As 2025 is coming to a close, I want to take an opportunity to say, “Thank you to God.” It is very easy to say thank you for all the good and pleasant things I received and experienced during the past year. The things I am most grateful for are the challenges/life situations that occurred during the year and the courage to face them with God’s guiding Spirit.

I found the verse for today as I was reading a devotional, it spoke to my spirit. Isaiah 43, speaks of “Israel’s Only Savior” verses 1-13; and of “God’s Mercy and Israel’s Unfaithfulness” verses 14-28.

“Forget the former things;
    do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
    Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
    and streams in the wasteland.”

—Isaiah 43:18-19

There is only one Savior, Jesus Christ, the one and only Son of God. Jesus made it possible for all to be saved, to be freely forgiven. To use the biblical terms, we are neither “Jew or Gentile” we are all one in Christ Jesus.

Key Bible Verses “Christ is all and in all.”

Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”.

Romans 10:12: “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of all and is rich to all who call on him”.

Colossians 3:11: “Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all”. 

My experiences have taught me that life is filled with ebbs and flows. If we never experience sadness, how would we appreciate happiness? The balance of life is always in perpetual movement. We cannot live in the past and hope to move forward. We also must be cautious of looking into the future, we could very well miss the present. Learn from the past, live in the present and plan for the future.

This past year I have tried to be present, to be more aware of life and opportunities, grasping as many as possible. I have learned that there can be no comparison of my life with that of any other human being. God gave me life, He gave me skills to navigate life and only with His help will I be successful. Success means different things to different people, that’s the marvelous thing about being individual humans created by God, each of us on purpose and with a plan, from the Master.

During this past year, I have had to say goodbye to family and friends. Accepting the death of someone you love and care about, never gets easier. Grief changes over time, it cycles through several emotions and it’s all worth it because of the space that individual holds in your heart. As believers, we know that death is not the end, it’s the beginning of eternity.

God blessed me with several traveling opportunities this past year, my heart is grateful. In February, I attending a Susan Komen event in St. Louis, MO with friends from Pledge The Pink. In March, I went on a Girls Trip to Nashville, TN and attended Band As One Nashville: Concert for the Cure,” an annual benefit concert headlined by country superstar Trisha Yearwood benefiting Susan G. Komen. I traveled with Pledge The Pink friends. I also flew to San Antonio, TX to hang out with a friend for a couple of days, what an awesome, though short trip! In April, I traveled to Nashville, TN again, this time to meet my favorite author, Patti Callahan Henry at a local bookshop promoting her newly released book. It was such an amazing experience meeting her and getting her book signed. In June, I traveled to Naples, FL to celebrate my dear friend’s 40th wedding anniversary. We have been friends for more than 40 years, it was such a blessing to be part of their celebration. In July, a birthday present to myself, I traveled to Birmingham, AL for a weekend, I was able to meet author Patti Callahan Henry again, and this time was able to sit and have a conversation with you about her books. She is a local resident of the area and gave me lots of suggestions for my visit. I was able to see the Botanical Gardens and the Museum of Art, I loved the city and hope to visit it again. In September, I again visited St. Louis, MO to attend a luncheon with my Pledge The Pink Team and attend a Cardinal’s baseball game. In October, I attended the 2025 Pledge The Pink event at Fripp Island, SC. I love this annual event and all the good things it does concerning breast cancer! I also attended a play at Purdue University, “C. S. Lewis On Stage: Further Up & Further In” produced and performed by “The Fellowship for Performing Arts.”

Looking back…I did a lot! I’m so grateful to family and friends that support and encourage me to live in the moment and to be brave.

I hold no regrets of 2025, I am excited for a new year filled with opportunities to learn and grow. My prayer for all of us is more love and more forgiveness. Everyone’s life is worth it!

The Best Is Yet To Come—

—The Best is Yet to Come was composed by Cy Coleman to lyrics by Carolyn Leigh. It was originally written for Tony Bennett. It was the last song Frank Sinatra sang in public, on February 25, 1995, and the words “The Best is Yet to Come” are etched on Sinatra’s tombstone.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post. I hope you know that you matter, you are enough and you are loved.

Psalm 143:8-10

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
    for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
    for to you I entrust my life.
Rescue me from my enemies, Lord,
    for I hide myself in you.
Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
    lead me on level ground.”

~Charlotte, Striving Towards Genuine Authentic Living As A Child Of God 💞

Favorites:

• https://pledgethepink.com/
• https://www.patticallahanhenry.com/
• https://donate.pledgethepink.com/?p=25721
• https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/
• https://fpatheatre.com/
• https://www.cslewis.com/us/

Sunday, December 21st, 2025

“To love is to be vulnerable.”

—C. S. Lewis

Friends, it is finally here…Jesus is about to be born in Bethlehem! The event that changed the world is remembered this week as we celebrate the life saving love of God for all His children. For God to send and sacrifice His only begotten Son, so the damage created by humans that caused us to be separated from God; it could only be done in this manner. Jesus, knowingly and obediently chose to be born and live with us, He knew the ultimate price for reconciliation with the Father, He must bear the burdens of all sin for humanity, so all could be saved.

I realize I am rushing the story of ultimate love, but I will pause here and continue those thoughts during Lent 2026.

This week, we are focused on Love, God’s promises and the coming Jesus as Emmanuel (God With Us)! The quote I used at the beginning of this post is a favorite of mine. It is from C. S. Lewis’ book, “The Four Loves” and it was published in 1960. It discusses four different types of love; (Storge) affection, (Philia) friendship, (Eros) erotic love and (Agape) the love of God.

The Four Loves Explained: 

• Storge (Affection/Family Love): The natural, comfortable bond like that between parent and child, or long-term familiarity, a gentle, modest love that doesn’t require choice but can become demanding or cruel if over-focused.
• Philia (Friendship): A chosen love based on shared interests and values, rarer and more insightful than affection, a deep companionship that can be a training ground for higher love.
• Eros (Romantic/Passionate Love): The thrilling, often physical, love that seeks completion, which Lewis saw as powerful but risky; it must be perfected by agape to avoid becoming idolatrous or destructive.
• Agape (Charity/God’s Love): The highest, most selfless, divine love; it is the ultimate goal, a gift-love that perfects the others, drawing us to God and making earthly loves truly meaningful and lasting.

Many, if not all of us have experienced the four loves described above. Finding your “true love” is magical! I have been fortunate in life, the love my family provided and continues to provide fills my heart. This is not to say all has been perfect and pleasant, and yet love was always present. As I get older and things become more and more clear to me, just how wonderful my life is, all I can say is I am immensely blessed. I have two beautiful friends that I have known for more than four decades, they are much more than friends. They are sisters who have supported and encouraged me through the years. I love them both so very much, they are family. I have also experience romantic (Eros), in my life. Although, it faded and my life is forever changed for the better because of the experiences. I have not given up on this kind of love and I am absolutely happy with where I am in life. It’s really in God’s hands and I trust Him completely.

As you are reading this, it is my prayer that you are safe, healthy and happy but most importantly, that you know and are anchored to the Agape Love of God. There is nothing that compares to the love of God. Accepting and trusting in Jesus as your personal Savior is the ultimate love. In this, we are never alone, the Holy Spirit resides within us, we have availability to Jesus 24/7/365 and the Father of all creation loves us!

May your advent experience this season bring you Hope, Peace, Joy and Love.

I have included a poem I recently read and was moved by it, I hope you like it.

This week, I lingered in the final breath of Malachi’s words and I felt the unbearable weight of what followed.

When the prophet finished speaking, heaven did not answer.

The echo of his voice faded…and then… nothing.

Four hundred years of silence.

No open vision.

No burning word.

No prophet rising with fire in his bones.

No “Thus says the Lord” breaking the darkness.

Four hundred years of waiting.

Of longing.

Of groaning.

Of hearts lifted toward heaven that seemed sealed shut.

Generation after generation was born into the quiet.

They lived.

They died.

And still—no voice.

Until one night.

On a dirt floor in a forgotten place…

in a stable that did not look holy…

in the shadows of obscurity and insignificance…

a sound was released.

After four hundred years, heaven spoke again—
not with thunder, not with fire, not from a mountain- but from the lungs of a newborn.

A cry pierced the silence.

A cry that split history in two.

A cry that carried eternity within it.

In that moment, the King of Glory stepped down into the dust of His own creation.

The Eternal wrapped Himself in skin.

The Word became flesh—and cried.

The Son laid aside His throne and chose a manger.

Heaven’s highest treasure placed in a feeding trough.

He came low.

He came meek.

He came breakable.

Wrapped in swaddling cloths, laid where animals ate, born beneath the looming shadow of a cross.

A Lamb born to be slain.

The Hope of a hopeless world breathed His first breath in the dark.

A weary world rejoiced as a young virgin labored and delivered its redemption.

In that manger, the Great I AM made Himself vulnerable.

Touchable.

Killable.

And with one holy cry, the silence was shattered.

The separation was broken.

The way was opened.

Then, suddenly, heaven could not remain quiet.

The skies erupted with angelic voices declaring,
“Glory to God in the highest!”

Wonderful.

Counselor.

Mighty God.

Everlasting Father.

Prince of Peace.

With the cry of an infant, heaven invaded earth.

Behold—our Redeemer.

Behold—our King.

Behold—the fulfillment of every promise.

Behold—the sound that broke four hundred years of silence.

Not the roar of an army.

Not the shout of a king claiming His crown.

But the fragile cry of God-with-us.

He did not arrive with a sword in His hand, but with nails already written into His future.

He did not enter wrapped in royalty, but in cloths that foretold a burial.

The silence was not just broken, it was answered.

Every unanswered prayer.

Every tear cried into the dark.

Every generation that waited without seeing.

Every promise that seemed delayed but not denied.

All of it converged in that single cry.

That night, heaven did not just speak- heaven gave.

God did not send another prophet.

He did not send another sign.

He sent Himself.

And in that stable, eternity took its first shallow breath.

Omnipotence learned weakness.

Glory learned humility.

Love made itself small.

The cry that shattered the silence would one day be echoed again- not from a manger, but from a cross.

The first cry said, “He has come.”

The final cry would say, “It is finished.”

From swaddling cloths to grave clothes, from a feeding trough to a borrowed tomb, He came to be broken so we could be made whole.

And even now, that sound still reverberates.

It calls the weary.

It awakens the forgotten.

It reaches into the places where heaven has felt silent again.

If God could speak through the cry of a baby,
He can still break silence in our darkest night.

So behold Him.

Not distant.

Not untouchable.

Not unmoved.

But Emmanuel.

God with us.

–Jessica Jecker/Simply Jecker

~Charlotte, Striving Towards Genuine Authentic Living As A Child Of God 💕

Bonus material:

Full quote by C. S. Lewis

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.

December 17th, 2025

“All Joy reminds. It is never a possession, always a desire for something longer ago or further away or still ‘about to be’.”

~C. S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy

Greeting friends, it is so wonderful to be sharing with you during this Advent season. This week, the third week of advent we are looking at Joy.

Many of my friends and followers know that I am especially fond of the writings of C. S. Lewis. I have learned so much about myself, my faith and most importantly my relationship with God from reading his books. One of the things I truly appreciate about Lewis is his ability to be a vulnerable human-being striving for more knowledge and understanding. He is relatable to all ages, I love his works of the land of Narnia. While his lectures and notes are for those much wiser than myself, though I do enjoy listening to them. Some believe that his is too theological, and I would agree he is that, but so much more. I believe that Lewis, looking back on his life was a student of “joy.” He wrestled with his faith and even the existence of God, he was a man of great pain and extreme generosity, and a finder of Joy!

For those of you that may struggle with Lewis, I would recommend staring with “The Chronicles of Narnia” and “The Screwtape Letters.”

Verb: to experience great pleasure or delight. REJOICE.

Noun: a feeling of great happiness or pleasure. DELIGHT.

: the expression or exhibition of such emotion.

: a state of great happiness : Bliss.

: a source or cause of delight.

https://biblehub.com/

Topical Encyclopedia:

Definition and Nature:
Joy, in the biblical context, is a profound and abiding sense of happiness and contentment that is rooted in spiritual realities rather than temporal circumstances. It is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and is often associated with the presence and favor of God. Unlike fleeting happiness, biblical joy is enduring and can be experienced even in the midst of trials and suffering.

So, I’ve provided a lot of technical and educational information on Joy, but little of personal joy. I believe with all my heart that God is real, I trust that He is leading me to something bigger and better than my mind can imagine. The truth is there is nothing on earth as we know it that can compare to real Joy. We experience many things that bring us much happiness and in a sense of joy. My family gives me great happiness. My friends add so much gladness to me. I have friends that are as close as family, and this fills my heart to overflowing.

Two Very Worldly Things That Brings Joy/Delight To My Life:

The Flintstones:

I have experienced great happiness in collecting Flintstone’s memorabilia for well over 4 decades. Honestly, the most valuable part of the collection is the memories of the people who were with on that journey. I grew up watching the Flintstones and the many cartoons associated with them, I find myself relating to Fred, an overall good person that made some poor decisions but loved his family and friends. I find it quite easy to see God in the story lines, not because they are overt but because God matters to me and I see Him everywhere, even between the lines of a cartoon.

Walt Disney World:

I was in my twenties for my first trip to WDW, it was such an experience. I’ve returned several times since then and every time feels like the first time! I often travel there alone, take my time and wander, eat really good food and relax. It’s easy for me to forget about life in general when I’m there. I have traveled and stayed in hotels from the value cost to the costly, and the results are the same, happiness. I will admit I love the rides and the entertainment, but it is impossible not to see the hand of God throughout the parks because of the beautiful nature of things. Plants and flowers, architecture and nice friendly people.

What I’m really trying to say, in the really long way around is this…find things that you can relate to and that bring you pure happiness and do it as often as possible. God will be with you every step of the way giving glimpses of Joy!!

Praise to God for a Living Hope

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvationthat is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

—1 Peter 1: 3-9 (NIV)

“Joy is never in our power and pleasure often is.” —C. S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy

“Joy…an intense awareness of eternal beauty, a spiritual hunger that makes earthly satisfactions pale in comparison.” —C. S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy

—Charlotte, Striving Towards Genuine Authentic Living As A Child Of God 💕

December 13th, 2025

Wow, the week got away from me and here we are in the eve of the third Sunday of Advent. This doesn’t mean I wasn’t thinking of advent, I just didn’t sit down to write about it.

During this time we are encouraged to open our hearts and minds towards the birth of Christ. Seeking and finding peace in a somewhat chaotic world can be challenging.

The second week of advent is Peace. It symbolizes the peace that Jesus brings and a reflection of the journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem.

How Do You Find Peace?

Did you know that there is approximately 429 times the word Peace appears in the Bible (KJV). And, in the New Testament using the Greek word, èirēnē appears about 92 times and refers to inner calm, prosperity or reconciliation. It signifies spiritual tranquility, fellowship and a state of being in right relationship with God and others, as seen in Jesus’s greetings, “Peace Be With You!” The Old Testament uses the Hebrew word, Shalom referring to wholeness , well-being, prosperity and peace in relationships. It does not mean mere absence of conflict.

I have learned that in life peace must come from within, at least the desire for peace. I believe true peace can only be obtained through the acceptance of Jesus, as the Son of God. The Spirit of God that dwells within the hearts/souls of all believers is the key to peace. In the midst of turmoil, we always have help!

Psalm 121

Things To Do: For Finding Peace

• Pray/talk with God
• Reduce time watch watching TV news
• Listen to music
• Go for a drive in the country
• Listen to an audible book
• Read a book
• Write a blog post
• Call a friend/family
• Spend time with family
• Play hand-held solitaire game

Peace is available and attainable! I won’t tell you that your life with be trouble free or without troubles; however, I will say to you with great confidence that you can weather any storm with God at your side. I find myself evaluating my life a lot these days, I often find it difficult to wrap my mind around, I’m 61 and where has the time gone. Yesterday, as I was finishing up some last minute shopping for Christmas, I saw this quote painted on wood, “The days are long but the years go by quickly.” That hit me really hard. It is true what the word of God tells us in James 4:14, we are mist that vanishes.

Boasting About Tomorrow

¹³ Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” ¹⁴ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵ Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. ¹⁷ If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

Hope & Peace

As this week comes to a close and we prepare to celebrate week three of advent, it is my deep desire that we all seek Jesus while He may be found. That we find real peace in knowing that Jesus came to save us and that hope eternal can only be found in accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior. My life has been a gift from God, He created and formed me on purpose and with a plan. All that I am and all that I have is by and through God, the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit.

~ Shalom my friends.

“God can’t give us peace and happiness apart from Himself because there is no such thing,” 

C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

~Charlotte, Striving Towards Genuine Authentic Living As A Child Of God 💕