The Christ in Christmas

This Christmas when so many of the people in our country are dealing with job loss, foreclosures, going bakrupt, living paycheck to paycheck, wondering if they will have a job in a month, a week, or a day...I have felt a certain pull back to what the season is all really about. The Christ of Christmas.
St. Nick- the Bishop of Myrna, whomever you want to call him lived many years ago and he was a very nice and godly man who believed in helping others. He helped others in a very unselfish way- he gave without even letting them know it was him giving. This is what started the very secular tradition of Santa Clause and this is what we should pattern ourselves after.
Giving to people who need....it isn't all about the want. It is about the need. This year so many people need! I have seen and heard that the normal retail sales are way down this year for the holiday and that is a good thing...because now people are giving gifts to people that say, "I made a donation to this organization in your name." - to really try to help those who need help! But it is even more than that- just being kind to the person you pass on the road or at the store or maybe the person you aren't passing- but feel stck behind....a kind smile- a short and silent prayer....you never know the needs of another, but God surely does!
Getting back to the Christ part-Christ wants us to give in secret so that only our Father in heaven will know what we have done. In doing this, we are expecting nothing in return- no tax break, no thank you, no recognition. Not always an easy task, right?
But Christ, He required no special recognition...in fact, he often asked people to be quiet about how He had helped them. He humbled Himself. Gave up perfection to be poor, homeless and a half-brother to all his siblings....He joined the everyday joe! He became one of US!
This Christmas that is what I am truly thankful for. I have been blessed wiht many things and many people, but this is the greatest gift! Christ!

Make the Most of Our Time

Today my daughter turned 13! I am sitting here now after everyone else in the house has gone to bed and I am thinking...WOW! Where did all that time go? I am realizing probably for the first time, how quickly time does pass.
I am thankful that I have, for the most part, been able to be at home and be a full time "Mommy" for the past 13 years! How much more, I wonder, would I feel time swiftly passed, if I had not been with her as much as I have! This is a tremendous blessing and I pray that I have used the time we have had together well over these years.
I think about how quickly this has gone and realize that it is only a short 5 years before she will be graduating and off to who knows where....How precious is the time we have....and how we choose to use it!

I want to be a Cheer leader!

This past Sunday was my daughter's first Cheer Competition. She did so well! I was so proud of her! What amazed me, though, was how much those cheerleaders cheered and encouraged one another! It was very impressive!
I sat there thinking to myself, "Wow! This is what we should be doing everyday! We should be a cheerleader for the people around us!" The Bible clearly says to encourage each other daily. I am guilty of not being that kind of an encourager! I see need for improvement more than I see how wonderful things and people are just as they are!
I am so thankful that my creator in heaven looks at my potential and not just what I put out! I pray He will help me put more positive cheer out there than I ever have before! I want to be leading people with cheer and encouragement- I want to be a cheer leader!

Simple Things

The other day my husband came home from work and asked how I was doing. I told him I was stressed and why I was stressed. Mostly little things around the house that were needing fixed or picked up-- they were little in and of themselves, but added together, they were bigger.
Immediately he went to the kitchen sink and fixed the water pressure problem. Next he called our children and they tackled the summertime garage disaster...within minutes, I was feeling so much better!
All it took was some initiative and a little bit of time and I was heading back down a path of care-free living. I felt loved and cared for! My burdes had been lifted!
I sat there thinking that this is how it is in all relationships...
we are not always able to do great deeds and tasks- but the little ones we can do can help others so much. A smile, an invitaion to a cup of tea, or a home cooked meal. Just taking some time to talk or help out with some yard or house work....Giving of ourselves, to eachother in these small ways can add up to so much!
It is the same in our relationship with God. The little things we do- a simple prayer that tells Him we are thinking of Him. Mentioning Him to our children when we see the beauty of HIs creation, Praying for another person to Him.....We don't have to run off and become a missionary-- we can make a difference every day right where we are with what and who is right around us! Giving oursleves to Him- to others- in a simple way is a fantastic way to keep the relationships we have fresh, full of life and full of love!

Once Pre-judged

Okay- as I was saying...after I had been going to a particular church and became friends with a Pastor's wife there, she shared something with me that was probably a little difficult to share! She told me that when I was picking my children up and she was seeing their mix-matched clothes, she was thinking we were poor and that I must be a single mom.
The truth was that I was married and though we weren't rich, it was a conscious decision I made to let my children pick and choose the clothes they would wear. It really didn't bother me whether or not they matched. I just enjoyed the outfits they came up with as creative as I felt they were!
Now, I know this is another example of how our clothing makes a statement...and maybe there is something to be said about taking the time deciding what exactly we are trying to state!
HA!

Diversity

In church Sunday our pastor was talking about being diverse and accepting others- not prejudging. He made a comment that really hit me where it hurts!
He said, "Everyone has been prejudice at one time about something." I was sitting there thinking, "No. No. I don't believe have been prejudice. I love culture, understanding various religions, differences in people..."
He also asked us how we would feel if our child brought home a boyfriend or girlfriend of a different race. Again, I thought, "I would really be fine with that!"
Then it hit me...this feeling in my gut that said, "You judge people sometimes." I was sitting there fighting that "inner voice" .... "DO I?"
Then into my mind came the thoughts I had had just the day before at the store with my husband standing there with me when I saw a girl with very short daisy duke shorts and a long sweater that almost made me wonder if she had shorts on, and a pair of high heels. She was young, she wa lean and she was pretty. I remembered catching myself thinking..."Some nerve...is she here to pick up a man? Why would she wear something like that to go grocery shopping on a Sunday afternoon? She probably wants to attract men- wants them to notice her.Is my husband tempted to look at her?"
In my innnermost parts, I was judging her...without knowing her. Isn't that what prejudice or pre judging means? We judge someone or something before we know anything about them?
I guess I am not as diverse as I would like to be.
I would hope that at some point in my life another person wasn't judging me just based on what I was wearing....
But then there is the story that a good friend shared with me once she got to know me better about how she had judged us based on what my kids were wearing!

Living Here and Now

I have been learning a lesson for a little over a year...a gradual process that has been leading to gradual change in my life.
As I said, I am "planner" by nature....or maybe it was learned...or maybe it was some of both! Whatever the case, I believe this is a strength in many ways as I can look ahead and be prepared and have options and really get things accomplished! I also have realized that it can be one of my hugest weaknesses!
You see, sometimes I can get so busy planning, that I am not living in the moment. I can miss so much when I am not paying enough attention to what is happening right now- and who is in front of me right now.
The Bible is clear-- "This is the day the Lord has made- rejoice and be glad in it!" How can I rejoice and be glad about today, when I am not even paying attention to it!? How can I truly be "in it" when my mind id somewhere days or weeks or even months away?
Also, we see God as ever-present. He is the Great "I Am". If He is present each moment and I am created in His image, I imagine I need to try to be present each moment, too.
Now, I am not saying God isn't a planner...I think He is. "I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord..." I just think in His perfection- He does not struggle with balancing His planning and living in the moment. I do. I am not perfect.
He has really been helping me with this. One way He has helped is by putting friends and a husband in my life who are more of the "Moment by moment" kind of people. I learn a lot from them as I see them just living....

What am I doing here?

This is a question that I have asked many times in my life and I have heard many people ask.
What am I doing here?
Well, I am not "there" yet, but I am coming to the conclusion that I am here simply because I am His. This may sound absurd, but in reality, I was created by a higher power than myself and if I was created, then the creator must have a purpose or plan for me. I am not my own.
Check it out...
think of a project or a piece of art you came up with. Even as a child if you think you aren't creative now! (Topic for another day- I think everyone is creative!) I have made pictures...drawings, paintings, clay sculptures, written poetry, made a plan for the day or week or month (another topic for another time- planning can be a gift and a curse!)
Anyway, everything I have ever created has served a purpose. It was something I was working on as a gift for someone, it was helping me pass the time, it was helping me express myself, it was making sure something would happen...or come close to happening as planned....
I think if you think about it, you will find reason behind what you do, too. Maybe you are not an "artist" as one might normally think of an artist. Maybe you are planning family meals, or a course of study at school, or how to best get that project done at work....whatever it may be, there is a purpose behind what you are working on or have worked on.
Can you see the analogy...? God created you and me and He has a purpose or a plan -- a reason for our existence.
I guess what I hope to continue working through here in this blog is how for me it seems God is saying, "I made you merely for Myself...you are simply Mine." If that is the answer I seem to be getting to this question myself, maybe it will help someone else searching for the answer to the same question.....