Sharon's Sharings

Merry Christmas Friends,                                                                                 This fourth week of Advent, which started last Sunday and is to end today – Christmas, is lighting the candle of Love.  We marvel at God’s great love for us, that He sent a Savior in the form of a baby in a manger.  The white candle, which is to be lit on Christmas Day, represents light and purity and is called “Christ’s Candle”     " Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” Matthew 2:1 & 2      “ When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.  And when they had come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.  And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, franki

Good Morning, In this third week of Advent, the theme is Joy.  I love this.  I immediately think of the song “the joy of the Lord is my strength”  We can find joy and peace in the midst of times of great trials.  This has been true of this past year.  Some days it has been hard to be joyful.  But…Our Lord is faithful.  If we ask, He will indeed give us joy in our circumstances.  Romans 12:12 “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” The shepherds found joy in the news of a Savior’s birth.  Luke 2:8-11 “Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  (9)And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid, (10) Then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  (11) For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” 

  This week our Advent theme is faith.  It represents Jesus birth in the manger. It is also called the Bethlehem candle as a reminder of Mary & Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem. Faith: “ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ” Hebrews 11:1 NKJV The Biblical account of Jesus birth is one of faith.  Mary had faith to believe she was carrying God’s son.  Luke 1:38 NKJV “ then Mary said, Behold the maidservant of the Lord!  Let it be to me according to your word.” It took faith for Joseph to take a pregnant Mary as his wife.  Matthew 1:20,21 ~ but while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. (21) And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” The three wise men had hope and believed for the Messiah.

  This week we began lighting our Advent candles.  Advent is the four weeks before Christmas that represents the spiritual preparation for the celebration of the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ.   Our theme this first week is “ HOPE .”  We wait in anticipation for something to happen.  It is an expectation. When we were children we “hoped” we would get the gift we wanted for Christmas.  We asked, and then we waited in excited expectation. Sometime we got what we hoped for, sometimes we were disappointed. Biblical hope is based on God’s faithfulness in the past.  Because we can see how He has kept his promises, our hope does not rely on our current circumstances.  Psalm 130:5 NLT “ I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on Him.  I have put my hope in His word.”  Psalms 39: 7 TPT “And now, God, I’m left with one conclusion:  my only hope is to hope in you alone!” Do we hope for changes in our lives?  Do we pray and then wait with anticipation?  Or are we tempted to look at our ci

 November 27, 2020 I hope your Thanksgiving was Blessed and all you hoped for. Mine was not what I hoped for.  Due to Covid it was much smaller – 4 of us compared to our usual 10-15 people.   I do feel incredibly Blessed that all my family has survived this Pandemic.  We enjoyed a nice dinner ~ although the turkey took an hour longer than I planned!  50 years of cooking turkeys and it still doesn’t always go according to my schedule!  Welcome to 2020! The small family we celebrated with didn’t interact like I hoped.  I had expectations that weren’t met.  The day did not “feel” like our normal celebration.  I’m not sure we ended our day feeling thankful.  I felt like a deflated balloon. The underlying theme of this year is disappointment; with some accompanying depression or despondency.  It is hard sometime to continue to deal with the many disappointments.  I know the current slogan is “For now-not Forever” but it often feels forever.  I have been so Blessed in so many ways, that cont

  Happy Friday before Thanksgiving, As I was watching the news and how people are stocking up on various products – like toilet paper- I thought about how we can rely on God to supply our needs.  He is a God of abundance.  He never runs out of resources to meet our needs.   Philippians 4:18a TPT  “I now have all I need –more than enough- I’m abundantly satisfied!... ” He has met my needs and sometimes my wants on more occasions than I can count or probably even remember.  The incomprehensible thing about God is – He knows our needs, often before we even know them.  Sometimes He waits for us to humble ourselves and ask.  Sometimes He supplies our needs without us even realizing we are in need.  I often look back and am in awe how He took care of me.   Matthew 6:8 NLT “ Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!” I was recently talking with a friend who is overwhelmed with the number of people she knows with major needs in their lives.  She k

  Recently, I read in my Jesus Calling devotional “Learn to appreciate difficult days.”  Really? That is a hard one to accept most of the time.   Difficult days, weeks, years – sometimes it feels like they never end.  It can be health, family issues, friendships gone awry.   All those combined with Covid 19 can make us feel overwhelmed.   What do we do, where do we go during this time?  How do we make it through to a time of peace? Our hope, as Christian believers, is in Jesus.  Together, with Him, we can handle anything that comes our way.  Isaiah 41:10 NLT “ Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.  Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you.  I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” Reading the Bible gives us wisdom and the strength to handle all the hurt and worry we might be going through.  John 16:33 NLT  ” I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.  Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart, becau

I have been thinking about what I will write this week in light of current events and some personal issues also.  I realized the Promises of God is a perfect topic.   #6  I will give you peace One of my favorite verses is Philippians 4:6 NLT “ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”  I have felt peace during tumultuous times that could only come from God.  On my own I would be a basket case! John 16:33 “ I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.  Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” What an amazing reassurance that He – our God, is in control.  We don’t have to feel depressed or mad when the world seems out of control.  I have to confess, on Wednesday, I was feeling depressed.  Words from friends and scripture refreshed my soul, and gave me peace once again.  I can trust that God is on th

The sun is shining once again after the rain and I’m grateful.  I’m not quite ready for constant gloom! Jim and I enjoyed our days of R & R.  I am always happy to be back home until I realize I have to cook and clean again! Continuing on with the promises of God:  4.  “I will answer you”   We have all had many wants and needs we have prayed for.  Some are major life events, some smaller day to day needs.  I believe they are all important to God and He listens.  I base this on scripture.  It begins in Genesis 30:22   “ Then God remembered Rachel’s plight and answered her prayers by enabling her to have children,” Ezra 8: 23 “ So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer.”   Psalms 120:1 “I took my troubles to the Lord; I cried out to Him, and He answered my prayer.” Psalms 143:1 “Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my plea!  Answer me because you are faithful and righteous.”  John 15:7 TPT “But if you live in life-union with me and if

  1.  I will be with you. 2.  I will protect you 3.  I will be your strength                     4.  I will answer you 5.  I will provide for you 6.  I will give you peace 7.  I will always love you These are 7 promises of God.  As I read these, I was reminded of how much God loves me, by giving me these promises.  I am truly amazed. 1.  “I will be with you. ”  There are many scriptures that assure us of this.  Exodus 4:12 NLT “ Now go! I  will be with you  I as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say” Jeremiah 1:8 NLT “ And don’t be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you.  I, the Lord, have spoken!” Two of my favorites, Isaiah 43:2 NLT “ When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. ” And Isaiah 41:10 NLT  “ Don’t be afraid, for I am with you” Genesis 31:3, Genesis 26:3, Psalms 91:15, Hebrews 13:5 are several more scriptures. Finally, John 14:3 TPT “ And when everything is ready, I will come back and take you to myself so that you

  I’ve been doing some reflecting this past week on unanswered or on-going prayers.  I’ve had a little bit of “why God or Why so long?”  I didn’t get an answer other than reading Romans 5:3-4 NKJV “ And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character and character, hope.   Perseverance:  “Steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose; steadfastness.” 2 Peter 1:5-7 NKJV “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,” This verse shows us that this quality; along with other qualities develop our ability to grow in faith.  Many times I am I am tempted to give up.  I’m tired of praying for the same thing.  I’ve lost the faith to believe God will answer.  I never loose the belief that God “can,” answer.  I just question whether He “will,” answer me.

Happy Fall Friday,  Looking outside at the fog I can definitely tell fall has arrived.  The changing seasons bring comfort to me.  Life is continuing on despite the many problems of the past several months.  Life changes, disappointments, stressful family and friend situations, illnesses and deaths.  They all contribute to who we are and who God is shaping us to be. 2 Corinthians 12:9 Amp is also a comfort to me “ But He has said to me: My grace is sufficient for you [My loving-kindness and mercy are more than enough- always available – regardless of the situation]; for [My] power is being perfected [and is completed and shows itself most effectively] in [your] weakness.  Therefore, I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ [may completely enfold me and] may dwell in me.”   Strong’s #5485 charis – It is the word for God’s grace as extended to sinful man.  It signifies unmerited favor, undeserved blessing.  A free gift.  God’s grace…a free gift, wi

  Sharon Charvet Women's Ministry Leader Foothills Foursquare Church https://foothills4square.com email: womens.foothills4sq@gmail.com Monroe, Washington    

Good Afternoon,                                                                                                             Last week I shared the acrostic F A L T, and explored Faithful, Authentic and Available.     This week I want to examine Loving.  One definition of loving is “warmly affectionate”.  Hebrews 13:1 TPT   “No matter what, make room in your heart to love every believer”.    This can be a challenge.  Believers are human beings.  As humans, we all fall short.  We get irritable; we say words that are hurtful.  We act the opposite of being loving.  When this happens, we ~ especially women ~ get our feelings hurt and then react.  We decide that the other person doesn’t deserve our love.     Psalms 89 shows us God’s covenant with David.  There are consequences to sin, but God always love us.  Psalms 89:33 NLT   “But I will never stop loving him, nor fail to keep my promises to him.”   This has always been such a reassurance to me.  God will ALWAYS love me.  Even wh

  F   Faithful A   Authentic and Available L  Loving T   Teachable, Truth Telling A friend shared this acrostic with me.   I have read them many times and thought about their meaning. Faithful is an attribute that all people should strive for.  Those in any leadership position should especially pray for and try to attain faithfulness.  Proverbs 28:20a Amp  “A faithful (right- minded) man will abound with blessings…” Matthew 25:21 NLT “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.  You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities.  Let’s celebrate together!’ The dictionary definition of faithful is:     1.  Adhering firmly and devotedly, as to a person, cause or idea; loyal.    2.  Responsible, dependable; reliable. Are we “faithful” to Jesus and His teaching through His Word, the Bible?  If not, we need to examine our hearts and mind.  Authentic and Available:  Romans 12:3 MSG  “I’m speaking to you out