4 hours ago
I had so many ideas for advent readings and crafts to do with the kids. We were going to bake, and learn new Christmas carols and Bible verses. I was going to continue waking up before the kids and get in a rich, meaningful personal Bible study leading up to Christmas Day.
And then the king of all colds struck us last week. I tell you, if I ever needed a non-serious reminder of the sinful, fallen state of the world, this cold was it. Even though we are well past being contagious, we still are struggling with scratchy voices and irritating remnants of a cough. Derek took time off from work, and I rolled out of bed too late every morning for the past week. Needless to say, my plans did not come to fruition.
However, I finally felt well enough to get back to my new morning routine again this morning. I grabbed the Christmas present I bought myself, an illuminated Scripture journal for the book of Hebrews. I figured I'd just start by checking out the cross-references, and I stumbled across two passages that have helped set my heart back on Christ amidst the Christmas-Eve craziness this morning. (The first one is kind of long, try to take time to read through the whole thing - it's so good!).
"He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in Heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in Heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross."
Colossians 1:13-20
"For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
2 Corinthians 4:6
I just love how these passages talk about the light of Christ. We are lost in darkness, in our sin, without Him - but when we were stumbling around in the dark, God sent us the light of Christ, the light of Himself. He was born to make peace for us through the blood of His cross. We are the ones who deserve darkness and death forever because of our sin, but He bore that penalty for us on the cross. And now if we will merely raise our faces to His light, trusting in His sacrifice and what He has done to save us, we need never be lost in darkness again.
Merry Christmas, friends. I pray that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ is shining bright in your hearts this Christmas (and that you have more joy than Georgie in that last picture)!
I have found my Christmas joy again this season.
I haven't shared much about it here, but a few years back I struggled with a bit of postpartum depression. I always say "a bit", "a little", because it didn't feel severe enough to say it without a qualifier. I never felt suicidal, or like I wanted to hurt my baby. I didn't stay in bed all day. I just cried a lot, and struggled with my purpose, and felt like I was viewing my life through a bubble, without being able to feel enough of the joy. And I just teared up writing that sentence. It was just "a little", but it was still devastating in it's own way.
I think my struggle manifested itself most at Christmastime. For a couple years there, when I was going into depression and coming out of it, Christmas was just about the motions. I tried to listen to the music in church, to let the preaching reach my heart, to meditate on Christ and what He did by coming to save us. I tried to conjure up an emotion. But I was mostly just stressed and waiting for Christmas to be over so I wouldn't feel so behind on my to-do list. So I wouldn't feel the pressure to feel joyful when I couldn't.
It's been a relief to find that I've finally come fully out of that. That I can enjoy the beauty and joys of Christmas without the same kind of stress and heaviness pulling me down.
I share all this I suppose just to say that Christmas time isn't always filled with joy for everyone. And I know people who say that seem like they are being killjoys (quite literally), but I have a point here, just hang in there with me.
The other day I stumbled across a Bible verse while I was looking for something else, but it stopped me in my tracks. This is the verse:
"Like one who takes away a garment in cold weather, and like vinegar on soda, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart."
Proverbs 25:20
I think we can all testify to the truth of this from personal experience. But I think this verse really stood out to me this time because I've seen this very situation happen recently, right in front of me. It's a little different seeing it as more an observer than a participant, and I think it grieves me more. When you are the one with the heavy heart you are absorbed in the emotion, but when you observe this happening more on the outside of yourself, you see the damage. And it feels like there is nothing you can personally do about it.
But maybe there is.
Today I was driving in the car, listening to a radio program, and I was reminded of that old song. It's mournful notes are playing in my head now. "They will know we are Christians by our love..."
I went home and looked up 1 John and read a couple chapters. The lyrics above aren't actually in the Bible, but there is plenty about loving one another. The closest verse to that song is when Jesus tells His disciples that "By this everyone you will know that you are my disciples, that you love one another." (John 13:35)
First John expands on the idea of loving each other:
"My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in action and in truth."
1 John 3:19
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to love one another."
1 John 4:7-11
I think it's easy to miss that fact that all this talk about love is specifically talking to us as Christians to love our Christian brothers and sisters in Christ.
This stood out to me more this time I read it, I think because we are currently going through a difficult situation at church that is painful in a lot of different ways. I think in Christian circles today there is a lot of emphasis on loving non-believers, but on the whole I haven't seen as much emphasis on loving the church. On loving the people in the church.
The thing is, it's a little easier to love people in the world sometimes, trying to point them to Christ (though too often through mere action, without the necessary accompanying words). And we pat ourselves on the back for following Christ's command to "love one another".
But if we aren't showing that same love to people in our church, we are missing the whole point. In the context of these passages, that is what we are being told to do. To not just love the world, but love each other, love our fellow believers. That's how Christ says they will know we are His disciples. If we love our fellow believers.
So how are we supposed to do that, specifically this Christmas, when pain feels like it has to be hidden, and maybe those who are joyful have unintentional blinders amidst all the merriment?
1. You have to be in a church, or some gathering of believers. Preferably a church though. That's what the church is supposed to be for, for believers to come together to lift each other up, challenge each other to press on, to encourage one another, to care for each other's needs. You can't do that as well if you aren't gathering regularly with fellow believers.
2. Stop plastering on a smile. We don't gather together on Sunday mornings to pretend we are all perfect and joyful and nothing is ever wrong. We are sinful humans. We still struggle with sin as believers. Life is still hard. We are still going to go through difficult times. Jesus promised us trouble while we are here (John 16:33). We still hurt. We still hurt each other. It's okay to show you are hurting or need help, so someone else can lift you up.
3. Take the blinders off. Maybe we all hide our hurt or stress so much because we've too often had our pain or grief ignored. If you are blessed enough to not be currently struggling, maybe keep your eye out for someone who is.
4. Don't sing songs to a heavy heart. I think this is about paying attention to other's struggles instead of just our own situation. There are usually little clues if you pay attention, little signals that maybe not everything is well in someone's life. Often we don't even respond right when our brother's or sister's pain or hardship is glaringly obvious. But that's a big reason why we are supposed to be gathering together in the first place. To take care of one another, and lift each other up. Singing songs to a heavy heart is not the way to lift each other up (it says so right there, in the verse I shared at the beginning).
5. Practically - just reach out. I think at this time of year, it's too easy to just ignore the pain of others, inside and outside the church. There is merriment to be had, after all! But I think in doing that, we miss the whole point of Christmas. We are celebrating, after all, how God Himself reached down to rescue us from the death and judgement we deserve because of our sin. He sent His Son to be the sacrifice, to pay the penalty for our sin, to give eternal life to those who believe in Him! We ought to be reaching out to offer that hope to those outside the church, and comfort and help to those inside the church.
6. Share in someone's pain. We are all really good at rejoicing with those who rejoice (at least outwardly), but I think mourning with those who mourn is even more important. You can be happy by yourself and be just fine, but mourning by yourself is a terrible burden. And maybe we reflect the truth of Christmas best when we are willing to reach a hand down to someone else. Not just in generic, good-deed, pat-yourself-on-the-back ways, but with a heart to share in someone's pain. It's harder to do that. It costs more to feel someone's pain with them. But it's also the way we can maybe lift them a little bit out of it.
The main point is: if you are rejoicing this Christmas, don't forget those who are mourning, even (or especially) those in the church - and take a little time to reach out to them with the love of Christ. I think that is one of the best ways we could celebrate Christmas.
Have you ever had a Christmas where it was hard to feel joy?
I hope and pray that someone in the body of Christ reached out to you when you needed it.
However, this year I took advantage of Black Friday shopping when a friend invited me to go with her - I wasn't even expecting to buy much, but I ended up getting all my Christmas shopping done. I forgot how freeing it is to get your shopping done early! The rest of December is wide open now! I am looking forward to having more time to do Christmas projects with the kids and less time worrying about presents.
However, I may have also bought myself a Christmas gift on Black Friday. I laughed when I read Elizabeth's post about buying a gift for yourself, because I totally do that. This is what I got:
1. Housewife Theologian by Aimee Byrd.
I read No Little Women by Aimee Byrd last year, and it was excellent. I have been looking for a chance to buy another book from her, and Amazon's book coupon seemed to be it! I'm really looking forward to this one - I love books that make theology accessible, and also that encourage Christian women toward good theology. I'm expecting good things.
I cam across this after a similar recommendation from Jami Balmet's blog (or Facebook page or something), and I have to say I'm so excited about this one. It arrived in the mail today, and I flipped through it - it is perfect! On the left page it has the actual text of Hebrews, and on the right page it has a blank dot-grid page for you to use for journaling, or whatever.
I know Bible art journaling has been going on for years, but after mulling it over for a long time, I decided I'm not a huge fan - I don't like how the illustrations so often go over the text of Scripture, and how the focus often seems to be on the art instead of the Word of God. I'm sure it can be done well with a heart to bring glory to the Lord, so if you do Bible art journaling and have found a good balance, I think that's great - it's just not something I'm interested in. However, there has been something appealing to me about those wide margins, because I'd love to take more thorough notes when I'm reading through a book of the Bible.
This little volume is perfect for that; I can focus on one specific book and write down everything I'm learning with a full blank page! I am so looking forward to using it! I chose Hebrews, because I've become a little attached to that particular book after trying so hard to memorize it (I'm only shakily up to chapter 4). I'd like to renew my memorization attempt in 2019, and I think this will help.
Do you buy Christmas gifts for yourself? What did you get?
(No need for it to be spiritual, I also bought myself a new lipstick today for the Christmas season, ha!)
Yesterday I quit Facebook.
I decided at least for the month of December, me and ol' Facebook need a break.
Back in October when I tried to do the "How I Handle It" series on my blog, one of the prompts was "how do you manage screen time". I admit I was a little prideful at first - I don't have a screen time problem! What's there to manage?
But maybe that question just needed a little time to sink in, because I started noticing more and more how much time I was actually spending on my phone. And while there are a few different things that draw me in, Facebook was the number one culprit. I feel a little embarrassed admitting that, because I always felt I had struck a good balance with Facebook - until the last couple weeks, when I had an epiphany.
I was using Facebook as an escape whenever my life started to feel a little boring or hard.
Yes, I have become one of those people. And it's not healthy.
And what's so great about Facebook anyway ? Even at it's best, I've always recognized that it's also a bit of a waste of time. I've quit it before. I can share photos with grandmas though texting instead, and do casual blogs really need a Facebook page? I'm saying no. So I signed out of Facebook on all my devices, and cut the cord for (at least) a month.
While I've felt the urge to check Facebook a couple times since then, I weirdly almost immediately felt some of my creativity coming back. I've always had words just bundled up and bursting to come out, and I was happy to learn that eliminating Facebook has made me want to spend a little more time pouring them out here on the blog, instead in Facebook comments that are forgotten almost as soon as someone clicks on the notification.
People can say what they want, but I will always think of blogging as one of the good things that can come from the internet, at least for me. It doesn't have the same instant gratification as Facebook, it's not addictive in that way. You have to sit still and focus to read (or write) a blog. You have to think through what you want to say. It's a producing online activity, instead of just a consuming one. It's less about that shot of social media dopamine, and more about sharing life and documenting things you don't want to forget.
Yeah, I think quitting Facebook will be a good thing.
So how do I manage screen time? I'm not very good at it for myself, honestly. But quitting Facebook is the first step.
Are you on Facebook? If you've ever quit Facebook, how'd it go?
Are you on Facebook? If you've ever quit Facebook, how'd it go?
(Some affiliate links in this post! Just on the books you know, so I can buy more books...)
"So Martin Luther nailed his 95 points to the church door, and there is a thing called Reformation Day now."
"Reformation Day?" Wyatt asked.
"Yes, and it's actually on the same day as Halloween."
Gwen looked thoughtful for a moment. "Mom, can we celebrate Reformation Day this year?"
And just like that, we were celebrating Reformation Day this year.
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I already explained a few weeks ago why we choose not to celebrate Halloween in our family, so I am not sure why it hasn't occurred to me to celebrate Reformation Day. Reformation Day is on October 31st, which is the day that Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to the door of a church in Wittenburg. He was mostly arguing against the practice of indulgences at that time, but he came to realize through this process of studying the Bible that our salvation is purely by the grace of God. We contribute nothing to our salvation, because we have no righteousness of our own with which to approach God. Christ took the punishment for our sin and gives us His righteousness when we put our trust in Him, and our salvation is completely through His sacrifice and apart from our own works.
You can read more about the Reformation on your own (that was a very surface-y explanation above), but the bottom line is that if you are part of any Protestant Christian denomination, it all started right here. With Martin Luther and other Reformers, who studied the Bible, through their study rediscovered the truth of the good news of the Gospel, and brought the church back to the firm foundation of the Word Of God.
This is YOUR history, and you are still reaping the benefits of the work the Reformers did in bringing the truth of the Gospel to light.
I think that is worth celebrating for sure!
As a mom, I really want my kids to know Christian history, and the heritage that has been passed down to us through the sacrifices of people like the Reformers, who fought and died for the truth of God's Word. I think in Protestant circles, we tend to get a little disconnected from our history, and I'd really like my kids to have a sense of the history and heroes of the faith between the end of the Bible (around 96 AD) until today. I explain these things to them, but I think making a celebration of this part of our history is a wonderful way to help personalize it for my kids. As I was thinking about how to celebrate Reformation Day, I was trying to think of some ways to have a little fun while we remember our Christian history too. Here is how we celebrated this year!
1. Reformation Day Shirts
Several months ago, I stumbled across Diet Of Worms apparel, which makes clothing for "little (and big) reformers". I laughed out loud at their "It's Hammer Time" t-shirt, and I ordered one for Wyatt and a "Sola Fide" t-shirt for myself. They have since gone out of business, so I took some inspiration from them and made t-shirts for everyone else in our family myself! Here is what I put on the shirts:
Sola Fide - Latin for "faith alone". This is one of the five "solas" of the Reformation.
Image via Facebook
1517 - The year Martin Luther nailed up his theses (this year was the 501st anniversary!).
"On This I Stand, I Can Do No Other" - This is what Luther said at the "Diet Of Worms", which is actually what they called a church council/trial held in the city of Worms, when church leaders asked Luther to recant his writings. The full quote is here:
“Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason (I do not accept the authority of popes and councils because they have contradicted each other), my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen.”
The kids loved their shirts and asked to wear them again the next day! This was fun for me, because it was a like a little Reformation Day present/surprise I could give them.
Speaking of the Diet Of Worms...
2. Worm Pudding
As a play on the Diet Of Worms, we had a "diet of worms" in the form of gummy-worm-and-orea-pudding! I thought this was really funny and clever of myself, ha! My kids were a little young to get the joke I think, they just enjoyed the pudding.
3. A Sausage Dinner
This is in honor of a different sausage dinner, and a sermon preached by a priest there, which kicked off the Reformation in Switzerland. You can read more about that here. (Sausage dinner not pictured, but it was really good.)
4. Reformation Day Books
I first toyed with the idea of celebrating Reformation Day last year, for the 500th anniversary, but I was hugely pregnant, and to be honest, I wasn't sure if my kids were old enough to "get it". This year my oldest two are 7 and 5, and I have to say, it's been really pleasantly surprising to me how much they understand about what the Reformation means! The got an idea of what we were celebrating just through conversations together, but I wanted to find some books to drive it home. These are the two I picked:
Reformation ABC's - This is a thorough book for kids, covering a different aspect or hero of the Reformation for each letter. We didn't read this whole book, since it's probably geared for kids a little older than my kids, but we read several pages, about the Bible, Luther, Hiedelburg and Westminster. my kids were excited when they recognized a catechism question on the Westminster page!
The Life Of Martin Luther: A Pop-Up Book - This is a pop-up book (obviously), and my kids asked me to read it three times! It's the story of Martin Luther in a nutshell, and the pop-ups make it so fun. The only thing I'd change about this book is a line on the last page that mentions Luther introducing "new ideas" - I would rephrase that "biblical ideas" - but other than that, it's just perfect!
5. Reformation Reading For Me
This whole celebration of Reformation Day really started with my reading challenge this year. One of the categories was to read about church history, so I picked up a couple books about the Reformation. I have been a Christian since I accepted Christ as a child, and I grew up in the church, and it was shocking how much of this history I DIDN'T know! If you want to celebrate Reformation Day with your kids, I highly recommend familiarizing yourself with the history too! Not only has is been helpful in teaching the history to my kids, but it has made me pay more careful attention to different verses in my Bible reading, and really enriched my own faith this year.
The Reformation: How A Monk And A Mallet Changed The World by Stephen Nichols - This book is short and sweet, and most importantly, very readable! I found this whole book really fascinating, and learned about how I've benefitted from the sacrifices of Reformers I'd never even heard of. This is a must-have primer on the history of the Reformation, in my opinion.
Why The Reformation Still Matters by Michael Reeves and Tim Chester - If the book above is about the history of the Reformation, this book is about the nuts and bolts of what the Reformation was really about. A lot of the theology discussed is more subtle than I originally thought, but the distinctions are so, so important. I'm almost done listening to this one on audio, and highly recommend it!
Also a heads up - one of my favorite podcasts/websites has a free "Reformation Day Celebration" for download! I haven't had a chance to watch it yet because our internet was out last week, but it's still available here!
Also a heads up - one of my favorite podcasts/websites has a free "Reformation Day Celebration" for download! I haven't had a chance to watch it yet because our internet was out last week, but it's still available here!
Stay tuned for Reformations Days in years to come, because I have more ideas already spinning in my head for next year!
Have you heard of Reformation Day? Have you ever celebrated it (and how)?
I highly encourage you to give it a try next year! We had fun with it!
Georgiana turns one year old in about a week! I might be in denial a little bit.
We are going to be buried in boxes and renovations on her actual birthday, so we decided to have her first birthday party a couple weeks early while we are still in this house! It seems fitting to have her first birthday party here, since this is where we brought her home when she was just tiny.
Our last party in this house. I am a little sentimental about it. We've celebrated so much here, from our very first gender reveal party, through all the kids' birthday parties, and now this is the last one. I can't believe my tiny little baby is almost one year old!
I decided to go with a autumn/donut theme, because it was easy to pull off. It ended up being perfect to celebrate our sweet girl and send this house out in style.
I got most of the decorations from the Target dollar spot and Hobby Lobby. My friend Danae did the lettering for Georgie's wood sign (which will now live in her room at the new house). I told my sister I wanted a simple sprinkle cake this time (she's the master cake decorator in this family), and she made it come to life!
The centerpiece of our donut-themed party was the donut peg board, which Derek made for the party (I got the idea from Ashley's gorgeous baby sprinkle). It all came together really well! I am so thankful for my family and friends who helped me put it all together this time. I love going all out for the first birthday party, and this one was so easy with everyone's help!
I let Georgie have a taste of cake when we took birthday pictures a few weeks ago, so at the party it didn't take her long to remember that cake is pretty good!
It was so good to celebrate one last time in this house, with our dear family and friends. I'm glad we had a chance to celebrate our baby girl here. I might have cried a little after the party was over. It's bittersweet, leaving this house, and watching your last baby turn one.
But good things are on the horizon too.
T-minus 8 days until we close on our new house! I wanted to show you the last corner of our first home before we leave it.
This room is one of the harder ones to leave. It's gone through many transformations over the years, from blue airplanes, to pink and purple flower garden, to orange and turquoise ocean-themed, to coral and mint florals. Each of my babies have slept in here at one point or another. This is how it looks right now, how I decorated it for our last baby, Georgie. It's hard to leave it, especially since she turns one year old in a couple weeks. I labored over that quilt when my belly was so big I couldn't pick up the needle when I dropped it. I rocked her when she was only as big as a loaf of bread, right in that chair.
The only thing missing is the rows of family photos that were on the wall right above the bookshelf - I took pictures of it before I took them down for showings, but I accidentally deleted the photos, so aside from one photo from my phone, you'll have to use your imagination. Still, I'm glad I found time to snap a few more shots of this room amidst all the packing that is happening this week. I want to remember the place where each of my babies slept.
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That's it, guys! Our whole house, all the rooms in our first home. We've had so many milestones here, so many good memories, and a few tears. This house has been good to us, and the Lord saw us through it all and blessed us here.
Goodbye, First House.
You can click the button below to see the entire home tour. Now, on to our next place! I'll share "before" pictures of our new house in about a week or so!
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