Believe

In the past weeks, we have talked about decisions, courage, and patience - all dependent on God. But the reality is none of that matters we don't have faith in God. 

John 20:29

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Read Judges 6:1-10 together, then ask...

What kind of shape is Israel in? Why?

1. (vs. 1) They were doing in evil in the sight of the Lord
2. (vs. 1-2) God allowed their enemies to attack invade them continuously for seven year
3. (vs. 2) As result the Israelites lived in “dens” hidden in mountains and caves and walled cities
4. (vs. 3-5) Every time the Israelites harvested their crops, the Midianites came like grasshoppers and took all their stuff or destroyed so they had no food left for themselves (reminds me of the Disney movie “A Bug’s Life”)
5. (vs. 6) As a result of their food and their land being destroyed constantly for seven years, all of Israel’s money was gone and they were very, very poor
6. (vs. 6) So poor that they cried to God for help

Basically, Israel was not doing well here. At all.

In the next verses, we see that God answered the cry of the Israelites by sending a prophet to speak to them for Him. This prophet quoted God saying, “I made it possible for you to leave Egypt, and delivered you from bondage. I lead you safely through the wilderness and gave you a pre-defeated land ready for you to move right in. And even though I did all of this for you, and even though I am your God, you have chosen to worship the gods of the Amorites. This is your punishment.”

Do we worship the gods of foreign nations today?

Read 1 Peter 2:9-16 together as a class. Verses 9-12 shown below. 

9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; 10 Which in time past were not a people {just like the Israelites were slaves in Egypt}, but are now the people of God {now they are freely dwelling in the land that God graciously gave them}: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; 12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Ooo… What are fleshly lusts?

Things that you desire – the kinds of things that pull you away from God. They are the things that you desire so much that you forget to honor God with your actions and you are no longer being a good example to the unsaved world so that they can see Christ through you.

Example – I have an iPad 2. My husband bought it for me as wedding present. I love it. It does all kinds of neat things, like takes videos of my student's oral presentations; keep track of my calendar. I can listen to music or look at my pictures; sometimes I can even write my blog from here; I can play games. Cool stuff. Not to mention, it is a special gift from my husband. He sacrificed his hard earned money to get this for me.

{Just like my ipad is special, my relationship with God is even more special. He sacrificed His only Son so that I could have an eternal relationship with Him.}

Recently, the ipad mini got an update. And it is awesome. It is smaller, faster, cheaper, better. It is more convenient because it fits in all of my purses, not just the big ones. It is faster and can do things better than my ipad 2. And more importantly… The camera is better. The cases are a lot cuter.

{ASK} What would happen if I decided that I wanted the ipad mini instead of my ipad 2. If decided that I wasn’t going to use this precious gift from my husband anymore, because I desired something else, something seemingly better?

1. It would hurt me because I can’t afford an ipad mini, so I am obviously not getting one.
2. My husband sacrificed to get this one for me. Wouldn’t he be hurt that I didn’t want it anymore? It was a special gift from him, a gift that he expects me to treasure and value.

In some ways, Israel did the same thing with God. He gave them the land. He made it entirely possible that they could live in an perfect relationship with Him. But Israel desired the newness, the freshness, the ease of the Midianite gods. They craved what seemed better.

When I desire something more than I desire God, it is an idol in my life. It might not be a statue of a fat little man or a funny looking animal carved in stone, but it is still an idol – because it is taking the place of God in my life. We know that idols can be really bad things, but idols can be things that seem good too – like wanting a newer iPad, or a nicer car, or different friends, or to be able to do a certain thing. Anything that takes away from our relationship with God is an idol.

Israel had a problem. They always liked what the other nations around them had – whether it was better horses or more fertile land or a king or a funny looking stone god. Israel always wanted it. But God had told them that they were to love Him and live for Him only. So Israel was disobedient and allowed the Midianites to attack and frustrate them like grasshoppers would always frustrate the ants.

Well, during this time, there was a guy, who didn’t want his crops to be stolen by the Midianites anymore. He was done with this nonsense. So he hid his crops in a winepress. Now this wasn’t like bad wine – it was more like juice or flavored water. But the fact is you can’t make bread in a juicemaker… and definitely not at night, but that is what this dude was going to do because he decided that Midian was absolutely not going to steal from him again.

While Gideon is working very hard to thresh his wheat in the juicemaker, an angel appeared to him.

Judges 6:12

And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.

Now if you can imagine, Gideon is working hard, sweating, in the middle of the night, making bread in a juice maker, and an ANGEL (that you have never met or seen before) appears to him and says, "Hey, how's it going, Mr. Mighty Man of Valour?" That would be like some coming up to one of us on the hottest summer day after we had run a 5k that morning, and now we are mowing the grass and trimming the hedges and pulling the weeds, and someone comes up to us and says, "Hey there, Miss America! What'cha doing?"

So basically, if that happened to me, I would be laughing and saying, “Dude, you have the wrong person here.” But Gideon's not laughing… remember making bread in the juice maker in the middle of the night… he is probably too tired, agitated and frustrated to get the joke or he could be totally shocked at the sight of an angel… He just cuts to the chase.

Judges 6:13

13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.

Gideon looks at this angel and says, “Where is the God that I have believed in my whole life. He promised that he would deliver us, but it seems that He has forsaken us.”

I love what God says next… (Judges 6:14)

14 And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?

What was Gideon’s might? I don’t know for sure. So many people will tell you that Gideon was a coward for doing a woman’s job in the middle of the night in a juicer. But I think that it took courage for Gideon to do this because he could have so easily been discovered hiding the wheat from the Midianites. Then he probably would have been killed, and possibly even his family. This obviously took courage.

But was that Gideon’s might? No. I think that his might was His faith in God. He was one of the remaining few that hadn’t rejected or abandoned God. He was one of the few left who was willing to silently stand up against the Midianites. He had the faith to believe that God still cared. Although he had questions, he still had the faith to express them.

Gideon lived in a time, like today, where we don’t see God work as visibly as He did in the Bible. But where we have the Bible written down and available to read, all Gideon had were the stories his grandparents told him.

As God told Gideon that he would be the one to save Israel from the Midianites, Gideon demanded a sign. Remember that Gideon asked for the fleece to be dry and the ground wet, then for the fleece to be wet and the ground dry? Gideon needed to know that God was real in his life. Ignoring the fact that there was an angel standing in front of him, Gideon needed to know that this God that He believed in was real and alive and one who was as miraculous as Gideon had heard him to be.

Today we have the Bible. We don’t necessarily need God to make our blankets wet in the morning. We can read about what He has done in the past. We can see how He sealed our relationship with Him through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross as a payment for our sins. We have a tremendous number of witnesses who suffered persecution for the sake of Christ – who exhibited faith in a living God. We don’t need that sign, so that we can put our faith in God.

Hebrews 12:1-3

1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

But it is really nice to see God work in our lives personally. It is nice to know that He is real to me – not just to my parents, or my friends, or the people who lived in Bible times. So how do we see God work? How do we know He is real?

Let me direct you just for a moment to the day of your salvation. I know some of you know the exact hour and minute and a few of us only remember the moment, but the work that God did in our lives – that is our fleece. He paid for our sin. He died on the cross. Our sin account with God is taken care of, before we even commit them.

Did you know that every time we sin, we grieve the heart of God. He – as a just God, our Judge –  raises His hand to demand judgment. Satan stands in God’s throne room, accusing us. “Look what she just did. She doesn’t deserve Heaven, or your love or mercy.” And Jesus sticks out his nail scarred hands, and says “It is already taken care of.”

Our faith hinges on this. Our salvation took care of everything. Gideon didn’t have it as easy as we do. He had salvation, but it just wasn’t as visible.

Does this mean that we can’t ask questions? Does this mean we should just trust everything that everyone says? No. Ask questions, but search for the answers in the Bible. Believe what Pastor says, but confirm it in your Bible. Fervently pray, but rejoice when God answers prayer.

John 20:29

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Book Review: The Cross and the Switchblade

George Mueller lived in a rare day. A day where it seemed like God worked miracles just like He did in Bible times. But then it seems like that doesn't happen anymore. 

David Wilkerson is a modern day George Mueller. Well, 1950s. He expected great things from God, asked by simple prayer, and as a result, God blessed in incredible ways. The thing that I loved about The Cross and the Switchblade was that it was not usually financial blessing in Wilkerson's life (although that certainly happened). It was largely God working in the lives of unsaved teenagers, them accepting the gift of salvation, and their lives being miraculously changed. 

Wilkerson was a humble rural Pennsylvania pastor, who believed God called him to share the message of Jesus Christ with four teenage boys in New York City. He travelled the hours from the outskirts of Pittsburgh to NYC, found that he could not meet with the boys because they were in jail, ended up getting in trouble with the court, and wound up being displayed as a crazy fanatic preacher. 

When he returned home rejected and humiliated, Wilkerson truly felt that God was calling him back to New York. A second visit proved more fruitful, and the book takes you on an unbelievable and incredible journey of absolute transformation. 

Something to note: I do not recommend this book for teenagers. Wilkerson doesn't hold back on describing the depravity and wickedness of the gangs. It is for the purpose of explaining the need and the dramatic change in their lives, but for a teenager who might not be aware of some of the wickedness in the world, it would be best not to raise unnecessary questions. If it were rated on a movie scale, this book would probably squeeze by at PG-13. 

Photo Courtesy: http://www.ajchen.com/2011/05/11/the-cross-and-the-switchblade/

The Best Christmas Gift

Did you have a good Christmas? I certainly hope so! Isn't Christmas a wonderful time of year? I love spending the day relaxing and spending time with my family.

Right now my life has consisted of literally running ragged day in and day out. I try to carve out personal time as much as I can, but as a high school teacher and youth worker - frankly the work is mentally and emotionally tiring. So even on those weekday evenings when I have the chance to sit and relax (meaning grade papers, research new ideas for a my classroom or the next day's lesson, or preparing a Sunday School lesson), I am not really relaxing.

Yesterday after a light breakfast with my family, we opened Christmas presents, then sat around all day. I played with my new Adonit Jot Pro stylus and the app Noteshelf. Let's just say I so look forward to using that app on a regular basis now that I have a good stylus. As much as I enjoy my tech, deep down I am a pen and paper person and this stylus and app totally bridge that gap for me. And I read the book God's Smuggler by Brother Andrew. It was an enjoyable day.

My husband gave me a gift that really can't be beaten. He gave me a corner. It doesn't sound like much to the average person but I live in a 750 sq. foot apartment with my husband. I grew up having my own room and my own space. Of my three apartments, this is by far the tiniest, and sometimes I just need some room. Something that I can call my own - a sanctuary where I can just enjoy being alone, reading a good book, journaling, or studying my Bible. Conversely, my husband really would like to watch football games more regularly or play a video game in the evening to wind down from a long day at work.

Here is my amazing corner:

We have actually been working on it for several months. I have been looking for a chair pretty much since we moved into this apartment in four months ago. We finally spotted this neutral Serta swivel chair in Homegoods last month; the super plush minty blanket was a bonus find. The full-length mirror which has been on the wish list since I  got married and the blue canvas with the birds are both from Target. The frame (which I still need to add pictures to) was a clearance find at Kirklands over a year ago. Poor frame has been stuffed in a box or closet for the last year waiting for a home.

The final touch (which we picked up on Christmas Eve, making my corner complete for Christmas) was the turquoise rolling cart & pink plant from IKEA. I love that it can stash all the things that you would love to have on hand on the top shelf (Bible, journal, water, pens), but below holds books to be read, and on the bottom is my wedding album and unread magazines.

It's a place to just settle into and enjoy. I think the blue adds such a calming and welcoming feel. (The rest of our bedroom is grey, white, and similar varying shades of blue.)

For me, this was the perfect Christmas gift. It is going to be the place where I can truly relax. The corner is largely tech free. No Facebook or google or pinterest welcome. I do use my iPad when studying my Bible or for listening to music, so its welcome in that capacity only. It means a few fleeting moments of solace, and I so look forward to it!

Waiting

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, 

be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

~Psalm 19:14~

If you put this verse into your own words: Our words need to be pleasing to the Lord.

Simple enough right? All of the words that we say over the course of our entire lifetime needs to be acceptable God. Basically need to be something that God would approve of.

No problem! Right?

Who has no problem always saying the right thing, nice thing, pleasing-to-God thing, to your friends all the time, every time?

Siblings?         Teachers?          Youth workers?          Mom & Dad?

Saying the right thing seems easy enough until you are in the heat of the moment and your emotions get in the way, and you want to say something better, or more clever, or more cutting than the other person.

What could we do to improve in this area?

Is it possible that if we learned to wait – to think before we speak – that we would be able to improve our words, so that they are approved by God?

And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, 

If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 

Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, 

when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, 

shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

~Judges 11:30-31~

Words were a big deal to Jephthah. His home was a wreck. His parents didn’t like him. His siblings didn’t like him. Even his children didn’t like him. So Jephthah left his home in Gilead and found people who did. People who liked to fight.

Jephthah ended up leading a band of men who were known for their ability to conquer, destroy, and win.

Well, Israel and the city of Gilead needed someone to help them get rid of the Ammonites. Funny little story, you remember that when the whole people of Israel entered the land of Israel from Egypt, that God conquered the land for them. All of the people and nations that occupied Israel either left the land or died. When the king of Ammon sat back and thought about it for a few years, he realized that he had "just given up his land," then decided he wanted to move back into his old house and farm and lands.

But Israel has been living there, God gave it to them, and they are happy. Why would they give it up?

Some of the cities in Israel weren’t very good fighters – like Gilead – so they had to call in reinforcements and even though they had said so many unkind things to Jephthah before, now they asked that he come back and lead them to victory against the Ammonites.

Jephthah was pretty pleased about this. These people who had been so unkind that he left home, were now asking him to come back and lead them in battle. So he negotiated. He said, “If you make me your leader in battle, when I win, you have to make me leader of your city.” With much reluctancy, Gilead agreed. They vowed (again with the words) that Jephthah would be the leader of the city if he won the battle.

And just for good measure, Jephthah also made a vow with God.

And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, 

If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, 

Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, 

when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, 

shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

~Judges 11:30-31~

Then God clearly and uneventfully gave the victory.

32 So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against them; 

and the Lord delivered them into his hands.

In all the battles in all of the Bible, why would God chose to include this one? It seems pretty basic to me. Nothing spectacular or outstanding about it. 

34 And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and, behold, his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was his only child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back.

Our words always mean something, don’t they? They absolutely always have consequences.

The consequences of Jephthah's vow were dramatic. He would have to offer his only daughter as a sacrifice to the Lord. 

Look back at vs. 31. What exactly did Jephthah promise to God?

31 Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, 

when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, 

shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.

What do you think that Jephthah was thinking when he made this promise to God?

Maybe an farm animal or favorite pet would come meet him.

Do you think it even crossed Jephthah’s mind that perhaps his daughter  - his only child – would come to meet him?

So what should Jephthah do? Should he offer his daughter as a burnt sacrifice to God as he promised? Should he change his mind and change his vow to God?

We hear a lot of people say, “Oops…” these days like it is no big deal. Everyone goes back on their word and everyone changes their mind once in a while. It’s no big deal!

Or is it?

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 ~

4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. 5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

When you promise God something, you had better fulfill that promise. We are fools in God sight when we don't. It is better to not make a promise than to break a promise. 



Matthew 5:33-37~

33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: 34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: 35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

God wants us to be honest in our dealings with people. He reminds that we really don't have a real reason to even be able to promise something.

So what happened to Jephthah’s daughter? 

The Bible doesn’t tell us exactly what happened. We know that Jephthah’s daughter asked for two months to go into the mountains and mourn her life, then the Bible tell us that she returned to her father and did unto her according to his vow. The next phrase in the Bible says, “And she knew no man.”

We know from the Bible that God does not approve of human sacrifice, so perhaps Jephthah and the people of Gilead understood that enough that they did not put Jephthah’s daughter to death. They may have just required her to never marry. We don’t know.

But one thing we do know for sure from this story, it is important to think before we speak. To pause for a moment and consider our words. How do they affect the people around us? What are their consequences?

Perhaps if Jephthah had thought first, he would have remembered that his family would come rushing toward him at the completion of the battle as was the custom of the day.

So what do we do?

1. Stop talking: sometimes the best thing to do is to stop for a minute. God said in Proverbs 17:28 that even a fool is considered wise when he keeps silent.
2. Talk less: maybe the best solution for you is to simply talk less (and let’s face it – we can’t stop talking forever). You don’t have to share everything with everyone. Sometimes it is best to keep that bit of information to ourselves.
3. Count to 10: or say a quick prayer. We cannot be like Jephthah who spoke before he thought. If you count to ten, maybe you will realize that what you were going to say is not necessary to be said.
4. Change your heart: our words reveal our hearts. So if we are only saying mean, cutting, unkind, or untrue things, there is an obvious problem with our hearts.

Courage in the Face of Fear

{The Sunday school lesson the previous week - which I did not teach - dealt with resisting temptation.}

We all probably experienced a few times this week that resisting temptation requires this little thing called courage.

So, What is courage?

In the Bible all of my favorite stories are the stories about ordinary people. The people that you and I can relate to the most. The fact is – as much as we might want to, we can’t all be superstars and celebrities in the world’s eyes. Sometimes we have to simply be responsible and courageous enough to do the task that God has given us as an individual person. 

There was a man in the Old Testament, who was ordinary, but God gave him a really special task.

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; 

be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: 

for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

~Joshua 1:1-16~

Joshua’s name means “Jehovah is salvation.” God selected him to train beside Moses in preparation to lead some 4 million grumpy former slaves into the Promised Land. The day that Moses died would be the day that Joshua took command. He would be expected to uphold the laws that God had established, lead all 4 million into the Promised Land, conquer the land, and peacefully turn it into a home for these people who had never done anything except wander around the desert. Not fun…

It would be scary enough if you found yourself suddenly responsible for your family, let alone an entire country.

If you were in Joshua’s army, what might you fear?

            Death, injury, slavery, giants, crossing the river, being abandoned, etc.

What happened the last time the Israelites faced the possibility of entering the Promised Land?

            They rebelled against God because of their fear and refused to go. Result: 40 years of wandering around in the wilderness

What was different about the Israelites approach this time? Why did the people have so much confidence?

            They trusted in God’s promises – that they would conquer the land, settle there, have a permanent home, etc.

What would the willingness of the people this time to cross the river and go into the Promised Land mean for Joshua?

            Excitement, willingness to continue, courage

This time entering the Promised Land was totally different because they had confidence that God would keep His promises. Remember they had seen a pillar of cloud or fire lead them every day and night, they had seen water pour out of a rock, they had seen sufficient food provided for them daily, they had seen clothes and shoes never wear out (or go out of style). They knew that they could trust God.

Putting their trust in God made all of the difference. Crossing the Jordan River to go to the Promised Land was scary, but they could be confident that God would take care of them.

Remember a few weeks ago, we talked about things that we are afraid of? Some people said things like spiders or insects, dying or sickness, even rollercoasters/heights. There are a lot of things that we tend to be afraid of. But we don’t have to let our fear distract us from doing what God wants. The Israelites didn’t enter the home that God had made available to them simply because they were afraid. BUT… Forty years later their children watched as God magnificently conquered the land for them through miracles and wondrous works... simply because they had the courage to cross a river.

God knows when we are afraid. He cares about us. He tells us that in the Bible.

Put your faith before your feelings. Fear is easy, and faith is hard.

Remember that God is our salvation. Not only our salvation from our sins, but also our freedom from our fears. 

The Twelve Movies of Christmas

My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving all the way through Christmas.

Yes, I know that is not a single holiday, rather two holidays and the 25-plus days in between. Well, what can I say? It's a blast!

One of the things that I really enjoy about Christmas is all of the fantastic family movies. You know how most of the year contains non-family friendly movies? Well, Christmas has lots of them. Good, healthy movies where the good trumps the bad. Where sometimes they even talk about the real meaning of Christmas - Jesus Christ. Where love wins and families unite.

So here are some of my favorite movies - the twelve best movies of Christmas.

1. Holiday Inn - It's true that White Christmas got a lot more traction, but the very similar Holiday Inn is so much better! 
2. The Shop Around the Corner 
3. It Happened on Fifth Avenue  - This movie is a total gem! I wasn't expecting anything when I saw it for the first time, and it immediately turned into one of my favorites. 
4. Holiday Affair - So my husband was really put off by the title, but think of an affair in the 1940s as more of an occurrence, than the affair we think of today. Love triumphs. A war widow is engaged to the safe, boring guy, until a former soldier walks into her life. 
5. Christmas in Connecticut 
6. Meet Me in St. Louis  
7. Christmas Card - A beautiful setting. The way that you wish Christmas and love could be.
8. Balto - This winter cartoon has been a favorite since the year it came out when I was kid. What a wonderful story!
9. Polar Express - This is our Christmas Eve tradition! I don't have kids and I don't believe in Santa Claus, but I love this instant classic. It will be a tradition in my family every year for as long as we are able to keep the tradition going. 
10. Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas
11. Jingle All the Way - My husband's all-time-favorite Christmas movie. 
12. Home Alone 2

There you have it… The best movies of Christmas. Some for you, some for the kids, and some for the guys. 

Photo Courtesy: Google Images

Decision Making

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unlovable, 

always abounding in the work of the Lord, 

forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

~1 Corinthians 15:58~

Think about some of the decisions that you have made recently. Think big (like choosing to speak kindly to the lady who was totally out of line); think small (like choosing to get up a few minutes early to be better prepared for Sunday). 

What were the consequences of your decisions? 

How did your decisions affect the people around you?

(Do you ever make bad decisions? I really fought really hard this morning to speak kindly to that lady. No one would have blamed me for speaking in the heat of the moment, because she was wrong, but it would have been wrong of me to lash out.)

Moral of the story – we have all made choices. Everyone of us has made good decisions and bad decisions. Good news is we have all done it.

Think about Moses. He had a ton of choices to make. He grew up as a prince in the palace of Pharaoh. He easily could have chosen to enjoy the luxuries and wickedness that surrounded him. He could have chosen to worship the many, many gods of the Egyptians. But instead he chose to embrace the faith of his parents – who had nursed him until he was maybe four years old. He made  a choice.

He chose to kill an Egyptian guard. He could have used his influence to see that the man was punished for his wrong doings toward the Israelites, or he could have sought reform regarding the treatment of the Israelites. But instead of choosing a good thing, he chose to kill someone.

When Moses ran away from Egypt, God told Moses that He wanted Moses to lead the people of Israel out of captivity. God wanted Moses to confront the rulers that he had shamed when he killed the Egyptian guard. The rulers who were his friends and mentors, his buddies. Not only was God asking Moses to confront them, that was the easy part. God was asking Moses to lead some four million people on a journey through the desert for a few months. And Moses didn’t feel qualified. He could have chosen to say no, but quite bashfully he decided to obey God’s instruction and become the leader of the Israelites.

Moses made a couple of really bad decisions. There were some doozies in there, but the majority of the time, Moses chose to obey God. I mean the decision to lead the 4 million grumpy children of Israel was a daily decision. Think about it – they were slaves always told what to do and when to do it, and Moses effectively gave them a way to freedom. But freedom came with a cost – the slaves had to realize that they would have to follow a different leader. A shamed leader by man's standards, that God hand-picked from the wilderness 40 years later to lead them in circles in the desert while they lived off military rations for another 40 years. Of course they were grumpy! And Moses had to choose to lead them with wisdom and sincerity and grace for the entire 40 years. The Bible clearly tells us that Moses wasn’t a perfect leader, but the majority of the time over the 100 year span of his life, Moses daily made the choice to obey God. He followed God. He listened to God’s plans even when they seemed a little obscure or entirely impossible.

Why would Moses chose to follow God the way that he did? FAITH

Everyday we face similar choices.

•       Do I have a good attitude about school today?
•       Do I obey my mom and dad?
•       Do I be kind to my younger or older siblings?
•       Do I do my devotions?
•       Do I pray?
•       Do I speak up when my friends talk about wrong things?
•       Do I encourage my friends to do right?
•       Do I listen in church and sit next to people who encourage me to learn from God’s Word?
•       Do I set the ipod or radio or whatever to music that honors God?
•       Do I appreciate the music that we sing in youth group because we are praising God, even if it is a different style than I prefer? Or do I grumble because it is different?

You have choices to make all day every day. You can choose to do right, or you can choose to do wrong. That choice is always up to you.

What would have happened if…

1.             Moses stayed in Midian instead of returning to Egypt?

2.             Moses refused to go to Mount Sinai?

3.             Moses refused to stay with the Israelites for 40 years in the desert, and instead tried to get    

                into the promised land himself?

The average person makes over 200 decisions a day! Of course, many of those decisions (like what to wear or what to have for breakfast) only take a few seconds and little thought. Other decisions however, can have a big effect on what happens in our lives. Decision-making can be fun if we approach the choices we face in a way that honors God.

So how do you make wise decisions:

1. Pray for wisdom.
2. Find out what the Bible has to say about your decisions.
3. Can you see God working in this particular situation?
4. Seek the advice and wisdom of an older, reliable Christian friend. 

Who Is This Kristen Person?

So you have read all three posts on Everyday Surrender and you might be wondering, who exactly is this Kristen person?

Well, I am in my mid-twenties. I had that first moment when I actually felt old a few months ago. Not that mid-twenties is old, it just made me realize that I am not new to the twenties any more. So a couple of months ago, I met a college rep who confessed to my students that he is a mere twenty-two years old. Definitely younger than me!! And around that same time, I found my first official gray hair. Eek! I have been trying to avoid dying my hair until I turn thirty. It just isn't in the budget to get good regular professional highlighting. So I guess you could say that these two events combined together made me realize that I am not a kid anymore.

My sweet, handsome husband and I have been married for two and a half years. We are crazy in love, and about as sweet a couple as there is. He is two years older than me, and would like to become a youth pastor in the future. We actually spent about three years officially in the ministry, but God led us to move on from that ministry, so we are just waiting patiently for God to lead us to the next place that He would have for us. (Waiting is hard, but we know that God is in control. And what He has for us will totally be worth the wait!)

I am from the Philadelphia area - as much a North-easterner as they come! I have lived on the West Coast, and had a brief stint in the South. The Northeast is definitely my area of choice! I am the oldest of four kids. I went to a wonderful Christian school, and after college, went back to teach in that Christian school. (What a privilege that has been!)

My favorite past-time is either reading or writing. I don't get to spend nearly as much time each day with these as I wish I could. (While nothing beats an old book - I mean, a real old book, one that smells old - I am really liking my iPad ebooks. They take up way less space in my tiny apartment!)

The Bible and a great notebook are my favorites! And I absolutely love old black & white films. Usually anything 1955 and older. Always on the lookout for a good "new" B&W. My latest discovery is Holiday Affair - a cute Christmas love story about a war widow and a soldier. I also really enjoy true-to-life historical films.

I am passionate about history and am a full-time high school teacher. There isn't one particular area of history that I like more than another, because I love all of it. But privately I am fascinated by the Holocaust. Those who survived this terrible period of history are unsung heroes and deserve far more recognition than we give them.

When I am not helping with our church youth group or preparing lessons for school or Sunday School or (rarely though) visiting local popular or hidden destinations, I am probably trolling Pinterest or the mall. Unique, sparkly, and colorful things always catch my eye. I shop regularly at Pier 1 Imports although I can rarely afford to buy. If I had a limitless budget, I would decorate with Pier 1.

Birds are awesome! No idea where that interest came from... I have a bird in almost every room or at least, picked out for each room. Owls are my favorite and currently grace every wall in my classroom - every season.

Well, that's about it for now! I'm sure there are plenty of other things that I could tell you about myself, but I need to save it for the blog. :)

Have a great day!

Ornament Tradition

As a great big family of two, it's hard to establish Christmas traditions that are just for us. I mean think about it… are we really going to enjoy reading a Christmas classic like The Night Before Christmas every night before bed? Probably not! So what is there for the two of us to enjoy?

It's a small thing, but every year our Christmas tradition is to buy two special ornaments. First ornament is the annual dated Hallmark snowflake. The snowflakes are white and sparkly and beautiful.

Someday I will have a tree loaded with special snowflakes, one marking each year that my husband and I have been married. Right now we have two. (I haven't bought this year's snowflake yet.)

Our very first ornament! Isn't it lovely?

On the ribbon is a charm with the year 2012. 

The other ornament is a lot of fun! We spend all year looking for just the right one. This other ornament is an ornament that represents a special time or trip that we took throughout the year.

I am still kicking myself for not deciding to make this tradition until right after our first Christmas in 2011. I wish we had an ornament from our honeymoon or trip to New York during those first special months that we were married.

But… I did jump on it right away in 2012. We spent a day in Disney - one of my favorite places ever - and snatched up this dated Mickey ornament. We are hoping to Disney again someday and maybe get another ornament there.

Downtown Disney 2012

Just because I had a blast taking pictures of my ornaments, here is this year's ornament - commemorating our trip to Hershey Park in Pennsylvania. Neither of us had ever been there, even though I grew up not terribly far from there. This trip was special because we had a particularly difficult year and this was one of the first times in months that we really got to be together and just enjoy life. It was the moment when we emotionally "turned the corner."

Hershey Park 2013

So that is our Christmas ornament tradition. Some day we will have this totally amazing tree that we can spend hours reminiscing over throughout the entire Christmas season. 

Hope you can make your own special tree too!

My favorite - Sebastian

BONUS: This is my all-time favorite ornament! I have had it since I was three or four years old. It is the only ornament I have from childhood. Sebastian here came from a McDonalds happy meal, the year that the Little Mermaid was re-released. Sebastian makes it on the tree every year. It isn't Christmas without him. 

Photo Courtesy: Me!!

Is It Christmas Yet?

{Originally written as a devotional in June 2011.}

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Is it here yet??? I absolutely love Christmas. As lame as this sounds, I think about it year round. This Christmas is my first Christmas with my husband in our beautiful apartment and I have been planning since December 26, 2010. I have tons of Christmas decorations (that I got on clearance for $25). No tree... still working on that. I have recipes for Christmas cookies, and a playlist of my favorite background music and Christmas songs. (Josh Groban's Noel is definitely on that list!). I am looking forward to all of programs, cantatas, and holiday season bustle. Did I mention Christmas starts for me Thanksgiving Day right around 2 pm?

More important than the decorating and activities of Christmas, I love planning all of the gifts that I will give to my wonderful family and friends. In fact, I have already started planning. Not that I have a clue what I am getting some people, but I have a nice little list of fun ideas for various people. It is so much fun planning that gift, saving the necessary money/or spending the time, hiding it, wrapping it, hiding it again, and finally giving it to that person that I care so much about. It's no wonder they say It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Imagine with me for a moment, that I have done just that. I have the precious gift, I have treasured it, and planned it just right. It is wrapped in the most beautiful wrapping I can find. I have waited for the perfect day and the perfect moment. It is desirable and there is no reason that anyone would not want it.

With my arms out, the treasured gifts lies in my hands, waiting to be taken, but the recipient of the gift says, No thank you. I do not want it.

Ouch! Seriously? What is wrong with my gift? It was perfect. There was no reason that anyone would reject it.

Have you ever considered - God has done the same thing for us. He planned and prepared the Perfect Gift. He treasured It and wrapped It just right. He selected the right time, the right place, and the right moment to present the Perfect Gift. And we have rejected it. The gift of Jesus Christ is free. It is being held out in God's arms, ready for us to accept. Have you accepted or rejected His Gift?

For the wages of sin is death; 

but the gift of God is eternal life 

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

~ Romans 6:23 ~

Photo courtesy: http://studioten25.com/blog/?p=8377#.UpussaWg7s8

Introductions

Welcome to the great big world of blogging! Everyone has something to say and everyone has a way to say it. This internet development really is a crazy, noisy, beautiful idea. The whole idea of starting a blog can be really intimidating, I mean… think about it! I am now expected to write about the good, the bad, the ugly. The interesting and the mundane (but mostly the interesting). And it needs to be concise, pretty, and perfectly written. Well, I will warn you now - I like adjectives and long sentences. I write like I speak.

Any high school English teacher would tell you that a well-written paper or book is about a single subject or contains a theme. When I was trying to decide what to write about, I was thinking about my life. Where would I find the most material?

I am…

• A Christian
• A wife
• A twenty-something
• A high school teacher
• A Sunday school teacher
• A youth worker
• A normal person (most of the time), and
• A temporarily displaced youth pastor's wife

So tell me, what in all of that, has a common theme? All I could think of, is that all of those "hats" happen every day. They make the person that I am. The person that I have to juggle on a daily basis. The person who has to wake up every day and decide to wear each of those hats to the honor and glory of God. Every day it is a decision and everyday it is a surrender. 

And that is where we begin, daily surrendering to serve the Lord as a follower of Him, as a wife, as a young person, as a high school and Sunday school teacher, as a youth worker, as a normal person living in this world, and Lord-willing again one day as a youth pastor's wife.