Happy New Year to you all! I love the fact that God loves new beginnings; otherwise, why would He give us creatures so many opportunities to start fresh? New mornings, new months, new seasons, new years. He is good.
And what would a New Year be without some resolutions to go with it? I have one resolution to recommend for 2012, and that is to find contentment. Contentment doesn’t change our circumstances, but it does change our hearts, which makes all our circumstances more comfortable. Our contentment does not lie in our circumstances, for if it did, we would only be able to be content when everything is going exactly as we like, which isn’t very often. Contentment is found in Christ, who will never leave us or forsake us. Contentment is found in submitting to God’s purposes and plans in our lives, even (or especially) when we don’t understand. Contentment is a way of exercising our faith.
So here are ten ways to apply contentment in 2012.
1. Be content with your story. That means your birth and upbringing, your parents and your siblings, even your ancestors. Own your people and be content that God has written all of them into your story. Don’t just be content with your story; love your story.
2. Be content with your condition. Are you married? Are you unmarried? Divorced? Widowed? Are you pregnant? Are you not pregnant? If there is sin involved, confess it. If you already have, don’t keep on confessing the same sins. Don’t waste time on regret because it is both Continue reading ‘New Year Contentment’
Yesterday’s sermon was on the theology of gift giving. It’s easy to slip into the expected Christmas rush with all the stress of shopping like a maniac and we can forget what it is we are doing. So here’s why we Christians can celebrate Christmas like no one else on the planet. We really do have a reason for all this.
First, the Magi brought Jesus gifts. And they brought Him expensive gifts. Matthew calls their gifts treasures. So gift-giving has always been associated with the story of the Incarnation.
Second, the overwhelming message of the New Testament is that God gives to us so that we Continue reading ‘Why do we give gifts anyway?’
I’m just throwing this out there . . . but here is a fun, cheap, easy, and generally awesome little boy gift. Since it’s a download, you can print out as many as you want, as many times as you want. Stick some in your son’s stocking, tie some on top of the new book for your nephew, give a set to the little boy you babysit . . . you get the idea. All you have to do is download, print on sticker paper like this, slice them apart, and you’re done. Easy peasy! Here’s all the info right here. (Pairs well with The Dragon’s Tooth which I’m sure you’re getting for lots of people on your list, right?!)
A family is a lot like a church. After all, a mother has a little congregation at home, as my mother-in-law kindly pointed out to me long ago. “You have three in your congregation, three in your little Bible school.” It seemed like a pretty big congregation to me, but some of you mothers have two, three, and four times that number in yours.
Mothers of children, let me tell you something. You are like a pastor to your children. You must feed them like a good pastor does. You must know how each one is doing. Each and every one. You must make sure each child is receiving love and attention, that each feels loved as a special member of this family/congregation of yours. You must see that each one is washed and clothed and fed. And you must be available at all hours to minister to these little or big ones. You may not ignore them or put them off. The way you love and teach them is showing Continue reading ‘Shepherd Mothers’
I do love Christmas so much. The whole thing. I love all the busy, all the shopping, all the ridiculous. I love that our tree looks like it got really dressed up and then fell down a solid flight of stairs. I love that I knew what I was going for this year, but instantly had to let it go when I opened the ornament boxes. Five children, all hands in. Tree decorated in possibly 4 minutes. Every last ornament on. No theme, no balance, no sense of enough is enough. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some Christmas throw pillows in there. The day after we got it decorated, Titus accidentally leapt off the arm of the chair next to it straight into the branches. He slid past several ornaments and four rounds of recklessly applied garlands, making a solid selection of the decor on the right side of the tree look rather adrift and certainly droopy.
Continue reading ‘A Little More Christmas Reality’
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