Archive for the Holidays Category

Day 365

Posted in Holidays, hope, New Year, Uncategorized on December 31, 2018 by mikekeaton

newyear2019

It’s New Years Eve and the 365th day of 2018.  Today is a day that many will be looking forward to being off or only working a half day and getting excited for parties and celebrations later tonight!

Im sure your year, like ours, had many ups and downs (like just in the last few days we’ve heard of 2 dear friends who have passed away), but we can say with certainty that our God has been FAITHFUL!!  One of my absolute favorite songs is “Never Once” by Matt Redman, it is special to our journey and always brings tears to my eyes…if you’ve never heard it, watch it here…

Hopefully, before the sun sets and the celebrating begins, you will look back a little and  reflect on the past 364 days.

Count-Your-Blessings

I pray it reveals, more positives than negatives, in fact, a very healthy existence depends on “counting our blessings”!  Among many of the obvious blessings, like family, health, finances, etc., I hope you can also point to blessings like these…
*you have grown closer to the Lord and stronger in your faith
*developed more love for the Scriptures
*given of yourselves to serve others
*made some disciples
*loved well
The New Year brings new hopes!  I hope it will bring much blessing and growth in your life in all ways, especially spiritually!  If you’re far from God, I hope this year you will draw closer to Him.  If you’re disconnected from the Lord’s Church, I hope 2019 will bring you to the Church.  I hope you will grow in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control!
In the year to come, I hope we all will be diligent and faithful to the Lord, His Kingdom, His Church, and His Mission…to make disciples…it is our purpose in this life!!
 May Psalm 90:12 and 17 be our hearts cry…
“Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts”…”Let the favor of the Lord our God be on us, establish for us the work of our hands…establish the work of our hands!”
 
Here’s to 365 new fresh days! – Happy New Year!!
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Advent Readings

Posted in Advent, Discipleship, Holidays with tags , , , on December 1, 2012 by mikekeaton

I am posting these passages for any and all who would like to celebrate and observe Advent this year on their own or with their family.  Our church is observing Advent this season as an effort to recapture the true meaning of Christmas and to keep Christ in the center of it all.  Our Christmas series of teachings is emphasizing this.  learn more…

If you have never observed Advent then I recommend you do some searching online or feel free to leave a comment and I can pass along some more info.

This schedule includes more than needed readings for this season of Advent because each year is different in terms of number of days.  Feel free to adjust the readings to your likings…

First Week

Sunday – Is. 40:1-5

Monday – Is. 52:7-10

Tues. – Is. 40:9-11

Wed. – Gen. 3:8-15

Thurs. – Gen. 15:1-6

Fri. – Deut. 18: 15-19

Sat. – Ps. 89:1-4

Second Week

Sunday – Is. 11. 1-10

Monday – Zech. 6:12-13

Tues. – Micah 5:2-4

Wed. – Mal. 3:1-6

Thurs. – John 1:1-8

Fri. – John 1:9-18

Sat. – Mark 1:1-3

Third Week

Sunday – Luke 1:5-13

Monday – Luke 1:14-17

Tues. – Luke 1:18-25

Wed. – Luke 1:39-45

Thurs. – Luke 1:46-56

Fri. – Luke 1:57-66

Sat. – Luke 1:67-80

Fourth Week

Sunday – Is. 7:10-14

Monday – Luke 1:26-35

Tues. – Is. 9:2-7

Wed. – Matt. 1:18-25

Thurs. – Luke 2:1-20

Fri. – Matt. 2:1-1

Sat. – Luke 2:21-35

 

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Happy Thanksgiving !!

Posted in Holidays on November 25, 2010 by mikekeaton

Not just on this day, but always remember…

“in everything GIVE THANKS for this is the will of God in Christ concerning you” – 1 Thess. 5:18

Also remember…

Giving Thanks is an evidence of Holy Spirit filling

“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.  Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,  always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Eph 5:18-20 -NIV

Not giving thanks can be hazadarous to your life

For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Rom 1:21 – NIV

Giving thanks breeds generosity and that generosity more thanksgiving

“You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.  This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.-2 Cor 9:11-12-NIV

Giving Thanks is God’s will for our lives

“in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus“. -1 Thess 5:18-NASB

Giving Thanks ‘publicly’ glorifies the Lord

Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 1 Chron 16:-NIV

Giving thanks is always connected to worship, giving, singing, praising, and joyful celebration

A Thanksgiving Psalm

1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. 3 Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Ps 100-NIV

Enjoy the blessings of the day and Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!

MK

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A Keaton “Ghetto Fabulous Crimas”

Posted in Holidays on December 26, 2009 by mikekeaton

Well, its the day  after Christmas and i hope everyone had a great one with their family and friends.  For the Keaton household this Christmas has been given a theme my our oldest daughter…”A Ghetto Fabulous Crimas”.  This theme sort of evolved as we were unpacking all the Christmas stuff and setting up the tree.  Basically, everything, well not everything, that’s an exaggeration, but a lot of our stuff is old and broken and needs “riggin” to work, so the first was the tree stand, then it was the lights, it seems we dont have a single strand that half of it doesnt work!  so at the last minute we are running out looking for a new stand and lights, only to find a single box of lights, that we “uniquely wrappend around the tree to make it look like we had a lot!

Ont top of that the house lights outside are colored icicle lights and you know how that goes, one bulb goes out and you lose a foot of lights, so, we have a foot here and a foot there and two feet over here that are not working…looks good on the house!!

Not only that but the manger scene we have is awesome b/c its older than me, my mom and dad made it when they first got married, its ceramic and has a lot of history to it, i used to put it up as a kid, so, b.c its so old things like the donkey’s ears are broke off, the cow only has one horn and the tips of the angels wings are broke!!

Christmas, or i guess for this post i should say, “Crimas” eve was Keaton interesting…we had a Christmas eve service, which actually was amazing and cool, but on the way to our family’s house to eat and open gifts and hang out, we ran out of gas!!  we had two cars following us and my son calls and said, “hey, i dont think i have enough….”, then ran out of gas.  it was pouring down rain, so we were out in the rain pushing this car around.  we decided to ditch it on the side of the road and head on and deal with it later.  we got the gas can out of the trunk, b.c he does this so often that he carries a can with him, and went on then later tried to find a gas station open, on Crimas eve, and get 1 gallon of gas.  so we did and went back to the car and put it in and b.c the car was facing downhil it would not crank and stay running.  i was told the car needed to be facing uphill, apparently b.c 1 gallon of gas isnt enough to work the other way, so here we go again pushing a car around in the rain on a busy highway at 11pm…ghetto fabulous!!

Christmas day went off w.o a hitch for the most part, except most of what i got is the wrong size, but that’s ok, i can go back to the store and stand in line with everyone else who is full of Crimas cheer!!!  it should be fun!!  We pretty much just lazed around after a big breakfast, working on a 1000 piece puzzle, b/c i dont have enough challenge in my life, and we watched a movie…the original BATMAN, the one i grew up with, with Adam West and Burt Ward, it was great, but my kids thought it was terrible, honestly, by today’s movie making standards it was, but it was still cool, i loved that batmobile!

We finished off the night with some fun playing Wii.  My brother and his family got one, it was awesome, i had never played Wii before…tennis, boxing, bowling, it was great, believe it or not my arm is sore like i actually played real tennis!!  We gotta get one!!

Well, i think my daughter, Meg, pegged it right, a keaton fabulous crimas.  2009 will always be remembered.  it was good.  hope your’s was too!!  Merry Crimas, and Happy New Year!!

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