Encouragement grounded in Scripture
Rooted in truth. Anchored in Christ.
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Because Christmas Is Not About Presents
“I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all the people. The Savior-yes, the Messiah, the Lord-has been born today in Bethlehem.” Luke 2:10-11
“So, what is the true meaning of Christmas, Hayley?”
“Jesus!” That’s my girl!
“Hunter, why do we celebrate Christmas?”
“To get presents!” Um….well, not the answer I was looking for. This doesn’t bode well coming from the son of a children’s pastor. How did he miss the message of Christmas?
I’ll tell you how….Christmas (in the best Lucy impression I can muster) has gone commercial! Before the Halloween decorations have been packed away, Christmas decorations are already being put on display in the store. Among the shiny tinsel covered trees, or the 8 foot artificial trees with “improved,” multicolor, flickering lights, or the Hot New Toy of the Year-the message is clear-your old tree is so last year. You need one that is bigger and better. Your child needs the Hot New Toy of the Year, otherwise his life is incomplete. And, let’s not get started on what Black Friday has now become-a contest to see which You Tube user can share the biggest brawl over that Hot New Toy!
Don’t get me wrong. I have a tinsel covered tree, I like to buy a shiny, new ornament for my tree each year, and I can’t wait until Thanksgiving Day to pull out my shiny (so last year) decorations. Yes, I even shop. But somewhere between the tinsel, the lights, the Hot New Toy, and the Black Friday sales ads, the true meaning of Christmas has been lost.
“You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.” Luke 1:31
A child was born. A child who would die to save us, and what do we do each year? Worry about whether our aunt twice removed that we see once a year will like the gift we stressed out over purchasing this year. Christmas and its meaning should bring us great joy. It is a time when instead of stressing over giving gifts, yelling at the cashier because the Hot New Toy of the Year is not on sale, or spending large amounts of money on gifts that will be re-gifted and put underneath someone else’s tree next year, we should be rejoicing! Our Savior was born!
Christmas is about this Savior. The one who loved others, and wants us to do the same. He wants us to be joyful. He wants us to blare those Christmas carols, and sing about Him as loud as we can. He wants us to spend time with our families without the pressure of gifts. He wants us to stop reflecting on what is in our bank accounts, and reflect on Him. He wants us to reflect on the many ways we can give gifts to others that do not cost anything-like joy, time, love, laughter. What if we all gave a little bit more of these instead of more gifts?
My son’s favorite Christmas book is How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The other night as I read a few of his favorite lines:
“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?”
Hunter looked up at me and said, “It’s about Jesus, right Mommy?”
Yes, it’s about Jesus, honey!
Now, that’s my boy!
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Knowledge is God’s Power
He controls the course of world events; He removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars. Daniel 2:21
This has been my life for the last 8 or more years. Being a mom, a wife, a minister, and a student means many late nights, or many stolen moments at the local Panera or Starbucks, completing assignments and narrowly missing deadlines. For the first time in these 8 or more years, I actually turned in my final assignment of a very long semester, not only on time, but a week early-something drastically different than the usual frantic, nail-biting, procrastination I have been prone to most of my academic career. As I turned in that final assignment, I also did something else different than the frantic prayers I usually scream to God at 11:59 PM on most Sunday nights-I stopped and thanked Him for the knowledge he has blessed me with all these years, for the motivation to not only complete an undergraduate degree, but to pursue further studies, and for the strength to handle the chaos of life, and homework assignments.
“The ultimate ground of faith and knowledge is confidence in God.” -Charles Hodge
Most would say the desire to acquire knowledge, attend college, and pursue one’s dreams and desires is determined by one’s internal motivation. One that we are inherently born with, and that can be fostered or hindered by environmental factors and biology. As a psychology major, I get that, I don’t dispute the scientific evidence of how the human brain works. My own motivation to pursue my dreams could have been hindered by environmental and social factors. I am the first person in my immediate family to graduate from high school, so if science had defined my destiny, then college was certainly out of the question. Graduate school? Um, sure…not a chance!
The heart of a man plans his ways, but the Lord establishes his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
However, genetics and social circumstances did not determine my destiny. Sure, the science behind human motivation and behavior had something to do with my determination to follow my dreams, and biology may have had something to do with the fact I was born a dreamer, but ultimately, God had the say about what my life would look like. He provided me with the drive and the capabilities to truly believe I could accomplish all I wanted out of life, despite my family history. He provided me with the means, the strength, and the power to pursue my dreams, and to do so in a way that would glorify Him. Did I ever plan on becoming a children’s pastor? Did I ever plan to have a heart that would hurt for those that are in prison? Ever plan on the desire to help them make their lives better? No, but God put the right people in my life. He established the circumstances in my life, and made the way the way for me long before I was born. Yes, I imagined being a college graduate. It was a dream of mine since I can remember. I formulated that plan many years ago. It took me a while to get there, and I took a few detours along the way. God was with me every step of the way, and I know he will be with me and provide me with the strength, knowledge, and power I need to take the next step of this journey. Of our journey. Of His journey.
I know he will provide me with the wisdom and knowledge that could not come from any textbook, or a set of flash cards. I know he will continue to give me the strength to continue this academic journey through His power.
Yes, knowledge is power, Sir Francis Bacon. Knowledge is GOD’s power!
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Seventy Times Seven Times Forgiven
Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21-22
Seventy times seven.
Seventy times seven times we are called to forgive. Seventy times seven times we are called to show grace. Forgiveness. Grace. Two of the most beautiful things that can be given, yet the toughest to actually live out in our daily lives.
When we are being criticized or ridiculed by an unrelenting co-worker or boss, have been hurt by a beloved friend once again, or endured another tiresome and bothersome phone conversation, forgiveness and grace are usually the last things on our minds.
However, each time I want to find a way to one-up my co-worker, write-off that friend, or hang up and change my number so that I never have to endure another tiresome and bothersome phone conversation, I hear that still small voice say to me: “January, seventy times seven. That isn’t just 280, dear. It means over and over, and over again.”
Forgiveness. Grace. Just as I have given you.
And he has forgiven me. God has already forgiven me for the times I may have actually one-upped my co-worker, for the relationships and friendships I abandoned and didn’t try to save, and for the many times I may have actually hung up and thought about changing my phone number. He has forgiven me for all the times I played a part in tiresome and bothersome phone conversations. He has forgiven me each and every time I have messed up.
Seventy times seven to be exact.
He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin, and live for what is right. By his wounds we are healed. 1 Peter 2:24
Jesus certainly endured his share of ridicule and criticism. One of his dearest friends betrays him, and this perfect man, a man without sin, hung on a cross-beaten, battered, and bloodied to die for our sins. Yet, he was still able to forgive all those who persecuted him, and the very men who had him killed.
Seventy times seven. Forgiveness. Grace.
If He could do this for me; could do this for you, then I can turn the other cheek when a co-worker criticizes me. Make amends with a friend. Answer that phone to listen to another tiresome and bothersome conversation. Show patience to the lady in front of me in line who is writing a check. To the driver who has cut me off. To the teen who bumps into me at a football game. To the prisoner doing his time behind bars. Just as he has forgiven me and shown me grace.
Seventy times seven. Forgiveness. Grace. Over and over again.
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A Purpose Through the Pain
“God never wastes pain. He always causes it to work together for our ultimate good, the good of conforming us more to the likeness of His son.” -Jerry Bridges
This will be a hard post for me to write. Even though I have shared many struggles, like those with my children, and even shared a little about my family, I usually leave out the stuff that is personally related to me. Most specifically, my health.
I am not usually a “whoa is me” person. I was taught from an early age that no matter what you faced each morning, you shook it off, got out of bed, went to work, and didn’t complain about your ailment. For the most part, most don’t know the struggles I face each day just to get out of bed, shake it off, and get through a day at work.
A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had not gotten better. Mark 5:25-26
For 15 years or more I have suffered each day with chronic pain. Since the age of 20, when I should have been so full of vitality and life, I was afflicted with pain so bad I could not sit in a chair, lie down, or get a dish out of the dishwasher. I have been sidelined with chronic fatigue that makes it hard to get through a shower without wanting to collapse back into bed. Like the woman in Mark 5, I had suffered for years, been to many doctors, spent a ton of money on said doctors, and have found no relief.
For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.” Mark 5:28
I saw doctor after doctor for 10 years, until one finally mentioned something I had never heard of before-fibromyalgia. If you have never heard of it either, I suggest you read this information which lists what sufferers like may can go through on any given day.
A diagnosis should have made me feel better. Even if it was one that was virtually untreatable, and so far-uncurable. But, it didn’t make me feel better. I got worse. No remedy to date has worked-not special diets, not exercise, not drug studies, or medications of which most have never heard. I have even touched the garment of Jesus. Yet, still I get worse.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
The photo above is a tattoo-one I placed on my arm at 35 years of age to remind me of the pain I have suffered, and the one who gives me the strength just to get out of bed. The one who gives me the strength to tackle every obstacle, every situation, and get through the demands of each day, even if I have to collapse into bed at the end of a demanding day from sheer exhaustion.
See, I have prayed consistently for the healing power of Jesus to come over me as it did that ailing woman in the crowd. But, I realize He has healed me. He may not have taken away my physical pain, but He has healed my spirit. He has healed my heart. He has given me the ability to love unconditionally. He has also given me the strength to share my struggles with others, so that I can share the hope of Christ with others who may be suffering with the same daily pain that I must endure.
If my daily pain is to help someone see Christ, and to offer the hope that Christ can heal in the way He has healed me-in spirit and in heart; then I will gladly suffer through this pain. I will continue to reach for Him when I am in pain, and stay strong, even if physical healing takes 15 more years.
“Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.” Mark 5:34
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We All Fall Short
“God can take what Satan meant for shame and use it for His glory.” Lysa TerKeurst
I blog a lot about my children here. Not only are they three of the most important people to me, but each of them has taught me many lessons on life, motherhood, love, and God. There comes a time in each of my children’s life when they will need to learn something from me, from my experiences.
Of course, they each have learned many things from me. They have learned to cook, to talk, to play games, to read the Bible, to put on socks, to (sometimes) pick up after themselves, and to occasionally attempt the mixing of milk and chocolate on their own. If I were to list all of the “great” things my children have learned from me, then I would say they have probably also learned that I am a mom who doesn’t make many mistakes. If I have taught them all I know, then Mommy knows everything, right?
For we all have sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standards. Romans 3:23
We want our children to think we know everything, but we also have to keep in mind their is also a list of “not-so-great” things our children can learn from us, too.
Like sin.
If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all wickedness. 1 John 1:8-9
If we want our children to learn from their bad choices, from their mistakes, from their failures-we must step out from behind our curtain of shame and confess our sins.
“Honey, do you want to know what happens when you are in college and get an “F?” Let me tell you about the time I failed a class. I had to retake it. I also had to repay for it-again!”
“Sweetie, I have been dishonest with money, too. I’ll also tell you about the consequences of the choices I made with money.”
“Dear, you are forgiven, because I have told a lie, too. But at some point, someone finds out about that lie and gets hurt. I know because my lies have hurt people.”
We all fall short. And we all feel so much shame for our shortcomings. But God can use these “not-so-great” things for good. To teach our children about grace. To teach them about forgiveness. To teach them that unfortunately Mommy doesn’t know everything.
But she does know what it is like to fail, to be dishonest, to lie, and hurt other people.
Because we all fall short.
Yet, God with undeserved kindness, declare that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. Romans 3:24
About Me
I am January! Wife, mother, meemaw, pastor, and mental health provider who makes it through the day with my coffee, my journal, and my God. A simple human, navigating life through the messy and sometimes chaotic. All focused on Him.
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Grace 'n Grounds 