Christmas is one of the most celebrated  Christian holidays of the year, but what is the true meaning of Christmas? It is the celebration of the beautiful birth of Jesus Christ our Savior .. but is there more? 

 Christmas appears zero times in the Bible. But in the New International Version of the Bible, “Christ” appears 453 times! 

In order to understand the word CHRISTmas I decided to look at the two syllables that make up this word we have grown to celebrate annually...

The word is a shortened form of "Christ's mass", or "Cristes Maesse" as it was first recorded in 1038. 

Christ was the title given to Jesus. It was not His given name. It actually comes from the Greek word Christos which means "anointed one" or "chosen one.". 

The second syllable “mass”  comes from The English word “Mass” which comes from the Latin word missa, which means to be “sent.” This Latin word has been used since the 6th or 7th century. The mass is the gathering of people to celebrate the life of Jesus. This practice is the ritual we know as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper.

So to summarize the word CHRISTmas: it is a word that was given to a Christian event that has celebrated the birth of Jesus since  Dec. 25, 336 AD.  

It is the annual celebration of “anointed” one. The style of this celebration is the drinking of wine and eating of bread to remember our beautiful Savoir. 

So how and when did this monumental day become so commercialized? When did we decide to give this “gift“ an annual birthday celebration? Do we even celebrate its true significance?  Or do we get caught up in all the materialistic trappings? 

This tiny newborn life that we celebrate on Christmas, comes from the very essence of God our Creator. We know Him as the son of God.  This beautiful soul came to earth to live and taste life. He wanted to understand first-hand man's journey and how to live life as a human. He wanted to teach us a value system that would bless our lives... He is our living example of how to conduct ourselves with others... He allowed men to take His life in order to offer us a way home and to clean our transgressions before our Heavenly Father... He came to us as a gift with a mission... 

So as we break bread, and pour the wine in celebration ... Take a few moments.. and put those shiny new gifts aside.. and let’s bow our heads ... and truly thank Him for being the reason we are blessed to gather today... He is the reason we celebrate life... It’s because of Him that we have been able to share in God's human anointing...  We can further discover in 1 Samuel 16:13; Matthew 25:1-13 that the act of anointing symbolizes the Holy Spirit. 

So are we to understand CHRISTmas... Is Jesus Christ the anointed one.. He is God, the man, that has been sent to us as the deliverer and He reigns as promised under the title of Messiah.. the expected king. 

Mass is the gathering of the masses.. To share in the beautiful gift of life. I can only bow my head and thank Him ... The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit for His abundant love. His abundant grace and His patience as I unravel the many clues He has given us. 

It makes me smile when I see how He has woven every celebration, every word, every gift... to Him... Because He knows that our lives are much like a butterfly ... We come to earth and stay in the dormant state of our cocoon... Until the day, His love breaks our spirit free and we become alive... This transformation begins our migration home to Our Creator. 

Today I celebrate His life, His Love. His gift of the anointed one Jesus Christ...  He is my masterpiece of splendid wonder... I appreciate Him beyond this life... He WOWs me... 

It’s Him, It’s always Him 

Merry CHRISTmas 

Hmm, 🤔 More clues to this amazing heavenly puzzle?  ...are we ready?? 

Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; Revelations 19:7 ESV 

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). Matthew 1:23

“Those who are victorious will sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne. “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches.” Revelation 3:21-22 NLT

Photography & Written by Lori Garner 

Bible Verses from KJV, ESV / Sinner's Prayer

Inspiring music from YouTube 

You're Here Francesca Battistelli - Mary & Jesus Christmas Music Video

The meaning of judge - to form an opinion or conclusion about something or someone.

The word “judge ” seems to have been used 45 times in the “authorized” KJV of the Bible. 

Who can honestly say without reproach that they have never been guilty of judging others?? 

This is such an ugly human trait. Do we become the judge and jury and throw that discerning eye and walk away too fast?? 

I don’t understand how we can not be more accepting of others. We are only here on this planet for such a short time... We should attempt to look past the outward appearance and see the rawness of a soul and maybe what you think you saw, is nothing like envisioned in your mind. 

Does our judgment come from fear of the unknown? Or is it due to our own inadequacies? Are we so full of ourselves that there is no room in our hearts for anyone that does not meet our standards ??? 

This is such a sad thought! 

This type of behavior can wound hearts! It can make them bleed.. and leave scars for a lifetime... I believe the one judging is truly missing out on the fullness of this life. 

There are times in our lives that we feel like we do not belong and we can feel lonely... Those heartfelt feelings can raise many of our insecurities... Looking to others to validate our worth is such a critical mistake... 

I do believe our deepest desire is to belong to something bigger than ourselves. But are we limiting ourselves to be earthly bound? Or are we reaching for something beyond this life?

There are times I have been on the side of the one being Judged. I feel many may judge my outward appearance of an inward love that is so beautiful and yet so hard to contain.  

And when I have been made to feel different is when I may withdraw and look like I am detached from this life. “Distant” 

But do not fooled by my silence. I have found solace in the loving arms of my Savior. He offers no judgment. He accepts me where I am at that beautiful moment in time. I look to Him for my validation. 

I have witnessed and felt His love.  His love is the most important love our soul should ever crave... It fills every void. It heals every scar. It is timeless and yet so difficult to describe. 

It's been my experience that our Savior speaks of love and acceptance. I ask Him often to teach me of His great love!! I want to learn to love with this type of love!! How, just how does He do it !! 

It’s His type of love that we should be desiring. It’s a love that is unconditional. It does not judge. It’s kind and forgiving. It has no boundaries...  

So the next time you feel the urge to judge ... look in the mirror and ask yourself am I full of myself? Or is there room in my heart to love... 

If you do not know the answer turn to the greatest teacher of life and love. It’s Him! 

Don’t judge something you do not understand.. embrace the differences.  You might surprise yourself and learn the most beautiful lesson of life!! 

To love like!!  HIM!!

It’s always been Him! 

He has only one request. That you love God with all your heart and soul and mind.

1 John 4:8 - But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

1 John 4:16 - We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.  

Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luke 6:37 -42 

A safe place to land lyrics Sara Bareilles ft John Legend

“I am convinced that there is no great distance between heaven and earth, that the distance lies in our finite minds. When the Beloved visits us in the night, He turns our chambers into the vestibules of His palace halls. Earth rises to heaven when heaven comes down to earth.” — Charles H. Spurgeon

Meaning of between in the time, space, or interval that separates

The word between does not seem to be a word that appears as a word that has been counted.

Between day and night. It’s 3:27 am and darkness fills the air ... yet it's morning ... transition to daylight will come soon ... 

When we think of heaven and earth do we question what is the space between? Why are we earth-bound? Our bodies hold us captive. But our souls can move between worlds... do we tap into that resource? It’s a beautiful gift from our Creator ... Sometimes I feel a tug war between my heart and soul.. gravity may hold my body but my soul has been freed to soar to greater heights!!

We have a mission a purpose here on earth but there is a yearning in our soul to return to our Creator our spiritual home our First love. We are in the state of between... How does one reconcile this with our heart? How do we find peace in our souls? How do understand this with our limited mind? 

He gave us you... “Holy Spirit” You are our beautiful “between”. You are our between love. You are our between peace. You share with us a heavenly love, and gently teach us the greatness of Jesus and our Heavenly Father... You teach us what beauty awaits and you show us the way. You share the essence and beauty of a love beyond our human understanding... 

Just who are you? How did you come to dwell within our hearts our soul and our very thoughts?  I have felt you stirring since birth.  But I did not recognize who you were. I was between worlds .... and my heart was bound to things of this world... But for some reason far beyond my own thoughts, you freed my soul to newfound freedom and understanding... 

You are a beautiful gift from our Creator, our Heavenly Father, our greatest LOVE. He gave us the gift of His very breath... 

“The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). 

It’s Him, It’s always been Him. 

Our first love ... 

I live in a state of between.. while my body must remain on earth, my soul has yearning.. a thirst.. to know everything about this beautiful love. My heart will always feel that pull to one day returns home... I love you Holy Spirit. The very thought of your abundant beauty and knowing that You are God’s very breath, 

It is Your essence and Your abundant love. You have taken residence with my heart and soul... You leave me in awe of Your very existence... 

You still wow me... 🤩 

Written by Lori Garner

Photo by Kendall Hoopes from Pexels

Bible Verses From KJV, Easy  /  Sinners prayer 

Inspiring Music: Youtube 

Father, Son, Spirit (Official Lyric Video) // A Table Full Of Strangers // Jason Upton

It's a sad day for me when God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit are shunned in any circle. 

I must say I don't consider myself a religious person.  I don't even call myself a Christian, even though many might label me as such. 

I try to share His message of love; it’s not religion. After my life-altering spiritual experience, I chased my Creator and embraced all facets of Him. I am a work in progress and still have so much to learn! He is so incredibly vast! It will take me a lifetime to discover more, and I will still not know everything about Him. 

But His message is clear: hope, love, unity, compassion, and forgiveness. 

In this world of exclusion, segregation, and hate… We all still have a common bond of seeking acceptance and love. 

If this is true, “Why do we exclude and/or shun the greatest love of all? “  

It is Him! 

Please wake up… let’s put our differences aside!!!! Let Him teach us how to love beyond our world!!! It’s up to us to make a difference.

He is ready to lead us to a brighter tomorrow, but we must accept, love, and follow Him… 

You could search for a lifetime and never find anyone Greater! 

It’s Him! 

“Seek me” Jeremiah 29:13

“Love me” Matthew 22:37

“Obey Me” John 14:21 

Art, Design & Written by Lori Garner  

Bible Collaboration - Joann Turnbull
Sinner's Prayer 
Inspiring Music; YouTube 

Colton Dixon - No Greater Love (Lyric Video)

 'A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.' 

William Shakespeare...

The basic meaning behind the name Elohim is one of strength or power of effect. Elohim is the infinite, all-powerful God who shows by His works that He is the world's creator, sustainer, and supreme judge. “Bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure—you, the righteous [Elohim] who probes minds and hearts.” 

The word Elohim occurs more than 2,500 times in the Hebrew Bible and is translated to the name of God in the King James version.

The name Elohim has been a part of my journey almost from the beginning. But today, while speaking with a friend, I was enlightened even further. I can say I love God's mystery. He is like a beautiful puzzle that unravels my heart one beautiful layer at a time.

As many of you already know, I had a significant spiritual encounter a few years ago (May 2018). I have openly shared my heart and how music has significantly impacted my spiritual walk with God. 

I would like to share the moment in time when the name Elohim came alive in my soul. 

It was approximately two weeks after my spiritual encounter with the Holy Spirit that a song appeared on my phone, giving me pause. 

Songs had started appearing, and the lyrics and melodies seemed to move my soul like never before. This started as my spiritual heart opened to a greater love, which I found difficult to understand.  

The song that came that day was by an artist I had never heard of.  But the lyrics and the melodic sounds seem to speak to my soul.  The name of the song was LOVE is Alive by Elohim. This was not music I normally listened to... But at that moment in time, I felt so alive from His gift of love that I could feel it deep within my soul. This love seems so electrically charged that I wanted to share His love with anyone who would listen.  

My curiosity got the best of me about this band and song, so when I got home that day, I found my computer and typed in these words: “The meaning of Elohim.” I became wide-eyed, gasped, moved away from my computer, and said, OMG, the word Elohim means God. 

On that day, I started calling God Elohim. From that day, my journey began to unfold with each new day. It has been a few years, with many people, places, and things rushing by. And my love and understanding for Elohim grew. I had a silver ring carved with His name, “Elohim.” I never remove it from my finger. I wanted to be constantly reminded of His great love. 

One of the many facts I share about my amazing journey is my location during my encounter. I was alone in my car on a lonely Triune, TN road. The location truly had no significance to me at that time ... 

But as my story unfolded, I questioned why no one falls in love with the Holy Spirit. So, I Googled it. To my surprise, the article pointed out that another word for the Trinity is “TRIUNE,” which blew my mind. 

So, if you have ever wondered why I say He WOWs me, you now know why. It’s His mystery, His Love, and how He has taught me about this amazing One we know as the great I AM. 

But these God-wink moments did not end there. When speaking to a friend tonight, Elohim came up in our conversation. Elohim?

I already knew that the beautiful name Elohim meant God... But we went on to discover this... 

“The noun Elohim is plural, but it is always used with a singular verb when it speaks of the true God. This indicates unity and diversity within the nature of God. This unity and diversity are revealed in Scripture as the doctrine of the “TRINITY. “

I can only say OMG, I am speechless. 

Everything I see, touch, and now love points me to Him. It’s always Him ... my beautiful Elo"HIM"... How can I not stay in the state of WOW?? 

He blows my mind.   

So, in my mind, I need to simplify this: I was in Triune, TN (Trinity, TN), when my encounter happened. With no prior religious knowledge, a song pointed me to a “Hebrew” word that resonated with my heart. I began to use the name Elohim to address God, which means Trinity. 

How does this happen? It has been Elohim’s plan for me all along. He called, and my heart listened. 

My life will never be the same!!!

See how very much our Father (My Elohim) loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. 1John 3:1 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

Photography, Design & Written by Lori Garner 

Bible Verses From NIV

Sinner's Prayer

Inspiring Music: YouTube Video   

Love is Alive - Louis the Child ft. Elohim | feel good music 2021

Follow a life of purpose...

Meditation Moment... 

The sounds are the ocean waves lapping on the seashore... The view had the sun glistening gently on the ocean surface as waves kissed the shoreline... There is a ship bell ringing at a far distance. My heart always calls upon Jesus in my meditations, and He never disappoints. 

My mind's eye sees Him standing barefoot on the shoreline in an off-white cotton robe.  His eyes are fixed on the vast ocean in front of Him. A gentle breeze is blowing through His brown wavy hair, His skin is tan, and He has a golden glow from the sun shining upon His beautiful face. He turns away and begins to walk on the shoreline, leaving footprints in the white course beach sand.  I slowly stepped into the footprint He left behind; I was like Cinderella trying on her glass slipper... One foot then the other, my feet fit in the middle of His print with room to spare. I could feel the warmth of the sand between my toes.  The ocean breeze blew my hair, and my flowing white dress danced across my legs. I could smell the aroma of salt in the air... 

I kept my eyes focused on Him as He slowly continued to walk, leaving me His foot imprints on the shore to follow... But then, He motioned with His hand to follow Him, and I followed Him for what seemed to be a very long distance. With each step, the water line crept closer, and warm waves began to rush over my feet, filling the prints with sea foam bubbles. 

The tide called the salty water to return to the sea, and our merged footprints were soon swept away... 

He turned and said, “Come by my side and walk with me,” so I joined Him. We walked without words until we found two old-fashioned beach chairs sitting just at the water's edge... He motioned to welcome me to sit. I did, and He joined me in the other chair ... Without speaking. He then reached out His hand; I joined His hand with mine. He gently held my hand as we watched the skies sweep in various ribbons of pink and blue hues... We could almost hear the water sizzle as the sun began to dip its beauty into the dark, glittering water.  We held on to the moment for a while, but then the moment ended ... No words were needed.  

This beach escape engulfed all senses with a peaceful harmony and radiated love to my heart like no other...  

If I still lived in Florida .. I would be finding the closest beach to return to the scene. ⛱❤️😍☮

Art, Photography & written by Lori Garner 

Bible Collaboration - Joann Turnbull

Sinner's Prayer

Inspiring Music by (YouTube)

Trinity Music | Anointed One

She will always see her precious little boy. 

As a mother, how do you reconcile the fact that your child carries the weight of the world on his shoulders? How can you deal with seeing the pain in your Child's eyes? How do you stand at His feet and watch Him take his last breath?  Witnessing this must have put a rip in her heart so deep she felt it was beyond repair... She must have suffered every wound, every tear, and every drop of blood that fell. The anguish must have been beyond comprehension.  She gave us such a precious piece of her life. She gave us her beautiful son... She was just a child herself when he was born. But she trusted God to hold her hand through her life's trial. 

Even knowing how important His role is, the loss must have always haunted her soul.  She was left behind with all her human frailties to embrace and understand the magnitude of His life.  Only her Son could deliver such an amazing gift of peace and healing to her heart. I am so grateful for them and their sacrifice.  

When you look for strength, remember this story of a mother and child and their journey. It’s unconditional love at its finest and the most beautiful love story we will ever know. 

Today, let’s remember the sacrifices they made for the greatest love we will ever know. 

 “And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.”

Luke 1:46-47 KJV

Photography, Art & Written by Lori Garner  

Bible Collaboration - Joann Turnbull

Sinner's Prayer 

Inspiring Music: YouTube

JJ Heller - Still My Little Boy (Official Audio Video)

CeeLo Green "Mary Did You Know" Official Music Video - The Bible Series.mov | FOX Entertainment

How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death so that we may serve the living God! Hebrews 9:14...