Amelia McNeilly

Pink Patriot - My desire is to share with you the journey God has me on. Whether in joy hardship, I hope that my blog offers a place of respite, and bring joy to your heart!

Articles, Family, Holidays

Let it Be Christmas

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Merry Christmas Eve! It is one days before Christmas and many are traveling to visit family, while others are at home cooking, wrapping presents, and getting ready for family to come visit.

As for me, I have not been feeling well so I am spending the majority of the holiday at home. However, most of my family will come here on Christmas Day so I am looking forward to spending time with them. It is also nice to spend extra time with my parents, and I am enjoying the visits with friends who stop by. Even though I am not able to get out among the hustle and bustle of the holidays, I am very thankful for family — especially my mom, who tries to make things extra special here at home.

This past year has been a tough one, but the Lord has been faithful through it all. I am incredibly thankful this year for the gift of life, and not just my life, but most importantly for Jesus — and the meaning of His birth. I have never wanted a year to be over more than this one, but over the past couple months the Lord has done some great things in my heart and soul. Prior to and after my surgery last January, I lived with worry about the future, and in a state of disappointment that my life up to this point had not turned out the way that I had imagined that it would. However, the greatest gift God has given me this year is His peace. Over the past few months He has filled my heart with an acceptance of this season and given my mind an ease that could only come from Him. For that, I am very thankful.

Whatever this week looks like for you be present wherever you are.There are many times I am in a room with company and we are all on our phones texting, capturing moments, and posting them on Instagram. I know that I am personally guilty of this, and am trying to improve the habit. While there is nothing wrong with any of these things, we can spend too much of our quality time with others on our devices sharing with the world what we are doing. I am reminded more than ever on this holiday to treasure each moment and to live fully right where I am because none of us can know what the future may hold.

My challenge to  you over Christmas and New Years is to put down your phones and Ipads and spend time with your family and friends without constantly looking down at your device every few minutes. I am not suggesting that you not take any photos through the holidays, or never be on your phones. Although, do not allow your time on social media platforms lessen the quality of your conversations, or distract from sweet family time that you will never get back. I pray that each of you will have a wonderful holiday with family and friends, but most importantly that you spend time with Jesus and celebrate who He is and what He has done.

The greatest gift God gave me this year is His peace.

 

 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!  I will see you in 2016! 

Daily Inspirations

Daily Inspirations – December 22, 2015

-The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel which means -God with us”).” -Matthew 1-23 (1)

“But the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
~Luke 1: 30-33

Advent, Articles, Holidays

Anticipating Christ: Love

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 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” ~John 3:16

Love. Love represents everything God is and 1 John reminds us of that for it says that “God is love” (1 John 4:8).  God loved us so much that He sacrificed his one and only son Jesus Christ on the cross to pay for our sins. It all started with a loving God, an obedient teenage girl named Mary, and a baby born in a manger. This is a gift that we could never repay. However, in return God wants our heart. Our whole heart. He wants us to die to self, live for Him, and according to His Word. Luke 1o:27 commands us to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.”

As theologian Jeremy Taylor states, “Love is the greatest thing God can give us, for himself is love, and love is the greatest thing we can give to God, for it will also give ourselves. . .  . The apostle calls love the bond of perfection. It is the old, and it is the new, and it is the great commandment, and it is all the commandments, for it is the fulfilling of the law.”

No matter who you are, where you’ve been, or what you’ve done — God is always ready for you to come to Him and receive His love and forgiveness. He is always there ready for us to come to Him. Only His perfect love will give the ultimate fulfillment we long for on this earth. Spouses, family, and friends may love us greatly, but Jesus’ love is the only love that will never fail in this life.  As we fully accept the love of Christ, we are able to love others as the Bible commands and be the people God desires us to be.

As Christmas approaches the central focus should be on the birth of Christ and the love that He represents. It is so easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays and lose sight of what the season is all about.

Christmas is not about me. Christmas is not about you. Christmas is not about presents or food. Christmas is about the Eternal love that was born in a manger to bring hope to the hopeless, peace to the restless, joy to the grieving, and love to the lost and hurting. It is a time to truly celebrate this baby who became our Savior, and praise Him for all He has done and will continue to do.

If you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed this week, or if the holidays are a sad and lonely time for you please take a moment to remember that you are not alone. God’s love for you surpasses anything that you could ever imagine and the love of Christ is the greatest gift He has ever given so accept that love and a peace and joy that is unexplainable will fill your soul. Also, spend some time today doing something nice for someone else, and spend time encouraging them with the love of God because you never know how your act of kindness will impact their Christmas.

Erin will be posting her blog soon and you won’t want to miss it. I will put the link here once it is posted.

To view all posts in this series visit here.

 

 

Daily Inspirations

Daily Inspirations – December 19, 2015

Breath of Heaven,Hold me together.Be forever near me, Breath of Heaven.Breath of Heaven, lighten my darkness,Pour over me your holiness. For You are holy,Breath of heaven.

Happy Saturday, friends. These words are from one of my favorite Christmas songs, and this is my prayer for today.

Breath of Heaven,
Hold me together.
Be forever near me,
Breath of Heaven.
Breath of Heaven,
lighten my darkness,
Pour over me your holiness.
For You are holy,
Breath of heaven.
~Amy Grant

Advent, Holidays

Anticipating Christ: Joy

ameliamcneilly.com

“And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” ~Luke 2:10-11

Joy. The Bible calls us to have joy every single day. Philippians 4:4 says to rejoice always. Even when we do not feel like it we are supposed to rejoice. That sounds good until you are going through a really hard season and then it just plain rough.

I have found myself during many sleepless nights saying “But God my health is terrible can’t you have a little sympathy? I don’t feel like rejoicing right now. What is joyful in this?” Some others may be saying,  “but God my job is so hard and this is not at all where I thought I would be right now in my life. I am miserable and don’t know what my purpose is. When will one of my dreams finally come true?” Or  “but God married life is not what I thought it would be. What happened to living happily ever after? I just don’t love him anymore or feel loved.  And lastly, “but God I am in my 30s and STILL single. I have dreamed of being married for years and being a helpmate to someone. When will it be my turn already? ”

All of these scenarios many have experienced, and none of these make it easy to have joy, and are even worse during the holidays. How can we rejoice at Christmas when life is in shambles? This past week I was diagnosed with hand, foot, and mouth virus, a bladder infection, and a bacterial infection. This is not at all how I wanted to spend my days leading up to Christmas. After the year I have had I wanted a bit of a break.

However, that is when God so gently reminded me yet again that —

Joy is not defined by the circumstances of life. Joy is simply Jesus.  Joy is found in the tiny baby who was born in a manger. Joy is found in the one who lowered himself to be a servant and washed the disciples feet. Joy is found in Him who performed many miracles. Joy is found in the man who died on the cross and in the Savior who rose again. Joy is found in Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!

When I take the focus off myself and put it on the Lord my circumstances suddenly feel lighter.  As we focus on the greatness of Jesus and what He has done for us — our circumstances will not always change, but our perspective towards them will. Then, a great joy that we didn’t think was possible will fill our hearts and minds. Also, along with that joy the Lord will give His strength to help us walk the hard roads in a way that is honoring to Him.

As Christmas week is approaching take time to dwell on the only one who can make your joy complete.

Erin also recently wrote an amazing post on joy over on her blog. Read it here and be encouraged!

To read all posts in this series visit here.

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