December 2012 - Part 1

Dec. 3 - The gratefulness continues...I am thankful for a messy Jesus. The one who laid aside the garments of the throne room of heaven and came to us in a messy way...among sheep and cattle and mud and hay and dirt. It does my heart good to know that He knows what it's like to get dirty. Our problems and our lives are not perfect and lysol'd..they are not pristine. And here is what is great, He knows that. Not only does He know that, he experienced that. I love the image of Christ in the manger, but I also love the image of Christ with the adulterous woman, or up on the cross. The images are messy, they are all messages of the greater picture of a Savior stooping to us to offer redemption and a relationship. He knows where you have been, He knows what you have done, He knows who you have turned away, but it's never too ugly, too messy, or too graphic for Him. He will get down in your mess with you just so that He can raise you up out of it. What mess do you find yourself in? It's never too much for Christ!

Dec. 4 - This is why it is perfectly acceptable for my 9 year old to still believe in Santa. Eyes that look like these that are filled with wonder and awe and imagination! And knowing this does not dilute the true meaning of Christmas. In fact, I would say that it enhances it. There is no greater mystery or paradigm shift than that if the king if the universe stooping down into a manger to redeem His people...I would say that in order to wrap your mind around that it takes some wonder, awe, and imagination as well. I want to see this look and experience the heart behind it for as long as I can.

Dec. 6 - Today I am thankful for Facebook. Not only for the obvious benefits of being able to catch up with friends that for whatever reason I cannot see on a daily basis but specifically today because it challenges me to be more vocal with my faith and my struggles and all of it. "Why?", you ask. Through most of my grade school days I was a loner. That is until I found people who shared the same likes that I did. Then the choir and the band became my friends and others by extension. But the one thing that I missed out on completely when in high school was how many of my friends may have already been Christ followers. I grieve the fact that in High School, we just did not talk about faith and for that reason, I connected with no one on that spiritual level. As I reconnect with High School friends on FB I am overjoyed (and shocked) at the number of people I walked through the middle and high school halls with who are today proclaiming their faith and love for Jesus Christ. I can only imagine the impact that we may have had on our student population and county had we spoken up boldly..only to find that others shared the same beliefs. I guess it comes as a challenge to me and one that I pass on to you...don't hide your light, others are looking for it. Not just the ones that need it, but those who may already have it that need the encouragement to let theirs shine as well. So...Let your light shine for ALL to see. Love it when I find more family members.

Dec. 10 - Once again I am reminded why a faith family is so important. There are moments in life that are so unexpected and so dark that it can feel as though God has abandoned us. The event is tragic and so heart-breaking that you need to "feel" God. That is what the family of God is for...so that in the moments when God feels far away...we can be His arms and His shoulders. We can be His hands and His feet. Make no mistake, God is near to the brokenhearted but sometimes the only way to feel that is through the kindness and presence of His people, who carry His love with them.

Dec. 15 - OK, This will make some mad, but with all due respect....GOD was in that CT school. Just as He is in every school, office, workplace. For two reasons; Omnipresence (He is everywhere) and the indwelling Holy Spirit in every Christ follower. Officials may not readily be willing to allow prayer at the beginning of the day, but God is in our schools. As believers, we carry the Holy Spirit in us. When we say something like "God is not allowed in our schools" we unwittingly send a message to all of those who claim Christ as Savior that when they walk through the halls of their educational institution they are to keep quiet about their faith because Christ was "left at the door". Perhaps if we encourage them by telling them that no matter where they go, Christ is with them. And that there is no place restricted from God's powerful presence. It offends me because if someone were to say that about my children's school I would say you are absolutely incorrect. My two children love Jesus with all their heart and when they walk into their school, they bring the indwelling Holy Spirit with them, and are greeted by teachers, classroom aides, and administrators who also put their trust in God and who undoubtedly have even prayed for my children and every child they will teach that day. So, I will acknowledge that God is in our schools by honoring the teachers, parents, and children who fill their day with continual prayer for themselves and their classmates and who live by honoring God in all they do no matter where they are.

Dec. 17 - “I can’t go there.” That is a phrase I have used before in conversation but this past weekend, it has been one of my mantras. As I turn the TV off, or scroll more quickly past an article on the net, or put my phone down because now there are pictures of 20 little smiling faces and their heroic sacrificing teachers; I have uttered these words, “I just can’t go there”.  

This morning, the Monday after (I did not think this day could feel worse than Friday…I was wrong), I stopped counting the number of times I had to say, “I can’t go there.” As I was gelling up little man’s freshly shorn Mohawk, or listening to the voice of my almost 6-year-old daughter jabbering excitedly about bucket-filling and ice cream parties, I had to keep saying it over and over. I have felt weak having to say that, but I think that is what the enemy would love us to think.

When Paul wrote his letter to the church in Philippi, he did so under some extreme circumstances. He was in jail for his faith and was undergoing daily torment in some pretty nasty conditions.  His encouragement to the church was this… ^“brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Phil. 4:8) Something I am sure he practiced often.

This is how I will not “go there” and by not going there, I once again have the ability through Christ to defeat the enemy who would love nothing more than for us do dwell in fear and doubt and for us to have endless arguments over whether weapons kill or whether people kill and whether or not one can do so without the other, and on, and on, and on.

See it’s easy to get wrapped up in all of that and “go there”…but it is just as easy to say NO! I will think on these things…whatever is pure, true, noble, right, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy.  The enemy is none of those things, darkness does not hold any of these things, fear and pain and doubt hold none of these things. There is power available, through the Holy Spirit that allows us to say those words and to “take every thought captive” for the glory of God.