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    New Year’s Eve 2020

    How are you spending the last day of 2020? When I was in my teens and early 20’s, my friend and I had a yearly ritual. We always sat down to recap the events that had taken place in the last year. Without fail, we would be amazed at what had happened in just 365 days. Sometimes, we would write down things that we wanted to leave in that year, and then we would burn them. (I been deep and grown for a long time…LOL) While we no longer sit down together and go over the year’s events, I still do it with myself. This year, I decided to put…

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    Take A Seat

    Ummmmm…someone come check on Fitz the cat. He is currently nestled in his carrier case staring at me. He is waiting on a ride…to my mom’s house. <cue dramatic music> If you have not ever read the blog, then you have no clue that Bible Study Mama is not a big fan of Fitz. I have mentioned before that I had not ever pictured myself being a cat owner. I come from a dog family. Before I adopted Fitz, I consulted the cat owners that I knew. One in particular told me that I needed to make sure that I did not only pull out his carrier when it was…

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    Unpredictable

    Life is so unpredictable. Typically when people say that they are referring to sad moments. Dark times. The icky parts of life. But tonight, I had an unpredictable moment that put a smile on my face. And it was very timely. See, it had been one of those days where I was getting hit with one issue after another. You know the unpleasant unpredictable things. After playing phone tag with a variety of people, I realized that it was getting late in the evening. I still had not prepared dinner. I rolled off the couch and opened the pantry to see what I could rustle up. Voila! I had potatoes.…

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    Sermon Recap

    Rise Up and Stay Up

    Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2 I would not classify myself as a runner. Not even a little bit. I am a walker. I like to mosey along and check out the scenery when I…

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    Final Sunday of 2020

    Whew! We made it to the last Sunday of 2020. When the first Sunday of the year arrived, I was bright eyed and bushy tailed. It was all about 20/20 vision. I had so much excitement. I just knew that this year was going to be a year of triumph for me. And it was. Just not in the way that I expected. When March rolled around, the world changed for all of us. Although COVID-19 had been on the scene for months, new panic and concern stepped in. Businesses were closed and so were the doors of the church. Well, the physical doors of the church were closed. We…

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    For To Us A Child Is Born

    It came upon the midnight clear, That glorious song of old, From angels bending near the earth, To touch their harps of gold: “Peace on earth, goodwill to men, From heaven’s all-gracious King.” The world in solemn stillness lay, to hear the angels sing. It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, Edmund Sears Merry Christmas! Country shepherds were out in field minding the business that paid them. Quite literally. They were tending to their flocks of sheep. When out of nowhere, an angel of the Lord stood before them. A majestic sight and unlike anything they had ever seen before. Their natural reaction was to be afraid. The angel assured them…

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    Christmas

    Twas The Night Before Christmas

    Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a mouse….actually, I need to tell that to whatever creature is lumbering around my attic. They did not get the memo. Strange roommates aside, it truly is Christmas Eve. When I was a kid, we always got to open one present on Christmas Eve. We generally opened a smaller gift. Some years, it was videotapes or new pajamas. Or books. Or videogames. No matter the present, they always wet our whistle for the main attraction. When we unwrapped the gift, it really gave us a preview of the wonders that awaited us on…

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    Christmas

    Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

    I come from a poor family.  We didn’t have much.  But the Laaaaawd’s been good to me.  Now those are lyrics from a song, but they really are my testimony.  As I sit and think about Christmas from over 30 years ago, I can see how much the good Lord has blessed me and my family. Back in those days, we had some steadfast traditions that revolved around food.  You should know by now that I have a billion food related memories.  Christmas baking holds a special place in my heart.  My great-grandmother would be on a roll.  She would bake and bake.  The top of the deep freezer would…

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    Christmas

    Ho, Ho, No!

    Is that the sound of Santa’s reindeer on my roof?!?!  Nah…it’s just some creature that is seeking refuge from the cold in my attic.  As long as he stays up there and I stay down here, things will be A-okay!  Speaking of Santa and reindeer, I would like to tell you a little story about myself.  Do you have time?  Great! I was always an inquisitive kid.  It was very important to me to try and make sense of the world.  I read everything that I could get my hands on.  And I do mean everything.  Notes were not safe around me.  Bible Study Mama caught on to my habit…

  • Sermon Recap

    Rise Up and Keep Your Word

    We have reached the end of the Rise Up campaign.  The weeks have flown by, and I have learned so much.  Hearing the final sermon of the series in person made it that much more impactful.  Enough lollygagging.  We need to peel back the layers of the final chapter. Nehemiah 13 reveals people that are much like you and me.  They have put in the work to be better.  They have listened to God’s word.  They have praised.  They have promised.  They have dedicated the walls and their lives to the service of the Lord.  And then by chapter 13, they have moonwalked back into their old ways.  Well, not…

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