My Dirty Window by Jennifer Marshall

Welcome new contributor Jennifer Marshall!! We look forward to sharing more of your work.

I've been washing windows today and this has given me a lot of time to think and pray to God.

While doing so I'm thinking to myself how we are like the window (the dirty window). What does your window look like when looking through it, when others do, but more importantly what does God see?

I think about the water stains and wonder, are they like tears of others whom we have hurt and we need to go to and ask for forgiveness. Are they tears from God for our sins?

What about the bug poop? I wonder if they are spots of mud that we have slung at others in our thoughts or words of hurt, guilt, shame, jealousy? Could any of those spots be at God, when things didn't go our way, or when things have happened and we thought we could handle it without Him?

And the smudges, OH the dreaded smudges? Where we tried to wipe it clean once before and failed. Are these things we've asked God for forgiveness but haven't really repented? Or could it be where we have said we have forgiven someone or even God for something that has went wrong but we know down deep that we really haven't.

Through all of those spots and smudges, God's window to our soul is wiped clean every time we truly ask for His forgiveness. How amazing is His Love!!!

I hope you can clean your window today not for yourself but for the Lord. So the light that is within will shine through.

The True Meaning of Christmas by Joyce Schafer

I love Christmas. I love the shopping, the baking, the decorations, the music, the school programs, the parties, and especially our Christmas Eve family gathering.

It is so easy to get caught up in the season and forget the true meaning of Christmas. We are celebrating the birth of Jesus. We all know the story about Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem and Jesus being born in a stable. How does Jesus being born so many years ago affect mankind today? He was born and later died so that our sins could be forgiven. Our age, our circumstances or how many sins we have committed in the past does not matter. Jesus was born and died for us.

God wants to be Our Father and he wants to give us the gift of Eternal Life. What better time than Christmas to make this happen?

Everyone Needs Hope by Theresa Zuber

For the past year or more we've heard a lot about "Hope." But still, there are so many who feel hopeless. Real hope cannot be found in any politician or plan. True hope can only be found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. He is always there, He keeps His promises & He will supply everything you need.

I don't pretend that I have it all together or that my life is a bed of roses because I'm a Christian. I mess up. I fall short. I have disasters in my life, too. But covering over all my sins - all my failures - is Jesus blood, His grace and His forgiveness.

I have hope because I know God has a plan for me - and for you! I have hope because I know there's more to life than what the world offers.

It started with a baby in a manger but it didn't end with his death on the cross. My Savior defied death and rose from the grave. His vitory over death gives me hope that there is MORE.

I pray that this Christmas season you will accept the gift of salvation and hope that Jesus purchased for you with his life. He's longing for you to belong to those He calls His own. If you'd like to find out more about this hope we have, we'd love to help you find it!

Looking for a Clean Slate? by Theresa Zuber

(I'm excited to report that a version of this article will appear in the Nov/Dec issue of "Devozine" a devotional magazine for teens published by Upper Room Ministries.)

Do you remember when you were a child and played with an Etch n Sketch? Mine was red and had a little screen and there were two dials. One dial made the line go up and down and the other, side to side. If you turned them both at the same time you could make diagonal lines – well sort of. If you were really good you could write your name or draw a decent picture. But the nice thing about this toy was that if you made a mistake, it was no big deal. All you had to do was turn it upside-down and shake. When you turned it back over you had a clean slate.

Isn’t it funny how God can do the same thing with our lives? Sometimes we are plugging along pretty well but something trips us up and we sin. Some sins, or mistakes stand out in our lives like a sore thumb. It could be BIG or it could be little, but – all the same – we've goofed up.

PS 32:5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

PS 103:12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

God wants us to repent, to turn from our sins--our mistakes. He wants us to go a different direction.God has a big heart. He’s ready to wipe the slate clean. All we must do is ask for forgiveness.And then – back to the drawing board. We’re ready to start over. God’s given us a clean slate. What we do with it is in our hands.

Dear God, I don't understand how you can forgive and forget so completely, but I trust that you do! I praise you and thank you for giving me aclean slate, a fresh start, another chance. You are the creator. Guide me. There is no one better to steady me as I begin again.

Dear Lord by Rachel Pitcher

Dear Lord
Hear my prayer
Know that I
need You there
beside me all the way
each day

I need you there
hear my prayer.

I fall
and confess my sin
you forgive
and draw me in
hold me close and say, "You're fine,
you're mine."

I need You there
hear my prayer.

Sorrow comes
and with it fear
I'm far away,
you draw me near
so I can feel You lifting me
up to see 

You were there
You heard my prayer.

Joyful feelings
flood my soul
you are there
to make me whole
creating within me life anew
to honor You!

Lord,
I'll be there
with You in prayer.

Discernment?? by Joyce Schafer

I have to be honest—this is a word I really didn’t know so I looked it up in the dictionary: Discernment—act or power of discerning, judgment, sagacity. Huh? I’m more confused than ever. I have no idea what sagacity is. I don’t think I have ever heard that word before—so it’s back to my trusty dictionary. Sagacity —quickness of discernment, shrewdness, high intelligence. High intelligence, well, that explains why I have never had occasion to use this word. It also made me feel like I was going in circles.

My life feels like that sometimes. I get up every morning with high expectations that I am going to do exactly what God wants me to do today and then Life happens.

I go to take clothes out of the dryer only to discover that I forgot to put them in the dryer last night. I go to put milk on my cereal (or worse yet have it on my cereal) only to discover it’s bad.
I go to work and some customer yells at me because he overdrew his checking account. Then some coworker is complaining loudly and giving me a headache.

In the evening as I go over my day and pray, I realize I am always apologizing and asking for forgiveness for the same things day after day. I also give thanks that God has the discernment (judgment) and sagacity (high intelligence) to forgive me time and time again.