Nancy | Lifesongs.com

So many things are going on at this time of year! Do you remember your parents telling you about how fast time flies and it goes faster as you get older? 

I heard this phrase recently “ I wish you could know you are in the good old days before you left them!” These words ring true no matter what season of life you are in. 

This Christmas season is a little different for me, my daughter doesn’t live at home anymore and my son is now looking at going away to college. I find myself so reflective and thinking of those crazy busy times when the kids were younger. You know all of the school programs and “Angel 

Tree” parties and kid-centered events that happen at Christmas time. When I was in the midst of all of the busyness, I loved it, but it was also another “to do”. I often felt like I just wanted to say no to some events so as a family, we could just slow down and embrace the season of Christmas. 

Well now, I’m slowed down and I’m missing the busyness! I miss the school Christmas programs and the Girl Scout cookie parties, along with kids’ church PJs and hot chocolate fun nights! I miss cuddling my little ones and reading the Christmas Story to them as they are in their onesie pajamas.

I know I’ll have to let my kids go and reset my Christmas Season expectations as they journey into adulthood. But I also know we have had the best days and my kids so sweetly remind me of the traditions they will carry on. They even promise they’ll let me read the Christmas Story to their kids! (I promise I didn’t guilt them into it!) 

I hope this year, especially as we are more like we used to be(pre-pandemic), you soak in every moment and smell and sounds and etch the memories, no matter where you are in life! 

Christmas Season is an amazing reminder that we are living in the best days. We get to celebrate the greatest gift of a sweet baby as a promise to save the world! Imagine Mary soaking in that memory as she held our savior in a manger! My favorite Christmas song is Oh Holy Night. No matter the version or who sings it, it gets me, the lyrics speak to the heart and meaning of this time of year.

O Holy Night 

The stars are brightly shining 

It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth 

Long lay the world in sin and e’er pining ‘Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. 

Fall on your knees O hear the angels voices. O night divine O night when Christ was born O night divine, O night, O night divine. 

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming, With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand. So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming, Here came the wise men from Orient land. The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger; In all our trials born to be our friend. 

He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger, Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend! Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend! 

Truly He taught us to love one another; 

His law is love and His gospel is peace. Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother; And in His name all oppression shall cease. Sweet hymns of joy in grateful raise we, Let all within us praise His holy name. 

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever, His power and glory evermore proclaim. O night divine, O night, O night divine.

Family bonds tend to be far stronger than the bonds we have with other people. In all but the most dysfunctional families, family members stick together and stand up for one another. Children look out for their parents, and parents guard the interests of their children. In married relationships, husbands and wives share secrets between themselves that no one else on earth is privy to. Brothers and sisters put up with more from their siblings than they do from outsiders. Family members also tend to be willing to do things for their families that they would not do for even their closest friends.

The month of October seemed to be like I was making up for lost time connecting with family members. It wasn’t this big plan, it just kind of happened that I would go to Texas for an event with one family then return home and have another side of the family visiting in town… I couldn’t help but realize how much I missed hanging out and being with people I  don’t see often. It’s so interesting to observe how different we are from the families we are born into, yet we manage to fit in and morph into whichever side we are with at the time. 

We might expect that the earthly family of Jesus would have a place in His heart far above the place He grants any of His other followers. Yet the New Testament shows us that this is not the case. In fact, Jesus does not define His family as those closest to Him by blood. Instead, only those who do the will of God can be called His true family (Mark 3:31–35).

I think about the next couple of months and all of the family events and am so grateful that I get to celebrate with so many different people.

Being a family is much more important than just having one. In other words, the question isn’t so much who our family is. Rather, who am I a family too? Some of us may or may not have a family that we are a part of, but we can be that kind of family to someone else.

I’m a simple girl. One of my most favorite places in the world is my back porch. It’s my go-to place to relax and read as well as get a little vitamin D! During the Pandemic it became my prayer closet as we had a house full of students and my spouse working from home! My special little corner of paradise,  that even in spite of all of the rain we have been having lately, I make it a point to make use of it  at least 2-3 times per week. 

One recent morning I’m having coffee and have my tablet open and worship music on, then all of a sudden the birds begin going crazy and they get Extremely loud! I turned my worship music louder thinking they would eventually settle down , but 20 minutes later it was still crazy noisy in Paradise! I got up and noticed in our backyard tree a Peregrine Falcon (I took a pic and  looked it up). The falcon just staring in the same direction while blue jays and crows were clearly distressed he was on their turf! I was amazed at the focus of this bird not moving at all while the noise and chaos was surrounding him ! 

I tend to try to look at moments in life and see the spiritual aspect in things . On the surface it would seem that some might look at this moment as the blue jays could represent our walk with our friends, strength in numbers and battling the enemy together keeps him at bay. Another perspective would be what I received that day . Being focused in Spite of the noise and chaos going on around you! Keeping your “eye on the prize” in spite of distractions ..

A little National Geographic info. for you. The Peregrine Falcon is known for… 

Strength And Speed

Peregrines are not only the fastest bird, but the fastest animals on the planet reaching speeds of well over 200 mph when diving for prey. Some sources claim up to 240 mph..

Ambition

In the wild, these birds build their nests on the highest branches of trees or on the edge of cliffs. Even in the urban settlements, they preferably nest on the skyscrapers.If their nesting habit is any indication, the falcons cannot settle for anything less than the best. 

Vision

The eyesight of a falcon is eight times better than that of a human being.

They are always prepared to face what’s coming. You can never take them by surprise.

Freedom

With all that strength and speed, falcons are undoubtedly free creatures. 

I really appreciated my lesson from the falcon that day. I pray that I can be free in Christ and focus better. I don’t want  to settle for anything less than what Jesus wants for me. Ironically,  the Falcon started as a distraction , but I was led to a different place in the bible, thanks to all the racket!! 

We are constantly tempted to pull away from a consistent focus on Christ. As a result, we often find ourselves being tossed to and fro by the concerns of life. Keeping focus on Christ means that we’re purposefully fading out everything that pulls us away from connecting with Him.

It is when we discipline our mind to focus on Jesus and what He has done in order that we may have eternal life—we are changed. Pay attention to when your thoughts wander and ask the Lord to help you discipline your mind. “Set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming” (1 Peter 1:13).

Do you remember back in elementary school how you almost always had to write a short story about how you spent your summer vacation? I was the nerdy kid who really got into doing this!! 

Many summers  I would spend with my grandparents and it was my own little epic adventure. When I think back about my summers, it was like I was living in my own version of the movie “The Sandlot” or a girl version of one of the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series.The Small town in Alabama where I would visit literally had one red light and a corner drug store and the sheriff knew every resident of the town on a first name basis. My daily schedule was to wake up, eat breakfast, go to the pool, and home for 6. I think this was pretty much the same schedule for most kids ages 8-16 in the town .

Being away from home I would have those special summer friendships that I would cultivate each summer. We would pick up right where we left off, the only difference would be we would have a new hairstyle or like different music, but mostly the same kids, different year. I sometimes felt like a VIP, I would get invited to numerous sleepovers and it was like my grandparents announced the day of my arrival because my friends would usually greet me as we were pulling in the driveway. I was never treated like the new kid, I was the friend who breezed in a few months out of the year and had no opinion on anything or anyone, totally  unaware of all of the drama that had been ensuing throughout the school year! I discovered my summer friends really appreciated this. The girls would dish on who liked who throughout the school year and the boys, well the boys would just aggravate me, because they could, I really didn’t care. I think I knew perhaps it was their way of showing they “like liked” me, for them I was safe and temporary. 

One Summer when I was 12, one of my friends, Zan (her real name) invited me to spend the night, and I was so excited!! Her parents were the ones that would let you eat junk food and not have a sit down dinner, sometimes they would not even be home and we would have the house all to ourselves!  I loved that they didn’t have a sofa, they just had bean bag chairs scattered all over the living room. Zan and I would raid her mom’s makeup and closet, then eat cake for dinner, I was such a cliche’ kid!  Walking up to Zan’s house that night after hanging out at the pool that day, I  immediately noticed the house looked so different and Zan’s mom came out to greet us that she had dinner ready . Not a big deal , except I was so craving a roll of raw cookie dough and funyuns, which is what we would have normally had, but her mom made meatloaf, one of my least favorite things to eat as a kid .. ( not a fan of anything blended, I don’t even like stews). Then I walk in and there is a sofa! What is going on ? We then sit down and then eat dinner at the table!!! This is not at all how I imagined the evening going, it was like I was in a vortex as Zans mom was asking me 50 questions about my past year and I found myself trying to eat quickly, so I could get Zan alone and ask what’s going on and why is her mom acting so weird, like why is she paying attention to me and please tell me that there is a roll of cookie dough!  Once dinner was done , Zan helped with the dishes, oh, yeah another thing I remembered , they always used paper plates, so what’s up with this !!! 

Once we were in Zan’s room the floodgates of my mouth opened and I had 50 questions for Zan… Zan just sat there on her bed, which was now an actual bed, not a mattress on the floor and then once I stopped talking , she cried ! I was just asking questions, so I wasn’t sure what I had said .. Zan told me that her Dad died in the fall of last year. He was driving drunk and hit a tree, but at least her mom survived the crash. Zan shared how their neighbors drove her to the hospital late that night, and she didn’t even recognize her Mom .. Zans mom was in the hospital for a month and the neighbors took care of her, they even cleaned the house and got some furniture donated and fixed up things that had been broken for years. 

I had this awful flood of emotion, I was sick to think I didn’t even notice her Dad wasn’t there, and then me and my selfish questions about all the changes, which in that moment I realized their family was just as broken as the house… 

Zan shared that the family took her to church while she stayed with them and every day they took her to visit her mom.  Each day Zan would read a bible verse to her, as suggested by her neighbor. Zan said her mom never really reacted to the Bible verses as she read them , but when she was discharged from the hospital, the first place she wanted to go was the neighbors church . Zan and her mom were baptized together that day. 

Zan talked about how different the last year was for her and how she felt so alone at school but her mom and she  had a new life and she was fine with that. Zan also said how she was so happy to have me come into town because she knew I would be the person she could count on to not feel weird about her new life . I wasn’t sure how I felt, I could see Zan was so happy and so different ! But her different was nothing but GOOD ! She continued to share about their new life and how Jesus changed everything for Her ! She was so happy and yet her dad died. I never really noticed her southern accent before, but even today whenever I  hear the name Jesus , I hear it with Zan’s sweet southern accent. I’m not sure why the other’s didn’t see how good things were for Zan now. We tend to fear things we don’t understand. I guess I was able to not focus on the big changes because I really just wanted to have fun! I went to church with Zan a few times, but I wasn’t ready for a different life just yet. Zan and I were  so close that summer and I  really was not in a rush to get back home once the summer was over. Two weeks into school that year my grandmother died. I was so sad for the loss of her, but also because I knew that I had just experienced my last full summer with Zan. Zan’s words echoed in my head about her new life and being different in a new way is all that seemed to make me smile after such a big loss! I wanted to smile like Zan, when I talked about my grandmother, like she did when she talked about her Dad. I called Zan that night and in the best way a 12 year old can , she led me through the sinners prayer. I think about that moment often and how sweet and simple it was, and imagine Jesus smiling . 

The busyness of life can sometimes get to us and we tend to forget those  moments we got to see Jesus at work. Looking back I feel Jesus etched my memory with so many details of that summer knowing it would be my last with Zan. Here I am now in a season with a college grad and a senior in high school and I still go to that moment on the phone with my friend and reflect on beginning my new life with Jesus . I encourage you to remember those sweet moments throughout your life; whether it’s funyuns and cookie dough or a tear filled phone conversation about the loss of a loved one. Sometimes the sweet simple details are all we need as a reminder of God being with us and going before us and “ setting the scene” for our story.

To quote the Best Boss Ever, “God has the whole world in his hands.” These are the words our General Manager Julie said during our recent Spring Shareathon, when we were all feeling a little weird with so many crazy things going on in the world and our city at the time. We were all especially feeling grief when a tornado hit a community that is only three miles away from our Lifesongs Studios. In an amazing display of Faith and Grace Julie asked that we put everything on pause. Meaning we shut down Shareathon and just went home to regroup. We were still a good ways away from our financial goal, but I think it was good for us all to take a moment and reflect on our blessings as well as pray for our community that was literally picking up pieces. 

We hit the ground running the next day and had one of the BEST mornings financially with gifts coming in at close to $10,000 in the first four hours ! It was a rainbow day to all of us after the storm !

Psalm 46:10  says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 

I’m so grateful to be part of a team that genuinely believes in the ministry of Lifesongs. Our Mission Statement is “Sharing God’s Love with Southeast Louisiana through authentic and uplifting radio.” I felt it was one of the most authentic things we could have done as a radio station to pause our event and “Be Still”. I also believe that God showed us all that there is nothing we can do on our own, and we must rely on Him. Sometimes when we are in the midst of Shareathon , we get a little discouraged personally if we don’t hit those hourly Goals, but God always shows up in His time and His ways! The Best part of this story is..God used YOU! 

We are so thankful for faithful friends like you! Your financial gifts and prayers made our Spring Shareathon successful!  With your generous support Lifesongs was able to leap over a $250,000 wall! Lifesongs will be here everyday for the next 6 months to remind you that God is Good All the Time! 

Do you think we have to get rights if we add to our Mission statement “God has the whole world in His Hands” ?

Just kidding !!

One recent Sunday morning as we were getting ready for church , our teenage son decided to tell us he wasn’t making it, because he didn’t complete an assignment and it was due that day. As most parents do, we expressed our disappointment and lectured him about his priorities being unbalanced. He did end up getting dressed and joining us, but as you can imagine, the car ride to church was not the best as the silence was deafening! 

During our worship time, I could only think of the conversation and how sad I was to have that exchange. Of course replaying the conversation and wishing I had done things differently. Our goal as parents is to want our kids to want Jesus more than anything and we expect this to just automatically happen even when a teenager is a teenager and his frontal lobe isn’t fully developed! 

As I was reflecting, I was reminded of the story of Mary and Martha. Jesus is visiting and Martha is in a tizzy cooking and cleaning while Mary is sitting at Jesus’ feet . Martha proceeds to call Mary out for not helping , suggesting her priorities are confused, then Jesus reminds her that Mary has made the wiser choice . 

This story is a near perfect representation of our daily lives. The unexpected happens, our normal routine is thrown off, rowdy and unpredictable people invade our lives, multiple activities beg for our attention, and yet those who are walking in faith still settle at the feet of Jesus. I long to be one of those faithful few. Of course I feel even more convicted thinking about my conversation with my son, I struggle with balancing my priorities too. Mary realized Jesus was the ultimate Source of everything her heart desired and needed. She sensed it. She felt it. She believed it. Purpose was found in Him—not in her service, not in the approval of man, not in appearances, not in physical sustenance or a put-together home. In Him alone. 

In contrast to her sister’s busyness, Mary laid everything down in pursuit of Christ: Her pride—she was sitting at Jesus’ feet. 

The approval of others—she didn’t care what others thought of her actions. Her efforts to perform—she didn’t need applause or accolades for a well-cooked meal. Her need to provide—she realized Jesus was the great Sustainer and Provider. 

I pray that I can be a better example of setting my priorities straight ! I am prideful at times and definitely seek the approval of others. I pray that I can “practice what I preach “ as I so very much want my son to “get it”. The reality is, he has to want it too, not because I demand it or expect it. Jesus chatted with Martha gently, reminding her of what’s important, not just wanting to get her attention and affection, but he was trying to get her heart. I know Jesus is sovereign enough to draw my son to Him too!

I have found myself shopping a little at a time this year for friends and family on my list .. allowing me to genuinely focus on my gift to them and what they mean to me! It’s so amazing as I am in the mall this year, how so many people are feeling generous! It’s like we are making up for lost time from what the past two Christmas seasons have been . I LOVE Christmas! I LOVE the smells ! I LOVE the busyness ! I LOVE my house being full of all sorts of trees and decorations!

I am very simple for most events and holidays, but at Christmas I am completely Vegas Baby!! The “More the Merrier” is my motto beginning the day after Thanksgiving through the end of the year!

So, as I am out and about taking care of my Christmas list, I have met some kindred spirits that have the same mindset. We chat while waiting to checkout or as we are eyeballing the same item and discover they have caught the Spirit of Christmas Fever too! I don’t want to sound like a Hallmark movie, but it really is refreshing to share giving with others !

Lifesongs recently Celebrated our “ Spirit of Giving “ campaign . An opportunity to give financially to the ministry at the end of the year . So many friends called in and gave . We have numerous friends that give monthly, that called in and give an extra gift . We even had one friend call in with a large gift, then he called back and gave more as we were chatting on air about his church and Pastor!

Giving is contagious. I find I am drawn to people with generous hearts . Maybe that’s why I find so many new friends while I’m out and about now. Maybe that’s why this year our end of the year gifts have been some of the best ever ! Working with our Lifesongs family , I know everyone here has big kind generous hearts and our listening family caught the “Spirit of Giving” fever ! Beyond the financial gifts , we get the gift of connection with You. Your end of the year gifts don’t just bring you closer to us, but we feel closer to you! I just think about those few days we set aside to raise funds and my heart smiles and is so happy ! Reminding me that I am literally surrounded by generosity! How could I not be giddy and making new friends as I am out Christmas shopping ! I’m so grateful that we get to share that connection through your giving and I’m sure you give big year round, and I’m not just talking financially..Thank you for having a big, kind and generous heart and Merry Christmas!

Somehow, not only for Christmas,

“If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving — large or small — it will be used to measure what is given back to you.” (Luke 6:38)

I watch HGTV and I remember hearing one of the designers say that you can tell by the way someone’s home is decorated, what’s important to them.  The designer also said the decor should be able to tell the families story – you should feel in the atmosphere what they are like.  Ever since hearing that, I tend to notice that is true…  

Does the home have random pictures just to fill blank space?  Does the home look like a museum where you’re not comfortable to chill out?  What about a home where it looks like the family just bought the showroom floor?  Then – my favorite – the home where family pictures abound!  Every little shelf having a picture on it and the hallways full of collages of kid pics and family vacations.  I guess I like this style the most because I’m drawn to looking at the pics and seeing the memories spanning generations. 

I recently got to help clear out an 88-year-old  family member’s home, as they were downsizing, and from the start of the process it was clear what was important to them.  Walking into the front door, every wall having various shapes and sizes of pictures.  Some black and white, some color, and all sorts of different frames.  Dozens of faces of people I didn’t recognize.  So of course I had to get the stories behind them!

One pic that really stood out was black and white, with 2 little boys in a farm setting.  Turns out one of the little boys was our family member!  As he described the pic, it was as if he stepped back in time to the day it was taken.  Telling me about every individual in the picture, and where they worked, and their kids – and their kids’ kids – then, bringing us down the hall to the next generation. His married life and then his kid and grandkids…  It never occurred to him that he subconsciously hung the pictures in a generational timeline!  Weddings and birthdays and Christmases and LOVE – lots of Love surrounding Him all the time as he had these picture memories hanging everywhere…

I’m so grateful we got the chance to hear these stories; the legacy of my kids’ grandparents and great grandparents and the tough times they grew up in.  It was sobering for our kids to hear about ration stamps that were given out during the war. What!? You actually could not buy food like sugar and bread whenever you needed it?!

The new place will not accommodate all of these pictures, so as we pack them up, we bring them to our home for storage, boxing up memories of another generation.  I look around our home and I’ve got memory walls too; stories of weddings and birthdays and holidays over the years of my family.  But I don’t have the generation before – so I make room for them.  I love seeing the previous generation represented on our walls, the reminders of the simple life.  We are so thankful to be living the blessed, abundant life we get to live because of the sacrifices of our older family members.  I overheard my son, pointing out one of these freshly hung pictures, bragging about his paratrooper grandpa and how he served during the Korean War. 

Funny, sometimes you think things go unnoticed… 

I find myself looking at my pictures hanging around my house a little more lately, focusing on the day the pic was taken and the people in it.  Taking in all of these treasured memories of stories of yesterday and I smile as I think that one day my kids will be reliving the same experience with their kids and sharing the stories the pictures tell. So I guess a picture really is worth a thousand words!

Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Who knew we would be saying thanks for a canceled Mardi Gras 2021 as a Polar Vortex rolled through town ! The farmers almanac didn’t even see that one coming! I happened to be out of town , ( freezing on the beach too) when the temps dropped below freezing. That left us unable to protect any of our plants that we had recently planted right before Christmas. I mean we live in Southeast Louisiana , that’s the norm and Lowe’s always an abundance of green!

So as we got home we were prepared to see a bunch of brown weeds in our gardens.. I spoke to a local nursery and they recommended at the time, to just leave the plants alone. Last weekend I couldn’t take it anymore, the brown had seemed to overtake whatever green was left and honestly it was just kind of dreary to pull up to my home and see withered and discolored sad little plants all over. I got right into the project and began little by little cutting away all of the brown yuck. Some of it even smelled awful . But, underneath all of that brown , lo and behold fresh green ! Not just in 1 of the plants , but ALL of them! Had I not seen that little bit of green , I would have pulled them all out and thrown them away. I would then just hit Lowe’s again and try to replace them, along with a conversation with my husband about going over our budget!

Isn’t life like those little plants sometimes? Looking like weeds and gross on the surface , but underneath fresh new growth beginning to root . We can’t see the new growth until it’s revealed. In general we tend to quickly want to pull up and discard those things that seemingly are gross and ugly to us. If we wait, not only do we get to see the new growth , we get the blessing of the experience of it !

Waiting on our “Waymaker” as He seems to take what’s dead and bring back to life again is where our faith gets strengthened. We need to be looking at whatever circumstances or even people on the outside appear to be a lost cause, faithfully knowing God is working behind the scenes! Praying with a hopeful expectation to be able to see the new growth springing forth!

Isaiah 43:19

John 5:17