Benefits of following God

“[Of David.] Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-”- Psalm 103:1-2

If I were to list the benefits I’ve noticed from being a child of God’s, I wouldn't have enough room here or on any piece of paper. He means everything to me and I couldn't live one day without him. To keep things simple, here’s a few of the benefits I know are in my life because of my personal relationship with Jesus Christ:

1. Peace of mind. When I was 13, I started asking questions about life. Why are we here? What is life about? If it was just to accumulate things, in my opinion, it wasn’t worth it.

Then, I went to church camp and someone explained that God created us to serve Him. We are made in His image and if we accept His son as our Savior and live for God on Earth, we will go to Heaven after we die and our souls will live in Paradise.

It was like a light bulb going off! I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior and that answered all of my questions about my purpose in life. I knew I was here to praise Him.

My purpose was to tell other people about Jesus Christ and how he died to save them from their sins. I might have a job and family, but that was my main purpose in life.

Since then, I’ve tried to live my life with that purpose in mind. I have never questioned my existence and I know each day what God wants me to do for Him. He wants me to serve Him and other people.

That is peace that I see lacking in most people who don’t know Jesus Christ as their savior. It is so sad.

2. Of course, this peace carries over into having a healthy mind and body. Because Jesus Christ has control of my life, that includes my physical body. I don’t abuse my body with drugs or alcohol. I exercise regularly and try to eat right. Hopefully, I’ve spread this knowledge to the rest of my family so they will understand the importance of caring for their bodies to do God’s work.

3. A fulfilling career. For many years, I stayed at home to care for our children. I found that very satisfying, knowing I was giving my kids the foundation of a safe, happy childhood.

Then I worked at a Christian university where it was fulfilling to help young people prepare for their careers and life’s work as Christians.

Now, I’m writing full-time and find it very exciting. I can’t wait to get up in the mornings and start something new. I dedicate my writing to God each morning before I begin writing. I ask for His blessings and words to flow through my fingers.

I know I can’t do any good writing on my own, so it is only through His blessing that I can write anything publishable. I don’t write anything that would be an offense to Him and I only try to write for publications that seem to have the same standards.

I don’t write for just Christian publications, but those that are clean and have high standards for excellence in publishing.

These are just a few of my benefits that I’ve realized are part of my relationship with Jesus Christ.

I’ll say it again. I couldn't live one day without Him.
He means everything to me.

I hope He does for you too. What benefits have you found in your relationship with Jesus Christ?

Take care,

Kayleen

Christmas can be funny!

Christmas 2006 is over and I hope it was a good one for you. Our family spent the day together and had a great time.

The funniest part was when we all sat down to eat a Christmas brunch and my husband and I (Forever shutterbugs!) thought it would be fun to take a photo of our family with the decorated table, complete with red tablecloth, folded napkins, cinnamon rolls, eggs and sausage, and coffee, all served on the family china.

To get everyone in the photo we had to position the camera on a tripod. Then we figured we had to place the camera high to get in the table. So the tripod was placed on a chair, an open drawer and counter (one leg on each item).

Of course, by the time we had it all figured out, the food was cold. But John put the camera on self-timer and we got a great shot.

What we didn’t know was that it was set up to take two shots. The second shot has us all in motion, mostly reaching for food, so it is quite funny.

Before we ate, we said something we were thankful for and then we each prayed holding hands. It was a great moment.

I’m very proud of my husband and kids and think they are the best. None of us are perfect, but that’s OK. We’re all learning from each other and willing to be kind to each other in the process.

Then we opened presents. I confess, every year, I want to spend so much more money on my family than we can afford. I can’t get around that, but since they’ve grown up with restraints in gift-giving, they are happy with what they get and they give considerate gifts to each other and us.

Love is more valuable than money, no doubt, and we have plenty of love in our home.

What was your favorite memory this Christmas season?

Take care,

Kayleen Reusser

Christmas Eve Service from the 19th Century

Tonight, after celebrating Christmas with our extended family, my daughter and I attended a Christmas Eve service German-style in a century-old church in Berne, IN. It was in the Baumgartner Church in Swiss Heritage Village and turned out to be a very cultural experience.

We arrived early which was good, since the tiny 1860's building was nearly full. About 80 people were seated on 10 wooden pews; we were given folding chairs to set along the sides of the rows. A pot-bellied stove kept us warm durin the hour-long service. Hanging lanterns and candles in the bare windows provided light.

We had read in our local newspaper about the service which would be modeled after a typical Christmas Eve Service in the Berne area. Some of the service would be spoken in English, some in German. The German was spoken by two high school girls who read Luke 2 from the Bible-- the story of Jesus' birth. Another youth also read it in English. A local pastor gave a great message on the book of Phillipians, saying it was Paul's Christmas Carol of how God humbled himself through Jesus to come to earth to save us.

A couple of women played the pump organ and violin. A college student sang two Christmas songs a capella. The rest of us also sang a variety of Christmas carols without accompaniment.

Everyone was friendly and it was a relaxing way to bring the day before Christ's birth to a close. At the end we all lit candles and held them while singing "Silent Night."

We're glad we went.
I hope you have a great Christmas Eve. How did you celebrate this day?

Take care and Merry Christmas!

Kayleen

Shopping at Christmas—Bah, Humbug!

Does anyone else hate to shop?

I know a few of us out there would rather go to the dentist for a cleaning than walk through a mall. (I specified a cleaning since even I am not crazy enough to prefer getting a tooth filled over walking through a department store!).

The Christmas decorations inside a mall all look so fake to me. They’re supposed to look pretty and enticing, but I prefer being outside, seeing God’s natural beauty on the trees. Even people’s efforts at fixing up their homes for the holidays with lights and corny yard decorations appeal to me more than glittery items inside a mall.

The problem is, I know the mall decorations are put there to encourage me to spend money and I don’t like being manipulated.

A lot of people like to gather in stores and malls to look for sales and to find the perfect gifts for their friends and loved ones. If they enjoy shopping at Christmas, that’s great. I just wish there was an alternative for people like me who avoid malls like the flu (more pertinent this year than the plague).

Luck was with me last year when an acquaintance sold restaurant and department store gift cards for her school’s music program. A percentage of the sales went to the school. The store must have made up the difference because I paid for a $20 gift card and got a $20 gift card.

I stuck 5 in each of my kids’ stockings. Voila! My job was done. No wrapping! No shopping! No searching for a parking spot in a messy lot! No needing to find a place to hide the gifts since they fit in my sock drawer!

The kids loved them and I was thrilled at this method of escape for another year.

No such luck this year. The school is not selling the cards. That means with only 12 days left to shop, I’d better be hustling to buy something for somebody.

My attitude may sound sour, but I promise if we meet, you won’t see my true feelings showing. Instead, a smile will be on my face because I’m doing my best to pretend the mall is just the spot I want to be in at that moment in time.

In the meantime, I’ll check Ebay to see if they’re selling department store gift cards. It’s worth a try, even if I have to pay to have them overnighted.

Here’s a verse leading up to the wonderful day of Christ’s birth: “When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: " 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.”- Matthew 2:4-6

Take care.

Kayleen J. Reusser
Kjreusser@adamswells.com
www.KayleenR.com

Do you ever speak words of prophecy?

Today I ran across a verse of prophesy in my Bible reading. I’m reading the book of Isaiah since it tells of Jesus Christ’s coming centuries before He came to earth. Since we’re close to Christmas, I like to hear what was told about his birth by the prophets.

In Isaiah 7:14 I read the familiar passage: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

The funny thing is, this tender verse is in the middle of a pep talk between God and Ahaz about how Ahaz should go into battle for the Lord and how he should not fear. The Prophet Isaiah is there and in the middle of the discussion he plops down this verse into the midst of their battle plan.

It seems strangely out of place to have these words of prophesy spoken when they’re talking about destruction and conquering other nations.

And yet I believe Isaiah spoke with God’s words in his mouth.

It makes me wonder—how often do we hear other people give us words of godly instruction and wisdom and we don’t recognize them for what they are because we’re in the middle of some situation that we think takes our concentration?

Even more mind-boggling: Do we ever allow God to use us to speak words of wisdom to others?

It’s something to think about as we approach the Christmas season and the day we celebrate as Christ’s birth. Throughout the stress of the next few weeks, try to allow God’s peace and assurance invade your soul so all you relay to others is His peace.

Quite a task -- but God is up to it.
Take care.

Kayleen Reusser
Kjreusser@adamswells.com
www.KayleenR.com

Mandy's birthday

Yesterday was a golden day. It was my eldest daughter’s birthday and the first one we would celebrate with her since she went to college in 2000. But she was in play production for "A Christmas Carol” at Warren Pulse Opera House. They had 3 shows that day, including 2 for school classes. So she planned to leave at 7 am and return at 11:30 pm.

Since she was only ½ hour from home and I was not booked up with commitments, I ordered a birthday cake for her and took that and ice cream to the playhouse at noon to surprise Mandy and share the goodies with her and the rest of the cast. My mom went along and we had a great time. The cast is a wonderful bunch of people, including kids and adults. Mandy was so surprised and delighted to see us. She looked beautiful in her excitement.

Later, Mom and I visited Mom’s 88-year-old sister at a nearby nursing home. The cast from Mandy’s play came to carol in costume. They sang “We Wish You A Merry Christmas.” Tiny Tim even chimed in his famous line, “God Bless us, everyone.”

It was raining all day, but still one of the nicest days I can remember with lots of good will and cheer everywhere to usher in the Christmas season.

Happy Birthday, Mandy! We love you!

“[The Word Became Flesh] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”- John 1:1-2, 14

Kayleen Reusser
Kjreusser@adamswells.com
www.KayleenR.com