Christmas is all about your focus. If you focus on the temporary aspects of this season – you will certainly be filled with happiness but you may never experience the true and lasting joy that Christmas was always meant to bring. If you are entertaining visions of sugarplums, fruitcake, a tree laden with gifts and a snowman that dances – you are focusing on all of the wrong things. However,...
I Have a Table
I grew up in a blended family, the youngest of seven. Holidays were full of family, laughter, nieces & nephews who were like cousins. The dinner conversations were loud with everyone talking at the same time. Everyone in my family had an opinion and we shared them freely. When James and I started our little family in North Carolina, 950 miles, 16 hours away from family, we soon discovered the...
The Gift Everyone Wants
Christmas is about giving. We search high and low – Macy’s, Amazon, specialized boutiques, the local Mall – for the elusive perfect gift. We scour everywhere looking for the gift that will put a smile on our friends and families faces. But before you bundle up in your coat, scarves, and gloves, and brave the weather and holiday shoppers, allow me to share with you a gift idea that you...
How The Riot Started at Thanksgiving Dinner
The holidays at the Bolden’s home are all about the food. After a traditional dinner the desserts begin. My daughter makes delicious cheesecakes. I make my mom’s sweet potato pie, a favorite of my husband’s. Although he says it is not as good as my mom’s. But since she is in heaven, he must either die to get hers or live with mine. He has chosen the latter. Now according...
All Oppression Shall Cease
Last year, I was in a funk. My favorite uncle passed away at the beginning of December, my daughter and her new husband could not come home for Christmas, and I was disappointed about the lack of growth of MBolden Ministries. So I was in a funk – going through the motions of the Holiday season without joy. One Sunday morning during my period of funk, the worship band sang,...
Be Content
We all have that friend. You know, the Pinterest Queen. Their homes perfectly decorated for the holidays, homemade cookies always freshly baked waiting as you enter, and her kids are wearing perfectly clean matching Christmas outfits. And then there is you. Half decorated tree, store bought stale cookies, and struggling to keep a diaper on little Tommy. Can anyone relate? Whether you are Ms. Perfect, Ms. Struggling to hang a...
Guess Who Is Coming to Dinner
The Holidays can be hard. We share a meal with Sarcastic Sam. Belittling Betty. Alchoholic Adam. Political Paul. Politically incorrect Paula. Sensitive Susan. Atheist Allen. All are forced to sit around a table when the only thing they have in common is DNA. If the Holidays are stressful and even if they aren’t, here is a recipe that is sure to make your day better: Rejoice Always. Pray Continually. Give...