This Can be a Great Week!!

Do you enjoy this week as much as I do? The pressure of all that mom must do to make the Holidays special is past and the lull of expectations and places to be are a current (albeit short-lived) welcome relief. The kids are hopefully playing happily with their new toys and there is the slight possibility that mom may be able to relax just a little bit before the regular routine rolls back into full throttle.

As we look forward to the new year, let’s consider some of the things we may want to do differently from last year. As a mom, prayerfully think about what went well in your home last year and what you want to change from the past year. Sometimes we need to do a little closet clean out and recognize some things we want to do differently. There may be a routine you want to change, or a way of disciplining you may want to rethink or an activity you may want to rearrange.

This is a good time to make positive changes and move in a new direction. I like the turning of the new year as it can offer the opportunity to make a fresh start. Here are a few gentle questions to ask yourself as a mom in looking toward the new year. No self-condemnation, just some things to consider:
· Am I disciplining wisely? Remember every time you discipline your kids it is an opportunity to teach and train and show them that you love them.
· Am I being a positive example to my kids through my words, attitudes and actions?
· Am I making our family dinner time a priority? Studies now show the powerful and positive benefits of family dinner.
· Am I looking at the good in my kids or am I focused on the challenges?

As you ponder each of these questions, ask the Lord to show you how to make positive changes. Seek His power and strength as you glorify Him in your home in 2010. Post the following verses on your refrigerator as a reminder of His power at work within you for the coming year.

II Peter 1:3 – 8
3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Tis the Week

It’s the big week! It’s the week that we have all been working toward with anticipation and excitement mixed in with a slight dose of exhaustion and anxiety. This is the final stretch where the rubber meets the road and the wrappings meet the receiver.

As you put the final touches on all the gifts, I want to encourage you to sincerely pray for each person for whom you are preparing a gift. Ask the Lord to show you how to love the recipient and show him or her kindness. Think about it? What good is a gift if it is given with frustration, hurt or unkind thoughts? What does a carefully wrapped package mean to someone when it is simply given out of duty or obligation and not with love?

Let’s add true, sincere, Christ-like love to our gift giving this year. As we reflect on God’s gracious love for us, may we in turn pour out that kind of gracious love toward others. I’m reminded of I Corinthians 13:1-3:

"1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."

The passage goes on to remind us what true love (a Christlike love) looks like:

"4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. "

This week invite the kids to help you wrap gifts and prepare the Christmas dinner, and as you work together pray together for the people you are serving. Talk about the most significant part of any gift or most important ingredient of any casserole is the love that goes into it. Read I Corinthian 13 together. Have a Merry Christmas my friend.

Christmas Traditions

Often I am asked about some of my favorite Christmas traditions with my own family. I have several that are unique and special just to us. One tradition is that I give my daughters a gift of a new set of pajamas and slippers, which they open on Christmas Eve. We also have tamales and chili every Christmas Eve after going to the candlelight service together. On Christmas morning we enjoy (or maybe tolerate) green eggs, and Curt reads the Christmas story from Luke 2 before opening presents.

During the month of December we look for ways we can serve. One tradition I have started just recently is going downtown to help out with Operation Care. This is a giant Christmas party for the homeless in downtown Dallas. It is an incredibly beautiful gift of love to the people in our community. Hundreds of volunteers help literally thousands of homeless people, some who are bused in from surrounding cities. If you live in the Dallas area consider helping out on Saturday, Dec 19 at the Dallas Convention Center. Go to www.operationcaredallas.org to sign up as a volunteer and for more information.


One last tradition I want to mention is that of buying a Christmas book for the family. When the kids were little I bought children’s books which we read over and over again. As they grew I bought lovely coffee table books, and lately I’ve bought some wonderful Christmas novels and story books. This year I purchased Mike Huckabee’s A Simple Christmas, filled with touching stories that remind us of the true reason for the season. Another book I recommend is, William J. Bennet’s The True Saint Nicholas. The reason I like this book is because I think it is important that we teach our kids about the real Santa Claus (Saint Nicholas) and the heart of giving which he displayed in his life. He was a true hero of the faith.

This week we celebrate the Advent week of Joy. As Christians, we find our joy in the Lord and in the fact that He sent Jesus to this world as a gift to pay the penalty for our sin. Joy to the World! May we proclaim it as we experience a joy that no one can take from us. I hope you have a wonderful week of enjoying family and pointing to Christ continually during this season.

Recipe for Fun

One of the best ways to enjoy the Christmas season with the kids is to spend time with them doing something that is both fun and productive. Baking goodies to give as gifts is a great opportunity to encourage our kids hearts toward giving to others as well as enjoy some good family time together. Here’s a recipe from my friend Jane Jarrell (www.JaneJarrell.net). It’s easy to do with the kids and makes a great snack or gift. Jane presents this recipe on our Fresh Start Holiday show. Go to www.webtv4women.tv

Chocolate Cookie Crunch
1 (12 ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate morsels1 (12 ounce) package white chocolate morsels 2 tablespoons peanut butter10 chocolate sandwich cookies
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or wax paper. Place semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate in separate medium microwaveable bowls. Microwave 1 cup morsels in an uncovered microwave-safe bowl on medium-high power for one minute. Stir to combine. Some morsels may retain their original shape. If necessary, microwave an additional 10 – 15 second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted.Add peanut butter to white chocolate; stir until well blended. Crumble half the cookies over chocolate in each bowl; mix well. Drop spoonfuls of the chocolate mixtures onto wax paper-covered baking sheet, alternating the colors of the chocolates. Cut through chocolate mixtures several times with knife for marble effect. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm. Break into pieces. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.
Makes 1 ½ pound

The second Sunday of Advent was this Sunday as we lit the candle of Love. This is a wonderful time to dwell on God’s great love toward us. Memorize the following verse with your kids as you celebrate God’s love this Advent season. “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!” I John 3:1

How many days 'til Christmas?

Thanksgiving is over (hope you had a good one) and now we are in an all out sprint toward Christmas. Do you have your shopping done? Are your Christmas cards finished? Surely you have your decorations up by now! As moms, there is never a shortage of activities for the holidays.

For our kids there's just one thing on their minds, “How many more days until Christmas gets here?” All the while we are thinking in our minds, "How many more days do I have to accomplish all I need to do before Christmas arrives?" Honestly it is a simple and precious thing to see our kid’s hearts and minds centered on one thing – the big day! Often I wish I had that same type of simple anticipation, hope and fervor toward the Lord himself and knowing Him more fully.

It is tempting to brush aside spiritual growth during this time of the year, yet seeking the Lord in the quiet place may be just what we need to calm our anxious thoughts and our overwhelmed minds. His word can help us focus on the bigger picture and the beauty of the hope we have in Him. Looking to Him for direction for our day can bring order to our normally chaotic schedule.
Casting our cares on Him can help us realize we are not alone in our struggles.

This past Sunday we celebrated the first week of Advent as we anticipate and look forward to Christmas day. We lit the candle of hope, signifying Christ as the hope of the world. May we find our hope in Christ as we look to Him throughout this holiday season. He lovingly welcomes you with arms open wide. Enjoy His warm embrace.

“You are my portion, O Lord;
I have promised to obey your words.
I have sought your face with all my heart;
Be gracious to me according to your promise.” Psalm 119:57,58

No More Replays

“Mommy, mommy can I watch the Princess movie again?”

As you plug in the movie again, you mentally say to yourself,Not again! How can one child watch the same movie so many times? When if comes to favorite videos, it never seems like once is enough. In my house, we must have watched Anne of Green Gables fifty million times. Repetition of a good movie is not necessarily a bad thing, but somethings are not so great to repeat. One thing we do not want to continue to replay in our thought life is our own sin and mistakes. I am glad as believers in Christ, God doesn’t repeatedly glare at our past sins.
The Bible tells us in Psalm 103:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

I’m thankful that God’s mercies are new every morning and that he is not holding onto what we did in the past. Now we may experience very real consequences to our sin, but as believers in Christ God has removed the penalty of our sin from us. In I Peter 1:22 we read, “You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. “

Since we have been cleansed from our sin through faith in Christ, we must not replay our sin constantly in our minds – God doesn’t do it and neither should we. But let’s take it a step further, we also must be careful not to keep replaying other people’s sin against us. We must forgive, as we have been forgiven. We need to stop replaying in our minds how someone hurt us.

Just as our sin is done, gone, and removed from us through the blood of Christ, we must demonstrate this same type of forgiveness toward others. So this Thanksgiving as you are watching the replays in a football game or reruns of an old movie, remind yourself that God does not replay your sin and neither should you. Don’t replay the sin of others either. Give thanks this week for God’s mercy toward you as a follower of Christ, and have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Anything and Everything

Worrying and whining seem to be two challenging attitudes moms face on a daily basis. Worrying on the mom’s part and whining on the kid’s part, although to be quite honest both attitudes may apply to both moms and kids! The book of Philippians deals with worrying and whining in an all or nothing type way. Typically, I don’t look at life with an all or nothing attitude, but there are some “anything” and “everything” verses here that I can’t ignore. For instance:

· “Do everything without complaining or arguing (Philippians 2:14).” Well that seems to leave no room for grumbling, bickering or whining in our lives. Why would Paul say such a thing? Perhaps it is because when we complain and argue, we are revealing a lack of faith in a God who cares about our needs and will help us through them. Now I’m not saying we shouldn’t thoughtfully take a stand for what is right as times, but I am saying that whining and grumbling should have no place in a faith-filled, thankful person’s life.

· “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6,7).” Hmmmm….. not anxious about anything and pray about everything? The Bible says we will experience an inner peace when we give our cares to God in prayer along with thanksgiving. Now there’s an anything and everything that can change your life!

· “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:12,13).” Herein is the key to not complaining, to not being anxious and to being content in every situation; it is Christ who strengthens us. When we are following Him and seeking His help, and desiring His will for our lives; He will strengthen us in every situation.

My fellow mom, are you finding your strength in Him? As you face the challenges in your life right now, and as you move into the holiday season, do not complain or be anxious about anything, but instead pray about everything, with thanksgiving. And most importantly find your strength from Christ to live a life filled with contentment no matter what happens.

“He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak… those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” Isaiah 40:29,31