is entertaining and fun to watch as he grows and matures
- My sweet family that I see all the time now, as well as my new in-law-family which equals double the fun!
- Precious friends who I love to laugh with until my sides hurt
- A job and a career that I truly enjoy and I am always challenged by (did anyone else operate on a skunk yesterday? I think not...!)
- Great employees/friends to work with every day and laugh with (we like to laugh a lot around here)
- Serving a God who gives us ample second and third chances, and who always has a plan...a really good plan...for our lives
- Nieces and nephews that see the world differently, through fresh eyes so the most simple things are new again
- Pumpkins...thank you God for making those as I honestly can't get enough of their sweet flavor during this season!
- 36 years of health...to the point I feel MUCH younger than I am...(and I look it, too...right?!)
- Freedom to worship any way I choose
- Horses in my barn and enjoying their quirky personalities
- Celebrating a November without drama
- A sister who is also my best friend and partner in crime (if only she lived closer!)
- A neurotic dog who amuses me...as in right now while she runs around my office trying to catch flies in her mouth
- The little things that make me smile
- Laughter, and a lot of it...
- College football (Gig 'Em Aggies)
- A job where I get to wear jeans every day
- A year of happiness and fresh starts and very few tears
- Black Friday shopping! It's a sport...not for the faint at heart ;)
1 Chronicles 16:34
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Psalm 7:17
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Psalm 7:17
I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness; I will sing the praises of the name of the LORD Most High.
Blessings to you All!
JOY
Monday, October 31, 2011
Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Rex Neely
Over the past few years, I've written quite a few blogs, which many of you have read, and therefore have been included on my journey in a round-about-way. The last few years have been quite a process, but looking back, there was always a bigger picture. What I didn't know when I started this blog was that it was giving me a voice that turned out to be a ministry of sorts, proving that God really can use any and all things to do His work. There have been so many tears shed by me and on behalf of me in the past, so I'm finally glad to have something happy to report! In 2011 alone, there have been so many full circle moments and "AH-HAs" that God has used to teach me some valuable lessons...mainly that His ways are better than my ways all the time!
The biggest light-bulb moment thus far happened on October 22nd as I stood on the white, sandy beach of Destin, Florida and said "I Do!" to the love of my life, Mr. Rex Neely. All of my mistakes, hurts and questions of the past got answered on that day. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the Lord had been preparing me for that moment for quite awhile. Our wedding was a celebration of our trust in the Lord, even in some dark times, and hanging on to His promises in the good times and the bad. During our ceremony, I had this sense of cherishing every second and not wanting to forget one thing that was said or was happening as it was all so very surreal. I remember thinking as we got towards the end that I never wanted it to end and I wanted the minister to slow down! I was so enjoying every moment! We both really wanted to feel God's presence on our special day and several things happened that made us both smile and reassure us that He was most certainly smiling down upon us.
First off, the weather was absolutely perfect. Not too cold, not too hot, not windy, not humid, not a cloud in the sky...absolutely perfect. I had worried about that part of it, and I had to smile as I walked down the "aisle" that God had created the perfect day. Later, my sister told me that all during the ceremony and while we were having pictures made after, there was a Monarch butterfly following me around, to the point of people beginning to notice (everyone except me!)...I like to think of it as a little guardian angel fluttering about and protecting us! Despite being on a public beach, we had picked a remote place in hopes that the wedding would not be gawking-material for every random tourist. There were people at a distance in their beach chairs soaking up the sun but they were SILENT during the ceremony. I could see several of them hanging on our every word! After the minister pronounced us 'Mr. and Mrs. Neely', we turned around to the sound of our "guests" clapping, which was sweet, unexpected and made us laugh. Later, after the cake was cut and we were relaxing before dinner, two of the beach goers came over to our table and introduced themselves. They had been laying on the beach all day and when they saw the area being set up for the wedding earlier in the day, they decided they should pray for whoever was getting married later. As we visited with these complete strangers, they said after hearing our vows, then knew we were Christians and they could just tell how much we loved one another, how happy we were and they knew God had asked them in advance to cover us in prayer. What do you say to that?! (That caused me and my sister to cry yet again!). We never saw them again, but I will always remember their sweet words and how they allowed God to use them. Besides those two sweet ladies, I can not tell you how many phone calls, texts, emails and Facebook messages we got from friends and family saying they were praying at 3pm for us, which was the time of the wedding. I can tell you, however, that each of those prayers were felt. We are so blessed to have such wonderful support! And lastly, that night as we sat on the beach for our private "toes in the sand" dinner, God delivered the most gorgeous sunset I have ever seen in my life-to-date. It truly was a work of art that felt like it has been hand-painted just for us. Even though I know there isn't much perfect in this fallen, messed-up world we live in, that day felt perfect. It was all we hoped for, looked forward to and so much more! I know that did not happen by accident...it was because God was there in some mighty ways making sure of it.
For all of you who have prayed for me over the years, thank you from the bottom of my heart. God answered so many prayers and redeemed the pain of the past on October 22nd for both Rex and I...and He's not done yet! This truly marks a beginning for the two of us, not just as husband and wife, but in how the Lord is going to use us to do His work in the future. Exciting times for the Neely Family!
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
JOY
The biggest light-bulb moment thus far happened on October 22nd as I stood on the white, sandy beach of Destin, Florida and said "I Do!" to the love of my life, Mr. Rex Neely. All of my mistakes, hurts and questions of the past got answered on that day. I knew without a shadow of a doubt that the Lord had been preparing me for that moment for quite awhile. Our wedding was a celebration of our trust in the Lord, even in some dark times, and hanging on to His promises in the good times and the bad. During our ceremony, I had this sense of cherishing every second and not wanting to forget one thing that was said or was happening as it was all so very surreal. I remember thinking as we got towards the end that I never wanted it to end and I wanted the minister to slow down! I was so enjoying every moment! We both really wanted to feel God's presence on our special day and several things happened that made us both smile and reassure us that He was most certainly smiling down upon us.
First off, the weather was absolutely perfect. Not too cold, not too hot, not windy, not humid, not a cloud in the sky...absolutely perfect. I had worried about that part of it, and I had to smile as I walked down the "aisle" that God had created the perfect day. Later, my sister told me that all during the ceremony and while we were having pictures made after, there was a Monarch butterfly following me around, to the point of people beginning to notice (everyone except me!)...I like to think of it as a little guardian angel fluttering about and protecting us! Despite being on a public beach, we had picked a remote place in hopes that the wedding would not be gawking-material for every random tourist. There were people at a distance in their beach chairs soaking up the sun but they were SILENT during the ceremony. I could see several of them hanging on our every word! After the minister pronounced us 'Mr. and Mrs. Neely', we turned around to the sound of our "guests" clapping, which was sweet, unexpected and made us laugh. Later, after the cake was cut and we were relaxing before dinner, two of the beach goers came over to our table and introduced themselves. They had been laying on the beach all day and when they saw the area being set up for the wedding earlier in the day, they decided they should pray for whoever was getting married later. As we visited with these complete strangers, they said after hearing our vows, then knew we were Christians and they could just tell how much we loved one another, how happy we were and they knew God had asked them in advance to cover us in prayer. What do you say to that?! (That caused me and my sister to cry yet again!). We never saw them again, but I will always remember their sweet words and how they allowed God to use them. Besides those two sweet ladies, I can not tell you how many phone calls, texts, emails and Facebook messages we got from friends and family saying they were praying at 3pm for us, which was the time of the wedding. I can tell you, however, that each of those prayers were felt. We are so blessed to have such wonderful support! And lastly, that night as we sat on the beach for our private "toes in the sand" dinner, God delivered the most gorgeous sunset I have ever seen in my life-to-date. It truly was a work of art that felt like it has been hand-painted just for us. Even though I know there isn't much perfect in this fallen, messed-up world we live in, that day felt perfect. It was all we hoped for, looked forward to and so much more! I know that did not happen by accident...it was because God was there in some mighty ways making sure of it.
For all of you who have prayed for me over the years, thank you from the bottom of my heart. God answered so many prayers and redeemed the pain of the past on October 22nd for both Rex and I...and He's not done yet! This truly marks a beginning for the two of us, not just as husband and wife, but in how the Lord is going to use us to do His work in the future. Exciting times for the Neely Family!
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
JOY
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| Rex & Joy Neely |
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