Let's Wrap up 2024

Where to begin?

I rarely get sentimental or personal about aspects of my life outside of writing and encouraging others, but I have to say 2024 was a whirlwind of chaos and unpredictability. It has been a year of drastic change and a great deal of learning and discovery. While I began the year on a huge positive note by completing the novel, The Cyprus Journal, and then releasing it on Orthodox Easter, things quickly changed. 

Simple Things- The Formula

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

- Matthew 7:7-8 NIV

Life is full of it’s ups and downs, God gives us a formula to live by through the scriptures as a way of guiding us towards the patch that we have been called to take.

This formula gives each of us a basic guideline to helping us grow closer to God.  While each of us is given a specific formula for our life all of them come down to simply this, we must ask God to teach us his ways, then we must seek God with all that we are, and then we must knock on the doors he places before us.

With each door that opens, we grow closer to awakening our faith. What matters is how we go about completing that formula.  There is not one specific way that is right or wrong as long as that formula includes all three.  

As you continue to read the next few posts about this project, it is my hope that they will give you ways to combine all three in some form or another. One of the very first things I learned was to Stop and Pray for God to open the doors he has prepared for us to walk through in this life.

This lesson plays a very important role in identifying which formula will work best for you. So, as we will talk about in the next section, make it your choice to go to God in prayer everyday as you seek his guidance in identifying which formula will work best with who you are.

Blessings in Christ and Thanks again for visiting us at "The Gathering Room."

"Times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord." 45.3.20

M.J. Elliott

An Introduction to Simple Things P2

When I began to think about a project Love the Saints Ministries could offer to our readers freely, my thoughts were taken back to the original project and then to the sermon series I mentioned earlier.

Our hope with this project is to give the reader a small guide they can look back on to help them when life just simply gets in the way of Awakening your faith.

Now, I’m not suggesting that all it will take to awaken your faith is a little God in your life, it’s not that simple. There are certain things that we must do in order to find ourselves growing closer to God.

There are always going to be struggles and temptations that we have to overcome. What I am suggesting is that even though your life may contain heartache and suffering, YOU have the ability to work through the pains of this life and embrace a joyful heart.

Life has given each of us so much opportunity to embrace a little more joy and the thing we experience, big and small all play a role in forming that desire deep within the confines of our hearts. If personal experience has taught me anything, it is that our experiences do matter and that they can lead us down the path of righteousness or a path of destruction.

So let’s embrace the simple things and start preparing ourselves for an awakening, an awakening of the heart. The journey won’t be as easy as you might think but through Christ and each other we can accomplish the task that has been set before us, to find ways we, as individuals and as believers in the way , the truth and the life, can grow in our walk with God.

There are many different ways a person can do this and as your read the pages of this book you may find some you would like to try and others that you may think are kind of ridiculous. In the end, the important thing is that something begins to awaken, something that will change your life forever.

Blessings in Christ and Thanks again for visiting us at "The Gathering Room."

"Times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord." 45.3.20 M.J. Elliott

An Introduction to Simple Things P1

Have you ever wondered about growing closer to God?

 A While ago, I put together a sermon series that taught about the simple things in life and how they can help awaken your heart, at the time I never really thought about using what I learned as I put that series together in a small eBook like this.

That’s the beauty of God though. He loves to use the “Simple Things” in life to help us understand the vastness of his great love and of the growth we can have in our own walks with God.

There are big things and small thing that we can do each day to help remind us of what our faith is all about and embrace the opportunity to do these things more in our daily lives, the possibilities are endless.

This little Project is just starting off so we are not really publicizing it just yet, but I needed to post something and this is what's on my heart right now. My hope in sharing this project “Freely” is that it will give you, the reader, a little glimpse into what God can do in your life through the “Simple Things” that we often forget about or pay little attention too as we go about our daily routines.

Blessings in Christ and Thanks again for visiting us at "The Gathering Room."

"Times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord." 45.3.20 M.J. Elliott

The Voice We Speak With

Greetings,

This week I have been participating in something that a friend challenged me to do, a Blog Challenge.  Typically I have stayed away from these types of things because the often end with someone asking me for something I can't really give. I don’t know if that’s going to happen in this particular Blog Challenge but I told this friend I would do my best to finish in good spirits. I’m glad to say so far I’ve learned a few things and hope to learn a few more.

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In any case, today’s challenge was to ‘pick a fight’ or in other words take a stand for something you truly believe in.  To be honest, I’m not really the type of person to ‘pick a fight’. In the past when I’ve done so, it has usually backfired. You can imagine my reluctance to complete this challenge with a history such as mine.  My nature, as I’ve grown into the person I am today, has been to avoid speaking my mind when it comes to controversial matters because of this history.  These matters have always seemed to be more of a matter of the heart than a matter of sharing an opinion with the world around me.

However, times are changing and I am beginning to learn that despite my growing nature to avoid these types of posts, it’s becoming more important for those of us that have a passion and a gift for writing to convey our voice. We need to speak with a voice that echoes what we believe, and for whom we believe in. In my case, that means taking a stand for my faith and for whom I do what I do. 

With recent developments in the world we live in today, my heart has truly been overwhelmed. I am becoming more open to these types of posts and my spirit compels me more each day to speak, but I struggle with it. Truthfully, while I have begun to notice that the tone of my writing is beginning to be more direct about what is on my heart, It frightens me because of what history has shown me. I guess maybe this challenge is the push I needed to begin realizing the need for this more.

While my tone still echoes the voice of encouragement, I am learning that sometimes the voice of encouragement is more than gentle or happy thoughts. Sometimes conveying this voice means that I will have to stand up for what I know is TRUTH. Encouragement and inspiration can come in many different ways. The argument I’m making with this post is that sometimes the old way of doing things just doesn’t work anymore. While in the past these gentle words and happy thoughts spoke volumes to those around me, it doesn't work the same way today.

Take politics for example, in years past those running were civil and focused on the differences in their perspective policies. Today, it all seems to be more about who can be the unmask their opponents weakness first and through spending the most money to do so. What about religion or church growth? In years past it was all about building up living in faith, serving wholeheartedly and singing praises. Today, it all seems to be more about building the numbers and the reputation of a specific church instead of building the heart of the person. It seems to be about making the money in order to stay afloat in a broken world instead of reaching the person and helping them embrace their creator as He molds and makes them into the person they are meant to be.

While neither are the best example, these two topics are on everyone's minds right now and have ignited a massive movement of change. The world is changing and that’s all there is to it. We have to adapt to the new way of doing things while still maintaining what we stand for. In my case, maybe it’s time to adapt as well. Maybe it time for me to begin embracing a different type of voice that echoes encouragement and inspiration. Maybe it’s time for all of us to stop and take a good long look at who we’ve become and whom we are meant to be and adapt accordingly. Yes, we still need to be that voice we were called to be, but by embracing a new way of using the voice we’ve been given.

“Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing. Now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

Isaiah 43:18-19 NKJV

Blessings in Christ and thanks again for visiting us at "The Gathering Room"

Stand Strong and continue to believe the teachings given to you... (2 Thes. 2:15b NCV),

M.E.

Reflecting Christmas: The Bells of Christmas

  Bells have always had a special place in my heart as they have often reminded me of the joy the Lord can present us with. Many have said that bells signal the arrival of an event or special occasion. Others have even said that bells are used to ward off evil spirits or to warn of an oncoming attack. They can often be used to gather people together, like in a church. They can be used to help bring the focus of the many to the one, like in a toast.6 For me though, it has always been a reminder that there is still something to place your hope in. 

  Think about it for a moment, how often have you seen bells at weddings, or at a New Year's celebration? When used in weddings or at a celebration of some type, bells usually indicate something new or positive. The ring of a bell can bring joy to a broken heart, peace to a clouded mind, and belief to a doubting soul. Its constant ring can bring calm even in the midst of the darkest storm.

Photo Credit: www.wallpaperswide.com

 There is a film called The Polar Express that highlights this idea. In the beginning of this film we are introduced to a small boy that is very doubtful of the existence of Santa Claus. I know, I know, Santa Claus doesn’t really exist anymore. I’ll get to that a little later. In any case, the boy, cleverly given the name ‘HeroBoy’, continues searching for proof that Santa is real and every time he gets close, he pulls back. As the boy goes to sleep for the night he is awakened by a train, ‘The Polar Express,’ and taken on this incredible  journey that, in the end, restores his belief in Santa Claus. 

Along the way he encounters many different people who help him get to this conclusion. While these different people teach him certain things along this journey, it is only when the ‘bells of Christmas’ ring that he realizes something is missing from his life.  Unlike everyone else on the journey with him, he is the only one who cannot hear the beautiful sound the bell produces.  It is only when he admits he believes that he begins to hear the bell’s ring, thus finding the faith to place his hope in something bigger than himself.

Photo Credit: www.christmas-specials.wikia.com

 It is the same way in our lives.  Many times we search for the answers only to find that we have embraced more doubt (Matthew 14:31 ESV). If all we are filled with is doubt, there isn’t really any point to anything else, is there? The only thing that can keep us from being filled with doubt is to replace it with hope, with faith and with belief.  ‘Reflecting Christmas’ with each day given to us doesn’t have to be the hardest thing we’ve ever done. 

Photo Credit: www.pinterest.com

The ‘bells of Christmas’ can serve as a reminder of that. With each ring that bell tones this holiday season, we can trigger a spirit of hope within our hearts that will radiate to those around us.  In turn, that spirit can bring people together in an entirely new celebration.

Thanks again for visiting "The Gathering Room"

Stand Strong and continue to believe the teachings given to you... (2 Thes. 2:15b NCV),

M.E.