The Rush Behind Giving Thanks

I've been thinking a lot about the upcoming holidays and got to wondering about how God orchestrated Thanksgiving before Christmas. I know the events are somewhat in the order of the calendar year, but somewhere along the way man decided when we'd celebrate these holidays. Anymore, Thanksgiving gets eclipsed by the busyness of Christmas and I've seen that happening in my thoughts this year. I'm a planner and love to decorate my home for each season so naturally I'm thinking about my to-do list which always is longer in December. Yet, I've also felt God tugging at my heart as if to tell me not to rush this season of Thanksgiving. I have far too much to be thankful for to skim the surface and move on to Christmas cards and decorations. What would my December be like if I lived each day as if it were Thanksgiving? I'm going to have to spend some time thinking on this...

For Parents Only

I just finished reading the book For Parents Only: Getting Inside the Head of Your Kid by Shaunti Feldhahn and Lisa A. Rice. One of the things that caught my eye from the back cover was: “For every bewildered parent, there’s a kid longing to be understood.”

I found the book very insightful and it gave me a fresh understanding of my teens. Some of the discussions included are: Why your child suddenly treats you lien an alien and acts like one too, why your child secretly hopes you’ll stand your ground, why your teen is convinced he can’t talk to you and how to change his mind and what mood swings reveal about teens’ secret fears and how you can boost their confidence.

My boys will tell you that I am far from a perfect parent and on some days they may say I’m a terrible parent. I make lots of mistakes, but let’s face it, what works one day for our teens doesn’t work the next and just why does that happen? This book gave me a fresh perspective and insight into the pressures my boys are facing and tips on how to navigate these turbulent waters. I’d loan it to you, but I need to keep it close by because I’m still trying to apply it to my parenting. I do think it’s worth the investment!

Loving Well

In our current Bible study, Loving Well, we have been challenged in many ways. One (of many) thing I’m working through is allowing God to love on me, not through me, but to me. In session two Beth says “We will not love well until we feel well loved.” So, now I’m left wondering, how does God love on me or how do I know He’s loving on me? I think for me part of the problem is that I don’t acknowledge how God is showing me His love. I get so wrapped up in our schedule or my to do list and I fail to see the many small ways God is trying to show me. As I’ve been pondering this God has led me to two songs on Steven Curtis Chapman’s new CD. The first song is “You are Being Loved” and the second is “Definition of Me.” The words to these songs have stuck with me reminding me that I am being loved.

Then this morning I picked up the latest edition of Today’s Christian Woman (I’ve had the magazine for probably 6 weeks and I’m just getting to page 24), but anyway, the article I turned to was “God’s Tattoo: Evidence of God’s love is everywhere. But take a special look at his hands,” by Stephanie Voiland. You can probably view the article on line by going to their website www.todayschristianwoman.com. To be honest, I didn’t get to read the entire article (yet) but the author refers to a verse in Isaiah 49:16 which says, “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” Just like a tattoo is permanent, our names are engraved in the palm of God’s hands. For me, today, this was further evidence of God’s love for me.

How is God showing His love to you? I’d love to hear about it!

The Basics of Life

On Sunday, Steve’s sermon was on the “Basics of Life.” He shared with us the mission statement of the church to reach up to God in worship, reach in (fellowship and discipleship) and reach out. There are so many ways we can serve and one of them is through women’s ministries. I often hesitate to solicit help when we have many needs on a Sunday morning. I encourage everyone to take a turn in the nursery or teach/assist a Sunday school class. I can guarantee God’s blessing when you serve our little (and not so little) ones. That being said, it would be wonderful to have more women willing to assist with women’s ministry activites. You could be part of our Planning Committee (we meet quarterly to plan activities) or our Retreat Committee (the retreat is the second weekend in March) or coordinate or assist with an activity. We have a place for every woman at LCC to be invovled!