Author Archives: Nannette

About Nannette

Wife to The Sweetheart, Mom to the Fantastic Six, Nana to six of the cutest littles on the planet, Author, The Daniel Fast, A Devotional. UPCI ministers.

Only Jesus

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Only Jesus. It’s #FiveMinuteFriday and the word prompt is Only. That word just had to go with the Name above all Names…Jesus.

I am not a sports authority by any stretch of the imagination. I like baseball, but it’s slow and boring to watch. I used to like to watch basketball, when there were rules such as no traveling. Football? I can leave it any day of the week. Too violent and they never make any progress! It would drive me crazy to have ten 250 pound bodies pile on top of me to find out we had only moved two feet. Not worth it. (Okay, they do make millions of dollars so maybe some would say it is worth it.)

Sports figures, speaking generally, are overpaid and over-privileged. Some do use their fame and fortune to make this world a better place and we thank you.

Then there are those such as LeBron James, who has christened himself with the nickname, The Chosen One. He made this statement recently, “There’s only three people in this world that can score on me in the post,” LeBron said. “Shaquille O’Neal in his prime—who else was it? Oh, it’s two. And Jesus Christ.”

Now, you may argue his remark was tongue-in-cheek, and I hope it was at least that but it was still highly disrespectful and definitely insulting to Christians everywhere.

I have news for LeBron: Jesus doesn’t play basketball.

Jesus came for one purpose; to seek and to save the lost! (Luke 19:10)

  • Only Jesus can fill that empty void in your life.
  • Only Jesus can give you peace that passes all understanding.
  • Only Jesus, as the song says, can satisfy your soul!
  • Only Jesus can take everything that is wrong and make it right.
  • Only Jesus can give you favor with your co-workers, classmates, neighbors, etc.
  • Only Jesus can heal your physical body and your anxiety-ridden mind.
  • Only Jesus can save your lost loved one that you have prayed over for ten years.
  • Only Jesus can deliver from addictions.
  • Only Jesus can forgive sins.
  • And Jesus is the Only Way to heaven.

It is true; Jesus is capable of doing absolutely anything. And it is also true that He could play basketball if He really wanted to…and LeBron James would be left holding the towel. But Jesus didn’t come for superficial things; He came to save the world! He died so we might live and He empowered us with His Spirit so that we could be His hands and feet in this world.

Tell the world, Jesus is the ONLY GOD who died, rose again and is coming back for those that love Him. If you only have Jesus, and nothing else in this world, you have everything.

What would you add to the above list? Only Jesus ______________________________________________. Encourage one another with your addition!

Enjoy this song by Matt Redman, Jesus, Only Jesus.

Who can command the highest praise?
Who has the name above all names?
You stand alone, I stand amazed
Jesus, only Jesus

The Snood and Wattle Make the Gobble!

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The Snood and Wattle Make the Gobble!

“Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with others they only see once a year, & then discover once a year is way too often.” ~Johnny Carson

Kicking off Thanksgiving Day with some fun facts and we might have a few you haven’t heard before.

Here we go with 25 Totally Random & Fun Facts for Thanksgiving!


  1. The first Thanksgiving was held in the fall of 1621. There were approximately 50 Pilgrims and 90 Wampanoag Indians. Aside from the huge difference in what was served then, and now, their feast lasted three days!
  2. Thanksgiving can take place as early as November 22 and as late as November 28. (Hint: it’s always the 4th Thursday!)
  3. 91% of Americans eat TURKEY for Thanksgiving.
  4. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is the 2nd oldest Thanksgiving parade. (Gimbels Department Store was first!)
  5. Baby turkeys are called poults and male turkeys are called gobblers.
  6. Sarah Josepha Hale was an American magazine editor and also an author. She is credited for campaigning to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. But did you know she also wrote Mary Had a Little Lamb?
  7. The snood (male turkeys only, please) is the red growth coming from the forehead. The part underneath the throat is the wattle.
  8. The Snoopy balloon has appeared in the Macy’s Parade more often than any other character.Snoopy-Balloon-Picture-at-Macys-Thanksgiving-Day-Parade-NYC-Steve-Weintraub
  9. The name turkey goes way back to when the Europeans discovered how much they loved the guinea fowl that was imported to their continent by, you guessed it, Turkish merchants! Then, when the Spaniards came to America, they found a bird that tasted like the guinea fowl and they called it turkey also.
  10. Thanksgiving was traditionally celebrated on the last Thursday of November, set by Abraham Lincoln. But in 1939, President Roosevelt pushed it up a week early. Why, you ask? To increase the time for Christmas shopping during the Great Depression!
  11. Only male turkeys, called toms, gobble. Females, or hens, cackle. (No comments from the male population, thank you very much.)
  12. TV-DinnerSwanson TV Dinners were born out of the over-abundance of leftover frozen Thanksgiving turkeys. Who knew?
  13. 3,000 is the number of calories consumed by the average person during a Thanksgiving dinner. Don’t forget that most families eat at least twice that day and snack on rich desserts and appetizers in between which can bump it up as high as 4,000-6,000 calories. That would require eight hours of exercise to burn it off. Yikes!
  14. Let’s add to #13 and insert that it has been estimated that the original Thanksgiving gatherers only consumed about 550 calories at their feast…probably no pies or stuffing.
  15. Another DID YOU KNOW: Californians consume more turkeys than any other state.
  16. More than 44 million people watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV every year. Three million actually attend in person. It’s a miracle….on 34th Street (ba-dum-bump…The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade starts at 77th St and Central Park West and heads down to 34th Street in Herald Square.)
  17. A 25 pound turkey contains about 70% white meat and 30% dark. (What’s your favorite?)
  18. Wild turkeys can run 20 miles per hour when they are scared!
  19. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s first meal in space, after walking on the moon, was roasted turkey in neat, little aluminum foil packets.
  20. large_24099One dish I personally can pass on is the Green Bean Casserole. Campbell’s Soup created it for an annual cookbook over 50 years ago and they now sell $20 million+ worth of cream of mushroom soup for Thanksgiving. (Will it be on your table?)
  21. The first Pilgrims did not have forks. They used spoons, knives and, ahem, their fingers. Some things never change.
  22. It is believed that only FIVE women were present at the first Thanksgiving. Many of the women settlers didn’t survive the extremely difficult first year on new soil.
  23. Every year, since 1975, there is another celebration on Thanksgiving Day on the island of Alcatraz. It is called UN-Thanksgiving Day, commemorating the survival of Native Americans after the Europeans settled in America.
  24. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, cranberries were originally used by Native Americans to treat arrow wounds and also to dye their clothes! (Canned or fresh on your table?) 
  25. And finally, I have saved the best for last! Turkeys….wait for it….have heart attacks! The United States Air Force conducted test runs that were breaking the sound barrier. Nearby was a flock of turkeys that promptly dropped dead. Death by heart attack.

Share with us some of the family traditions you will be partaking in or feel free to comment on any or all of the trivia info! We would love for you to join the conversation. Have a blessed day with your family and friends. 

Kingdom2

 

When Thanksgiving is Hard but God is Good

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When Thanksgiving is Hard, but God is Good. For some, this Thursday, November 23, is going to be difficult. Wondering how they are going to make it through the day with a smile on their face. Others will be fighting back tears because of empty chairs at the table. Their heart hurts, and the reasons vary but the heartache is so real. If this is you? I am praying God will give you strength that only comes from Him and that spirit-filled peace that passes our understanding. Be encouraged by the two saints of God in the following post and be blessed knowing God sees you, loves you and is with you especially when it is hard.

Francis Jane Crosby was the author of over 9,000 hymns. Do you know she wrote so many that she began using pen names so that the hymnals would not be filled with her name alone?

Beautiful hymns such as:

Blessed Assurance
Safe in the Arms of Jesus
All the Way My Savior Leads Me
Rescue the Perishing
Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross

Born in New York, Fanny was ill almost from the beginning. One day, their family’s regular doctor was out of town and another man, who claimed to be a doctor, prescribed hot mustard compresses to her eyes. She got over the sickness but the treatment left her blind.

Blindness didn’t deter her from her love of life and her love for the Word of God; she memorized scripture every day; five chapters a week.

Fanny loved poetry and wrote her first verse at the age of eight:

Fanny’s attitude kind of reminds me of someone else we know; the Apostle Paul was one acquainted with grief. He had lived through many, many persecutions. Most of them were physical.

“Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.” 2 Corinthians 11:24-28 ESV.

Wow. And we think WE are persecuted for the name of Jesus!

Drifting at sea
Stoned
Shipwrecked
Beaten
Dangerous rivers
Robbers
His own people
The Gentiles
The City
The Wilderness
False Brothers
Sleepless Nights
Hunger and Thirst
Cold and Exposure

And last, but definitely not least, he mentions the daily stress and anxiety brought on by the churches! 

Paul was under a tremendous amount of pressure. Remember, he was also blinded once on the road to Damascus. The Lord put him in that state for three whole days and his life was forever changed. Even though he regained his sight, he then saw things completely differently, through the Lord’s eyes instead of his own.

But even in the midst of the tremendous persecution, Paul found joy.

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Philippians 4:12 NLT.

Contentment.

Paul knew that no matter what his circumstances were he could be content. Why?

Verse 13 tells us the answer:

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

Maybe you are feeling as if you do not have much for which to be thankful. Maybe life is not treating you kindly, or fairly, and everything seems to be upside down, like a little bug on the ground who can’t get turned back over on his feet.

God has not forsaken you. We understand that aren’t promised a life full of sunshine and blue skies, but we are promised He will go with us. Sometimes your season of need may last much, much longer than you had anticipated or had hoped for. But like Paul, and Fanny Crosby, we can always find something to be thankful for.

Is there breath in your lungs? Praise God! Are you in your right mind? Praise God!

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Most importantly, do you know Jesus? I mean truly know Him? If so, you have something wonderful to be thankful for. To be in relationship with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords means we have an awesome responsibility to share this wonderful Truth with others and let our contentment be a great testimony of His keeping power.

Fanny didn’t let her inabilities or her circumstances dictate her feelings. She didn’t even pray for her sight to be restored. “Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I was born blind?” said the poet. “Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior.”

Neither did the Apostle Paul. In everything, even in the difficulties, he found a reason to be thankful. Paul didn’t make it a practice to pray for things…he prayed that he might KNOW Him.

Grieving? Yes, it is good to grieve; it is necessary. But, in that grief, allow God to help you, strengthen you, speak peace into your heart and help you to find something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Just as the season moves on into another, this too will get easier and He will give you grace for each day as you draw closer to Him through your trial.

Enjoy this beautiful rendition of one of Fanny Crosby’s hymns by Chris Tomlin! Let it be your praise today…