December 22, 2023: Crown Jewel

Crown Jewel

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“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

Luke 2:14

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Glory in Greek is doxa and in Hebrew kabod. I’ve always thought of glory as an essence, a manifest glow, or a descriptor of God, which it is. But glory is also a manner of treatment.

Kabod/Kavod (Hebrew): heavy, weight of copious splendor.

Doxa (Greek) based on an opinion, treating with dignity, honor, praise, and worship.

God is so cool! The more I meditate on a subject the more God brings things to mind and into view. Does He ever do that for you?  Of course He does. Here is a scripture He shared:

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“Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.””

‘And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence.”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭33‬:‭18-19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

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I've prayed Moses’ request more times than I can count. I've asked for His glory cloud to surround me. I've asked to feel the weight of His presence.

Beth Moore says it this way: “Simply put, the glory of God is His God-ness. It is that which exalts Him and makes Him conspicuous.”

I want to be forever ruined to the world because I’ve experienced such a weighty, tangible expression of God’s presence and glory. No counterfeit could ever satisfy or could be mistaken for what is magnificently Him. His realness. His fullness.

What would it look like if my behavior were forever changed, my worship shifted to give all undivided attention to the only One who is worthy-Jesus.

• His glory is His goodness. (Exodus 33:19)

• His glory is His manifest presence. (2 Chronicles 5:14)

• His glory is the arrival of His power to change a situation. (John 2:11)

• His glory is His people being all that He intended us to be. (Romans 3:23, 2 Corinthians 3:18)

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”You shall also be a crown of glory In the hand of the Lord, And a royal diadem In the hand of your God.“

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭62‬:‭3‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

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Did you catch that? You shall be His glory! You are the glory of the Lord. Don't miss this, don't negotiate it away. This is not meant for those other Christians you hold in high esteem, this is meant for you. I know I have limited what the glory of God looks like. I know too that His glory exists in the ways I imagine too. It's both an yet it's so much more. You are a royal diadem in the hand of God. You could say you are His prized position, the apple of His eye, the crown jewel. You are His glory.

Prayer: Thank you God for seeing me the way you do. I need help to see myself the way that You do. I want to be secure in who You have made me to be. Thank you for the reminder today that I am the apple of my Father's eye, that I am your crown jewel, and your glory. I will walk different today. I will talk different today. Knowing that I bring you honor and glory in all I do. In Jesus's name I pray, amen.

Christmas Donut Show Piece

Are you hosting a Christmas Brunch? Here is a fun treat!

I wanted to do something fun for the girls when they came over for our cookie exchange. I actually saw this on facebook, it had sugared cranberries and sprigs of fresh rosemary and looked absolutely amazing. Here is the catch. When something is so cute, no one wants to eat it. They only want to look at it..... My inner self is shouting eat the donuts!!! Don't leave them here.... Eat them! Eventually they did get eaten and placed into to go boxes.

I thought when purchasing the donuts I would have extra. I absolutely did not. I used every last crumb, even the ones that looked like bites were taken from them. Perhaps, buy a smaller wreath than me. I purchased 3 bags of the powdered O's and 1 box each of the old fashioned glazed and red velvet glazed (I didn't have time to sugar cranberries).

Other thing to note: Definitely use the pointy on both end toothpicks. Trust me.

I've included a couple of ideas here:

Christmas Donut Wreath • Love From The Oven

Christmas Donut Tree | Recipe By My Name Is Snickerdoodle