Word Reflection

On January 1st 2016 I posted about picking a word, or two, something you wanted to work on throughout the year. I picked two.

The first was confidence. I talked in my post about how in 2015 I grew up a lot and gained a lot of confidence. I also talked about how I was learning to judge myself from God's perspective, not people's and that people's opinion of me needed to be my second priority, and God's opinion should be my first.
So how am I doing?

Well friends, I can't lie, it's still hard. I haven't always led a conventional life, I'm not extremely successful in the world's eyes and I certainly have not and am not following a "typical" path but I know, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that right now, I'm exactly where God wants me to be. But that said I know not everyone understands my decisions, so when I see the questioning, sometimes even concerned or worse, condescending, looks wondering when I'm going to "get my act together" or "grow up" it hurts. I want to make people happy but I can't, my focus has to be on pleasing the Lord, not people, not even the people I love.

So all in all I would say I have gained confidence. I've gotten better at learning to accept that I can't make everyone happy, that not everyone will understand my decisions but that pleasing God and following is path for my life is the most important thing. Well, at least most days I've gotten better at it.

My second word was prayer. My goal wasn't just to get better at talking to Him, and giving him my burdens but also to focus on listening to Him.
 How'd I do?

Well, it hasn't been easy. Some days I do better then others. Some days I resist even thinking about listening to Him. Some days I hear very clearly what He's saying and choose not to listen. (I don't recommend doing this, it leads to way too many sleepless nights!) But it's a process and I am asking Him to help me continue to work on it.
I'm not sure I'll ever perfect my prayer life this side of heaven. But it's not about perfection, it's about improvement. So have I improved? Hmm... I don't know, but it's got me thinking about it which is a good start.

Merry Christmas

Merry Eve of Christmas Eve everyone!

Since I can't remember if I've shared this story before, forgive me if you've heard it before, but when I was a little girl I would go look at the Pocket Calendar (our version of a advent calendar) and count the days till Christmas eve then I would wish my family "Merry eve of the eve of the eve... of Christmas Eve!) It drove my siblings crazy (and possibly my parents too though they never showed it!) and since I'm the youngest driving my siblings crazy only encouraged me more. Now I mostly wait until just a day or two before Christmas before I start saying it.
So there it is, Merry eve of Christmas eve my friends!

Normally I post on Saturdays but I'll be with family all day tomorrow so I wanted to post tonight instead. There's so much that can be said about this time of year but tonight I just want to give you all a little reminder of why we celebrate it.

Luke 2: 1-21 NIV
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while^[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.
⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
²¹ On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.



Merry Christmas everyone! I wish you and your families a wonderful holiday as you celebrate the birth of our Lord!

Cheerful Giving

We've all heard the saying 'God loves a cheerful giver'. Have you ever wondered where it comes from? Why people say it? What they mean by it? And maybe most of all what in the world you're supposed to do about it?

Well let's start with one question at a time. Where does it come from. The verse is 2 Corinthians 9, it's the second half of verse 7.

Why do people say it? Well why do people say anything? Sometimes it's Pastor's who's church needs money or they feel God calling them to teach their congregation about giving, sometimes people are just repeating what they've heard or maybe, like some of those pastors, they repeating what God's placed on their heart to say.

What do they mean by it? Yeah, I can't answer that one for you. Everyone means something different so we'll just skip over that question and move on huh?

But here's the important one, what are you supposed to do about it? The first thing you do is look up the context! This is so important, always look at the context of a verse, otherwise you can really misunderstand its meaning.
2 Corinthians 9:6-8
"Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."

Wow there's a lot in those verses but let me point out the things that jumped out at me. Verse 7 starts out with, "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give..." What an important reminder, if you don't understand why this is important go read the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5.

The next part of verse 7 "... not reluctantly or under compulsion...". Giving is between you and God, it's very important, very private and very personal. It's between the two of you and no one else, they can't talk you into it and they can't decide what you should or shouldn't do.

Then comes the favorite quote, "... for God loves a cheerful giver." That part comes only after giving what you decided in your heart to give, after you give without reluctance and not under compulsion, after that God says he loves a cheerful giver. If you're giving under compulsion, if you're holding back you're not cheerful and that's not what He wants.

Let's skip to verse 8, "And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." Not an easy verse to believe, not an easy one to trust in and definitely not easy to "abound in every good work" when you're struggling because you don't see God giving you what it seems you need but still what's expected.

Before I sign off of here I want to go back to verse 6 to make one more point, "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." Guess what, this applies to more then just money. Maybe it is money you need to surrender to God, to give what's in your heart and dedicate it to Him, or maybe it's your time, or your energy, or your prayers. Whatever it is remember to do it without reluctance and not under compulsion but to do it cheerfully.

Church Potluck and Other Important Decisions

All the songs have been sung, the final prayer has been said and everyone is filing out to shake the pastor’s hand and the dreaded decision time has come. Where are you going to sit?

There’s the chair by the door, but it’s a church potluck and even though you’re in the perfect position for a quick escape everyone will stop by your seat on their way to the food and while they wait in line it’s the perfect chance to chat; whether you want to or not.

A seat by the desert table puts you in a spot to grab the best cookies before they run out but it also means that everyone will be walking right beside you to go find the sweets.

Do you sit by the front? But if there’s a presentation now everyone’s staring at the back of your head and they can see every movement you make. Or there’s the table at the back, but the line goes around the tables to get to the food so now everyone’s going by you as they go to get food.

So you pick a different table, maybe one in the middle, but then you have to consider your tablemates. There are so many options after all; there’s those people you always see. The ones you greet every week at church, go to bible study with and call when you need prayer. They may not be your best friends but they’re close and of course it’s tempting to sit with them so you know that you’ll enjoy the potluck.

Or there’s the option of sitting with those you never talk to. You go to different services, don’t attend the same bible study and the only time you talk is in passing when there’s a special event but if you sit with them now it gives you that rare opportunity to get to know someone new. Who knows they could end up being your new best friend.

Then of course there’s the table of church leaders, the elders, the pastor, the founding families and those that just seem very established in their faith, confident in their role and sure of who they are and what’s expected of them. Sitting with them can be like sitting at the popular table in the high school lunch room or it can be like being sent to the principal’s office, either way it’s a risk. Or at least you think it is, until you sit down and discover that no matter what you think, they’re still people, just like you.

So where do you sit? Do you fall back on instinct and side with your friends? Take a risk and talk to someone new? A leap of faith to sit with the pastor or do something really radical like find the empty table and see who sits with you?

New Nephew!

It's not often that I get the chance to write about some of the most important children in my life, my nieces and nephews. Last year I would've only been talking about nieces but in November two nephews were added to my family! The most recent one being just this week, Wednesday to be exact. So here it is, an insight into my life and a few of the children that hold my heart!

There's five of them now- three girls and two boys born to two different sets of parents. Since I'm taking the chance to talk about them I may as well brag a little bit.

The oldest is Ella- A precocious little girl, not even five yet, who already has a flair for the dramatic and loves to be the center of attention. She definitely loves playing the role of big sister and recently told her daddy that Granddad, Daddy and her Uncle were cool but Grammy and Auntie Kitty (that's me by the way!) weren't because "they're not tall enough". I'm not sure what the height requirement is for coolness but I'm sure Ella will tell us one of these days!

Next in age comes Sam- Already two years old and going on sixteen! With a defiant streak to match her stubborn one this little girl is ready to take the world by storm, or at least her house! She's only been a big sister for a month but she's already loving the role. And speaking of things she loves from the time she was born this girl has loved music but more then that she loves to dance and anytime she hears tunes that girl starts dancing away! I can see a few recitals in my future!

My youngest niece to date is little Addy- If I could pick one word to describe this less-then-two-year old it would be independent! She wasn't even a year old when she started trying to climb up the ladder to torment her sister up on the top bunk! She can be exhausting to try to keep up with but there are few things that can melt my heart faster then when I come to visit and Addy starts running around in circles shouting "Kitty, Kitty!" over and over again.

The first nephew born this year was Clay- Born on November 2nd and for you baseball fans out there you realize that it was the same day that the Chicago Cubs made history by taking the World Series all the way to game seven and walking away with a win for the first time in 108 years! Now as a lifelong Seattle Mariner's fan I don't say this often but if Clay wants to be a lifelong Cubs fan then he has my full blessing!

My youngest nephew is Mickey- Only three days old and this little guy has already stolen my heart and I haven't even met him yet! Since his parents live in a different state it's hard to get up there to see him but we have had our first official Skype date so I could see the little guy in real time. A precious baby boy he's going to have two big sisters to contend with but no fears Mickey, Auntie's got your back!