with my hands, with my heart, enjoying Christ
The footage and photos were taken just a few days after the earthquake as Pastor Mark (Mars Hill Church) and James MacDonald were able to go to help. We have a better idea now as to what is needed. The needs are beyond our comprehension.
Please REPOST this, copy it, play it at your church, etc. Please give generously, as the name of Jesus can be revealed by our love.
Running….for…what? Why all this striving?
Hebrews 12:1-3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so
closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy
that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is
seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Life swirls around me and I grab some time to stop and rest. All these schedules, tasks, duties, relationships, budgets, demands, errands, ministry, friends, birthdays, neighbors, projects- all capture my attention. Chaotic work and memories flash behind me and I strain forward in this race of “getting things done.”
Thus is the race of our Christian faith. Specifically, my roles as wife and mother. What waits for me as my reward and what motivates my heart to work hard? Throughout the day, what drives me? What is my rest and peace? What are my eyes focused on?
Oh so easily, my eyes are fixed on the little rewards of productivity, the before and afters, the praise from those near me to appreciate my work. My fake rewards leave me empty.
God Himself is my true reward.
He is my motivation.
There is an actual finish line and our home in heaven is waiting for us, our inheritance. Bridging the gap of work and my heart is worship. God wants me to run this race of life with endurance. He has set before me this body, this life, this heart to look to Jesus. I run hard for nothing, an endless race, if I am not looking to Jesus. Jesus is the why of my worship, the object, my reward.
Colossians 3: 23-24 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not
for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as
your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
When the peace turns to chaos, fits are thrown, demands on my time are pressuring, and there is no way dinner is getting made, I freeze and am tempted throw my hands in the air and give up. Overwhelming feelings of my weakness threaten my faith. What keeps me moving forward with endurance? It can only be Jesus that moves me.
I am not alone. I don’t have to be strong.
God is with me now, He is my strength all along, not just at the finish line. He is with me with every move I make, every thought, every tender feeling. He is the promised land, but I am already there! In Christ, I am both running towards Him and with Him.
As I run this intense calling- my worship is increasing. My independence is decreasing. And.. I fall in to God’s precious arms, so that He can carry me the rest of the way.
What “season” are you in?
As a young girl, I wanted to be an adult. When I was single I wanted to be married. When my kids were babies, I wanted them to be preschoolers… As each season changed, my ambitious heart would often covet the next season. Even in my current season, I am tempted to grumble in it, and look forward to a future time in the life of our family.
Each season that I am given is an opportunity for worship. Yet, deep under the sporatic complaints and restless discontentment for my season, lies a dissatisfied heart with what God has given me.
As God calls me to my season, He is calling me to steward His grace in it.
1 Peter 4: 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards, of God’s varied grace.
Ephesians 3:2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you.
Stewardship of God’s grace is more expansive than the stewardship of money. Christians have experienced miraculous grace and are called to be the agent of grace in many ways. We are called to manage God’s stuff (which is everything) and furthermore represent His grace.
Paul (the author of the above verses) was called and equipped by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit which was a season that lasted from conversion until his death. God calls all of us to a particular season and the purpose of it is worship.
My calling shapes my season today. Serving Jesus by serving my family is my daily stewardship of God’s grace. My season is packed with overwhelming dependence on the Holy Spirit to keep my family and home running. More than checking things off a list, I am called to steward the love and grace of God.
Managing God’s grace in my season calls me to humble service without grumbling. Being led moment by moment by God replaces going through the motions of my day. As God lovingly directs my work; I am more gracious and flexible with my duties. As four children experience their mother, they are seeing glimpses of God’s grace for them. The gift and weight of this calling is intense and beautiful. And it is His grace that allows me to extend it to others. I am truly grateful that I am in this season. I long to steward it with repentance and continual and contagious worship.
What is your season? How can you more faithfully steward God’s grace in it?
This month marks TWO YEARS of blogging. What a journey! As God has pursued me to share my repentance and redemption “in the light”, my heart is full of joy as I remember why I started blogging and why I continue.
Why I started: I came to a place in my heart where idolatrous desires were exposed. Confessing my pride and selfish ambition in my work; I began repenting and turning from empty labor to desiring Worshiping Jesus in my work. Work has slowly become more worshipful. My independent nature is slowly being replaced with dependence on my King. Blogging has spotlighted these changes and been about pointing myself and others to Jesus, who is the only savior to replace idols with True Worship. Blogging has been an outlet for me share what God is teaching me about both work and worship. I enjoy writing and want to grow as a writer, so it has been great practice!
Why I keep going: I love learning and teaching. God has humbled me in many “heart” places along the way and I am confident in His future grace to continue in His steadfast love. Jesus has saved me from my sin and is continuing to save me from my sin. His cross is my only hope. I can’t help but share how GREAT Jesus is and how He has changed my heart. I keep writing to sharpen my skill and strengthen content.
What I need from you: Most of the time, I don’t hear from my readers. But, I know that there are many of you! If you read this, could you let me know in email or comments? I am curious who reads, how long you’ve read, and what you have learned. Also, as I move forward on other writing projects, I need women to interview. I need lots of volunteers to fill out surveys and in person interviews. I will be asking lots of questions about work, sin, strengths, weaknesses, worship, maturity, immaturity, etc. I would love to hear what God is teaching you in your current struggle and how Jesus is pursuing your heart.
I am grateful to Jesus for showing me my idols and giving me grace along the way. God has taken me on a journey. Thanks for letting me pause to reflect… now on to more work… 
Busy Body. That word is power packed with negative emotions and disgust, right? This “town gossip lady” image in my head is not the “busy at home lady”, but instead is the lady that chooses to be in other people’s business. I certainly never thought I was idle, lazy, or pointlessly or wandering about my day, looking for some one or something– to scratch an itch–in my heart….
When is the last time you found yourself going around from house to house being idle? Or, perhaps calling too many friends in one day? Concerned or thinking about other people more than what you are called by God specifically to be mindful of?
I haven’t identified much with this particular sin until– I realized that the Internet is my “town” to meander. I have found myself “going from “house to house” rather “website to website” seeking something: information, research, book reviews, blogs, facebook, or email all potentially sucking in my time and seducing my attention.
1 Timothy 5: 13 Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to.
To ignore this comparison is for me– choosing blindness. I have been blind to the fact that I am tempted to ignore greater blessings that God has called me to. Sin is giving in to the temptation to busy body with my eyes and heart focused on worthless and sometimes meaningless information that swirls around in my head taking up the mental space that should be occupied by meaningful thoughts and purpose.
Repentance is not always the opposite behavior. It doesn’t mean social networking is bad and email, internet, and helpful websites are now of the devil. As much as legalism lures me; I believe that repentance isn’t rule making here, but instead it is being tender to the Holy Spirit, moment by moment, day by day with my time and attention. There is remarkable joy and satisfaction in this discipline, as I depend on Jesus’ strength to walk with the submission to God enabled by the Holy Spirit in this area.
Practically, it means that I set thoughtful boundaries on time spent on websites. I choose appropriate times to give attention to it. It needs to be at times that relationships aren’t ignored or neglected. Stewarding my time, means seeing internet time as a resource to be used with wisdom –as worship.
Internet Busy Bodying is really just another form of laziness and escapism, not worship. Worship is living our lives in such a way that honors and glorifies God.
By God’s grace, my slices of time for Internet will be stewarded more wisely.
Christmas, with all its glitter and joy, is for many a season to get through as quickly as possible… Though I am a wife an a mom with a full house, I am humbled by the fact that many around me are lonely. Loneliness is not a sin. Feeling the desire for companionship and intimacy with someone is a beautiful reflection of being made in the image of God.
I struggle with loneliness occasionally and wonder if what I experience is just a taste of the daily desires that so many people live with. The desire to be with someone can tempt us to “wander in the desert” searching for anything to satisfy. Other comforts, relationships, whet our appetite but are not truly satisfying. Searching for intimacy, we settle for idolatry.
God has been reclaiming His place in my heart, my view of what “Father” looks like. I have been growing in a richer understanding of the presence of God, and feeling a deep joy of seeing Father God as my precious dad. Clinging to my Dad’s leg, like a toddler, my heart is starting to comprehend the intimacy I can have with Abba.
Psalm 121 is great comfort for the lonely heart. As our shadows are always with us, so is our God. In the details and empty spaces of our days, God is present.
1I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
3He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7The LORD will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
8The LORD will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
He is our Companion, Keeper, Help, and Comfort. If you are feeling lonely and empty, know that the Lord is with you.
How many strangers have walked up to your kids, “What do you want for Christmas?” Or even well-meaning family members…We can easily think that Christmas is mostly about gifts. Especially, in America. Commercialism can over–ride the meaningfulness of it. Our hearts can be so captured by the season that it the “joy of the season” actually can eclipse Jesus all together. The hoopla can become an idol that we stroke, full of our expectations and lists.
As with many things, God teaches me through the calling of motherhood. The fog of Christmas gets clearer as I am compelled to give my children an appetite for worship. As I check toys off the list, I should all the more be looking at my list for their hearts. Do I have a list of each child’s heart needs, where they are at with Jesus and how I can love them? It is more valuable eternally for me to pay attention to that list. Pointing them to Jesus is the greatest gift I can give.
Have you ever made a list of free things you can do with and for your family and children that exhibits service, humility, training in Godliness? A list that– is a worshipful response to God, stewarding relationships not with things but with heart? Make time think and pray about your family and seriously write down how you can love them more this year. With each item, ask yourself, “is this free, sacrificial, will they feel loved, does this point them to Jesus, does this cultivate our relationship unselfishly?”
Christmas is a beautiful season, but it is also a season to reflect on various areas of our hearts that God is moving in. Drawing nearer to the Savior is such joy! WE do that through worship! Just as he sent the greatest gift to us, Jesus, we are called to recognize and respond in worship all year round. The busyness of of the season distracts us all from treasuring Jesus.
As Mary with her new baby– king Jesus, treasured the events in her heart, let us respond to Christmas in our hearts.
Luke 2:16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
I have felt urged to remember – how is God revealing Himself to you this Christmas? Are you worshiping Jesus in what you are doing? Are you distracted with much? Who are you trying to please? When you go about your activities, what are you motivated by? Do you feel the weight and joy of the task of shepherding your children?
Is your heart tender to Jesus? Are you hurried, distracted, thinking about tasks and purchases?
If those same strangers, asked YOU, “What do you want for Christmas?” What would you say?
God became a man, Jesus. The Incarnation is unfathomable. Let’s not miss Jesus in Christmas.
Based (very loosely) on a story in T. H. White’s The Once and Future King.
Once upon a time there was a very wise old man named Job. In his old age God gave to him a daughter whom he named Jemima, which means little dove. He loved his little girl and she loved her daddy.
One day Job decided to go on journey and asked Jemima if she would like to go along. “Oh, yes,” Jemima said. “I would love to go along.”
But Job said, “It will be a journey that takes us several days. So we will be staying each night wherever people will have us. So I can’t promise it will be nice. But God will take care of us. He always does what is right. He always meets the needs of those who trust him.”
Jemima smiled and said, “And even if things go bad, God makes them turn for good. Right, Daddy? Just like the little poem that you taught us:
When things don’t go the way they should
God always makes them turn for good.”
“That’s right, Jemima,” Daddy said, “and there’s another little poem you need to learn. It goes like this:
When things go better than they should
For people who are bad,
Remember, if they stay that way,
At last they will be sad.”
And so they started off on their journey and walked all day. At sundown they saw a little cottage and knocked on the door. A very poor man and his wife and baby lived there. Job asked if he and Jemima could spend the night there before they continued on their journey in the morning.
The poor man and his wife were very happy to let them stay. They gave Job and Jemima their own room and made them a simple supper. The special treat was fresh milk from their only cow. This was how the poor couple made a living. Their cow gave good milk and they sold it for enough to live on.
In the morning when Job and Jemima got up they heard crying. The cow had died during the night. The poor man’s wife was crying, “What will we do? What will we do?” she sobbed. The poor man was about to cut the cow into pieces and sell the meat before it spoiled. But Job said, “I think you should not cut the cow in pieces but bury him by your back wall under the olive tree. The meat may not be good to sell. Trust God, and he will take care of you.”
Then Job and Jemima went on their way. They walked all day again and were very tired when they came to the next town and noticed a fine home. They knocked on the door. A very wealthy man lived in this house and they hoped that they would not be an inconvenience to one so wealthy.
But the man was very gruff with them and said they could stay in the barn. He gave them water and bread for supper and let them eat it by themselves in the barn. Job was very thankful for the barn and the bread and water and said to the wealthy man, “Thank you very much for the bread and water and for letting us stay in your barn.”
In the morning Job noticed that one of the walls of the house was crumbling. So he went and bought bricks and mortar and repaired the hole in the wall for the wealthy man. Then Job and Jemima went on their way and came to their destination.
As they sat by the fire that night Jemima said, “Daddy, I don’t understand the ways of God. It doesn’t seem right that the poor man’s cow should die when he was so good to us, and that you should fix the rich man’s wall when he was so bad to us.”
“Well, Jemima,” Job said, “many things are not the way they seem. Perhaps this once I will tell you why. But after this you will have to trust God.”
“The poor man’s cow was very sick, but he didn’t know it. I could taste it in the milk. Soon he would have sold bad milk and the people would have gotten sick and died, and they would have stoned him. So I told him not to sell the meat, but to bury the cow under the olive tree by his back wall because the Lord showed me that, if he dug the grave there he would find a silver cup buried from long ago, and sell it for enough money to buy two good cows. And in the end things would be better for him and his wife and child.”
“When we spent the night at the rich man’s house, I saw the hole in the wall and I saw more than that. I saw that hidden in the wall from generations ago was a chest full of gold. If the rich man had repaired the wall himself, he would have found it and continued in his pride and cruelty. So I bought brick and closed the wall so that the man would never find this treasure.”
“Do you see, Jemima?”
“Yes, Daddy, I see.”
“So never forget, Jemima, many things are not what they seem. But if we trust in God,
When things don’t go the way they should
God always makes them turn for good.”
But if we turn away from God and are unkind and selfish, then the other saying will come true:
When things go better than they should
For people who are bad,
Remember, if they stay that way,
At last they will be sad.”
And that’s the way it was with Jesus. It seemed like he was unimportant because he was born in a small unimportant town, not a big city. He was born in a stable, not a palace. He was laid in a manger, not a fine bed. He was a carpenter not a famous statesman. He had a small group of friends, not a great army. And worst of all, he was killed like a common criminal on a cross.
But many things are not what they seem. He was the Son of God, the Savior of the world. He rose from the dead. He is alive today and rules over the world and King of kings and Lord of lords. And everyone who trusts in him will have all their sins forgiven, and will be able to say,
When things don’t go the way they should
God always makes them turn for good.”
1. What’s the most common mistake people make in trying to develop a system for productivity?
There are a lot of wrong turns that people make here, but I think the biggest one is that they simply seek to make their system capture and organize their existing work. We shouldn’t first ask “what things are vying for my attention and how do I organize them?” Instead, we should first ask “what things are most important for me to be doing and how do I make sure that I am able to move ahead on them?” The former is reactive and the later is proactive.
2. In the last three months, what has been the most helpful insight that has helped you be more productive?
Peter Drucker’s comment that “effective executives put first things first and do one thing at a time.” My workload has been larger than normal the last few months, and that makes it tempting to splinter myself and move on too many fronts at once. Drucker reminds me to avoid this trap. First, you don’t have to do everything. Instead, identify what is most important, and start there. Second, build momentum by doing one thing at a time, bringing it to completion, and then moving on to the next thing (what’s best next). You might think this makes it take longer to do things, but it actually saves time. The scarcity of time is precisely the reason we need to do one thing at a time.
3. In a nutshell, what is the most important and fundamental principle for being productive?
I would actually say: realize that you don’t have to be productive. By this I mean: your significance does not come from your productivity. It comes from Christ, who obeyed God perfectly on our behalf such that our significance and standing before God comes from him, not anything we do. Then, on that basis, we pursue good works (which is what productivity is) and do so eagerly, as it says in Titus 2:14.
When it comes to day-to-day application, the main principle is this: The key denominator of effectiveness is not intelligence or even hard work, as important as those are. It is the discipline to put first things first. You need to operate from a center of sound principles and organize and execute around priorities. This means that instead of prioritizing your schedule, you schedule your priorities.
This book is great. I would say it is good for 5-10 year old children. We are thoroughly enjoying reading it nightly with our advent candles lit. After dinner, the kids are enthusiastic about the advent candles and reading the chapter from Jotham’s Journey.
Jotham throws a fit and rebells against his dad and runs away. His sin has consequences. He is lost for a while and journeys through many families and suffers much. He realizes his sin and grows in his faith.
We’ve had great talks with our kids, inspired by little Jotham’s journey. A great devotional opportunity to teach our kids and provoke gospel thoughts.
You’d hardly expect to find old St. Nick in jail. But St. Nicholas is more than a children’s Christmas legend. He was flesh and blood, a prisoner for Christ, bishop of the Mediterranean city of Myra.
What do we know about the real St. Nicholas? He was born, ancient biographers tell us, to wealthy parents in the city of Patara about 270 A.D. He was still young when his mother and father died and left him a fortune.
As a teen-ager, Nicholas’ humility was already evident. He had heard about a family destitute and starving. The father had no money for food, much less the dowry needed to marry off his three daughters. He was ready to send his oldest girl into the streets to earn a living as a prostitute.
Under the cover of night, Nicholas threw a bag of gold coins through the window of their humble dwelling. In the morning the father discovered the gold. How he rejoiced: his family was saved, his daughter’s honor preserved, and a dowry for her marriage secured. Some time after, Nicholas secretly provided a dowry for the second daughter. Still later for the third.
But on the third occasion, the girls’ father stood watching. As soon as the bag of gold thudded on the floor, he chased after the lad till he caught him. Nicholas was mortified to be discovered in this act of charity. He made the father promise not to tell anyone who had helped his family. Then Nicholas forsook his wealth to answer a call to the ministry.
At the nearby city of Myra a bishop supervised all the churches of the region. When the bishop died, the bishops and ministers from other cities and villages — Nicholas among them — gathered to choose a successor.
Nicholas was in the habit of rising very early and going to the church to pray. This morning an aged minister awaited him in the sanctuary. “Who are you, my son?” he asked.
“Nicholas the sinner,” the young minister replied. “And I am your servant.”
“Come with me,” the old priest directed. Nicholas followed him to a room where the bishops had assembled. The elderly minister addressed the gathering. “I had a vision that the first one to enter the church in the morning should be the new bishop of Myra. Here is that man: Nicholas.”
Indeed they did choose him as bishop. Nicholas was destined to lead his congregation through the worst tribulation in history.
In A.D. 303, the Roman Emperor Diocletian ordered a brutal persecution of all Christians. Those suspected of following the Lord were ordered to sacrifice to pagan gods. Nicholas and thousands of others refused.
Ministers, bishops, and lay people were dragged to prison. Savage tortures were unleashed on Christians all over the empire. Believers were fed to wild animals. Some were forced to fight gladiators for their lives while bloodthirsty crowds screamed for their death. Women suffered dehumanizing torment. Saints were beaten senseless, others set aflame while still alive.
Yet persecution couldn’t stamp out Christianity. Rather it spread. Third Century leader Tertullian observed, “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”
Those who survived Diocletian’s torture chambers were called “saints” or “confessors” by the people, because they didn’t forsake their confession that Jesus Christ is Lord. Nicholas was one of these.
Finally, after years of imprisonment, the iron doors swung open and Bishop Nicholas walked out, freed by decree of the new Emperor Constantine. As he entered his city once more, his people flocked about him. “Nicholas! Confessor!” they shouted. “Saint Nicholas has come home.”
The bishop was beaten but not broken. He served Christ’s people in Myra for another thirty years. Through the prayers of this tried and tested soldier of faith, many found salvation and healing. Nicholas participated in the famous Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. He died on December 6, about 343, a living legend, beloved by his whole city.
St. Nick of yuletide fame still carries faint reminders of this ancient man of God. The color of his outfit recollects the red of bishop’s robes. “Making a list, checking it twice,” probably recalls the old saint’s lectures to children about good behavior. Gifts secretly brought on Christmas eve bring to mind his humble generosity to the three daughters.
Yet if he were alive today, this saint would humbly deflect attention from himself. No fur-trimmed hat and coat, no reindeer and sleigh or North Pole workshop. As he did in life centuries ago, Bishop Nicholas would point people to his Master.
“I am Nicholas, a sinner,” the old saint would say. “Nicholas, servant of Christ Jesus.”
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
I have been challenged recently by my husband to think of compassion and mercy not just during the Holidays, but all year round. And, as the I look outside and see frost on the windows, we are reminding our children of many people in our city without a warm home, or food to fill their tummies. As we all see needs at Christmas, I am provoked and grateful for a Savior that provides compassion and mercy.
How can I safely and age- appropriately teach and train my children to embrace their culture not just for the coolness of Seattle but lovingly observe and act when they see needs? Our children are paying attention to our actions and words. Whether it is seeing their dad go back in to a restarant with the lingering homeless man to buy him a meal or having a stock pile of “Cliff” bars in the glove box of the car for the street corner beggar, our kids are taking in how we respond to those in need.It is our responsibility to shepherd our children in mercy.
I want to teach them compassion Biblically. And, at Christmastime I want them to grow in gratitude for the countless blessings of family, shelter, and provision. My heart aches for the lonely, homeless, and suffering. As I look around at the many blessings in my life, I am humbled by God’s great love. I want to share it. But, more importantly want to act. God is Holy, Perfect, and Amazingly MERCIFUL to me. Out of this experience in my own heart, I long to share the Gospel of Jesus with others.
We see a lot of homeless wonder in to Mars Hill each week, and some stick around to learn and receive help. Other faces leave and we don’t see again and we wonder where they are now. Many suffering come to Redemption Night and/or go through Redemption Groups and by God’s beautiful grace are transformed by His love.
Here are a few: a womens’ transitional home: http://www.elizabethgregoryhome.org, and a Christian home for the homeless: http://www.ugm.org
Colossians 3:12
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Luke 14:13-14
But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.
I am challenged and inspired to pray about how this momma (me) can embrace this culture’s needs, with a heart full of burden, and missional passion. Wanting to share Christ with this culture, through mercy and humble acts of service…
“Have you discovered that Jesus sometimes gets lost in the middles of the hustle and bustle of His birthday party? Would you like to be able to keep your children’s focus on Jesus and also join them in the wonder of the celebration”
I bought this book two years ago. My favorite activities to do with my kids are the Candy Cane Reindeer and the Happy Birthday Jesus Cake. The cake has different elements symbolizing Gospel Truths. FUN stuff is in this book!
Mostly, I like it for the topical journey it takes you through: lights, trees, advent wreath, caroling, santa claus, etc. Merry Christmas!
Advent is a word that means “coming” or “visit”. In the Christian season of Advent we prepare for the “advent” of Christ at Christmas. Our preparation includes many things:
• We remember Israel’s hope for the coming of God’s Messiah to save, to forgive, and to restore them.
• We remember our hope for the second coming of Jesus.
• We remember our need for a Savior to save us from our sins.
• We prepare to welcome Christ at Christmas into our world . . . and into our hearts.
By lighting one candle each week of Advent, we help ourselves to get ready for the birth of Jesus. The candles have different meanings, each based upon the Bible. These meanings help us to understand how special the birth of Jesus is for us.
Today we focus on the coming of Christ as our Shepherd.
Prayer for God’s Help
[This prayer can be read, or simply used as a model.]
Dear God, thank you for this season of Advent that helps us to prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas. As we read the Bible and light a candle, may excitement for Christ’s coming burn in our hearts. Amen.
Scripture Readings
[Parents, you may wish to abbreviate or eliminate certain readings depending on the age(s) of your child(ren). You may also want to read these selections out of a Children's Bible.]
Psalm 80:1-7
In this Psalm we join the people of Israel as they invite God their Shepherd to save and to restore them.
Isaiah 40:1-11
This passage looks ahead to the coming of the Lord, who will care for his people like a shepherd.
Revelation 7:9-17
Like God’s people before the coming of Christ, we also look ahead to the time when Christ, who is both the Lamb and our Shepherd, will finish his work and “God will wipe away every tear” from our eyes.
Lighting of the Candle
[As someone lights the first purple candle, the following should be read or paraphrased. If you're doing this online, in order to "light" the next Advent candle, click on the wick of the purple candles until you "light" the right one.]
We light this candle because, like God’s people centuries ago, we also look forward with hope to the coming of the Shepherd. The purple color of the candle reminds us of the seriousness of our hope.
Prayer of Hope
[To be read or paraphrased.]
Dear God, as we light this candle, we hope for your coming as our Good Shepherd. Please gather us in your arms, feed us with spiritual food, wipe away every tear from our eyes, and “let your face shine, that we may be saved”. Come, our Shepherd! Amen.
Closing Song
One tradition we have at Christmastime is to read a Christmas story at Family Dinner. I have bought our kids a new Christmas book every year and have quite a few now! They squealed with glee today when I brought this stack of books out today:
This is our collection of Christmas books for our children:
We love Christmas at the Wilkerson Home. It is our favorite. All the excitement and anticipation for Christmas morning is experienced every day of December. The last couple years, we have done an Advent Box Calendar. EACH day has a different activity or craft or special treat to make together. The kids take turns opening the doors and reading the day’s activity.
Here is our list for this year. I will print out each day and put the paper in the calendar and surprise! Each day, we will anticipate something fun to do together. Note- these are not in order of how we will do them.
Decorate and sing Christmas songs
Color Christmas pictures and paint toenails red and green
Color Christmas Cross Ornaments
S’mores from the fireplace with Christmas Music
Read 1 Christmas Storybook by Candlelight
Make Sticker Nativity Scenes
Write letters to Jesus and Make Happy Birthday Jesus Cake
Read “Follow the Star” story and Make star shape big cookie
Family Karaoke Christmas songs
Candy Cane Sugar Cookies: Read the Legend of the Candy Cane
Good News Sing and Rhyme and Christmas Tree Candy Cones
Watch a Christmas movie with Christmas treats
Go out to see the Christmas lights & get hot cocoa from Starbucks
Read 1 Christmas Storybook and wrap Christmas gifts
Make Happy Birthday Jesus Cake and put on new Christmas P.J.’s!!!
Worship Jesus, Give Him Gifts at the Cross, & receive presents from Him!
Assemble Gingerbread House and read a Christmas book
Deliver Meal to Neighbor and Christmas gift
Watch Christmas movie and eat Christmas Tree Shaped Pizzas
Make Star Ornaments with jewels and beads
Color Christmas Mural (whole family coloring) with Christmas Music
Christmas Nativity Sticker Scenes and Christmas book
Write letters to Grandparents about Christmas
Make Edible Manger Scenes and read Christmas Story
Make a Snowman and have snowball fight
I love this book. This book is now and most likely will forever be in my top ten Christian reading list. Ellen Vaughn convinced me with true Biblical form why gratitude matters. She took me to places I have never learned about; stories of suffering that I never wanted to read about but was glad that I did.
At first, the graphic on the front cover scared me away. A woman jumping in the air with pastel blue sky behind her says to me (judgmental–I know.) “Christian fluffy thoughts and extra biblical insights that aren’t gospel based.” Suspicious thoughts went through my ultra-cool raised eyebrow. I dear woman of God recommended it to me- so I overlooked the jumping lady. ;0
Thankfully, my first impression with the cover was completely wrong.
First, Ellen is a gifted, award winning writer. Part of the reason that I wanted to read this book, was just for Ellen. To learn from her. She is writing to the same audience I hope to write my book to someday. She is sharing truth with women who want to know Jesus in every aspect of their hearts and lives. Secondly, Ellen has a Biblical worldview and framework for her teaching and writing. She weaves ideas together from scripture, which stirs my passion and makes me lower that eyebrow. 
The story of the ten lepers that Jesus healed was especially gripping and heart changing for me. OF the ten, only 1 went to find Jesus to thank Him. Ellen tells stories so well, tears streamed down my face many times while reading this book (which rarely happens for me).
“Some believers seem to be looking for life principles that are just a little more spiritually sexy. Be thankful? Oh, of course. But give me something more exciting, more dramatic, something remarkable that I can do to change my life. ”
“Cultivating a grateful heart is not just an add-on nicety, a civil tip of the hat to God as we steamroll through OUR day. A posture of purposeful, perpetual thanks to God is absolutely central to Christian character. It gives glory to Him. It is the key defense against Satan’s temptations to despair, distrust, and dysfunction.”
The Gospel is the foundation for all gratitude! She taught me many things, but probably the biggest “ah ha” for me was to use gratitude not as an “add-on” but a relational intimate practice in my prayer life daily with God. How thanking Him for specific ways that He is good, holy, and precious to me humbles my heart and puts worry aside and is replaced with more joy and trust in God.
I am grateful for Ellen Vaughn and her willingness to walk the brutal and joyful road of writing for my benefit and blessing. I took notes for my own journey with Jesus but also for my writing development. Thank you God for her and using her to minister grace to me and many others.
I despise weakness…
I get overwhelmed. Relational debt, housework debt and procrastinated project dread sneak up, drain the life out of me, and leave me feeling discouraged and flat out weak. Those overwhelming moments reveal my true weakness. Yet too often, I deny it. Blind with ambition, I reach for my bootstraps, pull myself up, and get back to work.
2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
My heart naturally resists depending on God when I’m weak. The noise in my heart, amplified by tough self-sufficiency, can drown out the Holy Spirit’s reminder: “my power is made perfect in your weakness.”
…yet weakness is a gift.
There are the times when his voice breaks through the noise and exposes my heart. It is a struggle to swallow my pride and obey, but it is in that turn of repentance—right in the midst of the mess—that I begin to hope again.
The truth is that I am weak every second, not just when I feel overwhelmed. Jesus wants me to see that when I am overwhelmed, he is giving me a gracious gift: the ability to see more clearly my constant need for him. So rather than denying weakness, I can boast in it because it draws me closer to Jesus in worship.
For example, the other day I was scurrying around the house getting stuff done, feeling very behind on my seemingly urgent tasks. Our third child invited me to play dolls. Pause. Graciously say no, or accept this opportunity to connect with my daughter? In the moment, my heart was faint, overwhelmed with my work. I thought, “I can’t play right now!” Yet, the Holy Spirit changed my thoughts to dependence and flexibility in my weakness. We had a great time playing. When I went back to work, my heart was more tender than it had been previously.
Feeling overwhelmed is a signal to check my heart’s dependence on God. Am I softened to the Holy Spirit? Digging in to depend on God? Do I find my soul’s refreshment in God’s sufficiency? In these times, I’m learning to cling to my Savior, who accomplished perfect work on the cross and continues to save me from my sin. God meets me at the point of my prideful self-sufficiency and lovingly brings me to my knees in worshipful dependence.
Worship through work is not just working hard for God’s glory; it is also in the attitude of humility, realizing how weak and unable we are. We can all grow in dependence on Christ and boast in our weakness. We must humble ourselves before the face of God and thank him for the gift of weakness.
Ecclesiastes 6:7-9
All the toil of man is for his mouth, yet his appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage has the wise man over the fool? And what does the poor manhave who knows how to conduct himself before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the appetite: this also is vanity and a striving after wind.
in the Net Bible:
All of man’s labor is for nothing more than to fill his stomach yet his appetite is never satisfied! So what advantage does a wise man have over a fool? And what does a pauper gain by knowing how to survive? It is better to be content with what the eyes can see than for one’s heart always to crave more. This continual longing is futile – like chasing the wind.
I chase the wind of a thinner body, cleaner house, healthier choices, finished projects, peaceful relationships, etc. I long to treasure the feeling of everything in my life in order. I seek tasks more frequently than the ongoing peacefulness of being in communion with my Savior Jesus. My Vanity streak in my heart is thick. God is loving me as I repent of the preoccupation of my self and my “toiling.”
God has enabled me to enjoy Him. Treasures in HIS kingdom last, not things on earth. IT is so easy for me to replace contentment in that knowledge with worry and toil. My Father knows my needs and is graciously providing His Grace each day- so that I can continue to work.
Contentment is not wrapped up in being “ok” with the material possessions we have or the season we are in. Contentment is a peaceful heart in light of seeing the meaninglessness of earthly strife, and putting hope in the Savior in and through it all.
My husband wrote this song from Ecclesiastes on this topic 5 years ago: IT is really great!
http://www.marshillchurch.org/Audio/meaningless_parsons_062203.mp3
1 Timothy 6:6-8
Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.
“If I aspire to anything, it should be serve my God and King. I must to learn to seek his kingdom first.”
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