Posted in daily prompts, spiritual, Thoughts from the Word

Bliss

via Daily Prompt: Bliss

Bliss.  What do you think of when you hear that word?

When I hear the word “bliss” I define it more as a feeling.  Bliss is that feeling of joy, contentment and peace after a productive day.  It’s that feeling of “ahhh” when you sink into your bed at night, that first sip of coffee in the morning, or soaking in the tub with all the time in the world.  It’s the satisfaction of having a clean house with all the laundry done and everything in its place and a fresh smell in the air.  Bliss is sitting on the beach, watching the waves roll into shore, sinking your toes into the sand.  Bliss is your child’s arms around your neck, a surprise visit from a friend, or finding that stack of letters from your spouse when you were first dating and losing track of time as you read through each precious line.

The dictionary defines bliss as:  noun:  perfect happiness; great joy.

This is the time of year that we celebrate Christmas.  Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world.  In the Bible, the book of Luke, chapter 2 tells us the story of Jesus’ birth.

I found it interesting that “great joy” is found in this story.  After Jesus’ birth, angels announced his birth to shepherds.  Luke 2:8-14  “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon the, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them:  and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, Fear not:  for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be  sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. ”

You’ve heard the terms “follow your bliss,”  “find your bliss.”  I submit to you that baby in a manger, the sinless Son of God who gave himself the only sacrifice for sin, is the true Bliss.  If you are trying to find your bliss in anything or in anyone other than Jesus, you will remain empty and void of true joy.  Only Jesus can satisfy that longing in your soul.

Those shepherds didn’t just hear the heavenly birth announcement.  They went looking for that savior.  Luke 2:15, 16 “And it came to pass as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.  And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.”

 

Once the shepherds found Jesus, Luke 2:20 says, “And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.”

You’ve heard of Jesus.

Have you sought him?

When you find him, will you accept him?  You will not be the same.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Pinterest tries...

Detox Drink

Confession time.  I’m one of those people who pin stuff off Pinterest, but I don’t actually do any of those pins (well, maybe one or two).  I’ve gotten into the rut of doing nothing but existing, and I’m sick of it.  My daughter in law and I decided we were going to make a plan to actually do some of the things we have pinned.  So, today the Ivey girls (aka Hunter and Sarah) tried one of the many detox drinks floating around on the internet.  We chose this recipe (because we had all the ingredients):

1 c. warm water

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp lemon juice (the last remainder of our lemon juice concentrate)

1 tbsp “raw” honey (I just used what we had, plaid old from the store honey…)

1 tsp cinnamon

dash of cayenne

We doubled this since we were both partaking…

I have heard that both cinnamon and cayenne have anti-inflammatory properties (whether this is true or not, I couldn’t tell you! but if it does, hey, that’s great!).

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One of the problems I had was the cinnamon would not dissolve…

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So I poured it into my smoothie blender to “whip it into shape.”

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This worked better, especially after the “teaching moment” when it sprayed out of the little holes in the top.  Now we were ready to partake…

There you have it, my friends… Mixed reviews of the taste of this little nugget of “health fad beverages.”

(And pardon my unedited photos… )