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“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”  ~John 1:1

When Michael and I started dating, we would write each other little notes, poems, songs, and cards.  Some were silly, some serious, but all were treasured. We each had to learn the lingo that the other used, though. He was from California and some of his terminology was foreign to this New Mexico girl.

Reading the written words of love were powerful; I still have them in a box.  Someday, I will give them to Gabriel to read. They are a reminder of our marriage, long after his death.  Although they bring sorrow, knowing he is with our Lord brings comfort.

Why?  Because God, Himself, has written about Himself too! Think about this – God gave us language, and has given us Scripture so that we can know Him! God uses His Word to draw us near to Him, that we would fall in love with Him. Words that can be read, re-read and read again!

On Sunday, we had the privilege of hearing from Mike Brazie, and the ministry of Gideons International. Hearing the testimonies of how the Lord uses His Word may also remind you of how rich it is for you personally.  If you are looking for a plan or some encouragement, we'd love to help. We want to encourage you to start the new year by setting aside some time to better know the God who created everything!

We get it: knowing where to start, how to go about reading the Bible, can feel overwhelming. But it’s worth it! Pastor Frank has compiled a list of Bible Reading plans to help you started!

Here are a few great links for Bible reading plans:

• 5-Day Reading Plan
• Reading Plan app 
• Not-free apps for reading Scripture in chunks, from "She Reads Truth"
• Many other options, from Ligonier ministries

Bruce Cockburn’s song, ”Cry of A Tiny Babe” and the book, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” by Barbara Robinson are two of my favorite Christmas traditions. The words of the song and book translate the meaning of John 3:16 -18 (NKJV) for me in the everyday reality of our world.

John 3:16 (NKJV) “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  God’s love is immense, big enough for the whole world, no one is left out! No one not even those of us like the Herdmans in Ms. Robinson’s story or the “shepherds and street people, hookers and bums” of Mr. Cockburn’s song are left out by God.

John 3:17  (NKJV) “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”  God’s love is exonerating, absolving, saving, for the whole world!  His Love, sent to save even  “The Herdmans, [who], were the  absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world.”  Page 1 The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

John 3:18 (NKJV)  “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”  God’s love transcends sin.  The whole world was already condemned because of sin - all of us- until we accepted God’s greatest gift of love, his own Son’s punishment redeeming us from our condemnation.  “Like a stone on the surface of a still river/Driving the ripples on forever/Redemption rips through the surface of time/In the cry of a tiny babe”  Bruce Cockburn’s message in Cry of a Tiny Babe.

"God’s love transcends sin." 

As I listen to and read these Christmas treasures, I ask myself, and maybe you will ask yourself:

What condemning sin is so great that I can’t wrap my love around the sinner? 

“We figured they were headed straight for hell, by way of the state penitentiary...until they got themselves mixed up with the church...”  page 14 The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

Who wouldn’t I want to accept this most marvelous gift of exonerating love? 

“...and there they sat, the closest thing to criminals that we knew about, and they were going to represent the best and most beautiful.”  Page 39 The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

How can I, knowing His great love, be a light pointing a way to His gift for someone who doesn’t feel His love?  “After all, that was the whole point of Jesus—that he didn’t come down on a cloud like something out of “Amazing Comics,” but that he was born and lived...a real person.”  Page 74 The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

As I answer these questions I search my heart for the dark places where I have drawn a line in the sand condemning when I should be loving.  I am hoping this Christmas to shine with the wonder of Imogene Herdman who “had walked into the corner of the choir-robe cabinet, in a kind of daze- as if she had just caught onto the idea of God, and the wonder of Christmas.” Page 79 The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Have A Wonder Filled Christmas!

What is it about waking up early to see that snow has fallen while you were sleeping?   As I stand on the porch, I don’t hear anything.   Just a calm quietness. All around are fresh patches of snow that haven’t been disturbed by any critters, neither the two footed nor four footed kind. The white is so bright that even in the early hours, the darkness seems to evaporate. The cold is beginning to seep in, but I remain outside feeling no motivation to begin my day scurrying from this activity to the next. I’d rather just stand and enjoy because……it’s just so…..peaceful. 

As Jesus is talking to HIS disciples in John 14, HE promises in verse 27:

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.” 

If you are like me, you can so easily find yourself asking (or in my case, demanding), “Jesus, where is that peace!?!”  

And if you’re like me, you might be just as apt to be reminded by Him that Paul told you where that peace is in Philippians 4:4-7:

“Rejoice in the LORD always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The LORD is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”     

So simple right? It’s right there for the receiving, and Paul laid out exactly what I need to do to have that peace.  

But it’s often easy to believe the world: I need to make more money.  AND build a bigger house.  AND bake food for all the neighbors within an 80 mile radius. AND participate in the 12 Dinner Parties of 2018. AND go into debt in order to have ample things for my family and friends under the tree. AND either have myself or my children participate in every activity offered in our area. AND…. AND…..no! There are no “ANDs” for what I need to do, and the list is so simple.  

Rejoice. It’s so simple, he even repeats himself….again, I will say, rejoice! Pray with a thankful heart.  

That’s it. It doesn’t require more money. It doesn’t require more time working at the office or around the house. It doesn’t require any great skills. It transcends age, work experience, or any other demographic.   Simply rejoice and pray with a thankful heart. THEN, that peace will come. 

So simple, but I get so caught up in other things that I miss it. I think that’s why I love this time of year.  Not just because it’s a time to celebrate the birth of our Savior, but I find myself finishing the story and moving ahead to what He did for me on the cross. Knowing I would still struggle with certain sins, still struggle with wanting to “be good enough”, still struggle with dying to self, My Savior still chose to leave His throne and come in the form of a baby, the weakest creation, to submit Himself to His Father’s will, to place Himself at the mercy of those around Him to care for His needs as an infant and child, to grow in wisdom and stature, to face trial upon trial, to be persecuted, to refrain from commanding His army of angels to come to His defense, to walk that painful path to His death, and to conquer death……..simply to give me life everlasting. Not only me, but anyone who will repent and call upon HIS name and Believe. 

Rejoice. Again, I will say, rejoice!!  Webster defines rejoice this way, “to experience joy and gladness in a high degree; to exult.” 

When I consider Christ lying in that humble manger, I can’t help but rejoice and pray with thanksgiving for what HE willingly has done for me, and as HE promised, HIS peace comes. Filling me completely. Causing my anxieties to evaporate.  Without fanfare. Quietly. So that in the midst of the chaos of the world…..I am peaceful. Just like the snow.   

I’ll be honest. It never looks like I picture it. In my mind I see a row of upturned, eager, clean faces above matching PJs, sitting in a row on the couch by the fire, hanging on every word my husband reads out of the Bible.  This is followed by rich theological discussion from the Advent devotional, and we end in sweet prayer time.

The reality is my tousled, sweaty kiddos are stuffing dinner down as fast as they can because it’s already bed-time and we just got back from some activity. We’re scattered about the living room, rushed and distracted, as I push to fit in a quick devotion to remind us of the season. And if I’m really honest, I’ll admit my left-brained side pushes to do at least 3 days of devotions at once because we’re always behind.

I’m praying for the best way to prepare our hearts. Will you join me as we prepare to welcome Him?

Is it worth it? Am I trying too hard? Is this what God really wants from us?

“Consecrate (prepare) yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God,” Leviticus 20:7.

Moses, Joshua, and Nehemiah all called on the believers to do this before worship. Prepare, get your hearts and minds ready for an encounter with God.

I want to do this as I look toward Christmas. But how? I love watching The Nativity Story movie, to put myself in Mary’s shoes as the incredible truth of Jesus’ coming to earth really happens. My mom, bless her heart, hand-made cardboard and felt disks to represent every major story in the Old and New Testament for an Advent Jesse Tree. (Yes, there are hundreds of disks!) I grew up doing these, and looked forward to doing them with my kids. I’ve been better at this some years than others. Once we started the Jesse Tree in June, so we’d have enough time to enjoy the trip through the Bible. We’ve chosen more age appropriate devotions some years, and others have stuck with our traditional stand by study.

But what is just me doing the “Be Prepared” Boy-Scout-duty, and what is God calling us to? Yes, prepare our hearts. Yes, he promises to be in our presence when we gather. He calls us to purposeful devotion, whether we feel in the mood or not…but how do I do this without making it a duty? Can I plan but be flexible? Can I let Him lead the discussion or moment? Can I choose to make it really about wanting Him and not about “getting ‘er done”?

What I really want is for it to be about HIM,  led by HIM.

So, as I write this I am convicted and challenged, and I hope you are too. I need to prayerfully reconsider my preparation; I need to ask HIM some questions. Would this year be best to do by myself, with my family, or both? Will it be in the morning, noon, or evening? Will it be daily, a few times a week, or once a week? What topics will challenge yet not overwhelm us?  I’m praying for the best way to prepare our hearts. Will you join me as we prepare to welcome Him?

Sunday mornings are beautiful, mostly. Sometimes they are chaotic; getting six people out the door simultaneously, in a timely manner, with shoes and coats on is not for the faint of heart!  Sometimes they go smoothly and sometimes we ask if it’s worth it! But when I walk in the door to the Church I KNOW that it is. Every time.

Sometimes I cry during communion. Perhaps it’s relief that we made it almost on time, or I feel bad I fussed at someone for their hair not being done or forgetting their coat. Often it's because I am reminded that life is not as I hoped it would be and it is not always as it should be; but here I am reminded that in Him, I am enough. But on most Sundays it’s because I just feel such a joyful relief that we’re here, with our people, worshipping this crazy God that refuses to give up on a sinner like me, like my kids and like my husband. Church is a safe place for me. It’s a place where people know me, people see me for me and where they accept me in-spite of my mess; it’s a place to be honest, transparent and vulnerable, to be welcomed and loved. More than that, it’s a place to intentionally meet with my Savior face to face during communion.

I need that Sunday morning reminder. Do you?

Sunday morning at church is the one time and place where I intentionally let myself slow down and let my guard down. When I walk in the doors, I take off the invisible armor I carry about the world; consciously or not, so that I can prepare to worship, to reconcile with my Savior, and fellowship with His people. I love Sunday mornings and try to live a Sunday morning lifestyle as many days of the week as I can. In a world of hurry, selfishness and want, it can be a struggle for anyone. And I am no different that any run-of-the-mill sinner.    

In a culture where we wait for nothing, waiting for a Savior seems almost counter-cultural in and of itself. In a world that too often seems hopeless, waiting on a Savior brings deep comfort; that too many don’t have.

This is the reason I am so passionate about the season of Advent. For me, Advent is literally a SEASON of slowing down, a SEASON of Sunday mornings, a SEASON of intentionally letting God in, a SEASON of hope, preparation, joy and love, a SEASON of waiting for our Savior to come. How could I miss this! In a culture where we wait for nothing, waiting for a Savior seems almost counter-cultural in and of itself. In a world that too often seems hopeless, waiting on a Savior brings deep comfort; that too many don’t have.

Maybe the name “Advent” seems liturgical or antiquated for you. For me, for my family, it is a season where we intentionally watch, wait, listen and celebrate the coming of our Savior. We celebrate the small moments spent reading scripture, praying for friends and family, lighting candles and singing Christmas songs, we read Advent-related books and fun kids-Christmas books. For us, is very much about spending time intentionally with Jesus and with one another.

We work hard to slow down and seek Him. We intentionally choose not to attend every Christmas or “Holiday” event so that we have time for these traditions. It’s a reminder that I need, not just during this season but throughout the year. It’s a reminder I am grateful for and that I celebrate.

Each may do “Advent” in their own way, but please friends, don’t miss this invitation to seek Him. Find one way to seek Him, prepare for and love Him anew. . . it is a tradition you won’t regret adding to this season.