Celebrating Christmas!

      I am so excited to do a few give aways this Christmas!  With the permission of author Sybil MacBeth I want to bless some of you with some of her books. If you are interested in the drawing just subscribe to my blog and a random drawing will take place to give away one copy of MacBeth's book Praying in Color for Children to two winners and a copy of her Praying in Color book to four winners.  The winners will be announced on Christmas Day.  Also, be sure to check out Sybil MacBeth's blog at http://prayingincolor.com/celebrating-advent-at-home 
She even has a free study guide for her nativity book available.  It is fantastic!  I pray these resources will be as much of a blessing to you as they have been to our family.  The following post tells about how one of MacBeth's books has impacted us this Christmas.




  When I began to read The Season of the Nativity I was amazed with how many wonderful ideas there are in the book to help make the holidays more about the real Gift of the season.  There are ideas that I could use in my personal journey through advent as well ideas to bless the entire family. There are even activities that grandparents could use with grandchildren to help teach them about Jesus. Individual ideas could be incorporated into Sunday School classes as well.
     MacBeth teaches that the advent season is about waiting.  In our instant society when things happen at the click of a button it is great to be reminded to anticipate and embrace waiting.  Christmas is a great opportunity to teach our children about waiting.  And Jesus is worth the wait.  It is important to take time, each year, to practice waiting as to teach our children how to wait on the Lord.
     Advent candles are a great visual picture of waiting. I grew up in a denomination that used Advent candles and each year I was always so excited about Advent.  This year is the first year that we have had advent candles in our home.   We used ideas from this book and made added our own version as well.  We have a taper candle for each week and and I bought small white candles to burn for the each day of the 12 days leading up to Christmas.  I chose a large white candle shaped like a tree to light on Christmas Day.  I never dreamed how much our kids would love lighting these candles.  We have had candlelit breakfasts and dinners.  This morning our youngest begged to light them herself.  She was thrilled that there were more candles to light.  She is really seeing Christmas draw nearer.
     My favorite addition to our Christmas season is going to be about the days AFTER Christmas.  Traditionally, the weeks after Christmas can be a bit of a letdown. All our thoughts and celebration all typically lead to the 25th of December.  MacBeth encourages us to celebrate the birth but to not stop there.  She suggests hanging stars around the house and remember the star that celebrated Jesus arrival AND lead the wise men to the Christ Child.  I am planning a dinner for after Christmas where we have a cake with a hidden star as well as games and a skit about the Wise Men.  It is going to be a night of celebration and fun.
     Our family has been so blessed by the suggestions from this book to our holiday.  And I look forward to making more additions next year as well.  The bottom line is we just can not have too much of Jesus at Christmas.  I pray that you and your family might be as blessed by this book as we have!
  May your holidays be blessed with peace and joy as you look forward to the birth of the King.

Becoming Who We Are Created To Be

   

This story is not new.  This story is not even original.  There have been so many hurt young women come through our doors over the last 10 years who are wounded.  The package may look different and the stories may seem very unique on the outside but the real truth is at the root the stories are all very similar.  Satan is not very creative. And may we never forget that he is ultimately a looser.
   
We are all created to make a difference.  We are made to carry the light of Christ to a dark and dying world.  We are earth changers and kingdom warriors.  But a battle rages against us at a very early age to try and convince us that we are not capable, not desired and not loved.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

Some of us have to wake up to the battle.  If we never think that we are in a battle we have already lost.  But if we realize we were created for more than we have realized we might be in the midst of a game changer.  There is a great quote by Stasi Eldredge that says, "Inside a wounded woman is a hurt little girl."  The earlier we can be wounded the easier the job of the enemy is.  Most of us were taught a lie while we were very young.  Maybe we were abused or neglected.  But instead of letting this control us we have to make decide that enough is enough.  When we get fed up with being pushed around by the enemy we stop letting him control us.

Secondly we have to lay down our hurt at our Master's feet.  This does not negate the pain or the hurt.  But we truly can trust Him with our pain.  And we may have to be honest if we are offended because we expected to have a life free of pain and more like a fairy tale than a biography.  But let's think about this. Muscles that are not used atrophy.  Even in fairy tales it is not until the princess had to deal with hardship or heartache that she determines to rise above her struggles and become the powerful woman she was created to become.  Maybe we carry bitterness, resentment or unforgiveness toward others.  The honest truth is every single one of these feelings, if harbored, damages us.  We can be led to believe that forgiving someone is letting them off the hook.  But the truth is we are standing in the way of their real judgement when we refuse to forgive them.  If we stand in God's place to judge them the we are attempting to be their judge ourselves.  We are saying that we would do a better job than God would do in judging them.  But the truth is that bitterness, resentment, and unforgiveness held onto are destructive and damaging to us, our health and our relationships.  No matter how bad the wrong done (and some of us have legitimately had some horrendous hurts) if we feed these hurtful wounds they will only grow more destructive to us.  But if we give them to God He can truly heal them--and He is the only one who can.

The more we know about our Bridegroom, Jesus, the more we will be empowered to walk in the truth of who are are created to be.  He loved us so much that He gave his very life so that we could be victorious.  And the interesting thing is that we have in us a desire to be loved and treasured.  We really do want to be a princess.  That is because that is EXACTLY who we are created to be.  Our Heavenly Father loves us so deeply that He sent His own Son to die for us.  And His Son, the Prince of Peace is going to return for His Bride (the church.) That is us.  We are the Bride of the Prince of Peace.  A Princess.  Remember that a plot was waged against us from the time we were conceived to keep us from believing any of this.  So if we find ourselves thinking this really is too good to be true we can remember that enough is enough.  This quote is a great reminder.

So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent.  

There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all.  

The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life.  

God's Spirit beckons.  There are things to do and places to go!

This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life.

It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a child-like, "What's next, Papa?"

God's Spirit touches our spirit and confirms who we really are.

We know who He is, and we know who we are:  Father and Children.

And we know we are going to get what's coming to us--an unbelievable inheritance!  

We go through exactly what Christ goes through.
If we go through hard times with Him,  

then we're certainly going to go through the good times with Him!

Roman 8:12-17

And the crazy good truth is that we get to live the happily ever after.  Our bridegroom has gone before us to prepare a place for us to live with Him forever.  He is coming back to take us to be with Him and the place we are going is better than any fairy tale.  There will be no more pain or tears.  And we will live in peace with our Father forever and ever.  So let's put on our tiara and rejoice as we walk in the inheritance that was bought for us at so high a price.  We are worth it!

It Was All Worth It

   

 In a time when we are bombarded with reasons to be embarrassed about our country, we must take time to remember some of the things that make our country a great place.  Instead of focusing on the down and dirty it may help our perspective to refocus on the ways that we have been blessed.

     A trip to Washington D.C. helped my perspective.  We were on our way from the Washington Monument and were headed to the Lincoln Memorial when we happened upon the World War II Memorial.  It was not really on our radar but we were walking right passed and decided to check it out.

     The memorial itself is breath-taking.  But it was not the workmanship and beauty that touched my heart that day.  While we were there several World War II veterans were being rolled around in wheelchairs being shown the memorial for the very first time.  I had the privilege of looking these men in the face and shaking their hands.  As I tried to thank them, tears formed in my eyes.  They survived but many they knew did not.  These men fought a horrendous regime.  Because they fought and won we get to live in freedom today.  One of those dear men got big tears in his eyes and responded to my appreciation by saying, "It was worth every single minute."  I can not imagine what his eyes saw and what his ears heard during World War II.  But as he sat there in that wheelchair that day he knew that his sacrifices had paved the way for all of us. He knew what he had done made a difference.

     This veteran was saying that every moment he gave of himself, as he fought a most horrible war, was worth it.  He saw the blessing of our world today and knew that there was so much to be thankful for.  Sometimes we get so bombarded with the negative that we can not even see the good.  We really do have much for which to be thankful and if a man who fought that I could be free says that it was all worth it that I am inclined to believe him.

     Let's look passed all the junk of the news and the world today (not hiding our heads in the sand to avoid) but to really take an honest look around us.  We can not make a difference in the hatred and anger of the world if we are not able to see the good as well.  That which we behold we become.  Today is a day for taking a look from a new perspective.  Maybe we were not meaning to be where we are today, just like we were not meaning to end up in the World War II Memorial, but sometimes that places that we find ourselves in can be just the place we need to be. We can take a look around and allow the Lord to allow us to see our blessings.  We just have to determine our perspective.  We can get to the end of the day or the end of the year or the end of our lives and be able to say, "It was all worth it." We can leave this life better for our children and grandchildren as we shine our lights into this dark world.  Shine on.

A Trip Down Memory Lane

Memories are interesting.  They tend to be selective.  When I think back over childhood my thoughts go in one of two places...really great memories or really NOT.  The black and the white stand out and the grey all blends together.

I remember sledding at full speed down the best hill in our neighborhood with my buddies...and I remember the cracking ice, falling in the water up to my knees, and having to walk home frozen.  

I remember when my oldest sister did puppets for our VBS
(I was so proud)...and I remember when she locked me in the closet and told me I was adopted (I am not, although occasionally she still tries that one).

I remember a lot of celebrating with my Granddaddy.  (Many of the best moments were with him.)  But also seared into my memory is the hurt I felt from his battle with depression. 

I remember exact details of the day I received my first car from my parents...and exact details of the day my oldest friend died. 

I remember the day I stood up at camp and knew I was supposed to serve the Lord forever...and I remember days when I made terrible choices that did not represent Him well.

I have some really good news today!  God has selective memory as well.  Only His memory is even more selective than ours.  Psalm 103:11-12 says, "For His unfailing love toward those who fear Him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.  He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west."  And Hebrews 8:12 says, "And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will NEVER AGAIN REMEMBER their sins."  He has forgiven our sins completely and has chosen to remember them no more!  Instead of recalling our bad choices He thinks about Jesus and what He did on our behalf.  

So think about this.  When God our Father thinks about us, His children, He thinks about a whole long list of things He loves about us.  His trip down memory lane is filled to the brim with great stuff!  He "never again remembers our sins." It would be interesting to know how many gray memories He treasures that we do not remember at all.  Maybe we should take a walk down memory lane with Him today and let Him tell us some of the things He remembers.  It will be the best trip ever!

An Invitation

There is anticipation in the air.  There are moments with a cool breeze coming through.  Colors are beginning to change in some of the trees.  The water in the lake is getting colder.  And after one of the hottest summers our hearts are being wooed.
   
The fall season brings something that is needed right after summer.  It is a time of bringing back in.   Summer is wide open with long days and lots of sunshine.  People are out and about and having lots of fun.  That season is special all on its own.  But after long days of lots to do and staying very busy, fall brings people together.  People gather on porches and swing.  Campfires are enjoyable and welcoming.  Blankets are pulled out and shared.  Soups are on the stove and people are much more likely to relax around the table after the meal to visit because it is already growing dark outside.
 
Neighbors who hid inside or in the shade during the heat and humidity come out and take walks. Some greet one another for the first time in months.  People are more willing to stop.  They are out not just to exercise but because they want to be outside.
   
Each season has beauty but Fall's beauty is exceptional.  The trees that were lush and green and all blended together begin to pop with their own individual beauty.  Instead of seeing all the trees as one we begin to see them separately.  Look at that yellow one!  Look at the orange one right beside that deep red! Different lights of the season make the same trees appear different. And even the same tree changes right before our very eyes as it cycles through this season.
   
And maybe this picture of the trees is what we look like to one another during this season as well.  Because we are pulling in and getting together more,  we begin to see each other in different lights.  We do not just see each other as a group gathered at a sporting event or the pool.  We slow down and sit down together.  It is the time we begin to remark about the beauty of each one at our table or around our campfire.  We take time to check in and check up.  We get close and relax.
   
So as we head into this new season we have an invitation to the table or the porch.  Think about those who are near and dear to us that we have not spent time with lately.  We can brew some coffee or tea and gather.  Maybe there are some people God is laying on our hearts who have received no invitation to relationship lately and we can encourage them.  Or maybe our own family is in desperate need to pull in and we can invite them to the table with their favorites treats.  But whatever the situation we have to remember that this is a opportunity to slow down, resisting the urge to run to and fro.  This is a time to stop and sit.  Listen and talk.  The listening is to let others be heard and the talking is to allow ourselves to be known.  Both of these are gifts.

There is no hurry and more wood can be thrown on the fire.

Traditions

   

     What is it about some traditions that warm our hearts like a fire on a cool, crisp autumn day?  What makes these traditions so very special?
   
      We live in a time when we are in crisis of the family.    And because of this crisis so many people long to belong to something...anything.  People want to be wanted and desire relationship.  Maybe this is why traditions can be so comforting.  "Tradition" by definition means "the handing down of statements, beliefs, legends, customs, information, etc., from generation to generation."  When we have a tradition we feel apart of something much bigger than we are.  A special tradition makes us realize we have received a gift from someone who loves us and it is being passed on to someone we love.

      Size does not matter.  A tradition can be special regardless of size.  My mother-in-love tells about her dear grandparents and how these grandparents used to walk them to the car every time they left their house.  She mentions how she can still see her grandfather trying to help them back out of the driveway, waving his hands.  We live two blocks away from Taylor's parents and when we leave their house inevitably they both end up in the drive-way waving goodbye.  That is a tradition.  It has been passed down and it warms the heart!  Maybe one day Taylor and I will be standing in the driveway waving as our children and their children pull away.  (I hope I have tissue with me and my grandchildren are going to be wondering why their Be is crying.)

     A tradition we gleaned from my family has to do with Christmas eve.  We used to attend a midnight Christmas eve candle light service at a Episcopalian church in the town we grew up in. In fact one of my favorite memories from childhood was coming out of that service to find it snowing! I felt like we had stepped right in to the movie Holiday Inn.    And every year we still love to attend a Christmas Eve service.

    We can start our own traditions!  If your funds are limited get creative.  There are so many things that do not even cost money but could be treasured through the next generations. Be willing to get silly or messy is the event warrants it.  Ask your children what they enjoy.  It maybe that you already have a tradition and you did not even realize it.  Look back and see what you enjoyed as a child.  If you did not have a good childhood borrow a tradition from some people you admire.  As a body of Christ we can share traditions with each other as well.  That is the gift of being part of a great big family.

     The whole point is sharing the love.  Time passes quickly and our children grow up right before our eyes, in almost the blink of an eye.  As we were watching the Olympics this year I commented to a friend how tired I was from staying up late with the kids and getting up early.  She quickly reminded me that this would be treasured time we look back and remember with our kids.  Who knows, maybe they will think back to the Olympics and tell their children how we all used to love watching them together.  The next summer Olympics our kids will be 21, 19, 15 and 11.  I treasured each Olympic moment after that conversation realizing that the next one would be very different.  Our kids were excited and we joined in and got excited too.  It was a lot of fun.  I will get sleep another time.  Some friends of ours would drag all their mattresses into their den on Friday night and would watch movies together until they fell asleep.  I guarantee their children will remember these nights with joy and look forward to implementing a movie night with their own children.

     So as we head into a new month and very quickly into a new season let's recall some traditions that have been passed down to us and create some new ones to pass on to our children.  And if by chance you are reading this right now and you do not yet have a family of your own, I promise you that you would not have to look to far to find some others who would relish the love and attention of someone who cares enough to start making memories with them.  You will not regret it!

The Top of the Mountain

   

 It is constantly amazing how God steps into situations and blesses us in ways that blow our minds.  He specializes in knowing just what would touch our hearts in special and unique ways.This weekend he showed out.
   
     Some friends and I headed to North Carolina just get away and recoup.  We waited until the last minute to book the cabin and learned that the downstairs apartment had not been rented yet  I was really relieved because we would not have to worry about other people "bothering" us (or us bothering others.)  Surely no one else would wait as long as we had to book their reservations...surely.
   
     But surprise! When we arrived on top of that mountain there was already another car there.  I was a bit nervous how this would play out.
   
     On day two, one of the ladies in the group decided it was time for her to go and meet our neighbor.  We could tell from the belly laughing downstairs that they had hit it off.  TWO HOURS LATER our friend came back full of stories.
   
     We migrated to the front porch hearing stories and it was not long before our friend headed out again to invite her new friend to the porch.  When they returned it took us all about 1 minute to know we were going to be fast friends.  Our new friend told us about her job as a counselor in South Carolina and then we began to hear the stories of her mission work.  We were riveted.  She told us about how she became a Christian at 20 but grew discouraged with her faith.  She began to talk to the Lord about how this Christian stuff was just was not enough.  She honestly told him that if what she was experiencing was all there was to him then she was going back to her old lifestyle.  That day's prayer was all it took.
   
     She was asked to go on a mission trip out of the country.  It was a mission trip that was going to take medicine and the gospel to a remote people.  They would be traveling by donkey and carrying all they needed with them.  When they arrived at the first village the people were so in need that the team used almost every bit of medical supplies they had brought.  They began to pray to the Lord about what they should do next.
   
     The leader announced that they would continue on to all the villages (they were expected) and they would deliver what they had...the gospel.  So off they went to village number two.
   
     Upon arriving they met a man who had a machete injury.  His arm was severed and remained intact by just a thread.  The minster placed a towel around the arm while the group prayed for the man.  After praying they removed the towel only to find the arm COMPLETELY HEALED.
   
     With a renewed faith the pastor asked for our new friend and another team member to look in the container again and see if they had anything with which they could help these people.  When they opened the chest they found their supplies COMPLETELY RESTOCKED.  After using all of the supplies a second time they headed to village number three. And by the time they reached that village they found fresh supplies in their containers.  This happened at every single one of the villages.
Her life was forever changed!  She knew God was real and that she would forever serve and love Him.

     And God took us all the way to the top of a mountain eight hours away to meet this dear woman and hear her story.  We were so blessed by our time with this sister in Christ and knew that He meant for us all to meet. I cried many tears that day as we rejoiced about the goodness of God and His love for us all.  And I am so thankful that this dear woman was willing to share her stories with us,  complete strangers.

    We all have stories about the goodness of God and how He has showed up and often showed out on our behalf.  May we be willing to share the and look for opportunities to encourage those we come in contact with.  And may we be willing to be encouraged by others and their stories as well.  We may learn about God in a new way through another person's life.  But we better be willing to have our minds blown in the process!