The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I LOVE Christmas! It was so full of traditions and happy memories for me as a child. And I am trying to carry on many of those same things with my Crew. One of our collective favorites is CANDY! =)

I also love our Christmas tree! And driving around looking at Christmas lights! I LOVE LOVE LOVE giving gifts to the special people in my life! Not that you have to wait until Christmas, but it is a good excuse... ;)

The last couple years, I have been introduced to Advent. I always thought Advent was a Roman Catholic thing, but our pastor has explained that Christians have celebrated Advent since the earliest days. And he pointed out that it is not just to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, but also to look forward to His return. Now that's something worth celebrating!!! =)

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
 
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:1-5
 
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14
 
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
2 Peter 3:10-13
 
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
Revelation 21:1-4

Faithless

I've been reading through Ezekiel the last couple weeks, and the theme that seems woven through is that God's people have chosen to be faithless. He showers and lavishes them with GOOD gifts. He gives them of HIMSELF, and they take all His gifts and abuse and worship them. When I was younger, I used to think that the Israelites were horrible for forgetting God and chasing their idols. Now as I read, I find myself thinking, "Yeah, I do that." =( I forget God's FOREVER FAITHFULNESS, and I chase His gifts to worship them!!! =P I am SO VERY MUCH like God's people of old-- I am faithless. But God is faithFUL. He keeps His promises! My faithlessness cannot veto His faithFULness! Faithful is one facet of who He is-- and He MUST act according to His nature! =)

"When I passed by you again and saw you, behold, you were at the age for love, and I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your nakedness; I made my vow to you and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Lord GOD, and you became mine. Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil. I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk. And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck. And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head. Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty. And your renown went forth among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through the splendor that I had bestowed on you, declares the Lord GOD. "But you trusted in your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his. You took some of your garments and made for yourself colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. The like has never been, nor ever shall be. You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and with them played the whore. And you took your embroidered garments to cover them, and set my oil and my incense before them. Also my bread that I gave you--I fed you with fine flour and oil and honey--you set before them for a pleasing aroma; and so it was, declares the Lord GOD. And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your whorings so small a matter that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them? And in all your abominations and your whorings you did not remember the days of your youth, when you were naked and bare, wallowing in your blood.
Ezekiel 16:8-22
 
What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, "That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged."
Romans 3:3-4

Piles

I have been discovering, over the past five years or so, that many of my idols were erected when I was rather young. Before my teens. It's funny how God then works at wearing them away, by keeping situations similar. I come from a long line of pack rats. One of the ways that manifested itself in our home, when I was growing up, was lots and LOTS of piles! I HATED the piles! And ESPECIALLY the game of "shifting piles". You know, you need a space that is occupied by one of your piles, so you "shift" it to another flat surface... I determined, before my teens, that when I grew up I would not have piles! FAMOUS LAST WORDS... ;)

The Lord has graciously provided my family with a smallish house. When Shorty & I got married, there were two rooms in our house that we essentially didn't even use. Then when we had our first baby, the whole house was suddenly in use! =) It didn't really begin to feel "tight" until our third little one started moving... But as I look back, I see that I have always had piles. I just had a bit more time and space to go through them early on. ;) Now I am constantly fighting the battle of the piles, or playing "shifting piles". =P Through this, God has revealed idols in my heart that I didn't even know were THERE! He's also given me a lot more compassion for my mom and her piles. =) God is just TOO LOVING to let our idols stand uncontested. And when God enters a battle, He ALWAYS wins-- in His PERFECT time! =)

Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the LORD made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength! Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts! Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
Psalms 96:1-9

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!"
Isaiah 6:1-5

Song of the Day- 6

I heard "Hard to Love" by Lee Brice on the radio a couple months ago. This morning, I woke up with the chorus on repeat in my brainwaves.

I'm hard to love, hard to love,
I don't make it easy,
I couldn't do it if I stood where you stood
I'm hard to love, hard to love,
you say that you need me,
I don't deserve it but I love that you love me good

The affection is a bit misplaced in the song (he's addressing his girlfriend/wife), but I love the sentiment that someone of excellence is loving someone unlovely. If we changed the line "you say that you need me" to something like "I know you don't need me", we could sing the chorus in church! And God's love is transforming in the lives of His people so that as He loves us, we become-- at least a little bit-- lovely.

Hard to Love- Lee Brice

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
Romans 5:6-10
 
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Titus 3:3-7

It's All in the Nature

We watched "Wreck-It Ralph" with our Crew a couple weeks ago. The kids laughed-- Shorty and I did too! =) It was really cute. My favorite part, though, wasn't all the funny, silly stuff. I told Shorty on the way home that I LOVE that the characters had to behave within their natures. What I mean is, Ralph is Mr. Destruction in his video game. But he's lonely-- I mean, who wants to keep a guy around who destroys EVERYTHING he touches?!? ;) So Ralph decides that he doesn't want to be the "bad guy" anymore and sets out to prove that he doesn't have to be. His only problem is that, even when he's being "good" he can't HELP but break stuff! And the same is true for Fix-It Felix-- Ralph's "good guy" counterpart. He ends up in jail in another video game, and when he uses his golden hammer (which fixes things) to try to break the worn away prison bars, they go back to looking like new! =D

I love that concept because it holds true in real life. Without God's intervention, people have to act a certain way- in accordance with their natures. But when God saves a person, He gives a NEW nature!

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Ephesians 2:1-3
 
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5:17
 
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods.
Galatians 4:8
 
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Romans 1:16-20

Sacrifice

I've got a lot of thoughts floating around on this one, but I'll try to be concise.  First, love is willing to sacrifice for the good of another.

Sacrifice is a grand theme in many movies. The one I'm thinking of today is "Captain America". At the end of the movie, when Captain America crashes the flying craft into the Arctic Ocean, no one sighs in exasperation and asks, "Why did he waste his life? He could have done so much MORE!" We all recognize that according to the storyline, Captain America saved not only the United States, but the entire world and life as we know it. We consider it a worthwhile sacrifice.

You may think I'm over-dramatizing, but why then when a woman chooses to pour her mind, talents, and abilities into raising her children is it "A waste of her life/mind/education?" Mama's who accept this high calling are, in fact, preserving life as we know it. I often hear suggestions that women "take time for themselves", "take care of themselves so they can take care of their families". And where there is a place for the concept that we SHOULD do our best to take care of our bodies, it seems more like a suggestion for selfishness. Besides, childhood is SO BRIEF!

I've mentioned before that I LOVE to read. Books have been a major part of my life for longer than I can remember. But during the five years that I was having my children and before they were in school, about the only reading I did was when I read them storybooks at naptime. Was that a waste of my time/passion? I would say emphatically, "NO!!!" I was exposing them to God's world, and instilling in them a passion for books and reading. After all, you can travel millions of places in books that you might never get to otherwise. =)

So, all you mama's out there-- especially if you have little ones-- pour your life into your precious blessings for the brief years that the Lord entrusts them to your care. And remember that sooner than you can imagine, they will not be little anymore. Motherhood is a worthwhile sacrifice!

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
1 John 4:9-11
 
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience-- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:1-7
 
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:4-11

Freedom

My girls like watching the Barbie movies. Last night while we were visiting my parents, I let them watch the newest one, "The Princess and the Popstar". I really liked "The Princess and the Pauper". It had themes of responsibility and self-sacrifice. However, in "The Princess and the Popstar" it was highlighting a concept of freedom. These are the lyrics of the chorus from a song early in the movie:

I wish I had her life
then I would be so free
I wish I had her life
I'd be another me.

As I chewed on this a little more, I was a bit frustrated by the bizarre concept of "freedom" that seems so prevalent in the U.S. The idea is: "I can be/do anything I want." Although we have SO MUCH freedom-- freedom to choose where I live, what career I pursue, what church to attend... or if I attend church at all-- I CANNOT be/do ANYTHING. I cannot be a dog or a horse, no matter how much I may think I'd like to be. I cannot steal or kill-- unless I'd like to go to jail or worse. And I cannot fly any more than I can change the shape of my arms or the size of lungs and liver to be more like a man's.

But in Christ, I am free to fellowship with my King. I am free to glorify my God. And I am FREE from slavery to sin! =)

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Let Israel say, "His steadfast love endures forever." Let the house of Aaron say, "His steadfast love endures forever." Let those who fear the LORD say, "His steadfast love endures forever." Out of my distress I called on the LORD; the LORD answered me and set me free.
Psalms 118:1-5
 
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Galatians 5:1
 
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Galatians 5:13-14
 
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
Romans 6:6-13