do you ever pray and ask God to be blunt? I do. usually he isn't though. or maybe he is and I don't want to see it. Many, many things are cut and dry in the Bible, many. buuuut there are the gray (grAy in America grEy in Europe...per pinterest) areas that leave me asking for specific answers from Him. this Christmas he wasn't very gray. He assured me time after time that my family was doing "Christmas" with the right heart. some little things that alone I would be like "hm, that could go this way or that" but with all things together, He answered my many, many, many prayers. many prayers. about Christmas in our home.
1. He united me and my husband on the way we celebrated - yeah. that is for sure #1
2. a friend told me as she came by one day "your house is exactly how i dreamed mine would be as a kid; with all the lights on every eave" - her words, not mine. then she brought her kids to see our house at night - ours was first on her list
3. our church did a series called UnChristmas - literally fell in line with what I had studied and came up with myself over the past few months. no, not a church that didn't do Christmas. A church that was very intentional about doing Christmas different and bringing focus to Christ, God, the promise that was fulfilled, the salvation that was given, the truth that was accepted. where (many) Christians have taken Christmas to a worldly level - even in church; God reassured me through a 4 week series in church.
4. free trains. silly? dumb? meaningless? not at all. in our quest to do Christmas different we were being; well...cheap this year. i texted a friend who had lots of trains that would fit on Austin's train table and asked to buy them used - a good deal I was hoping to get as new ones are expensive. her reply? no. you can't buy them. you can have them. she brought me 11 trains for Austin to have. what a blessing. i'm sure this family could use the extra cash we would have paid them; but God used them instead.
5. free 4wheeler. ha. that seems a little more than free used trains but it's the same. same good heart. same good intention. same God leading good people. we were going to buy Courtney a 4wheeler...for a decent price of course but still way beyond our Christmas "cheap". a job fell through and it just wasn't going to happen. Paul was open with the guy as far as just telling him we couldn't afford it but maybe when we got a big job we could. a few days later Marty calls Paul and tells him to come get the 4wheeler. Paul is crazy thankful and tells him they can work something out when he does some more work for Marty. Moments later Paul gets a text saying the 4wheeler is a gift - to pay it forward one day. to send him a picture of Courtney's face Christmas morning. simply amazing.
6. Courtney told me Christmas Eve - we aren't really doing Christmas different. we still have lights (she doesn't care or notice the peanuts character and Sock Monkey blow ups aren't out), we still have a tree (she didn't care that we have a charlie brown tree that is fake and borrowed and maybe as tall as her with home made paper ornaments on them...or that there were not other "Christmas" decorations in the house), we still have presents (she doesn't say or notice that there are many, many, many less than previous years or the lack of stockings). see. to me that meant that Christmas was always right for her, in her heart. which blows my mind and makes my heart full of joy and rest.
7. Jesus. yep. that's what our house said in lights this year. When we explained to Courtney that we were trying to make it about Jesus she said "lets make it say Jesus". out of the mouths of babes - pure simplicity. we are adding to it, but this year it just said Jesus.
thank you God for using all these people to answer my prayers. and for my kids who will read this one day. Christmas is your heart. Christmas isn't about a day Christ was born. don't fight about a day we don't know. give thanks for a fulfilled promise that he was born. don't stress about fitting into the world and what is going on outside your home. but when you do, be thankful for a merciful God who forgives you and brings you back to Him. make your home, your family, your traditions, your values, your way of celebrating. make it yours. know what you know and why and then hold on to it and thank God for it.
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Friday, December 6, 2013
It's Christmas Time...or is it
As I researched Christmas, it’s meaning, it’s origin, it’s traditions, it’s everything I found all that I wanted and all that I didn’t want. I learned many things as I dove into the Bible for my answers. I was proven right and I was proven wrong. I found sermons all for it and sermons all against it. I found it all. But now what? Change. Definitely change; but to what extent? Get rid of it all together? That doesn’t feel right anymore, though it did at first. Continue as normal? That doesn’t feel right either; though it would be easier I do believe. So change it, make it different and be knowledgeable. As Pinterest says “Be educated, not just opinionated” - yes, I just quoted Pinterest.
Starting with the most important verses that God showed me: Romans 14:5... One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.
In context - which is crazy important when reading the Bible - this is telling me to do what is right for our family as we feel we are honoring Christ - how we “do Christmas” for our family for Christ. This also tells me and is probably more important (if you read all of Romans 14), to not judge others and how or if they celebrate Christmas. What is in each person’s heart and their intentions are not for me to judge. Are there people who have false idols; yep. Does the Bible say a tree in my house is an idol? No. Are there people who are celebrating Christmas with absolutely no honoring of Christ in their heart; yep. Does that mean I can’t celebrate Christmas? Nope. Does that mean I have idols that can be linked to Christmas? Nope.
What I just realized? This chapter did not come up in my research. Nor the side for Christmas nor the side against it used it. Why? Maybe because it proves that both are right? That both are ok to do or not to do? That it doesn’t give a this is wrong depiction. See, I took the stance in the beginning of “prove me to be wrong; show me where the Bible says to celebrate Christmas”. It doesn’t. It really doesn’t, you won’t find “celebrate Christmas” anywhere. But that also doesn’t mean it’s wrong, with what intentions we celebrate or don’t celebrate it is where it goes right or wrong. Again, this chapter tells me that. It is probably talking about the Sabbath - Saturday, Sunday, Monday, heck, Wednesday; it doesn’t matter. In honor of Christ, it doesn’t matter what day it’s on. Christmas either - No, Christ wasn’t born on December 25th - doesn’t matter.
So what matters to me now? Well, I learned a lot. Mostly I learned that my heart and intentions are what I need to focus on. I am blessed, so blessed (not what I would have said a few weeks ago regarding this very touchy subject) to have a husband who let me figure it out, who stood by me and tried his best to help me through the struggle without condemning and judging me himself. He did pretty good, most of the time. He even agreed with me on some things! Oh my. So for our family Christmas does still exist, is is celebrated in our home, but yes, it will be different. Our goal it to get our hearts right to where what we are doing is honoring Christ - not just tradition - for us.
Verse 13 is important here too - let us not judge one another, but resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or cause to fall in our brother’s way. We need to be careful not to judge others and their hearts, but to also not cause another to fall. For me, that is taking the pressure off having “the best” lights, tree, presents, Christmas experience. That makes me fall to not having the right intentions in my heart. To others it may be something completely different. Also, as Christians, and all being on the ‘same team’; we need to not let things cause division in our relationships and walk with Christ. Some do this, some do that, don’t let it divide us.
In conclusion? Celebrate Christmas or don’t. That doesn’t matter, neither is right or wrong. Do what is in your heart with a Christ like mind. I could quote scripture that was, I feel, made to prove the point of the side the interpreter was trying to prove - some very thought provoking scripture, scripture that in the right context is very right, but I won’t. I will just do what God has lead me to understand and what he has given me peace with and continue to celebrate Christmas; in a different way.
Starting with the most important verses that God showed me: Romans 14:5... One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.
In context - which is crazy important when reading the Bible - this is telling me to do what is right for our family as we feel we are honoring Christ - how we “do Christmas” for our family for Christ. This also tells me and is probably more important (if you read all of Romans 14), to not judge others and how or if they celebrate Christmas. What is in each person’s heart and their intentions are not for me to judge. Are there people who have false idols; yep. Does the Bible say a tree in my house is an idol? No. Are there people who are celebrating Christmas with absolutely no honoring of Christ in their heart; yep. Does that mean I can’t celebrate Christmas? Nope. Does that mean I have idols that can be linked to Christmas? Nope.
What I just realized? This chapter did not come up in my research. Nor the side for Christmas nor the side against it used it. Why? Maybe because it proves that both are right? That both are ok to do or not to do? That it doesn’t give a this is wrong depiction. See, I took the stance in the beginning of “prove me to be wrong; show me where the Bible says to celebrate Christmas”. It doesn’t. It really doesn’t, you won’t find “celebrate Christmas” anywhere. But that also doesn’t mean it’s wrong, with what intentions we celebrate or don’t celebrate it is where it goes right or wrong. Again, this chapter tells me that. It is probably talking about the Sabbath - Saturday, Sunday, Monday, heck, Wednesday; it doesn’t matter. In honor of Christ, it doesn’t matter what day it’s on. Christmas either - No, Christ wasn’t born on December 25th - doesn’t matter.
So what matters to me now? Well, I learned a lot. Mostly I learned that my heart and intentions are what I need to focus on. I am blessed, so blessed (not what I would have said a few weeks ago regarding this very touchy subject) to have a husband who let me figure it out, who stood by me and tried his best to help me through the struggle without condemning and judging me himself. He did pretty good, most of the time. He even agreed with me on some things! Oh my. So for our family Christmas does still exist, is is celebrated in our home, but yes, it will be different. Our goal it to get our hearts right to where what we are doing is honoring Christ - not just tradition - for us.
Verse 13 is important here too - let us not judge one another, but resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or cause to fall in our brother’s way. We need to be careful not to judge others and their hearts, but to also not cause another to fall. For me, that is taking the pressure off having “the best” lights, tree, presents, Christmas experience. That makes me fall to not having the right intentions in my heart. To others it may be something completely different. Also, as Christians, and all being on the ‘same team’; we need to not let things cause division in our relationships and walk with Christ. Some do this, some do that, don’t let it divide us.
In conclusion? Celebrate Christmas or don’t. That doesn’t matter, neither is right or wrong. Do what is in your heart with a Christ like mind. I could quote scripture that was, I feel, made to prove the point of the side the interpreter was trying to prove - some very thought provoking scripture, scripture that in the right context is very right, but I won’t. I will just do what God has lead me to understand and what he has given me peace with and continue to celebrate Christmas; in a different way.
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