Life is Full of Change

Life...it is a game and it is also what we live, day in and day out.  If we were to draw a line of our travel paths throughout any given day, we'd probably have the U.S. practically covered in a solid color.  Our paths cross someone else's many times in any given day.  If we were to write about our life, each day, it would be cool to see each person's perspective on a shopping trip, their response on a speech, their reaction to a movie, how their dining experience was, and the list could go on.  If each person told, in a real way, how their experiences were in each of those situations, we'd have quite a diverse set of experiences.

Life also changes and we have to be able to adapt to that change.  Change is always happening.  We need to be able to understand why the things we care about are changing.  We need to be willing to understand how that change is going to affect us and how we can adapt to the change.  The more we fight it, the more it will beat us up.  If we're willing to accept change then life will come a bit more easy to deal with.

I love quotes about change, and this one is no exception.  Here's this week's quote...

Life is known only by those who have found a way to be comfortable with change and the unknown. Given the nature of life, there may be no security, but only adventure.  - Rachel Naomi Remen

The unknown, after a change is introduced, is what makes life rough.  We can analyze things to death because of the "unknown".  As life hands you many unknowns, take an opportunity to flex your change muscles, even if they are a bit tight!

The more you stretch the more comfortable you'll be with the changes that may come about in your life!  Even if it is an issue where you just cannot change, which we all have those areas, if you are stretching your 'muscles' you may not change but you will have a mindset to not be so resistant to the idea of change.

Change and life are hard...trying to stretch...and hold...1-2-3-4..8-9-10....21-22-23-28-29-30! Whew!!!

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Excitement Behind a Birth

Last week, I learned that a friend of ours had a baby.  We knew the mom when she was a teen.  She meant a lot to us.  We didn’t even know she was pregnant, so the news of her having a baby was a total shock.

Because of her closeness to us, I gave her a call.  She is not married and lives with her parents.  She’s had ups and downs in her life.  I don’t think she’s been baptized, and has struggled with her faith.  Regardless of her past, the present is that she is now a mommy.  The father of the baby will most likely not be in the picture.  With all that being said, you couldn’t help but to hear the excitement in the mom’s voice, along with the grandma’s voice.  It seems it doesn’t matter how babies arrived on the scene, there is a lot of excitement when someone has a child.

The nice thing about the near-40 week gestation period is that there is plenty of time for excitement to build.  First, comes the news.  Next, comes the “baby bump”.  Thirdly, the palpable kicking/moving.  Finally, the birth.  All can’t wait for the time when that baby is out to hold and nurture.  The news runs wild.  Now, with electronic intervention, the news is spread even quicker. 

Nearly twenty centuries ago, there was an announcement that was made about a birth that would take place.  This announcement would change the world, literally.  This announcement was telling of a Savior.  This Savior was born to a lowly peasant girl who was getting ready to marry.  Her soon-to-be husband almost left her to be a single mother. (Can you imagine how that would have played out?) This birth, like all, was exciting.  He wasn’t born in a hospital or a nice room, but in a “barn”.  He was laid in a manger, but that didn’t stop any of the excitement.  People came and visited and the excitement rang out.

This time of year is a great time to be excited.  People are thinking about the birth of Jesus.  Look around to see how you can join in with their excitement to be able to share with them what He means to you! It is a season of open doors, so don’t be afraid to walk through them!

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Bringing Him Our Gifts - Matthew 2:9-11

Being a father of a young child I have the pleasure of watching kids' shows. Nearly all of them have a good moral message.  One of his favorites is The Backyardigans, which I've made reference to before.  On one episode a spoiled princess looks out at Egypt and notices that things are drying up, specifically the Nile.  She wants it to look green again. She's told she must take three presents to the Sphinx.  The journey begins, and at each stop there is a building of the moral lessons.  As it is a man-made story, it all works out for good in the end. The Sphinx sees that she brought the proper presents and the Sphinx makes it fertile and lush once again.

The journey was long and imagine the dissappointment if came to the end without the proper presents?  How would you feel?  Could you just imagine if we had to take three presents to heaven to be allowed in? What about the dissappointment you'd feel if you found that you brought the wrong things, or maybe not enough of the right thing?

If you knew you were going to heaven (particular month, day, time, etc.) and you were supposed to bring something with you, but then finding out they weren't the right things, wouldn't you be a bit disappointed?  The gifts you were supposed to bring were the gifts you already possessed.  As we reflect back to the sermon, here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

1. Spiritual Gifts Aren't Chotchkies (collectibles) ~ Some people go overboard with collecting things.  They have curio cabinets or shelves full of little things that they will probably have until they pass on.  These items are dust collectors. Don't let the gifts that God has given you to just sit around and collect dust...use them!
2. God Wants Your Gifts ~ You may look at someone else and totally admire them, almost to the point of jealousy.  They may possess something that is a talent that you wish you had.  Don't think that God is more pleased with them because of their gift.  He's given us different gifts to be different and each one, when used properly, is pleasing to Him.  Enjoy the gifts God has given you!
3. Bring It! ~ A phrase used when a challenge has been set, to see who is going to bring "it" to the table, court, field, etc.  As you serve Him, don't leave yur gifts behind, bring them and use them to glorify Him.

In Matthew 2 the Magi (Wise Men) bring three gifts to Jesus, as they welcome the King.  As you come to Jesus bring your gifts to Him and allow those gifts to be used to benefit others.
 
Bringing it...

 

d



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Where Success Lies

The other day my mom sent me a "forward" that had a PowerPoint presentation about hot chocolate.  You may have received it in your e-mail inbox sometime in the past.  The gist of the presentation is that we do not need to worry about what type of cup holds the hot chocolate.  The hot chocolate is the same in any container.  We often get so wrapped up in appearances instead of content.

When you think about what you're going to do in life, you think about the job that you are going to do.  The job is what you think is going to define how well you do and how well you're looked at by others.  This week's quote made me think about where the success comes from...

That real opportunity for success lies within the person and not in the  job. ~ Zig Ziglar

Each job possesses success.  Not just each career.  A retired person can find great success in a job.  A volunteer can do the same. 

There was a time when I wanted to be "big" in my field.  However, I have learned to rethink that.  "Big" does not mean successful.  "Big" does not mean much of anything in the whole scheme of things.  Many "little" people have done great things in their field/job/career.  "Little" people have changed lives, invented inventions, and scaled giant heights.  

If you're a "little" person in your field, enjoy the ride to the top.  Look for any and every opportunity to see what impact you can make.  These opportunities are all around us if we keep looking.  

We're all different containers carrying hot chocolate.  Our differences make it interesting, but the content is the same.  Remember that success lies in you, not the job.

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What Did You Expect?

My wife is very expressive. It is one of her great traits. I am not so expressive. It is one of my...traits. We tend to joke about this area from time to time because we are very different. Luckily, Oliver is more like his mommy in this area.

Since I tend to not be as expressive, I hate to open gifts in front of people. I love to receive them, but do not like to open them in front of people. The main reason is, I’ve been known to be very unexpressive when I open something that maybe wasn’t what I wanted or expected.

I can’t help but wonder if the people of Jesus’ day were much like I am about gifts? Their ancestors had passed down the prophecy to them. It was always a waiting game, “Could it be this year?” At the time of Jesus’ birth, they had experienced about 400 years of no contact from God. What we know as that time between the two Testaments. God had not sent prophets to shape up the people. So, very few even knew that the time of a Messiah being born was a possibility. Especially, those outside the Jewish faith.

However, once He did come on the scene, how many people thought, “This is it? A child born in Bethlehem? In a manger? From a peasant family?” Joseph wasn’t the Rockefeller of his day, nor was he the Heisman winner of past. He was from a common family. Mary, she was no princess, by heritage. She wasn’t a former Miss Israel. She, too, was common.

Jesus came in common form, to common folks, for a common purpose. He may not have come in a form that some people were expecting. They may have gruffed at the fact that He arrived the way He did, to whom He did. However, regardless, Jesus was the gift that we needed, even if it didn’t look like it in the beginning. Jesus was what they expected, just in a different look. May we praise God for the things that we’re given which we didn’t expect!

What Did You Find? - Luke 2:4-18

My wife and I were traveling to her grandmother's house for the holidays one year and we were following her father's directions.  The car we were traveling in had no overhead light, so she was having to read it by the light that was on the floor, under the dash.  As it was dark when we were getting near her grandmother's house, we were looking to turn at the "green house", or that is what I thought, until I learned, before it was too late, we were going to be turning at the "greenhouse", a plant nursery.  We didn't miss our turn, but we still joke about it each time we drive by there.  We were following directions but ended up with something totally different by the time we arrived at this part of the trip.

Finding something totally different than what we expected is not abnormal.  I kind of think that people may have reacted that way when Jesus was born.  People may think that, today, when they "find Jesus".

Yesterday, we looked at Luke 2:4-18 as the shepherds were looking for Jesus.  Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

1. Don't pre-plan your trip (too much) - Each day you do much of the same thing.  However, whether you are looking at your day or planning a trip, don't forget to plan for the flexibility of the day.  God may throw something out at you that you never thought was going to be a point in your day of your travels.  The unexpected can make it very interesting!
2. The Unexpected May Have Been Planned - God has a plan and He works it.  Your day may going the way you planned it, but when something happens that you didn't plan on, that may have been God interjecting and saying, "This is what I've got planned".  So, if you didn't get something done, maybe that was Him trying to teach you something or take you somewhere, for your own good.
3. Reveal the Manger - You may have hidden something behind your back, to be later revealed.  You have a treasure behind your back, Jesus.  Bring it around to the front and show people your Savior, even if it wasn't what they were expecting!

The shepherds found Him in a manger.  You found Him somewhere else.  Let others see Him in all sorts of places.


People may not think they were going to see Jesus when they met up with you, but that is hopefully what they'll find!




Share the wealth!



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