Obstacle vs. Opportunity

For many, during the holiday season, presents obstacles. Some would be categorized under financial. Buying or the desire to buy gifts for others becomes rough, due to limitations.

However, there are other obstacles that may come about. Relationships, job, weather, etc. may bring about issues that financial cannot even fix. But what do you do with obstacles, do you allow them to become opportunities? That brings us to this week's quote...

"What is the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity? Our attitude toward it. Every opportunity has a difficulty, and every difficulty has an opportunity." ~ J. Sidlow Baxter

Whether life is in the holiday mode or just going from day-to-day, obstacles present opportunities. Where are the opportunities? Right there! We must open our eyes to see them. The opportunity in a financial situation may not be to cause you to be better off but to learn to do something better in the future.

There are opportunities all around you. Opportunities to smile during a busy holiday season. Opportunities to be patient in a long line. Opportunities to show your faith to those who do not know Christ.

Make the the most opportunities this holiday season! Now it's your turn...how do you feel about the quote?

Fall: Fall With Thanksgiving

What are some things you are thankful for this year? Some would say family, faith, job, friends, health and home. What else are you thankful that you have? What about eyesight, sanity, knowledge, any material blessings, experience, life-lessons, etc.

It is easy to get wrapped up in the things we have and this time of year seems to bring about the thankfulness in all of us.

I just sold something on eBay and checked to see if I had feedback yet. I did. It was nice to see the appreciation coming through in the feedback. If the customer had not ever left feedback, I'd begin to wonder if they'd received the package and if they liked their purchase. Since they had left feedback, I now know.

That brings me to the point of thinking that God, as much as He loves us, must really enjoy hearing our "thanks" expressed to Him. What do you think?

Sunday we looked at Psalm 95 as our inspiration for the last in the "Fall" series as we "fall with thanksgiving." Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

• Fall ~ This week would be a good time to do something out of the ordinary and take time to pray on your knees. Don't forget to thank God a lot before you ask for things!
• With ~ Don't do it alone. As you are praising God, whether it is in your prayers or singing a song, have someone join in with you - family, spouse, friends, etc. Do it with someone!
• Thanksgiving ~ There are simply a lot of things to be thankful for. Maybe your life is going downhill or is "in the toilet." Those are difficult times to see the good. Regardless, challenge yourself to try to find at least 10 positive things in your life to appreciate or be thankful for this week!

One of my favorite things is to sit down at Thanksgiving with my family and to say the things that we are thankful for. It is neat to hear everyone's responses.

May you have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Now it's your turn...what is something you are thankful for? Even something "unusual"...

Letting Your Holiday Lights Shine

It is a great time of the year…Christmas. For some it is about Christ. For some it is about gifts. For some it is about family. You may like all three.

This is one of my favorite holidays. I enjoy all that goes along with the holiday. I enjoy building up to “the big day”. I enjoy putting up lights outside on the house and lights on the trees. I enjoy seeing my wife flex her design muscles and transform our house into a winter house of wonder.

As “the big day” is almost upon us, here is an interesting quote of what Christmas should be about…

Christmas is not in tinsel and lights and outward show. The secret lies in an inner glow. It's lighting a fire inside the heart. Good will and joy a vital part. It's higher thought and a greater plan. It's glorious dream in the soul of man."  ~Wilfred A. Peterson (The Art of Living)

One great part of the season is how people tend to be a bit more joyous this time of year. The fire that is inside which brings out a warm joy is very contagious. To think about the greater plan that is found in the holiday will lift many people during the season.

Keep the light shining this holiday season! You never know who will need to see your light to lift them up!

 

The Package: Arrival

I just checked a tracking number prior to writing this post. I am awaiting the arrival of a package that has Christmas gifts for both of our kids. We lucked in to a good deal and it is supposed to be here the middle part of this week. My anticipation of this and other gifts to arrive will be heightened as the week continues.

When this package arrives I will be excited. I look forward to being able to give them away to my children…even if one is too young to enjoy the receiving of their gift. I wonder if God ever thought of this when He was planning out giving up Jesus for us?

Sunday, we looked into Jesus’ arrival, as He is our “package” whose arrival we were anticipating. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week…

• Open It Up ~ The natural action following receiving a package is to open it up. I really enjoy the mystery of Christ. The depth of His life and God’s Word are mind blowing! Take time to “open” Him up and discover what’s inside!
• Show It Off ~ We are generally very excited about what we have received. If you’re like me you like to show it off. If it is clothes/hat/jewelry, wear it right away. If it is a game, you play with it soon. As you receive Christ, take time to show what He’s brought to your life to others.  Maybe he’s brought patience or forgiveness to your life – those are good things to “show off” to others.
• Appreciate It ~ It can be tempting to put what we receive to the side after it has lost its luster. However, the more we see it and are using it the more we appreciate it. May we be renewed with our appreciation of the Package, that being Christ!

This Package is the greatest “presents” we’ll ever receive!  Now, let’s open it up, show it off, and appreciate it long after the season passes!

Merry Christmas!

 

Looking Forward to Jesus' Second Arrival

You know that anticipation and anxiousness you feel whenever you are expecting a package to arrive? If you’re able to track it online you may check it from time to time to see if it is going to arrive on time. Either way, if you’re like me, you look for that delivery person, be it a postal carrier, UPS, FEDEX, or whoever. You simply cannot wait to receive the package.

I remember two years ago, when I was looking forward to a baby who was going to come into my life. I had looked forward to this “package” coming for 9 months. As I saw the baby on the sonogram, I was elated. Each time I heard the heartbeat, I leaped with joy. Each time I saw or felt the baby kick I just couldn’t wait to hold him. Then the day came that I did get to hold him. I was not disappointed! My son was awesome!

This is the beginning weekend of Advent. In our traditions we don’t normally celebrate or observe it. After being willing to speak at our local Advent “luncheons”, I had to do some looking as to what Advent is all about. The word basically means “arrival”. As December 25th, Christmas, has been set to be the observance of Jesus’ birth, Advent is all about the observance of looking forward to Him coming. He has come once, through a mortal woman in a manger in Bethlehem. For some, that is something to recognize during the holidays. However, there is another “package” that is coming, Jesus’ second coming. When is that going to be, we don’t know. However, we can look forward to His arrival with a sense of awe, anxiousness, and anticipation. That is a reason to celebrate. That is the reason to observe Advent.

I don’t know if I will ever put an Advent calendar or candle in my home to look at through the month. Along those same lines, I don’t expect you to. I think that church people tend to presume a lot about other church people and their traditions based on one’s own traditions, rather than investigation or participating. You may not call it “Advent” but I’ll bet you are looking forward to the time when Jesus comes back!

Waiting for Him - Luke 3:15

When was the last time you had to wait on the phone for someone to help you? The week before last, I had a day where I was trying to get our internet hooked up and I was on hold a lot. I was being referred from one person to another. On top of that, I was cut off three or four times and had to call back. Each time, I had to plead my case to try to establish internet in our house. It was very frustrating, not to mention time consuming.

Yesterday, we examined how those before Jesus had to wait on the Messiah. Many waited their whole lifetime. They didn't get the chance to see the promised Messiah. How sad. They didn't get to experience what it was like to have him be in their life, whether it was literally, for those who walked when He walked, or in the form we have Him today. They simply looked forward. Today, there are several that are waiting for Him, still. They may not even know it, but they are waiting. How long will you keep them waiting? Here are some applications to choose from to use in applying this lesson...

1. Pray for God to help you see those who you come in contact with that are waiting for Him.
2. As you are waiting in line, strike up a conversation with someone around, asking if they're ready for Christmas, what they want for Christmas, what their favorite thing is about Christmas, etc.
3. If you are waiting in line or behind someone in traffic, pray for the one ahead or behind you that they may have Jesus in their life. Ask of God, if it is His will, that you will get opportunity to be the messenger.
4. Do something kind (a fruit of the Spirit) for a neighbor this season by taking them something. Preferably, the neighbor that you haven't ever or don't normally talk/visit with.
   

Don't keep people waiting for Him!

Looking for those who are waiting...