listening

This last year, more than ever in my life, I've tried to be a listener--tuning my ears to God's voice. I'd love to say it's been a wild success and I'm more connected to Him than ever. I ask, and then I automatically hear. But, it's not always that way. Ahem... rarely that way.

Let's face it: this world crackles static. And my heart yells obscenities sometimes. And sometimes my spirit is clouded with shadows.

The other day I was driving. The morning stretched my willingness to proceed, be patient, or desire change (at least change in me). You know the kind. You want everyone else to change, but you feel justified in your sour attitude. That was me.

But despite my ugly spirit, God penetrated through and whispered, "Turn off the noise." I didn't want to, but I clicked off the radio. The kids were surprisingly quiet for once. I started pouring out my heart to the One that listens and knows me best. I wasn't two minutes in when my three-year-old whispered from the back, "I love you. You're my best friend."

Even now as I recall the gentle words, salt water stings my eyes. I know God prompted my little girl to speak life into my otherwise dry and overburdened spirit. Would she have said it if the radio had been on and I hadn't been praying? Maybe. Maybe. But I wouldn't have heard it the same. I wouldn't have known that God was communicating his own love to me in that moment.

I have a friend who wrote a book that focuses largely on being still before God and listening to His voice. I know it is something I need to do more and more. Every day. Every hour. Oh, how I need to hear Him. http://myjourneytohealing.com/

If it matters, you make the time.

If it doesn’t, you make excuses.

The accomplishment of a day isn’t so much about accomplishing goals but abiding in God, and this is the thing that needs remembering. ~Ann Voskamp

my heart....

....is really overwrought with a burden these past few weeks. But it's not a burden I want to let go or forget. It's the burden of being Christ's follower, His ambassador, His hands and feet. And sadly, I think my appendages have been a little handicapped lately.

As He usually does, God has been showing me--in several various words--that I need to be a doer and not just a hearer. Our pastor shared an illustration that hit the bulls-eye for me. He asked us, "What if I told my daughter to go clean her room, and found out an hour later that she hadn't touched it? When I asked her why she didn't do what I told her, she might say, 'But Dad, I've thought about your words to me, even memorized them, and in a little while some friends are coming over to discuss them with me.' Would that response be okay? Of course not." How then, do we think that God's commands to us are just suggestions to contemplate? Memorizing and discussing Scripture is admirable, but if we chose to listen and not do, we are not his disciples.

I'm doing a Beth Moore Bible study on James right now. If your familiar with the book at all, you know that James doesn't sugar coat his message or take it easy on us. He's the big brother that keeps you accountable and doesn't leave room for excuses. Read James 1

As Isaiah 58 reminds us, we are to loosen the oppression of others, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and provide shelter for those that need it.

And then Francis Chan's words penetrated deeper still, "Jesus is saying that we show tangible love for God in how we care for the poor and those who are suffering. Maybe you have already made sacrifices. You have witnessed the benefits of giving and are blessed because of it. But it gets harder too. The temptation to level off increases with each passing year. Pride tells you that you've sacrificed more than others. Fear tells you it's time to worry about the future. Friends say you've given enough, and that it is someone else's turn.

"A friend was faithfully giving 20 percent of his income to God, and suddenly his income dropped drastically. He knew he had to decide whether he should continue to give in a way that proved he trusted God. It wouldn't have been wrong to lower his giving to 10 percent. But my friend chose instead to increase his giving to 30 percent."

"If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Isaiah 58:10-

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? ¹⁸ Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." I John 3:16-18

And then I read this out of Crazy Love, "Do you want to see God more than you desire security?" and felt a tangible pang. I've rested in mediocrity because I've valued my comfort more than my commitment to Him. I've been more concerned with securing my future, my health, my finances, my protective layer than I have in spreading God's good news, sharing with others in need, giving of my time.

"Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter." ~Tim Kizziar

In this world it is not what we take up but what we give up that makes us rich. Henry Ward Beecher

This coming year, I want my life to be a more true reflection of sacrifice.

In order for it to be fully purposeful, I need to make sure that my reservoir is full. You can't give out of a depleted spirit without soon drying up yourself--believe me, I know (from years of experience). I want my sacrifice to come from an overflowing heart of love, which He is creating in me. I want people not only to see my time, my hands, my resources, and my gifts (actually, I don't really want people to see that at all), but I want them to see His heart.

So, God, I ask for your strength to do what you are calling me to do. Give me your heart so that my hands and feet work to the tune of your music.

"And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming." I John 2:28

http://youtu.be/OBSJS66Pbac

Remembering Why

Just give it away....

Stuff binds us, complicates our lives, and creates cardboard idols. Although I've never considered myself a packrat (by most standards), my husband is an extreme minimalist. You know the advice, "If you haven't used it in a year (or six months), toss it,"? Well, my husband takes that quite literally. Doesn't matter if it was my first gift to him, doesn't matter if it's Christmas decorations or souvenirs from Europe, if we haven't looked at it or used it recently, it's better off in someone else's hands.

And I'm learning... that keeping something for later use, when someone can definitely use it now, is just selfishness.

Recently, we've taken some clothes to Christian Associates and given away some toys, which is all well and good, but the question I keep seeing in front of me is this: how hard was that? What kind of sacrifice is giving away that which doesn't matter to you?

A real heart of giving will give even when it hurts, even when we feel the loss of giving it away.

Francis Chan puts it bluntly. "LUKEWARM PEOPLE give money to charity and to the church... as long as it doesn't impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy and safe to give, they do so. After all, God loves a cheerful giver, right?

"King David replied to Araunah, 'No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing" (I Chron. 21:24)

"As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 'I tell you the truth.' he said, 'this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on'" (Luke 21:1-4). [Crazy Love 69].

So, the next time you have an opportunity to give (don't wait to hear God's thunder from heaven to do so), give with a cheerful heart, and give away something special to you that will in turn bless someone else.

I Just Love How...

God teaches us in clusters. When he really wants us to "get it" he throws us the information from all angles. Last night I just started reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan and this morning followed up with Ted Cunningham's latest message since we missed church on Sunday. And what has God been reminding me?

He is powerful.

He is holy, holy, holy.

And he is the only one we should fear... and yes, we should fear him.

Isa 8:12-13 (NIV) ...Do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.

Mat 10:28 (NIV) [Jesus] "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

Ps 111:10 (NEB) The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and they who live by it grow in understanding...

Prov 14:26-27 (NIV) He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.

Phil 2:12-13 (NIV) ...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Mike Yaconelli: "I would like to suggest that the Church become a place of terror again; a place where God continually has to tell us, "Fear not"; a place where our relationship with God is not a simple belief or a doctrine or theology, it is God's burning presence in our lives. I am suggesting that the tame God of relevance be replaced by the God whose very presence shatters our egos into dust, burns our sin into ashes, and strips us naked to reveal the real person within. The Church needs to become a gloriously dangerous place where nothing is safe in God's presence except us. Nothing--including our plans, our agendas, our priorities, our politics, our money, our security, our comfort, our possessions, our needs.

You may ask, what in the world does all this have to do with peace, Kristin? Well, without the fear of the Lord, we will never have peace. We will spend our energy fearing man and the loss of our idols. And no peace will ever be found there. Peace comes when we have a right understanding of ourselves and our purpose in light of a mighty and holy God.

What the Christmas Tree means to me....

Even though Christmas trees have their roots in pagan traditions, bringing an aspect of God's creation into the house has always been special to me. As a child, my family would go out the day after Thanksgiving and chop down a real evergreen tree. The pungent pine aroma and the prickle of needles floods my mind as I remember hanging homemade ornaments on the boughs.

Today, we've substituted the real evergreen tree for a fake tree, mostly due to practically. One, there aren't any tree farms in our area and the mold count drastically rises when you bring a live tree in the house. But, regardless of it's everlasting quality, the tree still reminds me of some significant aspects of our God.

While winter overwhelms the other trees, stripping them of their leaves and beauty, the pine tree stays green through the most brutal weather. We know that despite the harsh reality of this world, God's hope and presence is ever with us. He won't leave us alone.

Here is one version of Martin Luther's story.

Two slight variations of another story tell how Martin Luther was returning home after a sixteenth century Christmas Eve service. One version tells how he was so overcome with the beauty of starlight glistening in the icicles like diamonds hanging from an evergreen tree that he cut down a small tree and took it home
.

It's believed that Luther decorated the tiny tree with candles because it reminded him that Jesus was the light of the world. The second version differs slightly, in as much as Martin Luther was overcome at the sight of thousands of stars twinkling through the foliage of the evergreens.
http://lynda-osborne.suite101.com/the-christmas-tree-a158448

And A Child Will Lead Them

Whose Birthday Is it Really?

http://www.aholyexperience.com/

Read Ann Voskamp's blog for today and try to find at least one way to alter your giving/receiving this year.

Getting in the Spirit

Although I'm not an overly traditional person, when we get to this time of year, I love to rummage through my sentimental bag and pull out every tradition that brings me closer to the Christmas spirit.

As a child, we always had a little flip Advent calendar that took us through Luke 2 and brought us to the birth of our Savior. A friend of mine recently made her own and I was surprised at how fun and easy it could be. If you don't already have one, I'd encourage you to do the same.

This year, I purchased a Charlie Brown Christmas. I'm sure you've seen it, but if it's been awhile, take a half hour and refresh those nostalgic memories. Linus has a beautiful monologue at the end that will bring you back to the true meaning of Christmas.

If you're anything like me, aromas can conjure up feelings that the other four senses won't. This one I learned from my mom. It's natural, easy, and cheap, and it makes your whole home smell festive. Take the peeling from an orange you've just eaten and throw it in a small pot of water. Add a teaspoon (or less) of cinnamon and simmer.

And lastly (for today), get on Etsy and look up homemade ornaments. Figure out how to make some of your own, or better yet, support a local crafter. Here's one to check out--made by a family friend.

Of course, you need to put on some Christmas music while you are decking the halls.