A Sweet Fragrance

My first bottle of Shalimar came from my Mother's best friend when I was in Jr. High. For you younger ones that would be middle school!

I was probably too young for such an extravagant gift but that's the way Aunt Charlotte was.

Immediately I loved the warm, sweet, spicy fragrance. Without discussing how many years, I've worn this fragrance off and on ever since.

When I make my bed I spray a little on my pillows, when I walk into my bedroom I am immediately greeted by a fragrance that puts a smile on my face and makes me feel like putting on a cashmere sweater and having a hot chocolate.

This fragrance warms my heart, works wonders with my body chemistry, brings back only pleasant memories, and makes me feel at home.

Isn't it funny how certain smells cause different reactions? Burned food, burning leaves (for those of you close to my age!), cut grass, rotten eggs, coffee, gas fumes from the truck in front of you, warm apple pie all of these smells and more cause us to react in some way.

In Eph. 5 the Word says, "Be imitators of God as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

Living a life of love, the kind of love Christ exhibited, causes a fragrant offering to rise to God's throne.

I'm not talking about the kind of Politically Correct love that says to accept all beliefs as equal and all paths lead to god, or let's circle the globe and have a bottle of coke.

I'm talking about the kind of love for others that will cause you to want to sacrifice some of your comforts to help someone in need.

What kind of need? All kinds of needs, a hug, helping someone move, a phone call, some clothes or food, a smile, a blanket, yard work, giving something of yours to benefit someone else.

I don't think God sits up there with a check list watching us go through life.

I think He's saying, "Smell that? I smell something wonderful. One of my children is releasing a fragrant sacrifice into my atmosphere and it's making me smile."

My take on heaven is a fragrance like Shalimar, baked cookies, apple pie, but better!

As I walk through this life I want God to smell me coming and going, not because I stink but because I am releasing a fragrant offering to Him.

Blessings,

Wendy, Princess, Daughter of the King of Kings

Mother of Princesses and Princes

Grandmother of Royalty

Dear Anonymous

Dear Anonymous,

I am not going to turn my blog world into a forum for debate, however I apparently wasn't clear in my last posting about Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays.

So, in an effort to make my beliefs crystal clear to you and anyone else reading this, here goes.

As a Follower of Jesus, I choose to remember and celebrate the birth of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on December 25.

He was not born on Dec. 25, nor does it matter what day He was born. It only matters that He was born, that He is the Son of God, that He is the only way to the Living God.

John 14:6 says:" I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

Celebrating His birth is not a "race" thing, it is a "Believers" thing. Believers come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and nationalities.

Everyone celebrating Christmas as we know it is recognizing the birth of the Savior of the World, whether they openly admit it or not.

His birth is the beginning of me being able to kneel at the foot of the cross and have my sins washed away by His blood.

I don't know about you, Anonymous, but I have a past, I sinned. Big sin, little sin and anything in between. If it were not for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (hence the term CHRISTmas), I would be sentenced to eternity in hell, separated from God, our Creator.

But because of Jesus, His birth, life, death, and resurrection I am able to live a life that is free from guilt and condemnation of my past. I am free, I am free!

I am celebrating my Saviors descent into this world. His birth into a world consumed with sin and disease. His birth, which was planned to lead to a horrible death just for me.

Quite frankly, I don't care about celebrating anything else on Dec. 25 or during this season.

I don't care if someone is offended by my Merry Christ-mas greeting

I don't care if someone thinks I'm being exclusive by not embracing the "Happy Holiday" mantra.

I just don't care....

I only care that, my savior was born and I am still free to celebrate His birth with child-like abandon. And I only wish you had that freedom too, it's glorious.

For you, Anonymous or anyone else out there reading this. If Jesus is not your Lord and Savior it only takes a second to invite Him into your heart. To allow Him to bathe you in His forgiveness, mercy and grace. Our past is of no consequence to Him, He loves and forgives anyone who asks. He's waiting with open arms.

When you've been forgiven, and you have been adopted into the Kingdom of the only true God, you realize with every passing year how much a privilege it is to celebrate His birth.

Thanksgiving, New Years, July 4th, Labor Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, etc. are Holidays.

The day we celebrate the birth of Jesus is a Holy Day, not to be lumped in with the other days we get off work.

Christmas and Easter are far beyond tinsel on a tree or an Easter egg.

I, for one, refuse to, for the sake of Politically Correctedness, lower either of these celebrations into something less than what they are. The Jewish celebrations would be included in my list of Holy Days, since they are the foundation stones for my beliefs.

So, my dear Anonymous, you can have all the Happy Holidays you want and never utter the words Merry Christmas so as not to offend. But, I will shout "Merry Christmas come celebrate the birth of my Savior", as loud as I can, as often as I can so everyone can hear and know HE IS LORD.

Blessings and Merry Christmas!

Princess, Daughter of the King of Kings

Mother of Princesses and Princes

Grandmother of Royalty

Merry Christmas vs. Happy Holidays

Please indulge me today. I have to rant about something that has made me lose my "Christmas Spirit" for several years now.

My last 10 or so Christmases have been spent working in the Retail World.

At that certain point, while setting up all to early for Christmas the "memo" came.

With instructions in hand, Managers were to make sure each and every employee knew to use the term happy holidays rather than Merry Christmas.

Thinking of it makes my blood boil, I always made a special point, rebel that I am, not to use the term happy holidays. I just didn't say anything unless someone wished me a Merry Christmas then I would reply in kind.

Given the nature of my job, retail management, I was especially offended by the Politically Correctness of the Retail World.

Terrified a penny or worse a dime might be lost if someone were offended by the greeting Merry Christmas the term is banned in most retail organizations.

Here's the rub, if it wasn't for the celebration of Jesus birth on Dec. 25, they wouldn't be taking in over 50% of their profits for the year. The greedy corporations should be shouting Merry Christmas from the roof tops, in gratitude for the business that comes their way.

Not worried about offending Christians because they won't speak out on this issue to the "powers that be," the focus is turned on not upsetting the "Non-Christian" market.

In my mind, the Christmas buying public should be getting their feet kissed with every purchase, or at least a foot massage, especially in today's economy.

Retailers should be promoting Christmas with all the abandon they use to hush the words Merry Christmas from their sales floors.

They pull the merchandise out in September hoping to boost 3rd quarter sales, but deny the One we are celebrating.

As you shop this year, don't be Politically Correct. Wish your store personnel a Merry Christmas and don't be afraid to let the store you frequent the most know you are offended by the denial of your Lord's birth.

Speak up and speak out, why join the Politically Correct when it comes to the birth of Jesus.

Before any of you say anything, I'm well aware Jesus was in all probability born in Oct., but this is the day we celebrate it so let's let them know we are proud to be celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior.

This is not a time to be quiet and stand meekly by only to have one more thing important to the Believers taken away.

Saying Merry Christmas is just a little thing, but we as Believers have to stop letting others tell us what we can and can't say, what we can or can't display in public.

Thanks, I feel better now! Let me be the first one to say Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!

Blessings

Princess, Daughter of the King of Kings

Mother of Princesses and Princes

Grandmother of Royalty

Compromise, is it worth it?

OK, I know you're wondering what on earth two wine bottles could have to do with compromise.

I have a point, I promise...

The bottles look the same. The contents look the same. The corks look the same. The labels are different, that's how I can tell them apart without pouring a glass and tasting the contents.

As you can see, the one on the left has less contents.

The reason for that is the quality of the contents is much better!

The one on the right looks just like the one on the left when you pour it in a glass. But when you taste it, it's bitter. Nothing like the one on the left.

The other day I had the bright idea to pour the contents of bottle A into bottle B, hoping to make bottle B better......y'all know where this is going don't ya??

God doesn't particularly care about the contents of either bottle, but at this point He decided to make a point to me and show me how really stupid my idea was.

If I had taken the good tasting yummy wine and poured it into the not so yummy cheap wine I would not have made the cheap wine better.

I would have destroyed the quality of the yummy wine by compromising it's integrity.

It would have no longer been what it was. The yucky wine would have destroyed the good wine.

Does this sound familiar?

As God's people we have so diluted ourselves that we can't be distinguished from anyone else out there.

After Church we rush to the store just like everyone else. We work on Sunday, we do everything else everyone else does with few exceptions. Not to pick on Sunday alone, but the stores are full on Sunday. Which day of the week do we then set aside for rest and reflection on our Creator? Are our Church services on Sunday enough to restore our Spirits, heal us from the past work week and prepare us for the next? I doubt it.

When we walk into a room the entire atmosphere should elevate because we are so full of God that His presence changes the air. In most public areas Christians are so intimidated by the politically correct that we whisper the name of God like we're embarrassed by Him

Daily I'm seeing the need for God's people to start drawing our world in black and white.

It's either God or it's not. Good/Evil, Yes/No, Black/White, Light/Dark

We have to start seeing a sharper image of God in order to see a sharper image of what's detestable to Him.

We have to hate what He hates, and not be cohersed into compromising truth for the sake of peace or acceptance into today's society. We as God's children can not be politically correct so get over trying.

Looking at todays society, in terms of good and bad, black and white with no gray why would we want to be participants? Why would God's people, for the sake of acceptance, want to be like those who take His name in vain and laugh tirelessly at the late night comics who mock our beliefs as outdated, uneducated and unsophistocated?

Everywhere we go should be looked as a mission field.

If God has directed us to a place, then He has more for us there than getting a cup of coffee or buying groceries. We are on a mission from God to change the atmosphere around us. We are not to be compromised and diluted into a weak, useless shell of a Christian perfectly acceptable in todays society.

We are to be fearless, ruthless, desperate in our desire for separation unto Him. We, as God's people, have to become committed to destroying every last bit of compromise that we have given in to for the sake of being accepted, popular, or considered "normal" by todays standards.

Our only standard, our only need for acceptance should be our need to be accepted and approved of by Him, our Father. Who else matters?

"The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the Lord your God. Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it will be set a part for destruction. Utterly abhor and detest it, for it is set apart for destruction." Deut. 7:25,26

I know, it's the Old Testament we're the New Testament church...so then why does our Bible start with Genesis rather than Matthew? Why does the New Testament constantly refer back to the Old Testament? Because it's God's word. His blood covers us, but we must remember we are grafted in, and His word teaches us what He expects of us whether it's before Jesus' birth or after.

What we have to start doing is take an honest inventory of our beliefs, our walk, our committment, search out the areas where we have compromised and get the detestable things out of our house before it dilutes our integrity.

We won't be popular, but we will be free in Him.

Blessings,

Princess, Daughter of the King of Kings

Mother of Princesses and Princes

Grandmother of Royalty