Welcome to Les's Blog

Good morning on this beautiful Christmas day! The Christmas Story: Luke 2:1-20 New American Standard Bible (NASB) Jesus’ Birth in Bethlehem 2  Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3  And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. 4  Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5  in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. 6  While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. 7  And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. 8  In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and

Good morning this Christmas Eve day! I pray that God be with you and you truly know the True Meaning, Jesus Christ, this Christmas. That He is the Heart of Christmas. I will share a few verses with you: Isaiah 7:14   Therefore the   Lord himself will give you a sign.   Behold, the   virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name   Immanuel. Isaiah 9:6   For to us a child is born, to us   a son is given; and the government shall be   upon   his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful   Counselor,   Mighty God,   Everlasting   Father, Prince of   Peace. Luke 2:12   And   this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby   wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. Matthew 2:10   When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 2 Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! Wow! The true story of Christmas in short! May you rejoice in the Savior, the true meaning

  Hello to you! Merry Christmas on the 4th Sunday of Advent! Christmas is almost here. Are you done shopping? Are you done fixing everything for company or for traveling? Are you finished wrapping packages? Are you finished baking if you bake? I think I am finished shopping although I may not be until I wrap it all and see if I forgot someone. I have not fixed and cleaned for company and traveling. And I am far from being done with the wrapping. And my husband started the baking and had trouble making sugar cookies and said that he would never do them again. Too much work! So, as we go merrily along our way the next couple of days remember that Jesus is the Heart of Christmas. He is the Reason for the Season. Jesus was born in a lowly manger for us. So, that He could save us from our sins. So, as you open gifts, remember Who this is all about. We wouldn't have Christmas if it wasn't for Jesus Christ. He, in His birth, is our ultimate Gift. And He gives ab

  Good morning to you! This has been a crazy month. It seems as though I have had more to do than usual. But the last few months have been the same. I haven't done this blog as often as I wanted to. There has just not been enough hours in the day. A while back I posted that I wasn't going to post every day like I have mostly before October of this year. I have posted 707 posts all being from my heart. I just couldn't do it daily anymore. Maybe some day I can get back to that but for now I can't feel guilty for not posting every day. I will say that I thought that when you got to a certain age your life started slowing down. Well, it hasn't yet. It has just got busier. But I know that God has a plan and I love Him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength and He alone will see me through until my days are over here on earth. I hope not very soon. But only He knows! I don't need to know. I trust Him and as of now He has work here for me to do. T

Oh, magnify the Lord! For He is worthy! Oh, magnify the Lord! I praise His holy name! Things have been so busy. Life is crazy. People are sick. People are hurting. At the Advent/Christmas time such as this, we know that God is with us. We sing  "O Come O Come Immanuel." Immanuel means "God with us." So let us not forget that God will never leave us. It is we who turn from Him. If we can only turn our eyes upon Him and never turn away. Let this be a reminder to keep our eyes on Jesus, and never let go. Blessings, Lesbear

Good morning!   I know that I haven't been around much lately. I am still here but as usual very busy. Will I have my tree and house decorated before Christmas? I don't know but I will certainly try. And with God leading me, it will happen. I can trust Him! I am not as organized as I used to be. My mind is not working the same. I can't multitask like when I was younger. But... Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. And... Matthew 19:26 Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." So, I will trust God to give me the strength to do what He wants me to and I know that as a follower of Christ all things are possible. Again I can do it! I can do whatever it is that God wants me to do. I know that God doesn't want us to be confused or stressed because those things are not of Him. This Advent/Christmas season is here upon us and if God wants us to ge

Good morning to you! I pray that you had a blessed Thanksgiving! We sure did. It was just the two of us. It was too quiet and kind of lonely. But we cooked a 16 lb. turkey mostly for the left overs. We can eat turkey sandwiches, make soup, and turkey and dumplings. And we put some in the freezer. We do love turkey. My husband made us each a half turkey and avocado sandwich last night that was so awesome. I would never have thought of putting avocado on it but it was scrumptious! Our wonderful neighbors did invite us when they found out we were alone on Thanksgiving but we declined because we already had our turkey ready to pop in the oven. We did go have dessert with them. And that was delicious also. I was making a list of things going on in the next few weeks. Oh my! I woke up at 1:30 AM and couldn't go back to sleep so I finally got up and went in my daughters old room and laid on the bed and tried to make that list. The next few weeks are so busy. My dance ca

HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY TO YOU! I hope that you are thankful and full of gratitude. The joy of the Lord is our strength even in whatever you are going through and however you are feeling. I want to share this devotion with you from the Upper Room Magazine. A GREAT DAY!   Read Read Psalm 34:1-11, 17-20 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. - Psalm 34:17 (NRSV) Today's Devotional Boyce, a single, teacher-friend, was facing a Thanksgiving alone — his family 2,500 miles away. So, we invited him to celebrate the day with our family. Within minutes of arriving, he was in the den with the children, laughing, rolling on the floor, and having a wonderful time. The following spring, Boyce began to struggle with pronouncing words; he had to focus intently to complete a sentence. Soon after, he was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). His condition deteriorated rapidly, but

  Good morning to you this fine Sunday! 2 Thessalonians 3:16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. Is your peace waning? Are you troubled? Do you pray for God's peace? Do you keep your focus on Christ? The Holy One Who died on the cross for your sins? We do live in a troubled world. We do have things in our individual lives that trouble us. But if our focus is on Jesus those things in our lives that upset us will be taken care of because God is with us. Now they may not turn out the way we want them to. But God has a plan for our lives. He knows the big picture. He knows what is coming ahead for us. So, the results of our troubles are in God's hand. And however things turn out are perfect for us as long as we keep our focus on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. So, Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to

Good morning to you! 2 Peter 1:2 May God bless you with his special favor and wonderful peace as you come to know Jesus, our God and Lord, better and better.  I want God's favor, how about you? We all should. But sometimes we don't feel like we have it or are getting it. Even though we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God loves us beyond measure, we don't see His favor on us. Or maybe we don't think we do. And maybe we don't get His favor! There is a definite key behind this and it is the last part of that scripture above.  "...as you come to know Jesus, our God and Lord, better and better." And what is the key for knowing God better and better? It is praying, reading the Word of God, and not just reading but studying the Word of God. We also need to worship Him in Spirit and truth. And hearing preaching, going to church. Spending time with His people.  And remember that His people are not perfect but striving and running th

Good morning! This has been a blessed and very busy week. And I praise God for it! I have had several doctor's appointments and tests run. Just trying to get some medical things taken care of before the end of the year. And yes I do have several things going on health wise. Just trying to get to the bottom of them so I can move on. Sort of getting it over with. And I have two more doctor's appointments next week. I will be doctored out before Thanksgiving! I know that God is with me and taking care of me all the time. He is right by my side. And He is right by your side also.  Psalm 118:6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?   Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Psalm 56:4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me? Isaiah 41:10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will

Good morning! I would like to share my devotion this morning, in a moment. Do you sit down in the morning and spend time with God? Do you talk to him (pray) without ceasing? Do you study His Word? Even if just a verse or two a day. We are all busy but I guarantee that if you would do those things your days would be much better or you would have a different attitude if they are not so good. Sometimes the things that are not going so well can be handled better when you are spending time with God. Here's the devotion: Closer to God Read Mark 12:41-44 Paul wrote, “If I give all I possess to the poor . . . but do not have love, I gain nothing.” - 1 Corinthians 13:3 (NIV) Today's Devotional    Recently we completed our church stewardship campaign. The program consisted of a series of messages, starting with the big picture of living for Christ. We then discussed how stewardship fits into a life that is pleasing to God, including the B

Hello! Life is rough. Life is busy. Life is not for the faint of heart! Life is easy. Life is not busy enough. Life is distinct and bright and wonderful!  And also with God life is: Hid with Christ in God! Col. 3:3 Eternal! John 3:16 , 17:3 Abundant! John 10:10 Awesome! Matthew 6:33 A gift from God! Romans 6:23 And life is so much more!! But as we know it is all a matter of perspective. Are you looking at life from a positive outlook or a negative outlook? God wants us all to look at it from a positive outlook. Life is not perfect, not even close. But with God all things are possible! So, if you know Jesus as your Savior, life can be amazing, because Jesus lives in our hearts. And what can be better than that? Look at your life as wonderful, amazing, and full of God's blessings. Because that is the kind of life that God wants you to have, despite the circumstances. Ephesians 5:20 And give thanks for everything to God th

Good morning this beautiful Sunday morning! Oh Lord how majestic is your name in all the earth! What a great cool, crisp morning that the Lord has made. I was reading my devotion this morning and it really made me think about what life holds for us in the future and what we have gone through in the past. Some of us have really had it rough. Some of us have just sailed through life with not a lot of trials.  But whatever we have gone through or not gone through, God is still with us and wants the best for us. And He sustains us and helps us through whatever it is we go through. We have to believe that or we have no hope. Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.  1 Timothy 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,   Romans 15:13    May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you ma