Christmas Magic

Why is Christmas so magical? Is it the weather? Is it the breaks from school or work? (Though breaks do always produce a little bit of magic!) Is it the smells: evergreen, cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla? Or maybe it’s the sounds, the music, the plays, and the movies? Or the sights, the colorful lights, the shimmery snow falling softly in the night sky?

Or maybe it's none of those things. Maybe what really makes Christmas magical is that it’s the time of year when everyone suddenly remembers what’s really important in life. We’re kind and forgiving towards family and friends (even when they've hurt us) because “it’s Christmas” and we want to keep the peace. We buy gifts for needy children just to see their faces light up with smiles for one day (despite the fact that for the other eleven months of the year, we refuse to give their families anything because they’re all “lazy Welfare abusers”). We donate extra money to charities so that starving families in our communities can actually have a nice meal one night. We bake cookies, brownies, and pie for everyone at work or school (whether we like them or not). We volunteer. We host parties. We sing. Some of us actually go to church for once. We smile and glow because for one month of the year, we actually make an effort to bring joy to others…and we realize that we enjoy doing so.

Joy and giving. Those two words can pretty much describe all of the special things we do every Christmas season. But why do joy and giving have to be confined mostly to December? What if we treated every month like it were December? What if we celebrated every single day as if it were Christmas?

What if we should?

Sometimes we reserve our joy for the Christmas season only. And other times we don't feel any joy at all...ever. Sometimes life is just tough and all of our days are stressful, sad, and difficult--especially Christmas. But as Christians, we've been given hope and a new life in Jesus! We should rejoice and be glad every day because of what He has done, shouldn't we?

"Be joyful always." --1 Thessalonians 5:16

"My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you--I, whom you have redeemed."

--Psalm 71:23

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."

--Matthew 13:44

The last verse makes me think of the end of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, when Scrooge is suddenly filled with a new joy and runs around town wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, giving away food and turkeys to needy families for dinner. What if that were how all Christians acted every day: dancing, singing, and running around town sharing the joy that Christ has given us with everyone? This is what I think we should all aim and pray for! What a different sort of place the world would be!

So with that thought, I'd like to wish everyone who reads this a very Merry Christmas! My prayers will be with you all! "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13) Peace, God Bless, and Happy Holidays!

Praying Like Jesus

Something stuck out to me last night during my small group at church. I've been meditating on it and felt like writing about it. We've been reading and discussing the book of Luke for the past few weeks and last night we tackled chapter 22.

It’s all pretty tough. Jesus’ friend betrays him and he spends what he knows will be his last supper with his closest friends. He’s about to be arrested, he’s about to be tortured and killed, and he knows all about it. So Jesus goes to the Mount of Olives to pray.

He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." (Luke 22:41-42)

I love this prayer! It’s short, to the point, honest, genuine, and full of so much emotion. Christ’s prayers are, I think, the best examples of how we as Christians should strive to pray. Jesus is honest with God that he would rather not go through what he knows he must do. He even asks for his “cup” to be taken from him. So many times we’re not honest with God about what we really want. I know I sometimes feel like it’s wrong or even sinful to not feel like doing what God asks of me. But how can it be wrong or sinful if Christ himself does it? It is, after all, very real and very human. Whenever we’re struggling, I think it’s best to just be real with God: to tell Him what we really want, to tell Him all of our fears, struggles, and worries. Being a naturally reserved person, I’ve learned recently that when I open up to my friends, I feel closer to them and our bond strengthens. We’ll never feel close to our friends if we’re never truly open and honest with them. What makes us think this doesn’t apply to God as well?

After “being real” with God, Jesus takes it one step further. He prays honestly about what he wants, but he also willingly submits to God’s will over his own; yet another model for us to follow. Jesus, who is both God in the flesh and a King, submits himself fully to God. And then right after he does this, something absolutely awesome occurs:

An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. (Luke 22:43-44)

Jesus is open and honest with his Father, prays for what he wants, but ultimately submits himself to God’s will…and then God strengthens him! This occurrence makes me think of another verse that I’ve been meditating on lately, written by Paul to the Philippians:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

So what can we learn from Jesus’ prayer in the Mount of Olives? I think we can learn that if we’re consistently open and honest with God in our prayer life, if we confess our struggles and present our requests to Him, and if we ultimately choose to submit to His will for our lives, then we can trust that our loving Father will give us peace and strengthen us to do His will!

Faith When It Seems Impossible

“Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted in spite of your

changing moods.” ~

C.S. Lewis

"Faith is not a sense, not sight, not reason, but a taking God at His Word." ~Evans

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is

what the ancients were commended for." ~Hebrews 11:1-2

The verse from Hebrews 11 always confused me just a little. It sort of made my head ache in the same way that taking the LSAT did. But lately God has been speaking to me about faith and the other day, that Hebrews verse suddenly made perfect sense. Faith is being sure and confident in God and what He has already said and done, so confident that even when everything around you points to your hope being impossible, you trust with certainty that God is at work and that He will deliver.

Noah trusted what God had told him and built the arc, despite the fact it probably didn't seem like there would be a flood for a while. Abraham was so sure of God's promise when he listened and almost sacrificed his son Isaac.

So what is faith for us then, today? I think faith is taking God's word to be the absolute truth, even when we don't "see" Him working at the moment. Faith could be, for instance, to not give in to hopelessness and depression when everything around you in today's economy says you won't be able to get work; faith would be trusting with certainty that God will take care of your needs somehow. Or faith could be to not settle for a jerk who doesn't treat you right because you don't believe that a good man can love you; faith would be trusting that if God wills you to be married then He'll bring the right kind of man into your life who loves you and treats you well (and that if He doesn't will for you to be married, that He has even better plans to use you to bring Him glory!)

Faith often defies all human reason. Maybe that's why the ancients were commended for it. Maybe faith that trusts God no matter what, defying all human logic and tangible evidence, stands out from the crowd and brings glory to God. Maybe if we all practiced our faith more often in our daily lives, we would stand out more as shining children of God.

Some More Encouragement For Women

I stumbled upon this encouraging little message written by T.D. Jakes recently. I know all too well that we ladies always need some Godly encouragement, so I thought I'd share this with all of my lovely sisters everywhere!

"Just Because" by T.D. Jakes

Just because no one has been fortunate enough to realize what a gold mine you are, doesn't mean you shine any less.
Just because no one has been smart enough to figure out that you can't be topped, doesn't stop you from being the best.
Just because no one has come along to share your life, doesn't mean that day isn't coming.
Just because no one has made this race worthwhile, doesn't give you permission to stop running.
Just because no one has realized how much of an awesome woman you are, doesn't mean they can affect your femininity.
Just because no one has shown up who can love you on your level, doesn't mean you have to sink to theirs.
Just because you deserve the very best there is, doesn't mean that life is always fair.
Just because God is still preparing your king, doesn't mean that you're not already a Queen.
Just because your situation doesn't seem to be progressing right now, doesn't mean you need to change a thing.
Keep shining. Keep running. Keep hoping. Keep praying. Keep being exactly what you are already...COMPLETE!

To all of my Godly sisters, continue shining as the women of God that you are!