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.

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What I Learned at the Water's Edge ~ Guest Blogging Day

Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in a lay before Him. And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus. When He saw their faith, He said to him, "Man, your sins are forgiven you."

Luke 5:18-20 NKJV

The Child: I shuffle along, kicking up the dry mountain dust, coating my tennis ball in a thick clay-like film. My white cane hits a gnarled tree root that rises up out of the ground. The cane is stuck in the root and its handle slams painfully into the my hip bone. I let out a groan and wince from the sudden jab of pain. I hear my mother inhale sharply in response to this, and know she is frustrated again by the surroundings and the difficulty we are both experiencing.
The Mother: I see my daughter tripping along the rock, rooted, dusty path down to the lakefront. Last night I was in tears in our cabin at camp. I was sweaty, sticky with bug repellant, and tired from the numerous trips to our cabin from the car full of our sleeping bags, pillows, baggage and more. I didn't have a daughter who could carry her own things, so I needed to carry both of our belongings myself.

I was hurt by the "looks" at my daughter from these new peers who did not know her. The looks communicated fear from some and pity from others. None of these felt good to my heart, and I heard the rush of fear rumbling through my head as I experienced a feeling of rejection that I had not known in several years.

Now, the next morning, we are trekking down to the lakefront ahead of the rush of kids in order to try to safely navigate the rocking, dusty, uncertain path straight down into...what? For what? I feel my daughter stumble and my shoulder burns with pain as I squeeze my right hand around her wrist and strain to help her stay on her feet. I take in a sharp breath to try to lessen the intensity of my pain and keep my eyes from tearing up.

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The Divine Call of Dignity ~ Guest Blogging Day

Photo Courtesy of grandfailure/freedigitalphotos.net

When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.”

They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

~ Luke 8:51-56, NIV ~

There is so much to the two stories captured in Luke 8: 40-56.  (I just listened to a sermon on this passage at church this past week, and was completely absorbed in the message.)  We learn about a woman being healed, and a girl being raised from the dead in this very short, concise part of scripture.   

But, these stories didn't speak to me because of the healing or the resurrection...they spoke to me because of what they reveal about the nature of God; that He places a priority on the DIGNITY of each individual, and that He takes into consideration the PLACE that people hold in society. 

HOW ARE WE VALUED IN SOCIETY? 

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Begin Again ~ Guest Blogging Day

But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him 

and was filled with compassion for him; 

he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

Luke 15:20 NIV

We hear the phrases often:

• It's time for a fresh start...
• It's never too late to begin again...
• Let's go back to the beginning...
• Can I get a do-over?

But, in this life, we are accustomed to TRUE, and REAL "fresh starts" as being few and far between. I mean, how many "fresh starts" do we REALLY get?

Think about it:

• You can retake a class for a better grade, but you still have to pay again.
• You can make bail and get out of jail, but it's probably still on your record.
• You can apologize to someone for a wrong thing you have done, but they will likely remember it and have a hard time rebuilding the trust that was lost.

I am a big fan of fresh starts.  I just re-dedicated myself to a more structured workout program.  I grew "lazy" a couple years ago and started to workout for 15 minutes rather than a half hour, and I was starting to really see the repercussions of that.  I was taking a lot of short-cuts in my workouts and not doing the hard moves in the right way.  I needed to get to a place where I was ready to BEGIN AGAIN.

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Freed from Greed~Guest Blogging Day

Photo Courtesy of Pri/freedigitalphotos.net

And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."  Luke 12:15 ESV

Ah, the holidays are here.  Radio waves broadcast Christmas music and we start to see the trees, lights and other variety of decorations adorning our surroundings.  This is a dangerous time of year for a girl like me.  It's a constant struggle for me to be in stores shopping for others while not giving in to my own desire for another new black sweater, or a cute infinity scarf. 

I'm a serious shop-a-holic.  Really, I am...my heart starts to race, my blood pressure raises, and at times I have to actually walk away from the whole thing because I start to WANT everything.  

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Who's the Bully Now? ~ Guest Blogging Day

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Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing." And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.  Luke 23:34 NLT

I was excited to attend my daughter's first official school "program" of the school year today.  My husband and I eagerly took our seats and waited for the program, Bullies Anonymous to begin.  Evie, of course, had been singing the songs for weeks and we were looking forward to seeing the glowing smile that she always wears when she's "on stage."  

Unfortunately, however, it seemed the two moms seated behind us were not feeling quite the excitement that we were.  They began by noting loudly that this was so early in the day that they had almost forgotten about it.  Okay...no problem...maybe their kids hadn't been talking about it for weeks like mine had.  No big deal!

Once the program began though, I couldn't block out the sound of the heavy breaths (I could almost picture them watching the clock), the snickering and "tsk-ing" sounds when someone forgot to hold their microphone close to them, nor the "Oh, Lo-ord" drawn out in disdain as the actors brought in a "computer" used to detect bullies (I even caught that one on video as I was recording Evie's line that she had in the program). 

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