Hammer on Anvil '

The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”-Luke 2: 10-12

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30

This Sunday, I will have the wonderful privilege of singing praise to my Lord in my church. As I have prepared for this event, I struggled, as always is the case, with choosing the right piece. I want my choice to have meaning for me personally, but also to translate for the congregation who will witness. 

Throughout the Christmas season, I have fought to keep my eyes where they belong: on Jesus. Being bombarded with the cultural version of the holiday on TV, radio, and nearly everywhere I go makes it difficult to focus. There has never been less of a struggle to buy into the commercialization of Jesus's birth, but it's challenging to find peace with all the noise.

As I have walked through this time, I once again have returned to the idea that Jesus is not only important in December. He's not only important on that one weekend in the spring. He is the most important thing ever-every day of the year. My whole life is about Him. When I fail to remember that, all aspects of my life are negatively affected. 

My choice of music for this Sunday is a reflection of that truth. It's my reminder to myself not to let go of the wonder I experience when I think of all the miraculous things about Jesus. Here are a few of the lyrics; I hope they serve as a reminder to you as well.

The district didn't have school on Friday. Woot! This means the States (that's what we call our two children) and I had oodles of time to prepare for Christmas.This means attacking the playroom, which started to look like how my friends' dads described Dresden. Barricades and casualties everywhere. Egads. When my kids play, they play with fervor, my goodness. So we cleaned, really cleaned, the playroom. We cranked the tunes and sorted stuff (in this case, toys) into piles of specials, donate, re-purpose and trash. Halfway through the assorted disaster of the playroom, my daughter said, "We should donate my Barbie house."

Indie and I looked up, baffled. "But you love Barbies, sweetie," I said to her. "Yes," she touted, "I love Barbies, but I never play with that ginormous house."

She's right. She doesn't play with it ... and it is a ginormous house. She enjoys it, but she knows others would enjoy it more. I had no idea why we were holding on to it.

"Well, okay. I'll have Daddy haul it in the truck over to the D.A.V on his next day off," I said.

"Oh no. Don't do that, Mom. Christmas is coming. We need to give it away now," and with that she went to work sprucing up the old place, preparing for it to find a new home.

"Honey," I interjected, "I don't know who to give this to - or how to give it to them before Christmas. It's huge. But, it's a great idea ... I just don't think we can do it."

"Of course we can, Mom," she said confidently. "Can we get it to the street?" Missouri laid out her plan of hosting what sounded to be a drive-by free store. When her excitement was reigned back on track we all three worked to get that huge house out to the curb. We made a real fun FREE sign and taped it down to the toy's grand balcony. Then we all scampered away to the less blustery sun porch. It was freezing. The States then planted themselves on the floor and beamed, while watching every car drive by.

Then, without prompting, they BOTH began to pray. My daughter led the prayer by saying, "God, thank You for giving me toys." Then they took turns thanking God and prayed that God would use this as a gift and let the dollhouse bless someone else to believe. It was about the coolest prayer I have ever heard.

Without missing a beat, Indie looked up and said, "Excuse me. What if a ninja steals it?! And then no one gets the house present at all, ever?!" Missouri laughed and said, "Indie, we are supposed to give. It doesn't matter what ninjas do."

Well, that's it, friends. We need to give. It doesn't matter what anyone else might do or is doing. It doesn't even matter whether or not jerk ninjas take it away. We are just asked to give.

My concordance says the Bible uses the word give 13,501 times. Why? Clearly, giving is important!

So you guys are thinking, "Does giving just mean handing over my money?" No! God asks us to give what has already been given to us. "Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you" (Deuteronomy 16:17).

If you have been given food - Give food.
If God has given you lots of free time - Give your time to help others.
If God has given you extra funds - Give financially.
If God has given you mercy  - Give mercy.
If God has given you skill or a craftsmanship - Use that skill to help others.

It's really very simple. We were not asked to delegate where our gift goes or what others do with it. We cannot control what others choose to do or not to do. God has given them free will - but we believers are called to give. Give without reward. Just give. You don't get to choose what happens with that gift or even whether or not ninjas try to steal it. Just give. Give love. Give mercy. Give light. Give childlike faith. Give hope. Give because God has given us all so much.

This Christmas I hope you all had food to eat, a warm place to sleep and lovely people to share life with. And, cause I am a five-year-old at heart, I even hope you got something special to celebrate all that God has given us. (I got a pear in my stocking! I don't know the last time I ate a pear. It was super delicious.)

Friends, let's worry less about what others are doing, or what ninjas might do, and spend more time focused on what we were asked to do.

 Give more. Hope more. Love more.

I am happy to report that within an hour the dollhouse was taken elsewhere. We prayed it would bless whomever it was given to and we believed it was so. And then we enjoyed the open space with a stuffed animal dance party.

We have been given much. Now, let's get excited and creative and let's give more.

Happy Boxing Day everyone.

No, I'm not Canadian, although we did get a whole bunch of snow last night so I feel like I'm from a bit further north.

I've never really known what Boxing Day is, except that it comes the day after Christmas every single year. It is like Christmas's little brother that is just a little bit off. People acknowledge he's there, but they don't really give him any attention.

Just like with our uncertainty about Boxing Day, there seems to often be uncertainty about what to do after Christmas is over.

Do we leave the tree up til New Years or tear it down immediately?
How much time needs to pass before I can send my gift back and buy something I really wanted.
Is that fruit cake staring at me?

In all seriousness though, we often go right back to living exactly as we always have. We don't let the message of Christmas really change us all over again.

Christmas is not the only time of year where people are in need. People are going to be seeking shelters, food, and help with finances long after you put way your Christmas tree and soup kitchen ladle.

Our preacher has said several times this Christmas season, "Christmas without Easter is just a story about some baby born in a stable."

But that's not the story! The Christ came to this world, saved us from our sins and an eternity away from God, and He did it all because He loves us!

Make it a point to share that love with others. Seek out those in need and find ways to help them. Jesus' heart didn't break just one time a year for the hurting, and He didn't limit his service to that one time. He was always helping others who needed Him.

Let's do the same.

I’m sure we’ve all heard it before – As Christians, we are called to die to self (see these verses).  What a strange concept though.  I’m sure non-Christians overhear us talking about this and furrow their eyebrows in confusion while they consider us to be suicidal religious nuts.  In a way, though, we ARE suicidal religious nuts.  Dying to self is our living Christian Jihad; we are at war with powers and principalities in the spiritual realm (see Ephesians 6:12) and the way we battle is by laying down our lives as living sacrifices (see Romans 12:1-2).

 

But what the heck does it mean to be a living sacrifice?  I’ve been thinking about this question a lot lately, especially as it pertains to myself.  Dying to self isn’t some instantaneous event that occurs once we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior.  It is a process; it requires both time and effort.  It is finding those things that are a part of us that are not from God and laying them down, sacrificing them.  And it is finding those things that are from God and picking them up and making them a part of who we are.

 

This process is tough.  It’s tough to figure out which things are and are not from God, and once we figure it out, the sacrificing part is tough too.  And it’s personal.  We each have different things that need to be sacrificed.  Sure, we have God helping us out, and if we are wise we have accountability partners and/or mentors encouraging us along the way, but in the end it is you and you alone who has to step up and make the sacrifice.

 

One thing that I, personally, have been struggling to sacrifice lately is politics.  I wrote a post a few months ago entitled Why I’m Done With Politics.  What I’m learning is that sacrificing something is easier said than done.  I just get so fired up about the issues.  I want to weigh in on gun control, the fiscal cliff, Obamacare, gay marriage, debt, taxes, etc, etc, etc.  But for the reasons I stated in that post, I know that this is something I need to sacrifice.

 

Please understand that I’m not saying that politics is a bad thing in and of itself.  I have simply recognized that Christ had higher priorities and so I should too.  People don’t get saved by policies instituted by men; they get saved by God’s people (His Body) demonstrating His love and following His will.

 

Step two of this process of becoming a living sacrifice will be to take up my cross and follow Christ (see Luke 9:23).  What that means is that as I slowly sacrifice politics, I replace that way of thinking with God’s mentality.  Instead of seeing issues, I’m beginning to see people.  Instead of seeing hope in policies instituted by men, I'm choosing to see hope in the power of God.

 

So, that’s where I’m at right now.  As I mentioned, we all face different challenges.  What is God calling you to sacrifice?

 

“’For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord.  ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’” – Isaiah 55:8-9

"Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light." Micah 7:8

In the aftermath of the tragedy in Connecticut, I’ve noticed something about many people in terms of how they think about God.  When times are well, we rarely think about God.  After all, if I am doing well, why do I need God?  But when times are bad, we think God must be bad for allowing it to happen.  It seems that many people are unwilling to see God no matter what circumstances they face.  I’m not sure yet what to take from this observation, but I found it interesting.

I was going to write a post about the tragedy in Connecticut, but then Mike Huckabee made a statement that I think said it more eloquently than I probably could.  Please take three minutes to watch this clip.

Good evening everyone! I pray that you all having a good weekend.

In light of everything that has happened over the past week in our country you maybe wondering what is going on. You maybe wondering why are all these horrible things happening, especially this time of the year.

We ask all kinds of questions, some of them will never be answered. One reason is, there is no answer or explanation. Another reason is, we are not suppose to know the answer to somethings that happen in this life. And the one reason I want to focus on tonight is, we don't ask the right person.

I had a grandmother and mother that hardly ever used a recipe. They just knew that it was right by the look, taste and feel of the food. I learned to cook by watching and asking them, what is that, what are you doing now, how does that work. I was asking the right person the right question to learn to cook.

If you want to know why you are here and what your purpose is in this life, go to the source. God is the author and finisher of our fate. He created us, so He knows what we are suppose to do. We spend all kinds of time and money trying to figure out what we should do with our lives, when all we have to do is get in alignment with the perfect will of God, He will take care of the rest.

So if you have questions about what you should do, ask the right person, go to the Source, God!!!

Have a very blessed weekend everybody!
Cheryl

As our church choir has been moving through the Advent season, one of the songs we've been rehearsing has challenged my perception. I have identified very strongly with Jesus' mother, Mary, in the story of His birth. As a young, inexperienced teenager, I feel her uncertainty at what lies before her. As a woman, I wonder what it must have been like to have a marriage arranged for me. As a mother, I know how difficult it would be to endure watching my child suffer the way Jesus did.

This beautiful piece of music reminds me that the story of Christ's birth, life and death contained even more dimensions for Mary than these things I can empathize with. The chorus truly sums up the unique position she found herself in, and is a wonderful picture of the heart of Jesus. "I'll hold you in the beginning, you will hold me in the end."  Enjoy.

"No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs--he wants to please his commanding officer." 2 Timothy 2:4

A few weeks ago my husband and I were enjoying a rarity in our home: A night alone, together. And like introverted nerds we are, this means we stayed in, ate leftovers and watched the History channel. There is this delightful program called I Love The 1800's. The show sorta highlights bizarre stories throughout history, and this particular episode featured military stories. I was moved by the story of 2nd Lt. Hiroo Onoda who was sent to Lubang Island in the Philippines in 1944 to foil the enemies attacks or advancement. He tried to take the mountains and lost a few soldiers along the way, yet his resolve and his mission did not weary. He fought the fight for 30 years.

That's 29 years after the war actually ended.

Search teams had been sent out to find and inform the Lieutenant of the wars conclusion and end, but even when planes flew over the jungle dropping flyers and news articles, Onoda did not back down from his original mission. Onoda would not give up, he would not surrender,  not until he heard from his commanding officer.

In 1974 the Japanese government located Onoda's superior officer, Major Yoshimi Taniguchi, who finally fulfilled his promise of, "Whatever happens, we'll will come back for you." Onoda was then relieved from his duty and he finally returned home. His 30 year war ended and his guerrilla tactics and attacks were pardoned by President Ferdinand Marcos.

Friends, what would the church look like if we quit getting involved in the hype and drama of whatever is in and now and actually followed through with our original mission? What if we quit listening to the people saying our fight is over, or to "take it easy" and we showed more mercy, more love, more compassion to everyone? What if we continued to fight the good fight until we heard from our Commanding officer?

I will tell you one thing, this chintzy "American dream" faith that modern Christianity abounds in, would not be here. Our churches would be united and our resolve would be absolute. Our bickering would cease and the real battles would be fought efficiently.

Believers, it's time we listen to what we were told to do and stop worrying about what everyone else is doing. Don't throw a fit because someone wished you a "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." It doesn't matter that Brother Burden doesn't allow Halloween in his home anymore, or that you do. These things have nothing to do with Gospel. Sure it might be your conviction, but your convictions are not replacements for our Command. You were not commanded to watch the "Know Your Enemy" series on Youtube. I mean you can, but the point is if you don't follow through with the original command your battle, your fight is useless.

 Friends, if Sally Sunday School "stands up for righteousness" by calling out other's sin on facebook, that's her choice, but our mission should speak louder than her status updates. Our resolve should be greater than any religious trend. Please, hear this: If love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness and self control are not apart of your mission - It's a civilian affair. Don't get mixed up in it! I don't care if you look silly - God gave us our commands a long time ago. Carry on with that mission until you hear from Him.

Go read the words of your Commanding Officer again in Matthew 22:36-39. It is your mission, if you choose to accept it.

You may or may not know this about me (I can't remember if I have mentioned it before) but I am kind of a nerd.

I know, I know. You are sitting back thinking "What?! I've read some of this guy's posts and they are so well thought out and straight forward. He seemed like such a normal guy.

Well I am...or at least I think I am. But I'm also a nerd.

I am so very excited to go see The Hobbit in theaters. I won't be one of those guys who see it opening day, or maybe even opening week, but I will see it.

I am also very excited to see the new Superman movie which is coming out in June. My wife and I watched the trailer for it yesterday and she said, "That looks pretty good." Then she looked over at me and saw my reaction and said "Don't cry." As I said...very excited.

Thinking through the emotions I feel about these movies and other nerdy things, makes me think about other stuff that captures my attention. Then I wonder if I display the same level of excitement for real events as I do for the land of the make believe.

The Word became flesh. Jesus "did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but made Himself nothing, taking on the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness." (Philippians 2:7) Do you understand what I'm saying?!

God....became man.
God... made Himself a little lower than the angels (Heb 2:9)
God...loves us enough to die for us!

This is absolutely huge. I'm talking going outside, running around and making a fool of yourself huge.

In the Old Testament when the Ark of the Covenant was brought back in to the city, David danced around and made a fool of himself because he was so excited. His wife was embarrassed by his actions, but he didn't care. He wanted everyone to know his excitement!

People go to movies dressed as characters from the LOTR, Star Wars, or any superhero movie to show their excitement and devotion to these fake people.

I'm not saying that we should go around making a fool of ourselves. But maybe we should keep in mind that "the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing." (1 Cor 1:18).

Those outside of Christ are going to find our excitement foolish and maybe even down right stupid.

But our God came to this earth and has offered us salvation. Remember that as we continue in our Christmas season.


That is something to show some excitement for.

Good evening! I pray your weekend is going well!

Praise, we sometimes seek approval from others when we feel that we have done a good job or when want to please them, and when we don't get it, we tend to feel slighted and let disappointed.

But, in His word, God said to seek the rewards of Heaven. If you receive your praise here on earth, then you have no rewards in Heaven. Don't get me wrong, it is nice to hear someone tell you 'Good job!', 'Way to go!', but we are to give ALL the glory to God! He is the One who deserves ALL of the praise and glory that we have.

I have a friend who is very humble and always gives the glory to God. I admire him for it, because that is the way we should all be. In his best selling book Purpose Driven Life, Pastor Rick Warren says that our main purpose is to please God and to give Him praise. Really, that is all we have to give Him, He has everything else, everything belongs to Him.

So, give Him praise! It is why we are here! Hallelujah!!!

Have a very blessed evening!
Cheryl

"The shepherds of Jesus' day were familiar with bad news. Generally regarded as liars and thieves, smelly blue-collar workers with a penchant for strong drink and faithless living, the shepherds were familiar with being shunned by society. They were not permitted in the Temple courts or the religious establishments of Jesus' day. Sheep herding was a thankless job, and these rough and tumble animal herders learned that isolation from high and holy things was a way of life."-Hope Arriving: A Personal Advent Devotional Journey-Dan Wilt

I am so glad God chose to send the angels to the shepherds. Of all the people society would think deserving of hearing the good news, the Lord chose the least likely group. The guys who slept in caves curled up next to animals for warmth, the people no one wanted to come into close contact with because of the smell were the ones God gave favor to. He picked them up out of their mundane, depressing lives and told them they were special.

I'm glad He did this because it reminds me that I am important to Him. I've got proof in this little detail that it doesn't matter what people think of me, because God loves me.

I love to stay up late in the summer and love to get up early in the winter. Those are the times that my house is the stillest. As a loud person, I have grown to crave the simple quiet of a calm house. There is something so precious about having a few minutes of peaceful solitude. For me those brief moments with my Mama's tear-stained Bible, a quiet house and a very big God are absolutely crucial to maintain a healthy head and happy heart.

When I was very little my parents were big Bill Gaither fans. They used to listen to a song called, "God Loves to Talk to Little Boys While They're Fishing." I know, but as silly as the title is, the point of the song was to say God talks to us when we find someplace quiet. Friends, I urge you to take a few minutes and find someplace quiet. Let God speak to you.

A few mornings ago I woke up around 5 a.m. to my beautiful little 6-year-old standing beside my bed. Blinking heavily, I sat up and asked her, "What's wrong?"  The conversation proceeded like this:

"Nothing's wrong. I just heard God talk to me," she says gleefully.
Amused, I inquired,"Oh.What did He say?"
"Over here."
"Over here?" I skeptically ask.
"Yeah! He didn't tell me right or left. He just wants me to find Him and stay close."

Oh friends. What can you say to that?

I am happy to report that I did, in fact, hold it together. We talked about hearing God and I told her the story of Samuel in the temple (1 Samuel 3.) She said, "Yeah, Mom. He didn't know it was God at first, but Mom, I totally know it was God." Her joy and confidence thrills me beyond words, but as soon as my little faithful believer was back in bed, I straight-up bawled.

To be six years old and just get it. Man, I am just in awe.

Friends, God wants you to find Him and stay close. Things are getting weird, people are so sad, and the world is weary. There are wars, there will be hurts and life is not always easy, but find time to find that peace. Seek peace, find God, let Him speak to you.

"Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it." Psalm 34:14

Tonight at church we had an Elders meeting (I get to go since I'm on staff). This meeting went along much like any other monthly meeting. We discussed much of the same stuff that is discussed every month.

Have there been new people at church and what do we need to do to make them feel welcome?

What needs are there?

Small amounts of joking at the craziness of our lives.

But at this meeting something stuck out to me. Thinking about it, this isn't the first time it was brought up but it really struck a chord tonight.

There is an elder at our church who is now 80. This man has helped this congregation grow and has a great love for the church and for our Lord. He has a lot of wisdom that has been brought about by many years here on earth and I look up to him greatly.

Tonight he said, "I really feel we need to be praying about the young people in this church so they can come to a place to lead the church." Now when he says "young" that's a kind of relative term. After making the statement he referred to some people who are 10 or 15 years older than I am, but I guess that makes them 35-45 years younger than him.

Since being at this church (its been just over a year) I have noticed his passion for raising up "young" people to raise the church. It is definitely something I can jump on board with and I see the desperate need.

I've seen several churches cease to exist because all those who cared about it died and there was nobody left to take up the charge.

We need to be passing along the message of Christ and His cause. It is our duty to pass it along to our peers but we must also pass it along to those younger than us.

In Deuteronomy 11:19 God instructs the people of Israel to "Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." He was talking about the commands of God.

I know not everyone has children but the principle stands. If we are not teaching God's commands letting our passion for Him pour out of our lives in everything we do, there will eventually come a time when there is nobody left to take up the cause.

Get involved in your church's children's ministry.

Volunteer to help with youth events.

 Read the Bible to your children and pray with them.

Find a person younger than yourself, and take them under your wing to help them along where you have been.

It may seem awkward to think about or even a little strange to start out if we are not used to it, but the need is there. Don't let the next generation (whether that is a person 15 or 50) pass by without you making an effort to guide them to spiritual maturity.

It really is up to you.

Our faith is worth fighting for.  We’re even told to expect a fight and to armor ourselves accordingly (Ephesians 6:10-18).  I’ll even go so far as to say that we should seek out a fight, and we should battle with tooth and nail to win.  But what we should be fighting is an area of contention among us.  Here are seven areas we should be banding together to battle and one battle we’re fighting that we shouldn’t be.

Good evening everyone!!! I pray that you have had a great weekend, I know I have!

Being a high school Special Ed. teacher, I find myself telling my students to watch their mouths a lot. I have noticed that they use very colorful language like it is second nature, my have times have changed. But I am not going to talk about the down fall of the English language in America.

I want to speak about what we say to ourselves. I have found myself saying and thinking many negative things about myself and my life. What we think and say is what we become. Plain and simple. I thoughts and words are so powerful that God said in His word '...the tongue is sharper than a two edge sword.' Words have power! God spoke and the world came into existence. Words have power!!! That is why we have to watch what we say each other and to ourselves. I am a living witness that you can speak to a situation in your life and it will come to pass, good or bad.

Speak positive things into your life. Think positive thoughts about yourself. It is a very difficult thing to do, because we are so use to thinking badly about ourselves and putting ourselves down that it has become a habit. Replace those negatives with positives and your life will change in a dramatic way. God gave us the spirit of love and a sound mind, not fear and confusion. "He saw the best in me..." See what God sees when He looks at us, THE BEST!!!

Have a very blessed evening everybody!!!
Cheryl