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Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Whom shall I fear...by Chris Tomlin

I don't have a full blog today, but have been thinking a lot about this song so here is the link so you can hear it too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x5aEvl6Zdk

Monday, January 7, 2013

Another round of random thoughts

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord;

And He will give you the desires of your heart.

First thought - this one I have been thinking about for a while and for the life of me can't find the song that started this. If I do hear it soon, I will respond on the blog. Anyway, what I hear in the song is that we go through trials, tribulations and sorrow. God sees this sorrow and is happy we are crying. I may be simplifying this a bit, but really? God is happy we are going through these tough times? I know the Bible says there will be tough times, but I don't remember seeing a place where it says God will be happy when we are sad. I think about being a parent. When my child goes through a tough time, I am right there with her. I am not happy. What do you think??

Next thought - My next class has to do with Ministry Ethics and I just started the reading. Just based on the topic you know it is going to be interesting. Last night I was wondering how churches measure success, then I wondered how pastors measure success and then this morning I wondered how we as individual Christians measure success. Then, I was wondering if we should even look at measuring success. I am still transitioning out of my corporate world and we always had goals/measurements/updates etc... So I am wondering, do any of you measure success as a Christian in any of these ways? As a church or individual?
Oh and here is a website I was looking at as I wrestle with this idea: http://www.goodnewsdispatch.org/success.html

Cool thought - At basketball practice last week I was wearing this bracelet:
 
A few girls asked me what it stood for and they were excited to know I was a believer.

Last thought - since it is the New Year, does anyone make resolutions? Specifically I am wondering if anyone ever kept one or achieved one? I don't care about the subject. Just curious. I am working on making better choices this year with what I eat, how I spend my time, you get the picture.

Happy New Year everyone - blessings for 2013 and beyond :-)

Thursday, January 3, 2013

We Three Kings of Orient Are....



Matthew 2:1-2
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.

I have been thinking about the 3 kings a lot this year. This isn't an area I have really thought about in past Christmases. Oh yeah, I would sing the song "We Three Kings" and loved listening to the bass voices showcase their talents. 
One year as a Sunday School teacher my class chose as their pageant skit -Myrtle, Frank and a Few Wise Guys. 
(Here is a link to it if you want to have a laugh: 
http://www.dramatix.org.nz/archive/Christmas/myrtle_frank_and_wise_guys.html
There is also the joke about 3 wise women:
But if you really read the text I think there is a lot to glean here. The skit ends with the idea that Jesus is for all. I think Matthew 2:1-12 reflects that as well. Here is King Herod with the knowledge of the prophecy, all the chief priests and teachers of the law and they all missed the star. On the other hand you have 3 men from a far off land who knew the significance and traveled far just to spend a little time with the true King. 
My thinking started this Christmas with the idea of gifts. So many people get wrapped up (pun intended) in finding and buying the perfect gift or buying lots of gifts. What do people want vs what do people need. I am just as guilty of this. I love to give gifts. Why do we give gifts? I know some people think about Jesus being the greatest gift and He is, but what about the gifts the Wise Men or Magi brought and the meaning behind them? 

  • Gold (fit for a king) 
  • Frankincense (used to worship at a temple)
  • Myrrh (used for embalming, as well as a salve for irritations such as diaper rash)
I think people could look at these gifts in many different ways. Each gift represents a different, but important area of life. 
These gifts were also not given the day of Jesus birth, but after the Magi found him after a time of travel. 
I received an e-mail from my Pastor as part of her prep for this Sunday and she had a line in the e-mail about where the focus was. The Magi it seems were focused on the right things and Herod was focused on the wrong things.
Not sure I have a great way to tie all this together, but wanted to share what I was thinking. I do know I want to change how we do presents in my immediate family next Christmas so we focus on the right things.