Divine Romance

 

The fullness of Your grace is here with me
The richness of Your beauty's all I see 

The brightness of Your glory has arrived
In Your presence God, I'm completely satisfied

For You I sing I dance
Rejoice in this divine romance 

Lift my heart and my hands
To show my love, to show my love  

A deep deep flood, an Ocean flows from You
Of deep deep love, yeah it's filling up the room 

Your innocent blood, has washed my guilty life
In Your presence God I'm completely satisfied

seek.

a very talented group of people from our church came together and created an album- Beautiful Mess.
to read more about the background of project read here.

to preview the songs or purchase the cd on iTunes {which i HIGHLY recommend} go here.

song 10. Seek. by Johnny Levy. it's good. really good. and convicting me in a huge way...

seek 

seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness 

seek and you shall find

knock and the door shall be opened

ask and it shall be given 

and I'm not talking about Sunday morning seeking

or just when I'm desperate seeking 

or when I find the time seeking 

but a lifestyle of persistence

a poor widow begging daily for justice

I'm talking about seeking like you just got poisoned and have 24 hours to find the antidote 

hard seeking

tear soaked seeking

fist clenched seeking

hands out stretched seeking 

read it again.
what does my seeking look like? it's pretty lame seeking...
how easily do i let "when i find the time" be my excuse? or when i'm desperate?
a lifestyle of persistence. that is what i desire! 

Lord, thank You for these words, for this conviction.
i want to seek hard after You. to see Your face. to know Your will.
let my seeking be tear-soaked and fist clenched. hard seeking.
i want to lean into You. rest in Your truth. not in my finite idea of time and what i need to accomplish.
praying that hard seeking becomes my lifestyle. i can only do that in Your strength.
give my strength. and desire. and deep conviction. everyday conviction.
everyday seeking. 

always working...

i was reminded of this truth the other day: 

the Lord always working. 

 

But Jesus replied, "My Father is always working, and so am I." John 5:17

 

as of late, as of newborn, as of late nights and early mornings, as of getting back to work, and setting new rhythms, and trying my hardest to figure it all out...

the Lord is always working

 

i don't understand it. i don't know why He chooses to love a sinner like me. i don't know why He continues to work on this heart; show me love, teach me grace, give forgiveness. i don't understand. 

but He's always working. 

always loving, always guiding, always molding, always teaching, always helping, always listening, always saving, always working.

thank You. 

We wait in hope for the Lord; 

He is our help and our shield. 

In Him our hearts rejoice, 

for we trust His holy name. 

May Your unfailing love be with us, Lord,

 as we put our hope in You. 

Psalm 33:20-22

by faith

was reading this passage this evening. 

wow. 

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:7- 12:3 

{emphasis added} 

 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith. 

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with

him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.

By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.

He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.

By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.They were put to death by stoning;they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
 

i can only think... By faith Kim, __________. 

how will my story end?

considering lent: 3 years of journey

every year this journey of lent gets me...
leaves me questioning, searching, digging deeper.
today i read-

Today, we begin our Lenten pilgrimage in a 40 day trek to the cross, where we remember the sufferings of Christ and His stubborn love toward us.

that hits me hard, right in the gut. HIS LOVE. HIS SACRIFICE. 

it's good to go back & read - year 1: lent of don't & year 2: lent of don't plus some
and in all honestly, i fail at lent. every year this considering, this lent of don't has left me flailing, falling, failing.
and that's okay too. it brings me closer to HIM. to the SAVIOR of my life. PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME.

but i know this:
i want more for my life, more for my family.
every Christmas as the lights and the tree and the ornaments and presents and traditions grow i can't help but question, why isn't Easter bigger?
on Easter we celebrate His DEATH & RESURRECTION!
for goodness sakes, without this we would be nothing. like dust.
but we are ALIVE IN HIM.
PRAISE JESUS FOR HE IS RISEN.
i want to shout it from the rooftops, sing until i can't sing anymore, live it with my whole life!
but for some reason Christmas gets all the attention...
i've talked with a sweet friend and she gets it too. the confusion & frustration & questioning. for that i am grateful. her family, they take the Trail to the Tree- an Easter Devotional.
i think i'd like to get our family on this trail as well.

but for now, we've agreed on this 40 Days of Water with Blood Water Mission 
the basic concept- give up all drinks except for water for the next 40 days & the money you save not buying coffee, beer, etc you donate to get safe drinking water to Uganda.
i think this will be a great challenge. a challenge for sure.
but a good challenge for this lent. as we prepare to celebrate the risen one. 

Lord, prepare our hearts as we chose to focus on You. for the next forty days allow us to humbly approach Your throne with thanksgiving for the gift of water, for the gift of LIFE EVERLASTING & the gift of YOUR HOPE. we praise You & thank You. amen.

God be praised.

Because I'm alive, 

I'll give You my life

Because I am free, 

I'll bow at Your feet 

Because I am loved, 

I'm able to love 

Because I am Yours, 

my worth is secure

GOD BE PRAISED

 

photo credit

lyrics by Elevation Worship

my daily struggle

get it all done. 

wash all the dishes. 

clean off the table. 

pick up the living room. 

change your flipping clothes. 

finish your sewing project. 

clean off the desk. 

mail those tupperware invites. 

work on the baby album. 

organize his 3-6mo clothes. 

o and don't forget about your job. 

this is my daily struggle. 

fighting against the voice in my head that tells me i have to get it all done. 

that voice. it's a voice that lies. 

it tells me that if i don't get it all done i'm worthless, 

that i'm not good enough, 

that my husband will think less of me, 

i am not enough. 

but there is another voice out there, a voice of Truth.

that voice tells me I am His, 

that I am fearfully and wonderfully made, 

that my worth is found completely in Him, 

that He loves me. 

Christ loves me despite my inability to get it all done. 

Christ loves me despite my sin. 

Christ loves me right where I am at. 

and right now, 

i'm struggling to find balance, 

struggling to fight off that voice that lies, 

struggling to open His Word and read His Truths, 

but I know He loves me and forgives me. 

and that's what keep me going. 

what a craft can teach me...

So i had great plans for this really great blog about my cool art project... 

but i think God had a much different plan. 

I got these awesome scripture prints for this great Etsy shop- Naptime Diaries 

i got four with an awesome sale & her buy 3, get 1 free. 2 for our house. 2 as gifts.  i was most excited about the Joshua 24:15. i have honestly dreamt about having this verse in my home since i was a little girl... 

so i started with a blank canvas & some paint {i know, i'm like a professional...} 

 i started painting...
 red to match my house... 

and then i tried to mod podge the print to the canvas...

lesson 1: patience... i have none. i wanted the paint to dry. i wanted the mod podge to dry. i wanted the final product. now. i even got out the hair dryer to speed up the process...
but why? joshua was sound asleep. manny wasn't going to be home for dinner for a while. i wasn't being timed.
i just couldn't wait. i wanted the final product. like 10 minutes ago.

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 

and as i mod podged the ink started to run... the paper started to warp... 

it started to look so much different than my idealistic version of my little art project... 

 and i got frustrated. mad. upset. depressed. 

seriously, it's just a canvas with an 8x11print. 

1 Thessalonians 1:3 We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, you labor prompted by love. and you endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.  

my heart was ugly. my attitude was lame. and why? 

because what i thought would be an awesome blog post & awesome new art work in my home didn't turn out the way i thought it would...? 

that's not what i want my life to be about...

it's not about cool blog posts. or being really good at crafting. or being the perfect wife. or the best mom in the world. 

it's about CHRIST. 

striving daily to be more like Him. 

Colossians 3:1-5 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on each. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is you life appears, then you will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you... 

that's what it's about... that's what i need to remember. 

on this Friday...

Isaiah 53:4- 12

Surely he took up our infirmities

and carried our sorrows, 

yet we considered him stricken by God, 

smitten by him, and afflicted. 

But he was pierced for our transgressions, 

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, 

and by his wounds we are healed. 

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, 

each of us has turned to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all. 

He was oppressed and afflicted, 

yet he did not open his mouth; 

he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,

and asa sheep before her shearers is silent, 

so he did not open his mouth. 

By oppression and judgement he was taken away. 

And who can speak for his descendants? 

For he was cut off from the land of the living;

for the transgression of my people he was stricken. 

He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

and with the rich in his death, 

though he had done no violence, 

nor was any deceit in his mouth. 

Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and to cause him to suffer, 

and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, 

he will see his offspring and prolong his days, 

and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. 

After the suffering go his soul, 

he will see the light of life and be satisfied;

by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, 

and he will bear their iniquities. 

Therefore I will give hime a portion among the great, 

and he will divide the spoils with the strong, 

because he poured our his life unto death, 

and was numbered with the transgressors. 

For he bore the sin of many, 

and made intercession for the transgressors. 

God's been working on this hardened heart of mine this morning...
Good Friday. The night He was crucified.

The past 40 days of Lent I was supposed to be preparing my heart...
Did I? Hardly.
So aware of my sin condition. That's what I've been praying for.
Thank You God for answering my prayer. 

So here I am.
Broken. Unworthy.
On my knees.

I thank God for this sacrifice.
I cannot imagine. From prayers in the garden to hanging on a cross.
In less than 24 hours, the whole world changed.
Jesus, dying on that cross. Taking up all my sin. All your sin. The sin of the world.
On his shoulders.
Jesus paid it all.
Thank You. 

not turning back.

the amazing thing about the book called the Bible is that no matter how many times you read a book, a chapter, or a verse it comes alive in different ways almost every time...

i've probably read Philippians more than any other book in my Bible. it's pretty short, studied it in church a couple times, etc. for my Tuesday night book study we are reading The Search for Significance by Robert S. McGee {pretty good so far}. the book took me Philippians 3.

i started reading:

vs.7 But whatever were gains to me know I consider loss or the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake i have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that i may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, btu that which is through faith in Christ- the righteousness that comes form God on the basis of faith. I want to Christ- yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

and then I love how the Message writes vs.12-14:

I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.

Friends, don't get me wrong:

i have not got this figured out, but i'm running.

i'm running towards Jesus.

with everything i've got, i'm running.

and i'm not turning back.

Considering Lent... year 2

so here it is again. 40 days till easter. ash wednesday. the beginning of Lent.
i sit pondering what is the purpose of this old Catholic tradition. what does it mean in my life, in the life of my family. much to my surprise my husband was already planning on speaking on it to our youth group. sacrifice. giving something up. preparing your heart. focusing on Him.

Our sacrificing that we might become more like Christ in His sacrifice.

and then i'm sitting on the couch reading my blog... because i don't remember much & i like to look back. and i find this. whoa. i honestly don't remember. and then my honesty in my failure... my lent of don't. and i'm so thankful for this silly blog that not too many people read, because it's not about others reading- it's about me remembering.
and then i'm reading what she says about What Lent Really Means...
and i hear my husband speak on sacrifice & focusing. and see him living example & giving up his iPhone. he's all in. preparing his heart for the day that means everything.
so this year for Lent i'm preparing my heart. i'm ready to lean on Him, to trust Him in my failing, to sacrifice & focus.
1. another Lent of Don't
8 days to read through the gospels
8 days of giving
8 goodies given to neighbors
8 days each given to intentionally pray for 8 people
8 hand written notes of love
2. giving up of facebook & fiction books- more time to focus on Him
3. making it way through her Easter Devotional- Trail to the Tree

Lord, prepare me. let this season grow me and change me. let it open my eyes more fully to Your love and grace. so thankful for this life. for this sacrificing and preparing.

Here & Now ... There & Then

It started many months ago. A Monday morning Bible study. About 10 women and Beth Moore. Her lecture series on Revelation.

I missed many sessions. {I mean I had a baby, and then I was living with a newborn}. I didn’t always do my homework… And a few times I stood outside and held a crying babe.

But through this study I’ve learned a lot:
Figurative. Him “who is, and who was, and who is to come.” Tribulation to kingdom bliss. 7. Lampstands. Stars. Churches. The “I am.” Literal. Commendations. Warnings. Overcome. Horses. Cosmic Disturbances. Seals. Angels. One third. Remnant nation Israel. 12. Tribes. Apostles. Great multitude. Symbolic. Literal. Beasts. Great Occasion. River of life. Tree of life.
“Behold, I am coming soon!”

And in the end, I am struck by the same statement that I wrote during the very first session-

“All will be made perfect & complete in the end of days.”

Not to say that this whole study has been in vain. I am in awe of God’s might and power on display in this book. And even though none of us know what is literal, figurative, symbolic, or exact, it is all truth. In same way or another the great multitude will cry out in a loud voice:

‘Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.
…
Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”
Rev. 7: 10-12

And there will be beasts and an antichrist. And all theses unimaginable, too hard to even conceptualize things that will happen in the end of the age.

So I just rest in the power of the Lord. He knows. He’s the only one that knows. But in that rest, I know that this Revelation given to John on the island of Patmos is the end to my Bible for a reason.
A warning. Sure.
A hope. Definitely.

{From my listening guide}
The Divine Romance: Eccclesiastes 3:11
“God has made everything beautiful in its time. He has set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

We only see a glimpse. A glimpse of His love, His power, His might, His holiness, His love.

Faithful and true.
KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
He will make all things new.
He is coming soon.

be still

too many thoughts...
and all I need to do is...
"BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD." Psalm 46:10.

it's amazing how a little time in the Word, sitting the early morning sunlight will be the truth I need to remember in the late afternoon heat.

BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

there are so many things to think about.
this growing up thing is hard.
so is this baby on the way deal.
there are so many options. so many ideas swirling around in this head of mine.
so much to worry about.
but that is no what I am called to do.
His commands are simple. His commands are true.
BE STILL, AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.

Radical

So like thousands of other Christians I've just finished reading the book Radical by David Platt. I was interested to see how I would feel about the book considering two of my closest friends gave two very opposite reviews. One was challenged, changed, and questioning while the other didn't even finish the book because he thought it just offered up more of the same as far as inspirational Christian literature. But I will have to agree with my dear friend Dani, for I was challenged, changed, and left questioning a lot.

If you don't know what this book is about it is about "Taking back your faith from the American Dream." An interesting concept. One I honestly struggle with daily; how to live a life devoted to God and ministry while surrounded by a money-, power-, and material- possessed society.

In the end, much of my life was confirmed: that Manny and I are doing exactly what God wants us to be doing by working full-time and being full-time committed to Alethia Church, the life we live is radical for Christ every day, Alethia Church is 100% Biblical- exactly what we want to be, God desires for "good" in our lives, etc.
But I was also convicted... To give more: I don't know what this means but I think it might have to do with my new crafty side and some charity {I don't know which one or how}... To be more devoted: Recently I feel like I am more desperate, hungry, and dedicated to the Word of God than ever before, but this must continue, even stronger... To know more: Platt asks the question What is the purpose of Christianity? And to be honest I didn't know... He explains it as "Enjoy His Grace, Extend His Glory." So simple, so poignant, how I want to live my life... Also, To Suffer More: a concept that has been very heavy on my heart in recent months...

Radical explored these claims:
"Real success is found in radical sacrifice. Ultimate satisfaction is found not in making much of ourselves but in making much of God. The purposes of our lives transcends the country and culture in which we live. Meaning is found in community, no individualism; joy is found in generosity, no materialism; and truth is found in Christ, no universalism. Ultimately, Jesus is a reward worth risking everything to know, experience, and enjoy." pg. 183
Such poignant truths of the Bible, many Christians often ignore...

In the end, he offers a "Radical Experiment"
1. pray for the entire world
2. read through the entire Word
3. sacrifice your money fro a specific purpose
4. spend your time in another concept
5. commit your life to a multiplying community

I don't really know how to end this post, except to say that this book truly challenged me and I highly recommend it if you are into knowing Christ more, being more like Christ, enjoying His grace, extending His glory, and living radically for Him...

Christmas Inspirations: Celebrating Christ

Ten Things to Do on Christmas Morning When all the Gifts are for Him
From Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience

1. Birthday for Breakfast

Serve Birthday Cake for Breakfast — with ice cream and an arch of balloons and birthday hats and light the candles and sing of wondrous grace! He has come! And for us!

Our tradition is angel food cake for the birthday cake — made with freshly ground wheat — and I think of the wheat that fell to the ground, died for us and the harvest of the many.

2. Sup with Him — Feast Fit for a King

And we make breakfast a feast fit for a king. One of our best meals of the year is reserved for Christmas breakfast — recipes we serve only for Christmas Morning Breakfast —- Victorian French Toast with whip cream and fresh fruit and a cranberry raspberry slushy drink and Sausage bake and orange juice and pineapple and we decorate with floating candles and and a nativity scene center piece and our best linens.

He’s invited us to His table, adopted us, made us one of His own— and we have time to come, to say yes to His invitation!

3. Gifts for Him, the Birthday Child

After breakfast, we gather together to give gifts to the birthday babe, the King Come —- and these are all gifts to the least of these, because Jesus Himself said, when you give to the least of these, you give to me, so we pick out more gifts from His catalogues. We don’t open presents but we open a far deeper joy.

One family writes of their creative Christmas mornings of giving Christmas gifts only to Jesus:

On Christmas morning this year, we had our oldest dress up as a wise man, and he went around the house, finding tin foil stars and taking the gifts he found there to the baby Jesus that we had in the living room. It was great! We plan to give the same kinds of gifts that you have to Jesus this year…

What a creative way for kids, the whole family, to celebrate Christmas morning– tinfoil stars that have notes of donation to the least of these, a boy dressed up as a wise man, really worshipping!

It sounds, yes, terrifying, to not exchange gifts on Christmas morning, it did to me —- but the utter and unadulterated joy we unwrapped in giving away to those Jesus says He’s with, the poor. And we discovered all that He is absolutely true to His word: it is always better to give than to receive.


And when we give to them we are giving to Him, it leaves us filled and satisfied in the realest sense.

Satisfied that everything fits and nothing will be returned and no batteries are needed for we have done the one thing that is needful — touched the hem of God, murmured adoration and offered up gifts to Him.

4. Serve Him a Meal

A loaf of fresh bread to an elderly neighbor spending his first Christmas alone, a still-in-the-dark cup of coffee and an egg sandwich delivered downtown to a homeless person, ladling bowls in a soup kitchen at lunch time, delivering sticky buns and a hug to the family who buried a child this year, gifting all the neighborhood with cookies and a card rejoicing in Christ come —- serve Christ a meal this Christmas, bread of heaven come down for all the hungry.

5. Invite Him In

It may be a single relative in need of a welcoming hearth, a lonely person from your faith community, a widow from down the road, a grieving friend, a lonely stranger, but to invite someone in need to His party because Christ who came to a world that had no room in the inn now calls all to come and He calls us to His kind of hospitality.

We have done this and this is His party and this is who He wants to come — the one who feels as unwanted as He did when He came to us. So we open the door and say come and celebrate with those He came for…

6. Give Yourself Talent Show

We know a family who gives the only gift we ever can really give, the gift of ourselves, by offering a little Christmas Day Talent Show. He does a crazy little tap dance — and everyone laughs —- and she joins him —- and everyone howls. What can you give of yourself to offer to Jesus, your family, on Christmas morning?

7. Join all of Creation

We spend hours outdoors on Christmas day, joining all of Creation and the heavenly throng in giving Him praise. We walk through the bush and sing Christmas carols, we go sledding down the back hills, we play in the snow and we laugh. We’ve decorated trees outside with treats, strings of popcorn and cranberry, suet and peanut butter and, if the conditions are right, it’s the one day of the year that we pour maple syrup over snow and eat taffy — we taste and see that the Lord is good!

8. Tell the Story

Over the years, we’ve told the Christmas story on Christmas morning with cousins and kids getting dressed up and re-enacting it for us, with kids written-performed-directed puppet show, with blankets and spotlight and silhouettes. Old men have been Joseph and toddlers have been Mary and this is the story that we love to tell — to remember the gift who came.

9. Sing the Hallelujah Chorus

Sing it in the woods, on the streets, in a nursing home, a hospital hall, a prison lounge, around the piano with the family, for the next door neighbors, a shut in across town. We join the angels this day and we fill the world with the music of the Messiah here. Find a way, somewhere, to sing because isn’t this the day of all days, we need to sing?

10. Follow the Light

And come Christmas night, we follow the light and some years it’s outside in the woods, luminaries, candles in jars, lighting a path to a nativity scene and we sing worship in the deepening dark, and some windy years, its filling the house with candles and spending the last hours of Christmas day singing glory, glory, glory, glory to God in the Highest.

...Now this seems like the best Christmas inspiration I have ever heard...

James 4

wow. lots here.

verse 4: anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
Why in the world would i choose to be an enemy of God??? being a friend to the world... what does that mean? you accept it. you chose earthly things instead of Godly things. you don't put Christ first. I do that a lot. I choose to be an enemy of God often.
verses 7-10: Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn, and wail. Change you laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up.
Submit to God. I am a sinner. My mind is rarely focused on Christ alone. I am prideful. I need to mourn my sin. My sin is so big I need to grieve it! But at the same time...Christ loves me so much if I am humble, if I purify my heart, and ask for forgiveness HE will lift ME up. Thank you.
verse 12- who am I to judge my neighbor? ... There is only one Lawgiver and Judge.
How often do I judge everyone??? all the freaking time.
Lastly Boasting about Tomorrow- If it is the Lord's will...
Man, I need to say that more.

Lately I have been struggling with the awareness of my sin. I have been asking the Lord to make me sickly aware of my sin... Reading passages like this can do that!!! Thank You.