Along the Narrow Way...: 2011

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Picture Update~Thanksgiving into the begininning of December...

My 3 sweeties

Advent-A new Christmas Tradition for us!

With all the changes God has made in our lives, it only seems right for Him to change the way we have always done Christmas. After all, we ARE celebrating Jesus' birth! As we have prayed for Him to show us how to celebrate in a very Christ-centered way, He has led us to this thought of Advent. I have always seen these calendars with all the doors that you open (some with candy), but have never really paid much attention to them. Sadly, for us, Christmas has been about decorating, buying presents, getting presents, Christmas movies, music, parties, food, etc... and really NOT about Jesus at all. Of course, I am sure we said He was the "reason for the season" but when I am really honest with myself, I know He never was. So, this year we are changing the way we do everything! Not to be legalistic or pious. But b/c we truly want to celebrate Jesus! We want to focus on Him, not ourselves.

I have been reading a great book by Noel Piper called "Treasuring God in our Traditions" if you don't have it, GET IT! http://noelpiper.com/She really points everything back to the Lord and shows you how traditions should and can be centered around Him. The chapter on Christmas has so encouraged me in centering everything we do this Christmas around Jesus. Advent in Latin means "coming". So I love the thought of looking back to the events leading up to Jesus' birth and then looking forward to Jesus' second coming!

So, all that said...God has given me (through a friend) what I think is going to be an awesome way to celebrate Advent and Christmas. We are going to make a Jesse Tree! For those of you that are confused about what this is, don't feel bad, I was too...

Basically, the concept of the Jesse Tree is based on Isaiah 11:1, and the prophecy that the Savior would come from "the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit." Each day we will place an ornament on our Jesse Tree to represent the events or people we learned about each day through the month of December. The tree becomes a great visual and daily reminder of what we're really celebrating during Advent season. This 25 day celebration is a vehicle to tell the Story of God in the Old Testament, and to connect the Advent Season with the faithfulness of God across 4,000 years of history.

The story of Christmas actually begins in Genesis so that is where we will begin! We will cover significant events throughout the Old Testament — each story pointing to the coming Messiah. It’s like an overview of the whole span of His Story — leading right up to the climax of the coming Christ! Our desire is to not only highlight an important scene from God’s epic in time, but to always unwrap more of Jesus, the gift hidden in every story.

A few friends and I went ahead and made the ornaments ahead of time so we could be ready on December 1st. It was alot of fun getting together and making them! One of my friends put together a blog to take us through each day of December http://www.jesusistherealgift.blogspot.com/, so we are READY! All we need is our tree which we are getting this week. I am so excited about doing this with our children. I want them to grow up seeing us worship our Savior and center what has become a worldly, materialistic holiday, around the real reason for Christmas-JESUS!

I am posting pictures of our ornaments for you to see and get a "feel" for what this will look like...feel free to copy these and make your own!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

What A GRACE!

I am so amazed by God. I am home now from sharing my testimony (for the first time in front of a small crowd), at a women's retreat here. I am amazed b/c God has shown me again HIS Grace in my life. Its nothing I've done. Its nothing I would have chosen for myself! But, in His goodness and mercy, He plucked me off the wide road and put me on the narrow. What a Grace! He chose to grab me out of my sin...I mean, I didn't even realize I needed Him to! What a Grace! As I prayed and prepared to speak, He took me to Isaiah 48:10-11 that says~

"Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;

I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.

For My own sake, for my own sake, I do it,

for how should my name be profaned?

My glory I will not give to another."

Wow! He did the work that needed to be done. Not because of me, but because of Him. For His Glory. He HAS tried me in the furnace of affliction and like Job 23:10 says~ "But He knows the way I take; when He has tried me, I shall come out as gold."

I am not gold-yet! But, I am seeing fruit that has come from months and months of pruning and affliction. Such joy that has come from what once was devastation. Isn't that what He does? He makes all things new. Not back to how they used to be. Not better. NEW! New b/c we now have HIS life flowing in and through us. And, like John 15 says, we have HIS joy, a joy that is full and satisfying! A joy and satisfaction that only comes through true surrender to Him! Why wouldn't we want this? Why would we choose ourselves and the unfulfilled life instead of this?

We are a little obsessed with Shane and Shane. Not b/c of them, but b/c the words and scripture they sing really bring us into God's presence. Their newest album called "The One You Need" is incredible. But the one song I am loving and can't get enough of especially tonight is called "Your Love." If you have iTunes, you MUST check it out! But I want to leave you with the words...

"Your Love"

I'm overcoming fear

With Your perfect love, Your perfect love

You're opening my ears to hear

The sound of a lover's voice

You're calling out, You're calling out

Let me see Your face, Your loving face

Your love tears me up

And when its done

Puts me together

I'm overcoming fear

With Your perfect love, Your perfect love

You're opening my ears to hear

The sound of a lover's voice

You're calling out, You're calling out

Let me see Your face, Your loving face

Your love tears me up

And when its done

Puts me together

Your love calls me out

Of my death and my failure

Love, Your love

Your love tears me up

And when its done

Puts me together

Your love calls me out

Of my death and my failure

Your love tears me up

And when its done

Puts me together

Your love calls me out

Of my death and my failure

Love, Your love, Your love

Friday, November 4, 2011

Mary's Surrender

I am overwhelmed with thoughts about Mary, mother of Jesus, this morning. We watched an awesome movie last night, called The Nativity Story. If you haven't seen this movie, I HIGHLY suggest you watch it! It was so good to go into another Christmas season, having watched this. One thing, especially, that really stuck out to me, and is just driving me back to the thought of the "crucified life" or the "surrendered life" (as we so often call this Christian life), is Mary's circumstances in the story. I mean, I know we all have thought about how shameful it was for her to be with child, when she was not married and was betrothed to Joseph. This clearly was not Joseph's child, so she was thought to be unfaithful. That is huge, but to me its deeper than that. I just look first at the Lord sending Gabriel to tell her the news that she will conceive a child that is the Son of God! (I don't think I can even begin to imagine being visited by an angel, nor being told I will conceive when I am still a virgin, and that it will be the Son of God...that is just insane). Mary, supposedly being very young, responded like this: "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." She is surrendered! She is not questioning, she is not complaining, she is not saying "no way!" She simply says "whatever you want, Lord." Its so amazing that Mary, the mother of Jesus, before Jesus was even conceived, was denying herself, giving up her life and what she had planned,and carrying her "cross" as Jesus would later demand of his disciples in Luke 9.

So....now the thoughts of the reality of bearing this child. The shame would be huge! The movie did a great job of showing the humiliation she endured. Friends and family turning their backs on her and treating her as if she was a whore. Then trying to explain it to her family and to Joseph when she returns from her visit w/ Elizabeth. How could anyone believe her? It sounded nuts! But, she didn't waver. I'm sure she had human thoughts and emotions, but she knew God was doing something great in and through her and she would stand firm in the truth. (Does this hit home w/ you? It does for me as we have had to explain things to friends and family-things that God has called us to, that he has asked of us, knowing that sometimes we are thought of as fools). And then there is Joseph, who would've suffered great embarrassment over his "betrothed" being pregnant, and not by him. But I love what the Matthew account says of him in Matt 1:19, that "he was a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly" Even this was huge. The penalty for unfaithfulness in that time, could be death. He could say the word and have justice by having her stoned. Isn't that what we would want, justice? When we are wronged and embarrassed and shamed by someone else?

Ok, so then the angel visits Joseph and tells him that Mary is indeed carrying the Son of God and he is to take her as a wife. He is called back to Bethlehem b/c of the census (which fulfills prophecy, so cool!) and Mary must go with him. Think about this-Mary at this point is probably 8 close to 9 months pregnant, she is to now make a ridiculously long journey (the movie says 100 miles, not sure if thats accurate or not) and she is to do it on a donkey! For those of you that have been 9 months pregnant, can you imagine this? I can't. At that point in my pregnancies, I was all about my own comfort, and sadly, wanted everyone else to be too. But, she wants to go, and so she does! Again, the movie displays the journey really well. It really shows all the hardships of a trip like that in that day. So, at this point, I was thinking "God, why wouldn't you give Mary all the comforts and pleasures she could possibly want? Why would you not only make her bear all that shame and humiliation but now make her endure all these hardships of a journey at the end of her pregnancy, with Your Son? Doesn't she deserve better? And there it is....we (I) still think that when we serve the Lord, and do what he asks of us, we will not suffer, we will not be humiliated, or shamed in any way. We will have good things in this life....we will have it easy. Isn't that what He wants for us? That may sound silly, but I don't think its too far off from what we all think or maybe what we expect from God. But, He is showing me that even Mary, the "blessed among women" was to carry her cross (Luke 9), to "consider the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt" (Hebrews 11:26).

So, here it is, they arrive in Bethlehem just in time. Mary is in labor and needs to find somewhere to birth this child. Joseph frantically tries to find a place and there is nothing! Again, I am asking "God! Would you not atleast provide a room for her to give birth to this baby? She has already endured so much. Please, have mercy!" But, instead, they are led to a stinking, filthy stable, complete with animals, and I'd imagine, animal poop, pee, insects, germs, etc... Now think about the sterile, comfortable hospitals we deliver babies in. Or even, home births are comfortable, sterile, calm....can you imagine giving birth to your first baby, with a man you barely know, in those conditions? I absolutely can not, and I even think "would I be willing to?" There it is again, the question of surrender. Would I be willing to go wherever he asks and do whatever he asks? Shouldn't there be limits?.....

Jesus left the right hand of the Father in Heaven, to be become a Son of man, to be born in those conditions, to become the "life and light of men" (John 1:4), to live to do the will of the Father, knowing he would die a horrible death on a cross so he could bring salvation to you and me. What He asks of us in return, is our surrender, our lives....is that really too much to ask?

So as I ponder these things, it also brings me back to this Christmas season. I have loved Christmas for as long as I can remember. But, I want it to be different. We say this alot, but really, why are we obsessed w/ decorations, food, a ridiculous amount of presents?What does this have to do Jesus' birth? Mary had no decorations and comforts. Jesus had no clothes! He was wrapped in rags and laid in a dirty manger. How do we celebrate our Savior's birth and not be drawn back into the world's way of twisting it into a celebration completely about ourselves? Better yet, how do we live in light of this all year, every day...every moment, and not just at Christmas?

This is a lot, I know...but this is reality! I read today's reading in My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers.(If you don't have this book, get it! Its filled with wonderful truths.) The title for today was "A Bond-Slave of Jesus" and the verse he uses is Galations 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." I want to leave you with his explanation of these verses:

"These words mean the breaking of my independence with my own hand and surrendering to the supremacy of the Lord Jesus. No one can do this for me, I must do it myself. God may bring me up to the point three hundred and sixty five times a year, but He cannot put me through it. It means breaking the husk of my individual independence of God, and the emancipating of my personality into oneness with Jesus.....Has that break come? All the rest is pious fraud. The one point to decide is-Will I give up, will I surrender to Jesus Christ, and make no conditions whatever as to how the break comes? I must be broken from my self-realization, and immediately that point is reached, the reality of the supernatural identification takes place at once, and the witness of the Spirit of God is unmistakable-"I have been crucified with Christ." The passion of Christianity is that I deliberately sign away my own rights and become a bond-slave of Jesus Christ. Until I do that, I do not begin to be a saint....Is He going to help Himself to us, or are we taken up with our conception of what we are going to be?"

Side note: In Luke 1: 38 when Mary says "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord" the greek word for "servant" is "bond-servant" or bond-slave." See Deuteronomy 15:16-17 for more on "Bond-Slaves."