First things first. A little sad news about the giveaway. By the time I managed to get all the names into the singing cookie jar, the Bear was asleep. Meaning he didn’t do the drawing. Which was contrary to what I promised. I hope you forgive me.
We still good, right?
Right?
But Good News. Hero Hubs was really excited to do me the favor of doing the drawing instead.
Which is good because I can’t draw names because I want everyone to win.
So he did it for me. See how enthusiastic he was?
And the games began…
Winner #1: Erin G!
Winner #2: Renea!
Winner #3: Aubrey!
If I had lots of money, or this was the Oprah show, this would be the part where I’d announce that you all won a new car just for entering. Or at least a book. And a makeover? Alas. I wanted all of you to win. Especially you. Yeah, you!
But that’s the story. Hopefully we’ll do something similarly fun again soon. And everyone will get a car and live happily ever after.
Congrats, gals! I’ll email you the details of how to collect the Shutterfly Christmastastic Goodness in the morning!
Ever get a song stuck in your head you don’t know the lyrics to? Please say it’s not just me. It seems like the songs that I don’t know the words to are the songs that are hardest to get out of my head. Can you remember a song with the lyric, “Cos Breaking Up is Hard to do-ooo…â€? If you do, fill me in on the rest of the lyrics, because it seems like once my brain finds out the rest of the lyrics, it stops hitting repeat on the track.
As a result of a conversation the other day, or something, I started thinking about that lyric. And I came to the conclusion that, in a way, it’s kind of a big, fat, yucky lie.
Sometimes I think it’s a good idea to point out the fact that something is a lie. Agreed? Sure, ‘breaking up’ can be difficult, but if we’re honest, I think staying together is a lot more difficult.
There’s this brief mention in Philippians 4 of these two women, Euodia and Syntyche. Paul encourages them to “be of the same mind in the Lord.†And then he encourages other people in the church to help them sort their mess out. Apparently they were diligent leaders in the church, setting examples and serving God with passion, but when they had a disagreement, it threatened to tear the congregation apart.
Breaking up might be hard, but sticking it out and sorting through your differences? Looks a bit like scaling Everest sometimes.
Why are so many churches splitting these days? Why are so many marriages ending? Why are life-long friendships getting dropped cold? Why are awesome rock bands calling it quits? Could it be because breaking up is easier to do than staying, fighting it out, and working it out?
Paul’s solution was pretty simple. He’d already encouraged them to avoid foolish disputes and those things which were unprofitable. This time he also encouraged them to work it out, so that they could be of the same mind, in unity and purpose again. And he asked other people in the church to step up and help them work through their differences.
And at this point I had to stop and say wow — what a beautiful thought. What if we consistently worked at being blessed peacemakers instead of sassy side-takers? How different would things look? How much more healthy would our congregations be if we endeavored not only to be at peace with one another ourselves, but if we also endeavored to help others be at peace with one another?
Then Paul went on to speak about rejoicing in the Lord, and went so far as to repeat himself: “I will say it again, Rejoice!â€
What was that all about?
Perhaps he meant to instruct the church that if we focus on all the things we have to rejoice about — our lives, our salvation, the goodness of God that has been displayed in our every waking day, and in our fellowship with one another — we might realise that even though we have issues and differences, in the light of the goodness of God, in light of the forgiveness we’ve received, we have so much cause to be forgiving of others, and to make every effort to work through our differences and find peace again.
Paul continued by telling the Philippians to trust God with all their concerns: by prayer and supplication, with thankfulness, to receive God’s peace, which can give minds and hearts rest, even when understanding isn’t readily available. Before he concluded this, he instructed the church to focus on the things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely and of good report.
Translation: Instead of mulling over the things that are bothering us, we should count our blessings. Instead of recalling old situations to try to remember if we should take offense, mull over the goodness that God has displayed toward us. And when our brothers or sisters are struggling to be at peace with one another, think about how to actively work toward peace.
If we meditate on the good, the God of peace will be with us.
He’ll be present in our own hearts. He’ll bring unity to our congregations.
And that sounds like something worth fighting for.
The Sermon in a Nutshell:Â The world’s got enough side-takers! Keep your peace of mind by keeping the right focus, and aim at being a peacemaker!
xCC
P.S. Don’t forget to leave a comment on this post for a chance to win free Christmas Cards at Shutterfly!
On Thursday, I spoke a little bit about Making Your Christmas Decisions Now — and I hope that my words didn’t feel like a whole lot of talk about what you should cut out of your holiday, without much talk about what you should put into it. There was one more thing I wanted to put into words but didn’t quite have a grasp of yet.
Which is probably always the case, but ya know.
When Jesus spoke up, announcing the beginning of His ministry He said:
God’s Spirit is on me;
he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor,
Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and
recovery of sight to the blind,
To set the burdened and battered free,
to announce, “This is God’s Year to act!” (Luke 4:18-19, the Message)
There is a marked difference between the person who says they follow Jesus because of what they don’t do, and the person who says they follow Jesus because of what they do.
I am hungry for my life to speak His Name in action, for the world to see His people living in the name of Love. And when we celebrate the Father sending His Son into this world for us, I want it to be about Him!
So add that to those other thoughts if you will. And share some of your own, if you like!
Insert here, mayhaps, an unceremonious segue into a discussion of something I do very much enjoy, as a part of celebrating the Savior’s birth.
We are blessed with an incredible team of ministry partners, which you are welcome to join, by the way. They pray for us and partner with us to make our ministry possible. Some have even been supporting me since I boarded that plane in Atlanta to head for Scotland! Wowzers! That was six years ago!
And in addition to sending regular newsletters to report back to our supporters each month, we send Christmas cards at the end of the year just to say weloveyouthankyouthankyouthankyou and this time around to also say, lookwe’vegottwoboysnow,whoohoo! If only the cards would give me enough space to say everything I wanted to say with spaces.
ha.
We’ve had decent experiences with a few different companies over the years, but last year I designed our cards and my Mom’s Christmas cards with Shutterfly and they were beautiful. If I do say so myself. We also designed the cards from the first year we were married with Shutterfly with a sweet little picture from our wedding, but I don’t have that one to show you. Sowwy. Just imagine them being precious. Cuz they were.
I think I showed you a screenshot of ours from last year:
{The Tank was still on the inside!}
And after I did that one we took some photos at Thanksgiving for my Mom’s and I designed hers with Shutterfly, too and it was a Stationery Card and the quality of the paper was lovely — it was like nice card stock instead of photo paper, if that makes sense.
I loved it!
{That’s my nieceypoo in case you don’t know. She’s a darlingpreciousangelpumpkin and she’s presently working on potty training!}
They have some gorgeous new designs this year, and I think this one might be my favorite for showcasing my favorite photo of the year, thankyouverymuchmyHeroHubs.
However, this one is square and requires extra postage and I don’t think I’m gonna spring for that. But look at that fresh, yet vintage little red bird! I love him!
So here’s the good news. Today we’re giving away, for you and a friend, a trip to Turks & Caicos with two first class tickets and…show ’em what else they’ve won, Vanna…
I wish.
But seriously.
I’m giving away 25 Free Holiday Cards at Shutterfly to three readers who are just lucky enough to have stumbled across this site today. Or else you’re here all the time, in which case, are we related?
I’m kidding again.
But seriously.
I have a brainbuster of a question for you to answer in order to enter to win this giveaway.
In the comments, tell me about a favorite memory from Christmas when you were a kid. Or, tell me about one of your favorite Christmas traditions. Or, tell me how you’re planning to Love More with Less this Christmas. Or, tell me whether you read this blog, and if you do, why.
You can pretty much talk about whatever you want, but don’t be cheeky.
The Bear will randomly select three winners out of the singing cookie jar that the Tank likes to play with. As soon as we can get it away from the Tank.
Just comment by Tuesday, November 1st, 12 midnight Eastern Standard Time.
P.S. Behave yoself and just enter once. If I discover you’ve entered more than once, your name won’t go in the singing cookie jar. I’ll email the winners their special codes to get their cards on Wednesday and announce ’em here.Amen.
Hey Guys and Gals. I have several important things to tell you.
1. I tried this Baked Chicken with Peaches recipe this week and it was super easy and really good. The chicken breasts are so ginormous here that I only used four (and halved the rest of the recipe) and still had chicken left over for chicken pot pie two nights later, and a little chicken salad for lunch today. Score! I feel morally compelled to share this recipe with you. Not sharing it would, ethically, just be wrong.
But why are the chicken breasts so big here? I don’t know whether to be happy or concerned. Or both.
2. This season of transition is great, and hard at the same time. {Could I say grard?} I cry. On a regular basis. I laugh a lot, too. But these sweet boys of mine are a gift in the process. I shared at Signposts today about how they keep me looking up. If you’ve ever fussed at your kids and then regretted it, click over…you might be encouraged.
3. Tomorrow. October 29, 2011. Meet me back here for a giveaway. Three readers will win 25 free Christmas cards at Shutterfly! And that’s 25 cards for each reader, in case you were worried you’d win and have to figure out how to divide 25 by 3.
So don’t forget to drop by tomorrow! Entering will be easy, so don’t worry about studying up in preparation. And don’t forget to try those peaches.
We can all feel it coming. Walmart and K-mart are advertising their layaway plans. One aisle is already decorated for it at half the pharmacies in town, even though there’s another aisle exclusively devoted to Halloween costumes and candy. A friend or two on Facebook has already admitted to pulling out the music and movies.
Christmas is around the corner.
The inside cover of the November Issue of Southern Living has a beautiful close-up picture of a little girl hanging an ornament on an already heavily-laden Christmas tree. The photo is be-decked with the words:
You can never have too much Christmas!
(Christmas is in a ginormous font with a big happy exclamation point, of course.)
And the subscript: “Why stop with the halls? Deck the table, the tree, the bedrooms and everything in between. This Christmas at Belk.”
Call me Cindy Lou Who, but I wholeheartedly disagree with this idea. Because decorations, presents and Christmas are not synonyms that should be used interchangeably.
And I have a little suggestion to make. Well, maybe more than one. Because it seems by the time we’ve passed the 25th of December, we’re full of regret for what we’ve focused on and what we’ve let slide. For how our bank account looks and (sometimes) how our kids are behaving.
We spend a ton of money and then we return a ton of stuff we didn’t want to begin with, because other people have spent a ton of money, too.
So here’s the thing.
It seems like most people agree that the way we’re currently celebrating Christmas is, let’s say… less than ideal.
So before you walk out the door with “Christmas” in your mind or a list in your pocket, I’d like to suggest you do a few simple things.
1. Don’t let advertisers and good marketing call the shots: Decide ahead of time (like now) how you want your family to celebrate Christmas this year. And get specific. How can you make it more about what it’s actually supposed to be about? Want to bake Jesus a birthday cake? Maybe each kid gets three gifts because Baby Jesus got three?
2. Be A Blessing Without Cursing Your Wallet: Rethink relying on store-bought stuff for friends and family. Could you bake cookies with the wee ones or whip up some homemade salsa and put it in Coke bottles? What can you do with what you already have? What budget should you be sticking to? What is the budget per person?
3. How Big Does it Need to Be? If gifts are a must, think about drawing names in every possible scenario. Perhaps among the adult members of your immediate family? Among the brother/brother-in-laws and sisters/sister-in-laws in my family, we draw names and have a maximum spending amount. We ask each person to write down a list of a few things they’d really like to have, and then the person who draws their name can choose from that list, so that it’s still a surprise. But we’re not wasting money on stuff we don’t actually want. {Score!}
4. Change the Way You Spend the Day: Think about doing something special that has nothing to do with gifts or money, and more to do with Jesus this Christmas. Could your family help serve at a local soup kitchen? Could you find a family in need and bring them Christmas dinner?
5. Give the Giving New Purpose: Lots of charitable organizations offer catalogs (like this one at World Vision) so that you can give a tangible gift — an alpaca, a goat…a sack of rice — to a family in need. You’ll get a card to pass along the person you had in mind when you made the donation, and you can both smile that you’re meeting a special need instead. Some families let their children choose a gift to give on Christmas morning.
6. Bundle It Up, And Pass It Out: How much are you likely to spend on gifts this year? 500 bucks? Maybe more? Ya got no clue you’ll just do yer best? Last year the gallup poll reported that Americans estimated they’d spend $743 on Christmas gifts for the season. For about $450 you could sponsor a child with Compassion International for A YEAR. Which means a kid in poverty would be getting nutritious snacks or meals, educational opportunities, health and hygiene training and medical checkups, all in a caring, faith-based environment. FOR A YEAR. What if we looked around and said, “We got enough here…let’s give something away!”?
{And personal note: the more you get to know your child at Compassion, the more perspective you’ll have on how blessed you already are.}
7. Leave the Loot till New Year: Some families wait until after Christmas to give gifts (like waiting until New Year’s Day, for example). This means they save a lot on After-Christmas sales, and the 25th is reserved for doing something special together as a family, with Jesus in mind!
8. Whatever You Do, Make It Manageable: The one thing people seem likely to say about the Christmas season more than anything else? It’s stressful. We’ve got a party every night this week. The kids are in pageants at each of their schools and at church. We want a little tree with lights in every room of the house this year and I need extra lights and ornaments. I need to get a present for my second cousin’s third grade teacher’s wife. I can’t just send Christmas cards to close friends…I have to send them to everyone I ever met.
What if we decided for “Less Stuff More Love” to be the theme this Christmas?
In remembrance of the God who chose a peasant girl to bear His Son, in a barn. Who chose a trough horses and cattle eat from for a crib. Domesticated animals were probably the witnesses of the birth of our Savior. God announced the news not to the rich and famous city dwellers, but with angels, to shepherds out in the field.
For the incarnation of His only Son, God continuously invaded the ordinary with remarkable and miraculous. He brought the greatest gift ever to a world in need.
Got any suggestions for loving more with less at Christmas this year?
I create resources to help people find deeper, more meaningful relationships with God through pursuing, pondering, and prayer. The "Shop" link above will take you to the home of many of the lovely resources I’ve created to help you keep walking one day deeper with Jesus.
I create resources to help people find deeper, more meaningful relationships with God through pursuing, pondering, and prayer. The "Shop" link above will take you to the home of many of the lovely resources I’ve created to help you keep walking one day deeper with Jesus.