Christmas

So I know what you're probably thinking... another blog about the commercialized celebration of wealth, right? Wrong. I don't want to rant about how ridiculous it is that we as Americans spend so much money each year because we feel that we have something to prove to our friends and families. I want to talk instead about what Christmas could mean...and what it does mean to some.

Every year it comes down to the wire, December 1st hits and everyone comes together in a mad scramble for that perfect gift. This creates traffic, accidents, dangerous road rage and stressed out mothers! I'll be honest and say that growing up Christmas never really meant that much to me. My parents divorced when I was 10 and every Christmas after that has been spent in a mad dash to get somewhere else...never really having the chance to enjoy the present moment. This resulted in me getting so stressed out trying to make sure everyone stayed happy that I didn't really have time to think about the "reason for the season". Well, this year after much thought and realizing some things that God has laid on my heart... I want to challenge you (if anyone is even reading this!).

I want to challenge you to take time in the present. Don't get so caught up in what happens next that you don't pay attention to what is happening now.

I challenge you to consider others in your community. It is okay to give up some of your presents so that people in true need can have some sort of hope on Christmas morning. It is not about the gift, but about what the gift represents.

I challenge you to take time to consider the children around the world that will have no food on their tables come Christmas Day. There are so many hungry children in this world. Hundreds of thousands of children go to bed and wake up hungry. What can you do to make an impact on the lives of these children?

I challenge you to consider what you are really celebrating. Is it time with friends and family? Is is the good food you eat? Is it the end of another year and another dollar earned? What about celebrating the birth of our savior? The savior that came and walked the Earth to later die taking on the sins of the world. The most miraculous of stories that we could ever pass down to the coming generations.

I do not say all of this to speak at you and take no responsibility for my own actions and thoughts. I am so guilty of treating Christmas as just another day...not taking time to fully grasp what the day should really mean to me.

Enjoy time with your family, eat lots of good food...but please do not forget to take time and think about the true "Reason for the Season"

Desire

A very wise woman once told me that "God will never place a desire in your heart that He cannot fulfill". If only this wise woman could have known exactly how prophetic those words would be to my life.

My life has been...eventful to say the least. Those that know me extremely well would know that it is a pure miracle I am even the slightest bit normal. I've realized that if I had to come up with a word that would describe my life it would be "perseverance". The curves and bumps that have come along the way would definitely be enough to make someone quit. Now, don't get me wrong, there have been plenty of times when I considered quitting, but for some reason I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Tomorrow will start the life that I have dreamed of for a long time. The desire that God placed in my heart for a city and a church is unlike anything I've known before or since. God is amazing, and I really would not be the person I am today without His redemption and grace. Praise Him.

Beauty In The Mistakes?

this is an excerpt from my journal from a while back..


- " i think about how much time i spent worrying in past times and i'm realizing that I worried so much because i know that if things did not turn out just as i needed them to then people would know that I don't have it all together or figured out.

I really feel like God has allowed me to reach rock bottom because He really has a message for me. the crazy thing is that i already know what the message is... I HAVE to be completely dependent on God and not on myself or others. me not trusting God has gotten me to where I am today. Because of my inability to trust God I am unable to see beauty in the mistakes.

WOW.

Beauty in the mistakes? is there such a thing? can hope gather at the bottom and be enough to pull you out? what about this whole idea of choosing Joy? is choosing Joy finding beauty in the mistakes? Is choosing Joy finding true and complete contentment in the identity I hold in Christ? Joy really is a choice because it is never the absolute it is an option. So what is the difference between feeling sorry for yourself and really taking the route of being transparent and honest in your life? Isn't there joy in the honesty? maybe not joy about the discovery, but at least with the discovery comes the option of canceling out the option of having to wear a mask and keep the walls up."