What a blessed day this was. Started off a little unorthodox with my mother jumping on my bed waking me up. (Apparently since we do it to her every Christmas morning, it was only fair that she get to do it to us! lol) The morning was filled with preparation as we were having our big dinner today and had other things to do to prepare for Christmas tomorrow.
Christmas Eve service was amazing; Jeff as blunt as usual, whipping us all into line and into the right frame of mind. It will never cease to amaze me how many people show up for these services! We went to the earliest one, apparently the least attended and their were people there over half and hour early (before us who were 25 minutes early), we barely got a front parking spot, and the sanctuary filled to overflowing. Like seriously, did everyone just decide to come to that service or were these those, once-a-year Christians filling the pews. They sure didn't get a nice, easy, fluffy Christmas message that's for sure! I hope it really made people think about their reasons for even coming into a church at all. What do they hope to prove? What is our purpose for meeting together?
After the service we prepared dinner and had it on the table around 5. It was so cool to have all these people in our house, grandparents, cousins, little baby Jayden. It was a beautiful moment. Everyone was totally absorbed by everything Jayden did. It just seems like every time I see that little boy, I love him more. The evening was filled with cheer and joy as we exchanged gifts with Jordan and Vanessa.
I loved hearing all the oohs and ahhs over Jayden, the laughter of playful teasing, the joy of shared memories and just having so many happy voices in the house was so amazing. Watching Jayden open his first gifts was such a precious, adorable moment that I know we will all treasure forever. It's little moments like these that make Christmas such a fun time to look back on and reminisce.
Pie and coffee came later followed by a hilarious game of "Things" that brought out laughter, wrestling and wore us all out. The evening was so great. Dad of course topped it all off when he looked out the window and exclaimed, "Look, it's snowing!...somewhere in the world."
I look back on the evening, in these wee hours of Christmas morning 2010 and I realize that we could not have done any of this with out Christ. I mean, the whole purpose of Christmas is to remember his birth, it's a celebration of Emmanuel. But it is also a celebration of what He did for us and how that is reflected in our lives. It is a hard time right now for our family. A very different, difficult Christmas but God's work in our lives shines brilliantly in our fellowship and joy together. The fact that any of this is even possible is proof of the hope and grace that Christ has given us. How I pray I will learn that humility that He embodied. I can never thank Him enough.
Tetons
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Gift Receipts
I've been thinking a lot lately about gifts and giving and Christmas in general. Ezra, one of the pastors at my church made a comment about how ridiculous gift receipts are. His comment has really stuck with me and made me see gift receipts as a great symbol of our attitudes both as givers and receivers.
For the giver, the one who goes out and spends the money, the gift receipt can illustrate our fear of rejection, our fear of getting the wrong gift, or perhaps our lack of care because we just expect the person to exchange the gift for something else. A gift receipt is a safeguard, a way out if we see disappointment as a response, we can always say, "and I included the gift receipt if it's not exactly right". Of course, for clothing and shoes which require the proper size it is understandable I suppose, but really, would it really be so much harder for us to call up a family member and ask for the right size?
As givers, we want to please, we want to bring a smile of joy and a sparkle of excitement to the face of the one we are giving a gift to. So often, we put hours of thought into a gift, days of careful listening for hints or weeks of desperate searching for the prefect thing but yet, we are so nervous in that moment of unwrapping. We so much want to please and I know I selfishly hope for affirmation as perhaps some of you do. The gift receipt not only portrays this nervous fear but also undermines all the thought we put into our gifts because it implies that even we don't think it is a the right gift. The gift receipt itself may cause doubt in the receiver.
As receivers, however, we become the problem. For I think it is our selfish desires and crummy attitudes as receivers that really creates the problem. For some reason we think that when someone is going to give us a gift, whether for birthday or Christmas, or even just something random, we have certain expectations. I always look for something I have asked for, or hinted at and feel disappointed with something not to my ideals. Or I compare my gift with someone elses' and think I see more thought or love in their gift which makes my gift seem not so great. Instead of receiving the love that comes behind the gift, I grudgingly accept the object which I may or may not like/use. We secretly hope for a gift receipt in order to have the option of choosing something we want or 'need'.
I'm beginning to see more than just stuff under the Christmas tree. Each gift is a display of love. With each purchase, someone was thinking of another person. Even if they didn't spend hours in thoughtful meditation to discern the 'perfect' gift, they thought of you or me or whoever for a few minutes while they searched, picked up, bought and wrapped that object. I think we, or at least I know I need to change the way I've been thinking. When I give a gift, I'm giving a representation of my care, my thoughts, my time, my appreciation and my love. When I receive a gift, somehow, I've got to realize that I am not just getting some random object, but all that comes with it.
In reality, the things we get under the tree are not what bring us real joy for "heaven and earth will pass away..."(Matt 24:35) and these things are not the real treasure for here on earth, "moth and vermin destroy and...thieves break in and steal" (Matt 6:19). So really, we shouldn't be putting so much hope and expectations in the gifts or even in the people we are giving to. We are all fallible sinners but with God's help, we can enter Christmas with the right attitude and have an awesome gift giving and receiving season.
For the giver, the one who goes out and spends the money, the gift receipt can illustrate our fear of rejection, our fear of getting the wrong gift, or perhaps our lack of care because we just expect the person to exchange the gift for something else. A gift receipt is a safeguard, a way out if we see disappointment as a response, we can always say, "and I included the gift receipt if it's not exactly right". Of course, for clothing and shoes which require the proper size it is understandable I suppose, but really, would it really be so much harder for us to call up a family member and ask for the right size?
As givers, we want to please, we want to bring a smile of joy and a sparkle of excitement to the face of the one we are giving a gift to. So often, we put hours of thought into a gift, days of careful listening for hints or weeks of desperate searching for the prefect thing but yet, we are so nervous in that moment of unwrapping. We so much want to please and I know I selfishly hope for affirmation as perhaps some of you do. The gift receipt not only portrays this nervous fear but also undermines all the thought we put into our gifts because it implies that even we don't think it is a the right gift. The gift receipt itself may cause doubt in the receiver.
As receivers, however, we become the problem. For I think it is our selfish desires and crummy attitudes as receivers that really creates the problem. For some reason we think that when someone is going to give us a gift, whether for birthday or Christmas, or even just something random, we have certain expectations. I always look for something I have asked for, or hinted at and feel disappointed with something not to my ideals. Or I compare my gift with someone elses' and think I see more thought or love in their gift which makes my gift seem not so great. Instead of receiving the love that comes behind the gift, I grudgingly accept the object which I may or may not like/use. We secretly hope for a gift receipt in order to have the option of choosing something we want or 'need'.
I'm beginning to see more than just stuff under the Christmas tree. Each gift is a display of love. With each purchase, someone was thinking of another person. Even if they didn't spend hours in thoughtful meditation to discern the 'perfect' gift, they thought of you or me or whoever for a few minutes while they searched, picked up, bought and wrapped that object. I think we, or at least I know I need to change the way I've been thinking. When I give a gift, I'm giving a representation of my care, my thoughts, my time, my appreciation and my love. When I receive a gift, somehow, I've got to realize that I am not just getting some random object, but all that comes with it.
In reality, the things we get under the tree are not what bring us real joy for "heaven and earth will pass away..."(Matt 24:35) and these things are not the real treasure for here on earth, "moth and vermin destroy and...thieves break in and steal" (Matt 6:19). So really, we shouldn't be putting so much hope and expectations in the gifts or even in the people we are giving to. We are all fallible sinners but with God's help, we can enter Christmas with the right attitude and have an awesome gift giving and receiving season.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Just who were you anyways?!?!?
When you think about the Bible, I'm sure there are some popular stories and people that automatically come to mind. People like Adam and Eve, Noah, Jonah, Daniel, David etc. We have lots of information about these people and we feel like we kinda know them but I've been wondering lately about the other people in the Bible, the ones we don't know much about. I want to know them more! Like, you know when you talk about heaven and seeing all these people and you get asked who you'd really like to meet? Well, I can't wait to meet the obscure people with only a few verses in the Bible. I mean, they must be important or they wouldn't be in there! And there are so many unfinished stories that I can't wait to hear fleshed out. I'll give you some examples:
Okay, so one I have been wondering about lately (seeing as it is Christmas time) is the wise men. I wonder if they will be in heaven. I mean, they came all that way to see the Savior, they must have believed He existed, so were they saved? If so, I'd love to hear their story! Like, what happened when they got home...where WAS home? Did they have families? Kids? How were their lives effected by seeing Jesus? Did they ever come back and search for Him later? Did they hear what happened?
Along those lines, what about the shepherds? How amazing would that be, to see all those angels, to see baby Jesus, to hear Mary and Joseph's story. I wonder how they lived the rest of their lives.
Another couple people I'd like to know more about would be Enoch and Methuselah. You hear so little about Enoch, but what was it like to "walk with God" and then suddenly he "was not". What a crazy life story! And Methuselah, wonder what he did all those years in his super long life!
And then there are the judges. Some of them we are given more information about but really, on the whole, we don't know much about them and I'd love to hear their life stories. For instance, Shamgar who as like one verse: "And after him (Ehud) came Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad; and he also saved Israel" Judges 3:31. Like...WHAAAT!?!? an oxgoad? really? Dude! I wanna know more!
And I'd like to know more about Boaz. What did they guy do before he met Ruth? How come he was like such a nice guy, during the brutal era of the Judges. What was their life like together?
And what about David's "mighty men"? How cool would it be to meet them!?!?
I'd also like to talk to all the people who were healed by Jesus. What must it have been like to be miraculously healed, by the Savior? To have faith and know that your daughter or servant has been given life, to see your friend raised from the dead, to walk again, to see, to be healed of leprosy, to be freed from the grasp of a demon. What about the little children that sat on His knee and were blessed. How did they live their lives?
Similarly, what about the one scribe who asks about the greatest commandment and "answered intelligently" (Mark 12:34)? Jesus said he was not far from the kingdom - did he make it? Did he believe?
And all the disciples that went out and preached and we don't have their stories, their testimonies. I can't wait to hear what happened to them, how they saw the Spirit work in other people's lives in those first years of the church.
I could go on forever probably. All these people that I want to meet and talk to, and one day, God willing, I will! It's weird how I feel this odd connection with them, though I don't know them, I know that we are family. Christ's family is vast and wonderful to be a part of. How blessed am I that God would choose me, that I have been saved and have become part of this family. Praise the Lord for His grace and love!
Okay, so one I have been wondering about lately (seeing as it is Christmas time) is the wise men. I wonder if they will be in heaven. I mean, they came all that way to see the Savior, they must have believed He existed, so were they saved? If so, I'd love to hear their story! Like, what happened when they got home...where WAS home? Did they have families? Kids? How were their lives effected by seeing Jesus? Did they ever come back and search for Him later? Did they hear what happened?
Along those lines, what about the shepherds? How amazing would that be, to see all those angels, to see baby Jesus, to hear Mary and Joseph's story. I wonder how they lived the rest of their lives.
Another couple people I'd like to know more about would be Enoch and Methuselah. You hear so little about Enoch, but what was it like to "walk with God" and then suddenly he "was not". What a crazy life story! And Methuselah, wonder what he did all those years in his super long life!
And then there are the judges. Some of them we are given more information about but really, on the whole, we don't know much about them and I'd love to hear their life stories. For instance, Shamgar who as like one verse: "And after him (Ehud) came Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad; and he also saved Israel" Judges 3:31. Like...WHAAAT!?!? an oxgoad? really? Dude! I wanna know more!
And I'd like to know more about Boaz. What did they guy do before he met Ruth? How come he was like such a nice guy, during the brutal era of the Judges. What was their life like together?
And what about David's "mighty men"? How cool would it be to meet them!?!?
I'd also like to talk to all the people who were healed by Jesus. What must it have been like to be miraculously healed, by the Savior? To have faith and know that your daughter or servant has been given life, to see your friend raised from the dead, to walk again, to see, to be healed of leprosy, to be freed from the grasp of a demon. What about the little children that sat on His knee and were blessed. How did they live their lives?
Similarly, what about the one scribe who asks about the greatest commandment and "answered intelligently" (Mark 12:34)? Jesus said he was not far from the kingdom - did he make it? Did he believe?
And all the disciples that went out and preached and we don't have their stories, their testimonies. I can't wait to hear what happened to them, how they saw the Spirit work in other people's lives in those first years of the church.
I could go on forever probably. All these people that I want to meet and talk to, and one day, God willing, I will! It's weird how I feel this odd connection with them, though I don't know them, I know that we are family. Christ's family is vast and wonderful to be a part of. How blessed am I that God would choose me, that I have been saved and have become part of this family. Praise the Lord for His grace and love!
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