He is Christmas

Time flies by faster than seems possible, most days. The world spins at an alarming rate, begging us to keep up with its whirling ways. Calling to us to play games of popularity and prosperity, pulling and crawling our way to the top... Of what?

In the midst of the crowds, the noise, the shove, there is a quest for more. There is a silent calling to our hearts. The call of a Child who was born into a crowded and busy town during an uproar, it's softness piercing the chaos. The call of a Lover that only we can hear, speaking to us strongly when we are weak. The call of a Man who endured the trials we face now, loving when we are surrounded in brokenness.

Here. Today. The call of our Savior. Born in perfect grace, in imperfect circumstances, to the least perfect people. People like me.

There is healing in His voice. Strength in His grace. Hope in His call. And eternity in His Love. He is the gift we so swiftly forget each day. The gift that is here for our taking every day. And the gift that will last until the days are no more.

He is Christmas.

What is a Lady?

What is a young lady to do? In this society, era, generation, and world.. We receive such mixed messages about what we are to do, how to act, what to wear, what to think, and how to live our lives..

In one corner we have the Christian standpoint of waiting patiently and quietly for Mr. Right to come sweep us off of our feet. He will come dashingly, daringly, and do everything in a way that rivals Mr. Darcy. In the opposing corner we have the World standpoint of throwing yourself out there and jumping around like a ping pong ball, dating and dumping as you "try out" personalities and guys.

Extremes? Possibly. Common? Yes.

What is a single young lady to do? Does she stow herself away at home, holding her breath as she waits for a dashing young man to come knocking on her door? Does she throw herself into a throng of men to "meet" as many as possible in a small amount of time? How does she interact with the men she meets? How does she treat them? What in the world, does it mean anymore to "be a lady"?

I believe and am learning that there is a fine line. A line that includes caution, being a woman of integrity and meaning what you say, living what you mean, and saying what you believe.

Mean what you say: Simply, the words that come from your mouth show what is in your heart. The things you say and the words you speak show the world what is on the inside. If you gossip or stretch the truth for the sake of attention, that is demonstrative of what is inside your heart. 

Also, when you compliment a young man, mean it. They can tell when you are serious, but they often can not tell when you are complementing them in a back-handed or sarcastic manner. Be honest. Let them know they looked handsome at the Christmas Eve service, or that they did a really good job with their presentation at school. Be open enough to show you soft side, otherwise they may think you don't know how to compliment anyone!

Live what you mean: If you mean the things you say, live like it. Live like the young men in your life are valuable. Act accordingly and let them step up and be men! They need to practice being men as much as we need to practice being ladies! Let them open the door for you, carry things for you, wipe your car off when it's covered in snow, and walk you to your car.... Whether you need it or not. That's the kicker. We may not need their help, we may be completely capable of carrying something or opening a door, but it allows them to practice being men. And really? It's rather nice to feel valued and appreciated. 

Believing what you say: Believe that the young men around you are valuable, and that we are to encourage them to pursue the Lord. And say it; don't belittle them or tease them! They have hearts, and they have emotions, too, believe it or not.. Have you ever stepped back and observed a young man after he is on the receiving end of a sharp blow from a "lady"? Whether she meant it or not? You can see the flame die a little in their eyes. It hurts them. 

Live in a way that is gently pushing them to be men and show them there is more for them than what the world says. You don't have to hide, nor throw yourself at them. You can be you. You can build them up. Show them ways to serve you and others around them. Help them (literally, we are to be "help-meets," why not practice it now?). 

As they learn to be men, we learn to be ladies. As we learn to let them lead, we learn to serve along side them. As we learn to compliment, they learn they are valuable. And valuable they are.

Urban Dictionary defines a lady as: "an elegant and good-hearted woman who uses her femininity in the most dignified and endearing way possible." Gals, let's be ladies! We don't have to throw ourselves at men, nor do we have to hide! What a blessing!! We can live with integrity, dignity, and be endearing and soft towards those around us. Which is how God made us! What greater blessing is there than to live as God made us? As you live this way, you will notice that the men around you will enjoy being around you and come away from any interaction with you feeling valued, whether you see them frequently or once every eighth Thursday. That, is what it means to be a lady.

Busyness.

The number one distraction in my life.
How easy is it to fill your schedule with work, school, church, ministry, family, and friends? How easy is it to let the commitments pile up until you don't know where exactly your sanity went? How easily do we let every activity throw itself at us, until we barely have time left to sleep?

Easy. Too easy.

I've heard it said that you can tell a person's priorities by looking at their checkbook(of course, this assumes that they balance their checkbook). I think you can also tell by looking at the things they clear off their calendar for. What undoubtedly, every week, do you do, no matter what? What is there no hesitation in your mind about clearing your schedule for?

I've found it interesting to watch my close friends over the past few months, with the insanity of school in full swing. To see what they have committed to daily making time for. To seriously think about what I daily commit to making time for. My job is a given, and all other activities are scheduled around that. But before work, if I am not up on time because I was up too late the night before or didn't sleep well, what's the first thing I chop out of my daily schedule? For me it has come down to a) my quiet time, or b) my workout. My time spent in the Word not only refreshes my heart, it starts me off with a much better attitude. And, God is aware when I don't go to the gym, because without fail all my patients on those days that I "skip" working out require heavy manual stretching or massage. So I feel like I did something physically challenging either way!

We are barraged with many, many ways to spend our time. The TV, computer, cell phones, housework, and any extra activities are thrown at us wherever we turn. And when we get caught up in all the extra commitments, we miss out on the things that are of eternal significance. Will doing such and such an activity allow those around me to see Christ? Will working out 5 days/week matter when I reach Heaven?

Will spending the extra 10 minutes with a patient who is having a difficult day, cutting into my lunch, go unnoticed by the King? Will He turn His back on us when we invest our time in relationships that glorify and honor Him? Will He not bless us for giving Him first priority?

Nothing we do to honor Him goes unnoticed.

He wants us to put Him and what is important to Him first. He wants our devotion, the number one, permanently inked place on our calendar. To have His priorities, to Love Him, Love His word, and Love His people.

The enemy will do everything he can think of to have us scratch the things that matter to God off of our life calendar. But we have the choice to say no to the busyness. To make time for the things of lasting importance. And to ink His holy name on every page of our daily planner.

Ishi

During my morning coffee dates with God, I've been reading through Captivating by John and Stasi Eldgredge. That book has brought tears, laughter, hope, and a longing to know God in a new and exciting way. 

There are very few books that I've read that haven't convicted me of all I'm not doing as a "good Christian woman." Laying out all I've done and left me feeling horribly short of what I "should" be, according to the author. This is a book that calls to the heart of a woman to Love God in the way she desires to be Loved. A book that encourages the woman's heart to take her longing for security, romance, and purity to the Lord. To Love Him as a Beloved, rather than a master. 

Morning dates with God are better when you have retractable crayons to highlight the things that stand out :)

The God of the Universe wants us to know Him as Ishi; "My Husband." He desires to betroth us to Him (and He says it three times) in righteousness, justice, lovingkindness, compassion, and faithfulness. These are all the things that He is, that we are not, unless we walk with Him. These are the things that a woman's heart longs for. That ultimately, we will find in Him if we pursue an intimate, bare-all relationship with Him. 

This concept still hasn't sunk in to my mind yet. That this is how He wants to Love us. That this Love and betrothal to Him will last forever. There is not one relationship on this earth that is eternal, that will last forever. This is how we will know the Lord. It hasn't sunk in, but it makes my heart excited. When I read through those verses, the longing to know Him was overwhelming. To know Him forever. In righteousness. In justice. In lovingkindness. In compassion. And, in faithfulness. It is not a regime of rules and laws. It is a binding of Love. I can only imagine how much more we will strive to shout His name, if we Love Him so.  

Cry Hard

I was never a big cry-er. It took something catastrophic to unleash the waterworks.

That was until this year. The year of multiple jobs, more-than-full-time college, living away from home, relationships, friendships, graduation, moving home, starting work full-time.. The last full year has been the most challenging, gut-wrenching, sleepless, wonderful, beautiful, sad, joyful year.

There have been many tears. Tears of stress. Tears of fear. Tears of happiness. Tears of exhaustion. Tears of pain. Tears of thankfulness. They are the safety valve of the heart and they leak out when the pressure is just that high. Sometimes at night, when all is quiet. Or there are times that I find myself crying silently while driving to/from work, often remembering all that has happened. All that God has done and is still doing. Those times are precious, just He and I. He has heard my voice this past year more than I dare say He has in the other years of my life combined.

There are times when the tears hurt. When they come from that place that I don't even understand. Frustrated. Angry. 

There are times when they are sweet. When I am overwhelmed with His greatness and glory. Thankful. Awed by the way He is working.

There are times when they are sad. When I want to step in and fix everything for those I love. Aching. Pleading. Wanting so badly to see them safe. Strong.

Those tears often come with no words. Only a silent pleading can make it through the emotions. One night I flipped through the pages of my Bible in desperation, looking for anything that showed me He cared. That He heard me. 

He does hear, Loved one. He does care. 

Thou has taken account of my wanderings; 

Put my tears in Thy bottle; 

Are they not in Thy book?

Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call; 

This I know, that God is for me.

In God, whose word I praise,

In the Lord ,whose word I praise,

In God I have put my trust,

I shall not be afraid. 

Psalms 56:8-11

He is as aware of our tears as He is the birds that fall from the sky. And He cares so much more for us, for we are created in His image. Created to glorify Him. He is attentive to every thing that goes through our hearts and heads. 

I have learned that when those tears come, to cry hard. Let it out. But. Pray harder. He holds those tears as tightly as He holds you in His hand... And all that comes to you that might possibly cause tears, it has to go through His scarred hands first. 

I cry hard. But I pray harder, because I know that God is for me. Because I have faith that the One I trust, is for me. And I shall not be afraid. He holds my tears in His bottle. 

Discipline

But have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. 

On the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness; 

For bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things,

 Since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 

1 Timothy 4:7-8

This September marks the first September since Kindergarten that I have not started school in some capacity. Watching all of my friends go back to classes, sports, and live the college life has been more than odd. Thankfully, there are still plenty of opportunities to see them and I have wonderfully discovered that I  don't have homework to hold me back from spur-of-the-moment weekend adventures or all-evening activities! Marvelous =)!

More importantly than the freedom of no homework, I discovered 1 Timothy 4:7-8 this week. Quite often when hearing friends talk about their class assignments, I find myself going "what about me? What am I supposed to be doing?" This is what I am to be doing. Those of us who are out of school, with a job (without, too), and not married or in a serious relationship have been given a blessing from God. The blessing to be able to discipline ourselves for godliness, as it is the only thing that is profitable for both right here and right now, as well as eternity. Everything else is a bonus. Everything else is for here and now. But disciplining ourselves in Him, for His purpose and His glory, that is for ever. 

I'm not saying that those who are in school can't do this, nor am I saying that those who are married or in a relationship can't do this. I have seen though, that without those two things in my life right now (both of which are very time consuming), I can give Him my undivided, totally focused attention. It has been amazing. Sweet. Challenging. Humbling. And wonderful. Lord willing, someday I will learn to do this alongside my husband. Until that time though, I am thankful that He has given me this time with Him, learning more of Who He is and what it means to be a woman of integrity in this world.

When we stand before Him someday God isn't going to ask us if we graduated with honors, what our GPA was, or if we made Phi Theta Kappa. We are deceived in this world by the mentality that education matters. Yes, it does. But it does not matter the most.

The same with physical appearance and extracurricular activities. Do I spend more time working out, slimming down (ladies) or bulking up (guys) than I do in His word? Do I spend more time shopping and organizing my closet than I do in prayer? For me, those two are easy to say no to. But if you ask about education, that stops me. I did well in high school and even better in college, and now feel pressure to perform to that standard in everything academic. Even now, less than 5 months after I walked across the stage during graduation, it doesn't matter if I did it with honors, or if I barely passed. It is gone. What matters is the impact I had on the people that I went to school with. Was I a light to them? Did people know Him because of me? Was I an encouragement? That is what people remember. 

Bodily discipline - everything pertaining to this world - is profitable for a time. Someday, it simply won't matter. 

Godliness is the only thing that we can invest in now that will matter through eternity. 

Consider

During our worship service yesterday in church I was letting my mind wander, mulling over all the ways that this Labor Day weekend was different from last Labor Day weekend. That morning before church I was honestly starting to pull a 'tude...

"God, this isn't fair. So much is different from last year. My best friends have literally and figuratively moved and aren't here with me like they were last year.. Everyone is acting differently. I'm not in school anymore, and I don't like that. Every single thing I Loved in my life has changed and left me behind."

Needless to say, I was throwing a slight  major pity party.

As the worship songs transitioned I went to pull my tithe check from the pages of my Bible. As I slipped it into the passing basket, I realized how amazing it was that I was able to tithe. Not only did I actually have resources to tithe from, but this was the first tithe to come from my salary as a PTA. As I gave a monetary percentage back to God, the tears started to roll. 

"Father, You did it. I graduated. I completed the degree. You orchestrated everything to this point today, from my first knee surgery to knowing what classes I needed to transfer. You set this path before me, and I have taken the first step. I have my license. You brought me through the terrors of having no one I knew by giving me incredible friends. You gave me strength when I was physically and emotionally drained. You gave me the drive to study, and it brought me high honors. You stayed with me when I came home and all had changed. You comfort me with Your Word during late nights when I am lonely and broken. In all this last year, You are my Rock. You have been Steadfast. You are always there, and have always been there. You have shown me more of You than I have ever known before. Take this offering, as a way for me to show just some of my thanks to You. For all YOU have done, and all that I know You will still do."

The joy of being able to give back to Him after realizing that everything this past year has had nothing to do with what I did, but what He did, overwhelmed my lousy attitude. It really is amazing to see that in one year so much has happened. Some good, some heart breaking, some wonderful, some unsettling, some challenging. 

Transitioning from a student to the working world, with friends moving and changing is not necessarily a joyous time. It is true that nothing is as it was... Except for Him. It is also true that nothing will be as it was...  Except for my Lord. 

Only fear the Lord and serve him in truth with all your heart; 

for consider what great things He has done for you. 

1 Samuel 12:24.

On the challenging days I must not forget to remind myself of all He has done, rather than stewing over all I think He has not. He truly does great things for those who serve Him with all of their hearts, and He Loves it when we acknowledge and Love Him for what He has done.