"What Is Your Christmas Attitude?" by Kim Phelps

Christmas…..for many people, it is a season they adore and really look forward to.  For me, not so much.  It carries a lot of baggage and the commercial aspect does not help. So, my attitude can really hit a downward skid easily! 

My family is out of state and I am a single, retired woman; waaaaah, I can feel so sorry for myself! In times like this, I kind of have a history with the Lord: I ask Him to give me a Scripture that is from Him to me that will help me see the “bigger picture". Last week I did just that.  And He gave me a Scripture:

Psalm 23

How gracious of Him! The 23rd psalm;  “He leads me to green pastures” where I can laze around “beside still waters”, He “prepares a table for me in front of my enemies” so I (and they) know that I win in the end! He “anoints me” so I am blessed, “goodness and mercy” stalk me all my life, His “staff guides me” so I can’t get lost. 

Whew, I am so fortunate to be a child of God my Father, He is so good to me! But, wait, I forgot about the “ROD”.  The rod tells me that this is not just about ME (spoiler alert!). There is correction here, maybe God is telling me that I need balance, an adjustment in attitude, as in there is more to this than me being blessed by God.  What the message that I believe God was saying was that He is loving, healing, and blessing me so that I can overcome the “baggage” (see paragraph #1) of my past and walk with Him by doing what He is telling me to do, being that pipeline from Him to those I come across. It is about giving after all, God giving so that I can give….untangled by ulterior motives, so I can hear Him with untainted motives and respond accordingly. Awfully lofty ideals, but that is God; He is Holy and He calls us (me) to be Holy as He is.

So I guess I can enjoy and maybe even look forward to Christmas! I think I will be taking some friends on a tour of Christmas lights.  We will have some hot chocolate too.
 

Christmas Clichés

Two years ago, the unexpected death of a close friend suddenly stripped the holiday season of trivialities that often consume my attention and energy. As I literally walked with his widow (she was my walking partner!) through those awful, and yet sublime weeks that followed, often repeated phrases that had become cliché in the usual craziness of holiday rituals began to ring with meaning:

Peace on Earth
In the darkness of nighttime and torrents of tears God aches to pull us to himself; those who do turn to that embrace find real, inexplicable peace on earth … not just a hoped for peace in heaven. My widowed friend often wrestled with grief, fear and regret. But when those things threatened to paralyze, she would stand, cup her hands and lift her anxieties to her Abba (Father). His presence would wrap her up and give her the courage to move ahead. People marveled at the dignity and peace they saw in her.

Good will Toward Men
Her late husband had fully believed in the goodwill of God towards him which empowered him to practice goodwill towards others. Both husband and wife had spent years mentoring emotionally needy families and especially attention starved children. The love and care that blanked his family after his passing provided powerful evidence of what happens when we recognize and receive God’s goodwill toward us.

A Child is Born; A Son is Given
It all starts in the tenderness of God who longs to be gracious toward us. His will is that none should perish from ignorance of His love and so he gave the world his Son … Deity incarnate; a High Priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses through whom we may also receive mercy and find grace to help us in our times of need (Hebrews 4:14-16). Jesus leads us away from rigid rules toward reassuring, empowering relationship with our embracing creator. We can love because He first loved us (1John 4:19).

My prayer is that we hear old clichés ringing with sublime silver bells of Truth this Christmas!
-Randi Nelson

Hebrews 4:14-16 – Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Ephesians 2:13-14a – But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace …

1 John 4:19 – We love because he first loved us.

Mary Did You Know?

In the first chapter of the gospel of Luke, we find the good news of a divine interruption of to the ordinary through humble participation of a young, devoted Jewish girl named Mary. Through it we get a glimpse into the immaculate conception of the Christ child we know as Jesus. Most likely Mary would have known plenty about the expectation of a coming Messiah, but did Mary really know all that would unfold with this child?

When I think of Mary’s willingness to believe God and participate in this divine interruption to her life, I am inspired. Though the life of faith is full ups and downs, it consist of both the mundane and mysterious. Faith invites us to step into the unknown by yielding to an occupation of the Divine. It requires that we believe, submit and lean into the discomfort of learning new ways to navigate life that seem counterintuitive to our normal sense of control. Yet like Mary, it may well take us in a direction that leads to discovery of greater purpose and a sense of destiny for our lives.

Practicing the fundamentals of both routine and risky expressions of our faith are necessary for developing a heart of worship and honor to God. Like practicing scales on the piano, or free throw shots on the basketball court, it is no different with our faith.This kind of living creates the muscle memory needed to see, hear, and experience potential “God moments.”

This Christmas season, may you be inspired by Mary’s humility, devotion, and willingness to recognize and embrace a divine interruption. Her life was changed forever and it altered human history. I pray you would be strengthened to trust God for your future, and be encouraged to believe God for the seemingly impossible things He can do when we simply trust and obey.

Unto Him,

Pastor Dusty

Listen to the song “Mary Did You Know?” here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbysUxwQqNQ

Luke 1:36-38 “And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.”And Mary said, Yes, I see it all now: I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say. Then the angel left her.

Hebrews 11:1-3 NLT Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

Romans 5:1-2 NLT 5 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.