My malnourished soul

As I've mentioned before, lately I've been struggling to keep a passionate, devoted relationship with God. I had let doubt get to my heart and poison me. On top of my doubts, I had little desire to spend time with God. Anything "Christian" that I did, like read the Bible and pray, were done out of a feeling of obligation or guilt, not one of love, joy, and true praise. My brain knew the answers. The problem was not a lack of knowledge. I knew that I needed to spend more time with God in order to feel close to Him. I knew that The Bible tells us that God will protect us and deliver us from evil. I also knew that Jesus told us we will face great struggles during our life on Earth. None of this knowledge gave me passion. None of this knowledge grew love and joy in my heart.

Last Saturday, Scott had to work all day b/c of the textbook rush at the beginning of the semester (he works at The University Store). I decided I was going to sit down and spend time with God. I was determined to push through my indifference! Well, I guess it wasn't really indifference. I wasn't feeling passionate...but I wanted to. I got my Bible, journal, and some worship songs ready to go. I opened up in prayer, speaking to God for several minutes about my concerns and what I was feeling. After this, I decided to get a glass of water before diving into The Word. On my way to the kitchen, I caught a glance at my grandpa's book Hope and Comfort for Every Season, which is displayed on a wall shelf in the dining room. I thought, this is really what I need...hope and comfort during this season of my life. It's a small, giftbook with beautiful photos throughout. I sat down and read the whole thing in about 20 minutes. God used this book to re-teach me some things that I already knew but wasn't believing in my heart.

I was reminded that God is with me through all my hardships. I was reminded that we are not promised a perfect life, but promised protection and eventual deliverance through all the junk in life.

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. 2 Corinthians 4:8-12

Of course I already knew this. I had no problems preaching this message to other people who were experiencing hard times. I could explain the evil in the world and God's good will and purpose for us to all the doubtful people. But as soon as it got personal, as soon as it was happening to me, I no longer trusted the message. I felt the despair and doubt that all those other people were feeling, and my knowledge just wasn't sinking into my heart. Suddenly I felt entitled to a carefree life. Suddenly I felt that the promise that God answers prayers should mean that He should immediately grant my wishes and in the exact way that I felt was best. I was pretty sure I knew what was best for everyone involved, so I asked God to do it just that way and to do it soon! When the results weren't immediate (or even within a few months), I became discouraged. I no longer felt able to "defend God" to my family who were also experiencing doubts. I was angry and felt abandoned. I said things like, "We don't deserve this" or "I see no good coming from this. What is God thinking?"

What was I thinking? First, I needed a good dose of humility. God used my grandpa's words to remind me that I am NOT immune to the struggles of the world. When Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33), he meant it! I WILL have trouble...no way around it. It doesn't mean God isn't good. He is good...that's why he sent Jesus to overcome the world. The end is determined, and I am saved! And because of Jesus, I can obtain the peace of God in the times of trouble that I have to face. Also, I needed to remember that I do not know better than God! He is wiser and can see things in a greater scope than I can. Didn't I just blog about good coming from bad and remembering that even though you may not see it, it is there? That was only a month or two ago. And here I was, doing just the opposite. Just because I don't see the good, doesn't mean it isn't there or that it isn't coming. I needed to remember to trust God and know that He is greater than me. And that's a good thing! I certainly would hope that the God I serve is wiser and greater than little ol' me!

So, first on God's agenda for me that day was a reality check! Bam! Take that!! Convicted by the Holy Spirit! I praise God for that conviction because I had grown blind to it and let doubt (which is straight from the enemy and my fallen flesh) run amuck in my heart.

Next I hit the Good Book (AKA The Bible) for some more revelation. Now I understood why God wasn't answering my prayers (or at least in the way I was expecting), but I still wanted to know why my heart had grown so far from The Lord. God showed me two important things about taking care of my soul.

First, I realized that my soul is malnourished. As you know, part of my goals for this year have been to live a healthier life...eat better foods, exercise, be aware of my body's needs, etc... God used this goal to reveal a similar need for my spirit. Just like my body, my spirit needs good food, exercise, and protection. What had I been feeding my soul? Not enough healthy stuff. Not enough of God's word, not enough fellowship with believers, not enough encouragment. Instead I had fed it doubt, frustration, and other worldly things. If you give your body nothing but junk food, it can't function properly and can even lead to illness and disease. My soul had become sick, infected with doubt and anger, and weak and unable to protect itself from the lies of the enemy. If I want my soul to be healthy, I need to give it the good stuff and cut out the bad. I need more time with God, and I need to seek Him everyday. I need to go to church regularly (being away for a month really took a toll). I need to give freely and happily. I need to fellowship with other believers. And not simply because "that's what Christians do." And it's not about winning God's love or salvation. But I need to do these things because they keep my heart for God healthy. I'm happier and more joyful when my soul is saturated with Godly things. I feel closer to God and more able to worship and serve Him. And it protects me from harmful lies and worldly desires. It's like an immune system. Since I'm not immune to struggles, I at least need to keep my system ready to fight off the bad feelings that can go with the struggles!

Secondly, God revealed the need to protect my soul with The Armor of God. This is found in Ephesians 6:10-18:

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

I was not properly geared up to defend my soul against the enemy and his lies. If you ride a motorcycle, like my husband does, you need to wear the proper gear. We always hope and pray that he doesn't fall, drop the bike, or get in an accident. But if that were to happen, or if conditions are bad outside (wind, rain, ice, darkness...), his gear (helmet, boots, jeans, gloves, jacket) protects his body from any harm. The armor of God is the same way. It helps you get through the bad conditions, and if something more dangerous does happen, your soul is protected against the attacks of the enemy. And I was lacking in these things. I wasn't believing in my belt of truth. My righteousness was fading and not protecting my heart as a breastplate should. My feet weren't fitted with the gospel to share with others. And my faith had dwindled to the point that I wasn't shielded from the arrows of the evil one. Fortunately, my helmet of salvation stays intact because God's grace keeps it in place. So, I was not mortally wounded like Scott could be if he rides without his helmet. This is the most important piece of armor, and thankfully it was still strong. I survived the struggles, but I was severely wounded.

So, now I'm praying and spending more time with God each day. I'm recommitting myself to Him and feeding my soul all the good things that helps it thrive. I'm gearing up with repaired armor that God will make good as new. It's still a work in progress, as it always will be, but now I am no longer angry with God and I feel at peace.

I hope this has encouraged those of you who might be going through some similar things. I know I'm not the only one feeling spiritually exhausted and in a rut. The best way to get your knowledge transformed to truly believing is action! You may know what The Bible says about things, but read it again...and again...until God really places the truth on your heart. If you know you need to go to church or pray, but you don't feel like it. Do it anyway. God will meet you there and revive that desire. Feed your soul the good stuff, exercise it with worship, giving, studying, and fellowship, and protect it with the full armor of God! You'll be in my prayers.

~Christy

Love for Edamame & the Joy of Flushing a Toilet

The past week has been very eventful! I feel good about what I have accomplished, I'm staying positive about 2011 (I realize it's only 14 days in, but that's no reason not to celebrate the optimism!), and I have been reminded how blessed I am in all that I have in this life.

Last weekend, Scott & I dove right into my resolutions. We took on our first house project--repainting the guest room. Before moving into our house, we picked out several paint samples and laid them out in our apartment. We held them up to furniture and even up to themselves so we could get a feel for how each room would lead to the next. My favorite color in the mix was called "Goldenrod." We chose it for the guest room. I was most looking forward to this color and I felt it would be a happy, vibrant color--not too light, not too dark. Unfortunately, the colors on those little slips of paper don't always translate well into 4 full walls of color. This ended up being my least favorite of all the colors. It was too bright, involved multiple coats and STILL needed touching up, and was just overwhelming! I denied it for months because I wanted very much to like it, to rekindle that excitement I had when I first looked at the swatch, but I finally came to terms with the fact that it just wasn't going to happen. I hated it. There--I said it. Upon admitting this to Scott, I found that he hated it, too. So, we ventured out to Lowe's and picked out a new, much more subtle, color. We ended up with something called "Barefoot Beach," which turned out like a soft silverish gray. We painted the room last Saturday, and I dare say I love it! It's simple, subtle, and doesn't assault you upon entering. It still needs some touching up, but we will save that for a later date. Also added to my wish list--curtains and maybe some new decor for the walls in that room. OH--we also bought new sheets for our bed and the guest bed and they look GREAT with the new walls! :)

On Sunday I decided I would jumprope. I remember loving it as a child, and even a teenager. When I was 14 I took Kickboxing and we would always jumprope to warm up. I was actually really good at it then, which is surprising given how uncoordinated I am. I read from a friend's blog that 10 minutes of jumprope is equal to 30 minutes of jogging. I googled it--it checked out. So, I was all geared up and ready to jump some rope! It was in the 20's outside, but I bundled up and figured I would be okay since my heart rate would be up. After only 2 minutes or so, I thought I might DIE!! My lungs were bursting..and I'm not exaggerating...much. I tried to take a break, walk around, and try again. When that didn't work, I decided to just jump around without the rope so I could go at a slower pace. I was determined to complete my 10 minutes! I probably got through about 6 minutes and I had to stop. I tried to walk around so that my heart rate wouldn't go from racing to resting, but I couldn't catch my breath. I went inside and laid down and tried desperately to breathe regularly. After about 5 minutes of gasping and weezing, I was able to get up and move around again. I was still weezy and coughing a lot the whole rest of the day. I suddenly had chest conjestion and a terrible cough. It was crazy! Scott thinks it was b/c my lungs weren't used to the cold weather--and, of course, b/c I'm horribly, embarrassingly out of shape. I'm still interested in jumping rope, but I will take it much easier in the future and probably wait until it's a tad bit warmer outside. In other workout news--I've been lifting weights while watching TV at night and yesterday I went to the RAC and worked out on the Eliptical machine for 30 minutes, did some obliques workouts, and lifted some weights for about 10 minutes. It was a great workout and I did not feel like death afterwards--this is the goal.

In addition to working out more, I've been doing a pretty good job eating healthier. We've tried lots of yummy healthy recipes, and I've actually enjoyed cooking them! I've decided I don't dislike cooking after all! I do prefer to cook when the recipe was my idea because it gives me some ownership of the meal. Before, we were only cooking things Scott thought up, so naturally it didn't feel right for me to take charge cooking them. Some of our tasty meals have included: roasted chicken, sweet potatoes and roasted bananas, chicken burritos w/ corn & blackbeans, 5 bean soup, edamame, and TRIPLE CHOCOLATE COOKIES! I will have to share this cookie recipe with you all. It calls for canellinni beans, which made me fear a similar disaster to the blackbean brownies, but with all the chocolate and the delicious egg whites and splenda whipped tasty delight...how could it fail? They were wonderful. Word to the wise (or not-so-wise if you are like me), PARCHMENT PAPER does not equal WAX PAPER! I didn't know. The wax paper caused our kitchen to get all smokey, while probably contaminating us with some kind of free radical that will later cause unsightly wrinkles and some form of uncureable cancer, and--even worse--our cookies stuck to the sheet and would not come up! We had to scrape at them and avoid the bottom layer. Still--delicious! :)

Oh, and did I mention edamame?? Yes, but it bears repeating! Have you tried it? Have you?? You MUST! So tasty! It's full of protein, fiber, and other super healthy things! More than trying to eat less or lower calories foods, I'm trying to focus on eating healthy foods. By that I mean, foods with fiber, protein, potassium...less sodium and cholesterol. Yes, calories are a consideration, but mostly I'm trying to feed my body good stuff, rather than depriving it of things. So far--so good! I weighed in this morning and have lost .2 lbs since Sunday! Okay...that's hardly worth reporting, and I probably gained it right back with breakfast, but any progress is good! And this week was tough b/c I had some unhealthy things like molten chocolate cake and Taco Bell...more on that to come! I'm planning to weigh myself every Friday morning, and hopefully start seeing some real progress.

Last Friday night was date night. :) Scott and I went to Savannah to use our Chili's gift card and see Black Swan in the theater. All around a good time. I printed out the nutritional values for the menu at Chili's and was HORRIFIED!! Even the "healthy" things were not so great. Now that I'm more aware of what I've been putting in my body, it's no wonder I've gained so much weight these past 3-4 years! But, it was date night and we had free money and it was CHILI'S...so...I had to get the chocolate cake! At least we split it! I won't tell you how many calories that is...but if you care you should look it up. You should probably sit down first!

Oh, how could I forget? We were ICED IN on Monday!! Now, I know I have no right to complain when Atlanta has been snowed in all week long, but Statesboro isn't used to this kind of weather! Well, neither is Atlanta....hmm...well I'm going to complain just for the sake of complaining, K? :) The fact that it wasn't safe to leave our house on Monday wasn't all that bad. In fact, there are many days I wish I could just stay home all day with the hubby and the kitty. Sunday night when we heard work was canceled, we rejoiced! It was a great feeling! When we woke up the next morning with no power or water...not such a great feeling. When we spent all day not being able to flush our toilets or turn on our heater...not great feelings! And the power was out all the way until the next afternoon! Yep, over 24 hours without power OR water! We ended up taking a shower at the RAC Tuesday after work since neither of us had showered since Sunday (ew!). But again we rejoiced when we returned home that night to find a glowing beacon of light coming from our window! We thanked Jesus for electricity and the people who worked on it, we blessed our tacos, and we ate while watching Psych! Oh yeah, we picked up Taco Bell b/c we didn't know if we would have power to cook. See? There are good reasons for my poor decisions! ;)

In other news--this Sunday we are hanging out with the Harveys and I am super excited! So far so good on the hanging out with friends resolution! :) Unfortunately Scott has to work Saturday & Monday (even though I have Mon. off b/c of Martin Luther King Day). Looks like I'll be cleaning, shopping, and doing laundry alone this weekend. Oh, speaking of laundry, we get to buy a new washer soon b/c ours keeps leaking. The rejoicing continues! ha-ha...

Umm...what else? Oh! I finished Knowing God: Knowing Myself and am on to my next non-school related book. Looks like I'll be getting 2 in this month since school hasn't started back yet! :) I'm now reading The Short Second-Life of Bree Tanner. It's a spin-off type book from the Twlight series. Bree was mentioned briefly in Eclipse. I bought this book at Goodwill a while back and forgot about it. I thought it would be a good quick read and keep me motivated to continue reading for fun! I'm about halfway through and am enjoying it thus far.

I guess that's it! Resolutions progressing, thankfulness for electricity and flushing toilets commencing, munching on edamame regularly, and enjoying this thing we call life! :) Have a great weekend everyone!

~Christy~

Making Progress

Hi, folks! As I've mentioned to some of you already, this year I plan to blog more frequently and more generally. In the past I've tried to limit my blogging to divine inspiration. I wait until I have something to share that God has shown me, or I've used it to share my praises of the Lord. I still intend to do this as it is an excellent way to glorify God and, hopefully, minister to others who may be going through some of the same issues I am. While I like this style of blogging, I've found that I often wish I could just blog about life in general. So, I plan to blog more regularly and just share about my life in general. As a Christian, God is involved in everything I do, so He will still be a focus of this blog. But you should not expect an attempt at a profound lesson or revelation every time you visit my site.

Moving on! I have been making some progress on my resolutions. I haven't made any huge changes, but I think gradual and small alterations are the key to long-term change. Here are the things I have done so far!

1. Plans are in the works for hanging out with our friends April & Waring sometime this month. April and I used to be super close because we worked together in the Office of Admissions and later took classes together in the M.A.T graduate program. Since she got married, graduated, moved to Pooler, GA and got a job in Savannah, we haven't been able to spend as much time together. I miss her and her sarcastic attitude that she gets away with because of her cuteness! :) And luckily we discovered that our husbands get along really well, too! They have a lot of the same hobbies and get to talk about manly things like guns and SCUBA diving. And they're both Christians so we often have inspired conversations and fellowship as well. I'm so looking forward to starting off my monthly friend time with them! :)

2. We aren't visiting any more family members this month because we just saw most of them during Christmas and New Years. We did start talking about our plans for February, though. I think we've decided that, if possible, we're going to go stay with my Maw Maw (great-grandmother) in Morrow, GA for a weekend to visit and also help clean up her house. She is 86 years old and isn't able to do a lot around the house anymore. When we were there for Christmas we noticed a lot of things that needed a good cleaning, such as her attic fan vent being coated with thick mounds of dust (which Scott cleaned while we were there). I'm very excited about this plan because she is such a wonderful and giving lady and I feel I've done very little to give back to her in my life. And I know she likes her house to be clean and it's probably driving her crazy that she's unable to physically take care of these things. Plus, she won't be around too much longer and I want to spend more time with her and I want Scott to get a chance to know her better. This will be a great way to accomplish the goal of visiting family once a month and also the resolution of giving more! :)

3. I've been drinking TONS of water! I drink it constantly at work, which makes me have to pee like once an hour at least, but I feel really good about it. I already feel healthier and more lively just from that alone.

4. I've been trying to get up and walk around some at work. I sit at a desk all day, so it's helpful to stretch my legs once or twice an hour. Getting up to pee a lot has helped. I have often gone to the restrooms on the far ends of the building just to get some extra walking in.

5. We've started making recipes from our new cookbook that offers healthy alternatives for tasty meals. Last night we made nachos! We used ground turkey, non-fat black bean dip, salsa, low-fat chips, low-fat skim milk cheese, and Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. I want to make a plug here for Greek Yogurt. I had never had it before, but it is nice and thick and really tastes a lot like sour cream! It has tons of health benefits like being super high in protein and full of probiotics that aid in digestion and colon health. Supposedly you can eat it like regular yogurt, though it seems too bitter to me. But as a sour cream substitute it's wonderful. It's thicker than regular yogurt or low-fat sour cream and has more health benefits. I highly recommend it!

6. I haven't devoted 30 minutes a day to God yet, but I have been spending more time in prayer and Bible study each day. I've also been reading a non-school book during lunch and before bed every night. It is one of my Grandpa's books: Knowing God: Knowing Myself. It's quite good, and also helps with the God-time, too!

That's it so far. In other news--tonight Scott and I are having a date night! We are going to Savannah after work, having dinner, and seeing Black Swan in the theater. After that, if we're not too tired, we may walk around River Street. I'm super excited! We're always together, but when we take the time to plan something different it's always extra fun and feels more special.

Good luck with all your resolutions, friends! Mine are certainly a work in progress, and I hope yours are coming along, too. Happy Friday!

Resolutions!

I really don't like the idea of new years resolutions because they're so cliche and hardly anyone ever accomplishes them, especially me! But there is something about starting a new year, the idea of starting fresh and coming at things in a different way, that is so appealing. I took some time to think about why my resolutions always fail. There are several reasons I can come up with. 1) the goals are long-term and not paired with any short-term, attainable, and measurable goals. For instance, losing weight. I'll either make it a generic goal of simply that or I'll say something like...I want to lose 20 pounds. When I don't see results soon, I get discouraged and give up. There isn't anything to keep me motivated. But if I made smaller goals, like 4 pounds a month for example, I can start to see progress and start meeting little goals, thereby encouraging me to keep going. 2) the goals are something I feel like I should do, but not something I really want to do. Or maybe I do want to, but not as badly as I want something contrary to it. Maybe I want to lose weight, but not as badly as I want to eat chocolate. Maybe I think I should go to the gym everyday, but I don't really want to. I think there are ways of getting around this. (I know I keep talking about losing weight, but it's such a common one and something that, as cliche as it is, I do want to do.) But I think if maybe I broaden my thoughts of losing weight to more than just hours logged at the gym, I could start living a healthier lifestyle by doing other physical activities, making small changes, and eating tasty but healthy things--rather than completely cutting out things I love. And this brings me to the final reason I think my resolutions fail. 3) I make it all about restrictions and abstaining from things. What is meant to be a positive and encouraging endeavor becomes a negative and insufferable experience. So, maybe rather than only focus on things I won't do, I can focus instead of things that I will do. It seems much easier to start something new than to quit something old and familiar. Not to say I shouldn't cut some things down or make changes, but positive additions will go a long way, I think.

So, bearing all this in mind, I have come up with a few "resolutions" for 2011.

1. Eat more veggies! I feel like I hardly ever eat vegetables and there are so many choices out there that are tasty and super nutritious.
2. drink more water. Water is good for you in so many ways, it's free (we have well water), and it's refreshing!
3. search for more alternative recipes for some of our favorite dishes (ie, whole wheat pasta and breads, fat free sour cream, egg substitute, etc...)
4. find more ways to be physical throughout the day (walk around every 30 minutes at work, lift weights while watching TV, always take the stairs vs. the elevator, etc...)
5. do more physical activities for fun, like riding bikes, taking walks, dancing, etc...
6. spend more time outside. I feel like I'm always indoors! We have such a beautiful and spacious lawn and a nice pond outside our house and we never go out there! I want to spend time sitting on the front porch reading, fishing in the pond, walking around, and playing the lawn games we got for Christmas!
7. visit family more often. we tend to wait for reasons to visit people, and some people never provide concrete events or "reasons" to come see them...so we don't see them at all, or only once a year at Christmas. I want to see everyone more, especially siblings, cousins, and grandparents. I want to make plans to do this at least once a month.
8. hang out with friends more often. Scott and I always joke that we don't have friends. It's not that, it's just that we are homebodies. We love being at home and relaxing. And we love being together so much that we rarely feel the need for other people. But relationships are important to me and I want to be close with other people. There are people in my life who I love and I want to spend more time with them. I want to plan to do this at least once a month as well.
9. Spend more time with God. I used to spend at least 30 minutes a day in prayer and Bible study...just talking with God. I can't remember that last time I did that. I still pray and read the Bible, but not in larger segments of time, and I rarely give God my undivided attention. I honestly feel like I've lost a lot of the passion in my relationship with God and I want it back so badly, and I've been struggling with this for a few months now. I hope that seeking him through devoted time each day will help me grow closer with Him.
10. Continue paying off my student loans each month, even though I don't have to since I'm still in school. It seems smart to make payments before interest kicks in again. We stopped doing it b/c of Christmas expenses, but I want to start again.
11. Find ways to give more, whether it be with money, time, possessions, etc... We tithe regularly, donate to ministries, and volunteer regularly at the church. I don't feel like we're doing poorly in this area, but I believe there is always room to do more and I don't want to become complaisant in this area.
12. Read more books! I want to read at least one non-school related book a month. That doesn't seem like a lot, but I often get bogged down with school work, and if I do any outside reading it's the Bible. That is more important than other reading, but I think I have the time if I set it aside to read for fun.
13. Do at least one project around the house a month. There are lots of things I would like to accomplish in our home, but I rarely feel like doing any of it. But projects can be fun once you get into them, and I find that I'm always so much happier when the house is clean, organized, and put together. I want to do some work outside, paint several things, fix the trim around our fireplace, etc...
14. Make all A's each semester
15. and lastly--write more. This blog is about the extent of my writing outside of emails and school papers. I want to continue to blog, but also do some free writing every now and then. I don't know exactly what my goal is in this area. Maybe 10 minutes a day? That's not much, but it's good for starting out, I think. I really want to make these goals simple, attainable and measurable. And they need to be things I'm committed to. I can go ahead and tell you that I won't do all these things, but I hope to at least make small improvements in all areas.

So, there ya have it! Lose weight, yes--but through specific changes and additions. But really more than that, I want to grow in my relationships with God, family, friends, and myself. And of course, I want to grow with Scott--but that isn't an area that I need to set goals to accomplish. We are naturally awesome at being together! ;)

Santa or Jesus?

I was doing some Christmas shopping the other day and "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" played over the intercom. As I listened to this familiar Christmas song I thought about who Santa is and who Jesus is. Both represent Christmas in some way, but it would seem that Santa is more popular than Jesus. People stand in lines at the mall for hours so their children can sit on Santa's lap, we sing about him, he's everywhere you look in Christmas decor. Some of our most cherished Christmas stories have to do with Santa. How much of that time and energy is spent on celebrating and recognizing Jesus? I would venture to say not nearly as much.

So as I thought about this, I thought about the characteristics and roles of both Santa and Jesus. Santa is a happy, jolly, man who brings toys to children once a year. He watches them all year long to make sure they've been good. If they have been good, they get lots of presents. Supposedly, if they have been naughty, they don't get anything, or maybe a lump of coal. Now, most little kids get presents from "Santa" anyway, even when they've been naughty, but the idea is to convince them to be as good as possible so they can get the presents that they want from Santa. It's all dependent on their behavior for the whole year. Think about the lyrics to that song:

You better watch out
You better not cry
Better not pout
I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is coming to town
He's making a list
And checking it twice;
Gonna find out Who's naughty and nice
Santa Claus is coming to town
He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!


It's really kind of weird if you think about it. It's almost like instead of teaching your kids to be good because it's the right thing to do, you teach them to be good because otherwise Santa won't bring them presents. I know most parents don't see it this way; they're just going along with a fun tradition. But if you really think about who Santa is...well he's not very forgiving, he shows favoritism, and he doesn't provide any real joy, only superficial happiness from possessions.

What's interesting is this is actually how a lot of people think about God. They think He's up there watching them all the time to make sure they're being good to see if they will be able to get into Heaven or not. They think if they're good enough, He'll answer their prayers or bless them with money and possessions. Much like Santa, they think He watches for a really long time only to make one decision--Santa decides what presents you get on one day based on a year's worth of behavior, and God decides if you get into Heaven based on a lifetime's worth of behavior.

But that's not at all true! God sent us Jesus on Christmas (technically it wasn't on Dec. 25th, but that's beside the point) as a substitute for His wrath. Jesus paid the price for our sins and poor behavior. Because of Jesus, we can not only be forgiven for our sins, but we get new hearts with the Holy Spirit living in us. He doesn't just forgive us, he SAVES us. And that doesn't just mean saving us from Hell, it means saving us from the bondage of sin that we live in while on Earth. Our new hearts change us to give us strength and goodness to defeat Satan and his powers of evil. That is totally and completely different than anything Santa does. Santa doesn't forgive us, he doesn't provide any assistance on doing the right thing, and he certainly doesn't provide any type of substitute to bear our mistakes. Um, so why is he more popular?

Just read some of the lyrics of another familiar Christmas song... "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." And you tell me--who would you rather celebrate?

God rest ye merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember, Christ, our Saviour
Was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan's power
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

......
"Fear not then," said the Angel,
"Let nothing you affright,
This day is born a Saviour
Of a pure Virgin bright,
To free all those who trust in Him
From Satan's power and might."
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

.....
Now to the Lord sing praises,
All you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas
All other doth deface.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

Help for a Friend

As most of you know, one of my coworkers Jan Reynolds has been struggling with a failing heart. I'm pleased to say that she is doing better than she was a few weeks ago. She actually started back to work this week, but only for half days. She is still very weak and has to be careful with everything she does. At this point she is just waiting on the phone call to say they have a heart for her. Please be praying with us that this happens soon!

I'm also excited to announce that the Georgia Transplant Foundation has opened up donations for Jan's medical expenses. A lot of the costs of the actual operation will be covered by insurance, but the medications and treatments she will continue to need after the operation are extremely expensive. Even with insurance, the copays alone can be too expensive for the average income.

I know money is tight for all of us right now with the holidays just around the corner, the recession, and general expenses. But I also know that we cannot out-give God. Please be praying about whether or not God would have you donate to this fund, and how much you should give. If you give faithfully and with a cheerful heart, you will be blessed. I'm not trying to say if you give to this God will give you a surprise check of some large amount, but I do believe if you give to Jan's fund, God will make sure you still have what you need. So, please, consider giving to this cause. It is something that is very important to me and my entire office. We all love Jan very much and want to help her in any way possible. Scott and I have made a small donation and plan to give more after our next paycheck. Every little bit helps, so even if it's only $10...it will help! And you can always give more later if you feel called to do so.

The website is
http://janshealthyheart.blogspot.com/2010/12/online-donations-now-accepted.html. This is the blog about Jan's condition, recovery, and fundraising attempts. There is a link on that post that will take you to the actual donation site. I thought you might like to see the blog first so you can read a little more about Jan. If you want to stay informed about this issue, please follow that blog.

Thanks so much for your donations and prayers! God bless!

The Ripple Effect

This message kind of piggy-backs off the last one about God making good from bad.

I recently read the book "Same Kind of Different as Me" by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. If you have not read it, PLEASE do! It's incredible! It's a faith-based book about the way God worked in the lives of a husband and wife and one homeless man. He brought them together in a way that changed all of their lives, plus the lives of countless others. And even if you aren't a "crazy Christian" like me, you can still enjoy this book b/c it's about humanity and real issues in the world.

There is one really sad part in the book. I read it and lay in bed crying with Scott looking very concerned. It's a true story, and I had a reaction similar to that of one of the characters. Why would God do this? Well, in the book we see several lives that are changed because of that one sad thing. Right away God revealed part of his purpose. Then, as I read it and felt encouraged and inspired by these stories, I realize I was being changed, too! The people that this happened to could not have known what type of effect it would have on anyone, and they certainly would not have predicted it would have any effect on me! But God knew. When God did that sad thing, He knew each and every life it would affect. He planned it that way.

Then I realized, everything that happens in this world is like a stone thrown into a pond. It has a ripple effect. One action (the stone thrown in the pond) causes lots of reactions (the ripples). I realized in that moment, I am a ripple of this one incident! And I don't personally know these people; I wasn't there when it happened. But it has changed me and countless others who knew the people, have heard the story, or have read the book.

This also reminded me of the movie Letters to God. It is also a book, but I've never read it. Sorry to spoil it for those who haven't seen it, but the little boy in the movie ends up dying from cancer. It seems so tragic because he has such unwavering faith throughout the whole movie, but God still takes him. But we see at the end of the movie how it has helped his family grow in their faith. Also, during the credits (this was a true story), we see testimonies and stories of real people who were touched and inspired by this story--particularly other cancer victims and survivors. Who knows how many people were saved because of the death of this one boy?

And of course that made me think about Jesus. He was perfect. Never sinned. Loved everyone. Was God's only son. And he was beaten and killed. God did that to his own son. And I'm not saying that to claim that God is heartless or anything. I'm pointing this out because of what happened due to Jesus's death. By his stripes we are healed! Because he died and rose again, we too can die to our old selves and rise again in Christ. Because he took on the wrath of God, we are saved from our sins and do not have to suffer in that same way. I mean, we can't even truly understand the amount and magnitude of the good that came out of that terrible event. I am a ripple.

Ripple effects don't just happen from bad things. "Same Kind of Different as Me" has lots of wonderful things that happen. And each of those things has affected me and others as well. It makes me kind of think of a boiling pot of water. Or a rainstorm. So many eruptions in the water, so many ripples--all colliding into one another, morphing along the way. That's kind of how life is. And what's awesome is it looks and feels chaotic to us, but it is all perfectly planned by God and He is completely in control of all those ripples. So crazy!

So, again, when something happens in this world and it doesn't seem fair and you question God and can't find any good in it whatsoever, just trust that there are ripples being sent out into the world, and good is going to happen. You may never see that good, but it's out there...even if it's several ripples away.