Food for Thought

I came across a quote by a pastor, George Mueller, who pastored a church on england in the 19th century.  He said 

" I never remember... a period.... that I ever  sincerely and patiently sought to know the will of God by the teaching of the Holy Ghost,through the instrumentality of the Word of God , but I have a;ways been directed rightly. But if honesty of heart and uprightness before God were lacking,or if I did not patiently wait upon God for instruction., or if I preferred the counsel of my fellow men to the declarations of the Word of god, I have made great mistakes. "

Are you being directed rightly by God, or are you allowing a dishonest heart a lack of uprightness or the declarations of men guide you?

The True Joy of Giving

I wonder if God feels the same way when He gives gifts to His children as we do when we give to ours. I must say, although I had a great Christmas, the best part was watching my children get so excited over seeing the gifts under the tree.  My husband and i were discussing it and he said it is like you are reliving your own excitement as a little boy or girl approaching the tree with wonder and awe.  I know God " gives good gifts to His children", but I wonder how close we are to experiencing the joy and jubilation of heaven in little moments like this morning?

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Where are we going?

"Where are we going?". My daughter just asked me that this morning as I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom mirror. I said to her. "No, why do we always have to be going somewhere?" I guess her question is more indicting than I originally realize. Do I always have to be going somewhere?

Why can't I just enjoy the moment that I am in, whether that be positive or negative? If it is negative, why don't I revel in the fact that God is refining me to become more like Him? If it is positive, why can't I be thankful and enjoy it before the dark days come again?  

As we approach Christmas this year, I pray that we will enjoy whatever moment we are in right now, with whomever that is important to you at this moment, wherever you are enjoying this moment. Let us all rejoice that we live in a country where we can celebrate with hope that this life is not the end of the story- it is the beginning of new things to come! Merry Christmas everyone!

He grows an extra inch every year

I just got home from watching my son's Christmas program at his school. My husband and I watched in amazement as he did all the motions and sung with passion. We commented to each other that he has grown so much over the past year, we didn't really realize it until now.  It is like he grew an extra inch since last year, which is probably about right ( my son is a peanut- check his gene pool). 

As I think back in my journey with God, my vision or understanding has grown a little since last year. My thoughts about Him have become more accurate, my ideas have become more biblically- centered and my understanding of His reality in my life has grown an extra inch since last year.

My hope and prayer for you, dear reader, is that God " grows an extra inch every year" as you seek for Him to make His presence even more known in your life than last year. 

it's all about perception

One of the girls at my school told me that another girl said she thought I was mean. I spoke to the girl and we got it cleared up. The girl who told me said she thought I was because I  raised my voice at one of them to tell him to not run in the classroom.  Now, I have never raised my voice to the girl in question,ever. She is normally really good.  But, it is funny how 5 year olds perceive "yelling " as " mean."

The reality is that someone raises their voice to 1) take control of a situation, 2) be heard admidst the hub bub of whatever else is going on around them 3) the thing that he/ she is shouting about is more important than anything else at the time. 

Now, I will admit, I do , and have raised my voice to my children. Sometimes I'm angry, sometimes it's to gain control over a situation that I feel is out of control, sometimes it is to get their attention.  But, to say I'm mean when I do it implies I don't care about them, when on the contrary, I care about them enough to get them to stop what they are doing so they are not a danger to themselves or others. 

The mean one is the one who doesn't care about the welfare of others. The mean one is the one who puts his/her needs before the needs of others. The mean one is the one who treats others differently than the way they would like to be treated. The mean one is the one who sits idly by and does nothing for fear of making waves or cause confrontation (which is more about them than the other person).

The loving one confronts. The loving one acts. The loving one cares, even if it means raising a voice to do it.

I think the media, and the portrayal of "mean" characters on movies and tv skews our view of what is loving and what is unloving. 

But, it is all about perception. 

Christmas Lament

We do what benefits us the most.

If we were honest, we would agree with that statement.

I know I do.

Not all the time.

But sometimes.

I wish I could say I don't ever.

But, I do.

Instead of being thankful for all of the blessings God has given me over the past year, I focus on the one thing that i DIDN'T get.

Nothing specific, but i get disappointed when a child excludes me from the gaggle of Christmas gifts he's giving to other teachers. 

or, when i have to get another gift when I had already planned on getting them what I wanted to get them( another honest confession).

Why do I focus on the silly things that don't matter?

Why don't I realize that I'm lucky to even be celebrating Christmas this year-

With a healthy family

And a loving husband

And presents under the tree

And a job

And a working car

And a computer that I'm using to type this blog post.

And a calling to write these posts.

And a God that I know and He knows Me.

I don't know.

I guess I need a heart adjustment.

I suppose we all do.

I suppose that's why we celebrate the birth of a Savior in 4 days.

The tree

I'm taking the day off and going to NYC to see the tree and the sights. Talk to you on Monday!