The Reason For The Season

This Kincaid painting of Jesus is really all that we need to see or talk about on this special day-Christmas 2016.  This painting was given to us by our children some years ago so it has special significance for us.  It hangs near our bed so that it is the last thing we see at night and first thing in the morning. The picture isn't what we honor though.  It is the person of the picture that makes a difference in our days. Do we always give Him the honor due Him?  I am afraid not.  The activities planned for the day, the mood we are in, the stresses that we insist on carrying and the giants that overwhelm us take the emphasis off the one Person who could help us thru the day and instead we plod along with the impression we have to do it ourselves.  When you read my book, I've Always Been Rich" I tell how this way of living and thinking can steal our joy and bring chaos into our lives. Recently I read  the 21st Chapter of Second Samuel about how David was faced with the giant Goliath.  It is one of many interesting and provocative stories of the Bible. David knew the odds were stacked against him except for one important and defining difference.  He knew Goliath was a godless person and he knew the God of the Bible was on his side.  He had the assurance of God's presence with him and knew the battle was his because of that presence.  He faced the giant with a sling and 5 stones and took the giant down.  I believe as Christians we frequently fail to recognize the power God gives us.  When we walk with Him and put our confidence in Him we can do what would naturally seem impossible.  In my book I talk about how extremely shy and introverted I was as a child and especially as a teen and young adult. I would get extremely tense, sweaty and nervous if I was only required to say 1 or 2 sentences in a group.  Now it was not a fast change or one I just fell into but God saw my weakness and choose to use it by enabling me to become a pastor.  The amazing part is that He knew I could not take any credit for the ability to speak publically because that was my weakest point.  He had to tweak and  prune and enable for that change to happen.  The picture above of Jesus is hanging crooked.  That reminds me that Jesus lives in a world that needs some straightening out.  The anger and hate in this world is horrendous.  But Jesus is calm in the midst of chaos.  If we look at Him we will be able to have calmness in the midst of the storms of life.  Life with Jesus as your Savior and Lord  and the giants of your life will be overcome when he empowers you with His Spirit.  He loves you and wants you to live a life of  joy.  That is an amazing present for each one of you this Christmas.  He offers it, you must accept. I count each one of you who follow this blog as very special people. It is one of the unexpected blessings that have come as a result of writing  the book.  God likes to surprise us with the unexpected.  My husband and I have had many of those moments.  We praise God that he has us I mind and in His time He calls us to something impossible (to us).  I could say "read the book" but that would be redundant so I will close by wishing you all a Merry Christmas and God's blessings in the New YEAR.
Marilyn Rensink        mjrevmom6@aol.com    Comments via email or Facebook are  appreciated.  Books available at Amazon.com or BarnesandNobles.com  or at your local Christian bookstore.

I've Always Been Rich: Tradition Meets Culture

I've Always Been Rich: Tradition Meets Culture: A few years ago my husband, Wilmer, and I, Marilyn, took a trip to the Holy Lands. It was inspiring to walk the paths that Jesus walked so...

Tradition Meets Culture

A few years ago my husband, Wilmer, and I, Marilyn, took a trip to the Holy Lands. It was inspiring to walk the paths that Jesus walked so long ago.  To see his burial site, to see where He gave the Beatitudes,  to see the Jordan River, the place that held a special attraction in that day, to actually see Jerusalem and many other Bible rich places was awesome.   The scenes of that place of the world made the Bible come alive.  However, the picture above stands in stark contract to the solemn places I mentioned.   Irony. It made us smile  because just before Wilmer got on the camel the camel "handler" was talking on his cell phone.  What irony.  And in a way that is what my book, I've Always Been Rich" tries to bring out,    We start our life out in the same way:  Dependent, fragile, helpless, needy.  But as we grow we develop gradually and become more able to help ourselves.  Still we usually rely on the lessons we learned through our growing up years.  We take from the past but move on to use new ways.  Like the camel man.  He wasn't stuck in the past. He  certainly is using his past cultural experiences but he is also taking advantage of the newer technologies of the present. 
Christmas is this weekend and I am again reminded of how we have enlarged the way we celebrate Christmas.  Some things are  traditional  today but we have more decorations, more presents, more food, etc.    What has not changed is the reason we celebrate Christmas.  The  God of the Bible is the same yesterday, today and forever.  We are reminded of that every year as we celebrate the birth of God's son, Jesus, so many years ago.   The past with such deep roots finds expression in the activities of today.  God sent His son to endure humanity, he was born in the most poverty ridden place possible, there wasn't even a place for his parents to spend the night except in a barn.  How helpless can you be when your birthplace is a stable in a barn?  The Word became flesh among us in the most humble way possible.  We remember his birth as we remember what he did throughout his life as he ministered, healed, comforted and raised people from the dead.  You say, but that was a long time ago.  Right. You see, nothing has changed except our perception of it.   Irony. Now we have the blessing of having the Holy Spirit dwelling within us- in the here and now.  Absolutely!  When we accept Jesus as Lord of our life he sends the Holy Spirit to abide with us forever.  And that is my testimony in the  book I had published . Without the Spirit to call, enable and guide me throughout my life I could not have enjoyed the blessings or the richness of  His grace.  My life, lived in according with His plan, was/is much richer than anything I could have dreamed of or envisioned.  It doesn't get any better!  Have you made that decision?
Marilyn Rensink   mjrevmom6@aol.com
Find my book at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com or your local book store. 

I've Always Been Rich: Richness Is An Option

I've Always Been Rich: Richness Is An Option: I am writing in the first person today so my blog can be more personal.  One  of  the subtitles of my book, "I've Always Been Rich...

Richness Is An Option

I am writing in the first person today so my blog can be more personal.  One  of  the subtitles of my book, "I've Always Been Rich" is Experiencing the Richness of God's Grace.  I have not always experienced abundant wealth, I have not always been debt free nor have I always been able to spend extravagantly.  Still the dictionary defines richness as abundance, affluence, bounty, lavishness and plenty.  Those words certainly define richness in the eyes of the world. My definition starts with a different mindset.  My mind sees richness as having  food on the table, having adequate housing, having friends and, above all, having a family and church who love and nourish my soul.   And I go even further in the book, richness is having a God who loves, protects, guides and calls each one of us to challenges and opportunities which further the work of His kingdom.  Yesterday I heard a quote by Dallas Willard  which said, "We must pray that we don't have so much success that we hinder our character".And that is  the crux of everything that we do. We are not here to elevate ourselves but to glorify God.   My book attempts to give a chronological narrative of God's callings in my life and how I did or didn't follow thru on them.  God's plan!
Anyone who attempts to narrative their life finds hints and obvious facts which show how God worked in their life even though they did not know it.  God calls us to a certain task and we follow.  Little do we know that that step will be left behind but the next step builds on it.  For instance, going to college  later in life was a big and tough decision.  Then being pregnant at the time of graduation seemed like a definite change of direction,  However, the college step calling ended but what developed because I had college was much more than I could have imagined or had planned. And so goes my life, even now, as God unfolds it in His time.
I have reached a lot of people thru this blog.  That is a perk I did not anticipate.  So why am I still amazed about how God works in ways I do not expect?  I would like to hear from more of you personally, especially how the book has influenced you in any way.  As faith based people, we need to build bridges of support in this world which is so full of hate and anger.  The cross is the only way we can do that.  I have many crosses displayed in our house.  And my crosses are all empty crosses,  I do not worship a god who is still on the cross, my Savior died to pay the penalty for my and your sin but he paid the price by His death.  He did this once and for all, no need to hang on the cross any more.  Than He arose from the grave to show that He also conquered death. We, too, shall rise and be with Him eternally in

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glory.  And out of gratefulness we want to accept His love and forgiveness and show our love by living for Him each and every day.  I would encourage you to read my book and then glean from it how God has or will work in your life.  The walk with Him will fill you with richness. You all have a story.  Marilyn Rensink  mjrevmom6@aol.com . Buy books at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com or your local Christian bookstore.

Homemade Fun

Christmas is coming and we turn a lot of our attention on finding gifts to be given to family and friends.  It is fun to pick out just the right present but now days the kids already have  so many toys and are engaged in so many activities it is difficult (for a grandma and great grandma especially) to give a gift  that is appreciated. So often money is given so they can buy their own gift.  Nothing wrong with that approach but it takes some of the joy out of giving a gift.  The picture above is a picture of the author and her brother.  They didn't wonder about which gift they would get because there probably wasn't going to be a gift under their tree.  So, what to do?  On this particular afternoon  they decided that it would be "fun" to take some onion stems, a bottle of water, blow into the onion stems to see which one could make the biggest bubbles. Probably sounds ridiculous to most people but when the few toys they had were becoming mundane they had  to be a little creative. And, yes, we did live in that house for awhile. 
I think that in life we can become  content, or even bored, with the status quo of church going, Bible studies, etc. that we fail to see the opportunities  that lie outside of these  structures. The kids in the picture did not have the privilege of a toy box of things  to play with.  Yes, they had their farm chores and housekeeping duties  but they had to look "outside the box" to provide them with "meaningful" entertainment. Can our Christian life become a religion of going through the motions?  Can it be habit forming but meaningless?  Can it seem right but does not fulfill?  I think we have all been there at some time in our life. I certainly have.  The author's recent book entitled, I'VE ALWAYS BEEN RICH,  tells how she was challenged  many times to listen to the Spirit's calling, get out of her comfort zone and delve into a new area of ministry.  The young girl above does not look much like a risk taker or someone who would find joy in entering a new field of service but her life attests to the fact that she learned in life that the call to follow the Lord was always more exciting than the plans she and her husband had planned. In a class this morning in church we talked about whether Mary, the mother of Jesus, was qualified to assume the role of the mother of our Lord. I don't know the answer to that question.   But I do know  that God seldom calls the qualified.  However, he qualifies the called.  What is he calling you  to now?  Marilyn Rensink  mjrevmom6@aol.com  Books available at Amazon.com, Barnes andNoble.com and your local Christian bookstore.