Backtracking to my Christmas blog and a Happy New Year to you!

 This is not the first year that I got so busy with life or as the saying goes, "Life gets in the way of living," that I forgot to post my own Christmas note to my blog. It was a wild year on so many levels and now we are already into 2021. My Mama used to say, "Better late than never," so here it is:

It’s Christmas, Breathe and Pray; it will get you through the Day!

"I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid. John 14:27 NLT

Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein be content.” Helen Keller

Life can leave you breathless or life can knock the breath out of you. Death. Overdose. Family drama. These are the types of things that knock the breath out of you.

We thought we would have more time. Death arrived.

We thought they were working their program. Overdose arrived.

We just want everyone to be happy. Family drama arrived. Just in time for the holidays.

But what are the things that leave us breathless? A baby in the family, whose smile makes life worth living. A toddler makes us laugh.  A beautiful sunrise. The Word of the Lord. A beautiful sunset. A friend’s hug. The tears of a sister or sister-in-law, grieving loss, but those tears are precious in the sight of the Lord. They are kept in a beautiful urn in heaven, where the sound of them trickling down is as a beautiful waterfall. Pause and think about these things.

THIS HAS BEEN A YEAR.  I think we all would agree about that. Perplexing, anxious perhaps, hard to figure out. Isolation has made us feel lonely. We don’t even feel like ourselves, at times, truth be told. Getting out to go to the doctor is the thrill of the day. Being together with others outside is something to look forward to. Exercise is something that is a love/hate relationship, but helpful. Comfort food has replaced friends at times. Then the results of that eating, when we see ourselves on a Zoom meeting, makes us never want to “zoom” again. Or eat. Husbands grow beards because no one notices behind the masks. Or so they think. At least they can pass as Santa Claus to the grandchildren.

Words seem shallow. Words are hard to come by. Have the days of writing, ended, I wondered if the Lord would even give me a Christmas message this year? He has always been faithful. He will be ever faithful, still. Right now, His Word through the Passion Translation is what I offer. These have been my “go to” verses for most of this year.

 

Return to us again, O God!
How much longer will it take until you show us your abundant compassion

Let the sunrise of your love end our dark night.
Break through our clouded dawn again!
Only you can satisfy our hearts,
filling us with songs of joy to the end of our days.

 We’ve been overwhelmed with grief;
come now and overwhelm us with gladness.
Replace our years of trouble with decades of delight.

Let us see your miracles again, and let the rising generation
see the glorious wonders you’re famous for.
O Lord our God, let your sweet beauty rest upon us
and give us favor.
Come work with us, and then our works will endure,
and give us success in all we do. Psalm 90:13-17 The Passion Translation

 

My Prayer

 

Let Your scent be on me

And let me carry it within

Surround me with Your Holy Spirit

Consume my body and existence

With Your burning fire

Blaze through me and

Let others feel the fire

 

Let them see You, Lord

Not me

Infuse me with Your glorious light

Stronger than the sunrise

Clear, pure, shining, purging

Light of God

 

Praising You, I will shine

This light on others

They will recognize Your Spirit

As love will overflow into

The action of doing for others

What You would

Have me do

Treating them as I would

Want to be treated

Loving until it hurts

Loving through the hurt

And then, loving more.

 

Live ready. Love well! Merry Christmas from Donna Collins Tinsley 2020

 

 

Mrs. Toad's Wild Ride or Donna's Wild, Crazy and Blessed Day

Yesterday was one of the busiest days of my life but also one of the most blessed. Early morning after prayer and posts I stopped in and saw my oldest daughter Regina, who was helping at a garage sale for the Rebecca Schneider Foundation,https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rebecca-Schneider-Foundation/223245997829912?ref=br_tf. This foundation is in memory of one of Aubrey’s friends, Rebecca Schneider, whose mother is paying her pain of loss forward to help others.

Then, an appointment, ran back to the garage sale and home for a minute, just as Bill was getting Isaiah off to a party.  I wanted to go to Edgewater and see our grandson, Jordan play in the Edgewater Christmas parade with the New Smyrna Middle School Marching Band. But first I had to pick up Aryel in Daytona, though, so she could see her first ever Christmas Parade. When you view things through the eyes of a child, it is a beautiful thing. I have to say everyone around me was blessed by her joy and exuberance.  When we went to see Jordan and get a picture of him, we somehow missed Santa. We saw an empty sleigh later and I had to convince her he went back to the North Pole.

I have to tell you if you don’t know, that Aryel has had an autoimmune disease and has to have blood work every two weeks, and is on some heavy medication but she is my Christmas blessing. The Lord surely has made her very different from all my grandchildren but I stand amazed every time I am around her by her joy. Yes, she sometimes appears very wild and crazy but I am writing amongst tears as I realized anew yesterday what a blessing she is to me in a time that I need something to laugh about. She also may be my biggest fan and acts like she adores me all the time. I can’t tell you what a gift that is to be loved so unconditionally. I am very blessed to be her grandmother and thank the Lord for the complex genes He combined between Amber and Ryan to create this precious one.

I wish you could’ve heard her when we got back in the car saying, as only she could say, “WELL, SOMEONE FORGOT TO LET ME SEE SANTA CLAUS!”LOL! I actually thought we were going to see JordanJ

After running to Daytona to pick up Isaiah at the Skating Party, the other cool thing was them harmonizing, totally unintentional, on a song.  I love that! Then a short visit with my brother, Dale and little Levi:)

Home again and Isaiah got ready for the second showing of the “The Nightshift Before Christmas.” It was great and Aryel was so happy especially since I managed to find a Santa on the sidewalk across from church for her to tell about her wishes for a Minnie Mouse phone. Grandma Del Ce and Ashley joined us there. When we got home I even managed to make some of my Christmas Salad Dressing in gift jars so the season is officially open at my house. The tree still isn’t trimmed, (hopefully today) but the outside is the light show of the neighborhood, with an angel and a cross amidst streaming lights. The day ended with a message from Shiloh saying they will be home for sure on Christmas Eve. A good day, a blessed day and a peaceful day. What more could I ask for?

 

Christmas Comes, Even Though we Grieve

Because of the recent tragedy at Sandy Hook, I am reposting an old Christmas message as well as my new one. Please dwell on the last paragraph of each one and know that you are loved:

The Bleeding Parent

Mary was a young girl at the time she conceived. She learned early what it meant to be a bleeding parent. One of the first prophecies spoken to her was Luke 2:34-35, “Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, His mother, for the fall and rising of many in Israel and for a sign which shall be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also) that the hearts of many may be revealed.”

Her natural impulse would have been to shelter, nurture and protect her son. We cannot forget that although Jesus was God in human form, He was bone of her bone and flesh of her flesh. Her womb was the first home for the king of kings. Her body pushed him out. With each contraction, His destiny and our salvation drew nearer. She bore pain for Him, that He would bear our pain and sins.

She watched and pondered, not even knowing fully it was He of whom was spoken, “He is a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. And we hid as it were, our faces from Him. He was despised and we did not esteem Him.”(Isaiah 53:3)

He went from son to Savior as she watched Him dying for her at the cross. We forget sometimes at Christmas, that He was born for the cross. She went from being His mother to being His child as He became a bleeding parent for her.

If your year has not been all you had hoped for, take a moment to remember all the good things in life you have been blessed with. We take for granted things such as eyesight, health, a warm home, food enough to eat and to share. Let praise become a part of your heart.
Donna Collins Tinsley

Black Friday, Reality Shows, Pot Menders and Christmas

Heal me, LORD, and I will be healed;

save me and I will be saved,

for you are the one I praise. Jeremiah 17:14 (NIV)

Black Friday started on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day this year. Bill has started going out with some of our girls and they seem to have a lot of fun. I actually decided to go and take Isaiah for a bit as he felt that he was really missing out on something. It looked like what he was missing out on was wall-to-wall people, stuffed tighter than a Thanksgiving turkey into Wal-Mart. After driving around for 20 minutes looking for a parking place, going in and finding Bill and PJ (our grown-up “adopted son”) I came, I saw, took a few pictures to post and I left. I couldn’t think of anything that would make me want to stand in a line that long. It just isn’t what Christmas is about, is it?

You may be saying right now, “Hey girl, this is Christmas, right? Give me some Christmas joy and cheer; give me a big smile, and let me just go with the material things, the fleeting joy and excesses that Christmas has become in this century, give me the unreality that the “reality” shows portray.”

I want to introduce you to a new word this Christmas and I hope a new way to live. Kintsugi means golden joinery and to me it is a beautiful phrase. We think of the colors of Christmas, the reds, greens, silver and golds and the word Kintsugi (金継ぎ)is the Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with a lacquer resin sprinkled with powdered gold.”

I believe that our Savior came to that stable as a baby, grew to be a man, died and gave himself for us, to mend broken pots and broken hearts with gold that is so beautiful that all that look upon them will be amazed.

I may not be able to give each one who reads this a gift, but I can commit to pray for you this year. I pray that pure gold will shine from the cracks that need mending in your life. I pray that any broken heart will be fixed by the Lord in the way that brings glory to Him and healing to you. I pray that you find love enough each day and that you will shine in a unique way, the way that you were intended to live and shine from the foundation of the earth.

I have to borrow a quote that sums up what I feel better than I can: A devo written by Scoti Springfield Domeij says, “Enhanced by the Master’s artisan’s touch a broken pot that normally would have been tossed actually becomes lovelier, more precious, and more valuable that before.” Think on these words this Christmas season. You are lovelier, more precious and more valuable today than you have ever been before. Believe it when you don’t see it, receive it when you feel broken inside, say it when you feel totally parched inside. Shine on and Merry Christmas to all!

Donna Collins Tinsley 2012

Walking in Christmas Shoes even Amidst Sandy Hook Tragedy

This week I posted this on Facebook and had to edit it, as since then a horrible tragedy has occurred with many schoolchildren murdered and a community shattered.


"Walk a mile in My Shoes” is the name of an old song by Joe South. Some of the lyrics say, “If you walk a mile in my shoes, you know how I feel, what makes me hurt, what gives me joy; and I, if I tried your shoes on would I say, “These aren’t so bad? These are nearly pain free, nearly a perfect fit?” But are they?

Have I walked a mile in a widow’s shoes, as she longs for the familiar comfort of the one who used to lie beside her at night? Or a mile in the shoes of someone who has had the health stripped from their body and would give anything to have a portion of the quality of life I enjoy? Have I walked a tenth of a mile in a homeless person’s worn shoes as he endures the scorching heat coming up from the pavement and bathes in the cold water of public restrooms for lack of better? Has my home been demolished by the flooding waters of a hurricane or tornado? Have I lived through losing family as those who are now burying children and loved ones like the families affected by the recent murders at Sandy Hook Elementary? No, I have not but I grieve along with those families and our nation.

"A voice is heard in Ramah, (and now America) weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more." Matthew 2:18

  Christmas coming doesn’t alleviate the normal pains of life that we go through. I know several people that have lost loved ones and I weep for them this Christmas season and pray that they can find peace in the beauty of the season once again. The grief process takes time, and we know it won’t be this Christmas; this is just a fact we can’t get around. The pain will be numbing and constant for a long time. For them we pray.

We celebrate the birth of One qualified to know what it feels like to walk a mile in our shoes. Born lowly, he lived a life of submission to God’s will, and took what should’ve been our walk up a lonely hill to death on a cross. He has walked more than a mile and left a trail of tears; His tears intermingling with mine, we share sorrow, we share love, we share life.

 
Some Christmas’s are painful. When the tears I have cried are stored in His bottle, and I am drained, He becomes my Restorer, my Strength. When I complain, the way is dark, and not what I expected or hoped for; He shows me a new path out of the wilderness. A new path for the world-weary shoes that I wear-- that He wore first.

Donna Collins Tinsley



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoznjbKVnmw

Looking for Jesus at Christmas

Many of you who know me, know that at the Christmas season I am on a mission. A search for Jesus amidst the commercialization of the celebration of our Lord's birth. I sometimes just want the holidays to be over with, it gets so sad sometimes. We need to remember that old saying, "Jesus is the reason for the season."

Usually the first thing I search for is a Christmas message to send out or post. Just when I think that well has run dry the Lord gives me something to share and hopefully bring the focus back to the true meaning. Thank You, Jesus, I do have that ready to send.

I was asked to be a part of Let's Go Ministry Motel Church and that is how I got out of a bad "funk" as in "I don't want to do Christmas this year," to a restoration of joy and peace.

I had only committed to two mornings, but found as I met people on the streets of Daytona that I was drawn back to the Travel Inn for at least a little bit each day. Meeting Fay and Jon and the guys from New Beginnings Ministry was an added bonus to my finding Jesus. He is there for sure!

Jed and his team were interviewed by the News Journal and some awesome things took place each morning, meal outreach and night. I was humbled and honored to be a very small part. If I can do it, anyone can. My husband, Bill, came on Saturday and he said later that he admired people that can go up to just anyone on the streets; he actually thinks I have the "gift." Well, if so, it just came, wrapped up in Motel Church, so thank You Jesus for adding a bonus to my Christmas, a gift that keeps on giving as we pay forward our blessings and hope.

My heart was moved by the people we saw on the streets and I am reminded once again, they are someone's sons or daughters.

Jed Lindstrom is who has the real gift of evangelism and I am grateful that he shares his gifts with so many people in the streets and also to the Body of Christ. May the Lord bless him with all he needs to continue to go forth. Let's Go!

http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20121204/NEWS/312049940

These "Tidings" will make your heart glad:) book review of Glad Tidings

I have to admit the main reason I accepted the book review call by BookCrash for “Glad Tidings (The First Twenty-five Years of Flanders Family Christmas Letters) by Jennifer Flanders is a friend of mine had told me I needed to do a compilation myself along the same line. So although Christmas had passed I ordered the book that came surprisingly fast. The first thing I noticed when I finally got a chance to read it, (with Christmas clutter still abounding, I have to admit to losing it a few times) was this was not a one-page letter or poem as most of mine have been. This is a diary of a life well lived and a very large family.


Actually I see another book in the future not in Christmas letter form and more detailed. As I had been myself a homeschool mom for my youngest daughter, I also had some preconceived ideas of what this would be and was very happy to find that although this lady is definitely a “superwoman” mom, they were not an uptight family. She really did it in a way that I wish that I had been able to, but did not have the ability to take all those trips or have some of the resources that she had.
From the beginning of the book where it was just the two of them (and Jennifer’s husband is a real “superhero” himself) to the end you will fall in love with this family. It also seemed that Jennifer and Doug had found the Fountain of Youth, as they looked as wonderful in the last pictures as in the first ones. The pictures were a great addition to the book as well as some songs, scripture and a recipe. It is obvious that they all loved each other and loved spending time together. Should I say, “may their tribe increaseJ”?
They have extreme imaginations to do all that they set out to do and their children certainly have taken up the torch. You will “laugh out loud” at many of the antics of the children and although it was hard to keep track of them because there were so many, I loved each name and each little heart. It took me a bit to really get into to book but then I was won over and bowled over by their lives. The only thing that might need to be altered a bit was the perhaps overuse of italics, but that could just be me.
I don’t want to give away the story but these children were very well educated in the school of life and I love that. When they went to Jamestown in full costumes that their mother made, how cool is that? I see a sequel or better yet, let me know when the lifetime movie comes out!
Each letter ended with the love of the Lord and an invitation to follow him. That is the reason for the season and for the book and I know that each person who reads it will be blessed.

Donna Collins Tinsley

A Decidedly Different Christmas Message: “You’re Such a Mother!”

The word of the Lord: But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19

“Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, His mother, for the fall and rising of many in Israel and for a sign which shall be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also) that the hearts of many may be revealed.” Luke 2:34-35

“You’re such a mother!” she said as she put her arms around me. I was at a support group and my friend and I often would just look at each other and start crying. Sometimes it seemed we could feel each other’s pain. The pains of being the mother of people struggling in addictions, pains of being a part of dysfunctional families, and just the pain of living life in general at times was enough to make us cry. We knew members of our group who had lost loved ones throughout the years and we hurt for them.

Maybe it was just the relief of coming to a quiet room where we didn’t have to be strong for anyone. A room where we could just sit and listen, have peace and serenity, maybe that is what brought the stream of tears from our eyes. Sometimes when I saw my friend weep I would think of my own daughters. Hearing her share made me think how some of my own daughters just might be feeling the way she felt right then, broken and hurting, and thinking that their mother misunderstood them. It was always a prayer prompt and I would pray that there would be someone there for them, when I couldn’t be the one to help bind their wounds; another mother standing in for me to give them a hug and some mother’s love.

You’re such a mother!” Although being a “good mother” had always been in my heart I had failed at that endeavor early on. The funny thing is, though as much as I failed I would have people coming up to me in my later years, saying crazy things like, “Oh you’re a good mom.” Many times I have heard even people older than I was, saying “You remind me of my mother,” and it would be in a sweet way. When grown men that I barely knew started calling me "Mom" at conferences I realized deep in my spirit that it was the gift of God to me. His love and His hand can redeem that person who has failed miserably and still continues to fail. That He knows deep in my heart there is a "Mom" thing going on. That our Lord is the Lord of the second chance and third and fourth chance. That there is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still (Corrie Ten Boom.)

 Because of these things I created The Somebody’s Mother Online Prayer Support Group,” so that everyone can have the prayers of "somebody’s mother. "

A few years back a woman who had gone on many pilgrimages and is a woman of prayer laid hands on my head and prayed that I would receive whatever God had given her. She had a beautiful story to tell of a rock she had picked up on her journey that depicted the story of Jesus. She also had visions of Mother Mary and the pain she felt being the earthly mother of our Lord. Trust me if you are a mother you will endure pain of some sort along life’s way. I believe that she imparted somewhat of a mother’s heart to me that day and it is a worthy thing to obtain. But a mother’s heart can also be painful as it is broken over and over again. And the funny thing is, when God imparts such a gift to a woman she doesn’t even have be a mother to have this kind of heart. She can be a sponsor, sister, youth worker or a daughter but this heart can rise up in her to love and defend to the end those the Lord puts in her path.

“You’re such a mother!” In this day and age a statement like that can be profane, yet I choose to call it divine.  

Prayer: Lord, you know how much we would like to hide at times from the pain of life, especially when it involves our children. Help us instead to steer them to the blessings that are in our daily lives and the Season before us.

Thought for the Day: Sometimes as parents we bleed for our children when we see them go through painful situations.

Prayer Focus: Families in pain during the holidays.

My friend Kim, Al-anon, Celebrate Recovery, The Addict’s Mom Facebook Group and most of all Jesus inspired my

“Decidedly Different Christmas message.” 

Thanks to all of you and Merry Christmas!

Donna Collins Tinsley

Christmas 2011

You are welcome to join The Somebody’s Mother Online Prayer Support Group (on Facebook) if you haven’t joined alreadyJ

Or sign up to follow my blog at http://thornrose7.blogspot.com/

Christmas and The Gift of Prayer

Christmas and The Gift of Prayer

 It is said in the Bible that the only thing that is saved in Heaven from earth is our tears and our prayers.

Love, Hope (whose name is Jesus) and prayers is something I sign off with often on Facebook or in letters to others. It’s not something I can wrap up, or you can see visibly but I have to believe the gift of prayer is worthy of giving this Christmas and throughout the year.

Maybe you think it doesn’t take much effort, but the time involved in taking your needs, hurts and family situations before the Lord each morning may involve more than you realize. I was so blessed this year when a noted author, speaker and benefactor of scholarships to many told me that he would commit to pray for a member of my family for one year. I am touched with his gift to me, someone he barely knows, yet he could see that the burden I had for this one needed sharing. I am very grateful that he was so willing to be a part of my life in this way. Tears fill my eyes each time I think of this gift to me. Yes, it is priceless.

Things got even worse during the year for many months and I so wished the mercy of the Lord would come and make all things good for the one we were praying for. It hasn’t happened totally but I can now write this prayer partner and say, “Thank you for the gift of prayer you gave me for my brother. Things are better."

When I first walked into the Port Orange Winning Women Bible study taught by Anita Smith over 20 years ago, I was desperate for help and fellowship.  I had one child holding onto my pants and one in my arms and I sat in the back as my kids weren’t used to going to a nursery. I was so welcomed that day that I knew I had found my home, “my tribe.” During this time I felt that these women held my arms up as helpers held Moses’ arms during times that his own strength was failing. By prayer and fellowship my battles have been won as I listened to the Word of the Lord and acted on it.

It could be said that we are never so tall as when we are before the Lord on our knees. One reason I believe the gift of prayer is so important is I know there were many than prayed for me though-out the years. And sometimes I get prayer requests from others that I can literally feel the pain of the one reaching out for prayer. As a mother, I can feel a mother’s pain as she weeps for her children, as a daughter I can relate to how someone such as me can fail so miserably at life yet be extended mercy from the Lord. One thing I have asked the Lord to do is to remind me often of where I have walked in my life and remember to think of the painful shoes that others may be walking in. Shoes that He, my savior walked in first that we might have life and love

So this year my gift to you will be the gift that I treasure the most from others. Prayer. It is the gift that keeps on giving as we all pay it forward for Christmas.

May your Christmas be full of Jesus and love!

Blessings, Donna Collins Tinsley 2011

A Decidedly Different Christmas Message: “You’re Such a Mother!” Will be posted on http://thornrose7.blogspot.com/, Somebody’s Mother Online Prayer Support Group, The Addict’s Mom, Fractured Families, Friendshipline Ministries, GRG, Women United in Prayer, Prodigal Hope and my other support groups that I treasure probably tomorrow.

The Best Celebration of Christmas this Year

My favorite part of the Holiday Season was helping to feed the needy at Hollyland Park with Jane and DOC. Makes me think of this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN7Xl6uh9Ww
"Mercy in Me" by Todd Agnew; awesome! What great lyrics!

The Cup of the Lord

It's funny how something you wrote several years ago rings true on the very date it is featured in a devotional book:)
Here is an old Christmas devotional for the day:

The Cup of the Lord
“Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me?" John 18:11 NLT

With the Christmas holidays approaching many will be serving different brews. There are many new designer teas, hot cinnamon apple cider and more coffees around than Juan Ortiz ever dreamed of when Starbucks opened. My personal favorite is a hot steaming cup of Columbian coffee. With the theme of cups I think of my growing collection of them: my best friend forever brought one to me from Greece, I have a beautiful gold-trimmed teacup my sister-in-law gave me from her own collection, a cup from Cracker Barrel that my husband bought me and assorted collections of china cups. One favorite is a mug that my mother gave me when I gave birth to my second child (twenty-one years after my first child) that said, “I’m a new Mom!” At age thirty-six, I felt pretty old to be new but now that Mama is gone, I treasure it.
What is the cup the Lord has given you this year? Has the brew been warm and sweet as the coffee that is handed to children, filled with milk and sugar and only a hint of the brew inside? Was your year fragrant as peppermint tea? Was it spicy as the hot chili my Mama used to make? Was it bitter as a hot medicine that you knew you must choke down to relieve the symptoms of a sore throat?
I still remember the year we had one of the best Christmas’ ever; it was nearly picture perfect. I thank the Lord for that gift.
But lives are not always picture perfect and the reality of life is that only Jesus satisfies. The cup that He has allowed in my life this year is bittersweet. But I still believe that He can bring our lives full-circle to His will.

“Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?" Job 2:10 NL
I choose to accept the cup that the Lord offers me as His gift in my life. It may not come in the gift-wrapping that I would choose or fit my picture perfect plans. But the brew He bestows will help me to grow to His image of a child of God. And His touch will stay on my life as I yield to His hand.
Donna Collins Tinsley

This was included in the compilation book:

A Cup of Comfort Book of Christmas Prayer: Prayers and Stories that Bring You Closer to God During the Holiday [Hardcover] Susan B. Townsend (Editor)

http://www.amazon.com/Cup-Comfort-Book-Christmas-Prayer/dp/1440500517/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1292760503&sr=1-2