If You Don't Hate Christmas Yet...Guest Blogging Day

If anyone comes to me and does not hate their father and mother, 

wife and children, brothers and sisters

--yes, even their own life--

such a person cannot be my disciple. 

Luke 14:26 NIV

I know, I know...this doesn't SOUND like the start to a post about Christmas-but it's a message that God has been giving me repeatedly in the past week.

It READS as though it's a message of hate...

It READS as though it's contradictory to a commandment about honoring your father and mother...

What it really IS, however, is a statement about how much we have to GIVE UP in order to BE a Christ-follower.  

However much we love our family- We need to love God more.

However much we love our pets-  We need to love God more.

However much we love our job-  We need to love God more.

We need to love God MORE.

We need to love God MORE.

We need to love God MORE.

This is the repeated message that God is delivering to me this holiday season.  Whatever I love in my life, I must love God more.

Continue reading on Comfort in the Midst of Chaos...

Why it's HUMANLY Impossible to be the Parent of a Child with Special Needs ~ Guest Blogging Day

"See now that I myself am he!

There is no god besides me. 

I put to death and I bring to life, 

I have wounded and I will heal,

and no one can deliver out of my hand."

Deuteronomy 32:39, NIV

I can't do this.

I wish I could run away.

I am FAILING at this.

I give up.

I have thought these thoughts before, and perhaps I may again, and it's only through the grace of God that I can get up each morning and muster the energy to make the coffee, shower, smile and go bravely into a brand new day.

I do this for my daughter, my husband and my God.

I do this because I KNOW for a FACT that I AM A WINNER...and I'm ONLY a winner because Jesus Christ died for me and conquered the grave.

BUT WAIT! Let's take a step back.

Why is my life so hard that I may have thought the thoughts that I listed above?

Continue reading on Comfort in the Midst of Chaos...

SMART Goals for Salvation ~ Guest Blogging Day

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Therefore, there is now no condemnation for 

those who are in Christ Jesus. 

Romans 8:1 NIV

As parents of children with special needs, we will often become familiar with the acronyms for so many educational "catch-phrases" or fads. One that I've been looking at lately: SMART Goals. While the term is attributed to a 1980's business writer, it's often also used in education to teach students how to set goals, both short and long term.

Here's how SMART works. When you're setting a goal, you want it to be:

S: Specific
M: Measurable
A: Attainable
R: Relevant
T: Timely

Okay. This looks great when you're talking about a goal like finishing a paper for a class, or losing weight by a certain point in time. But, what about our biggest goal? What about that ultimate goal we know is waiting for us at the end of our life?

Heaven.

How do we set the right goals in order to get to Heaven? What do we need to do?

Continue reading on Comfort in the Midst of Chaos...