Just Because I say, “Merry Christmas”, it doesn’t mean that I know Jesus

During this time of year, when we throw Jesus a birthday party, I get sHabanativityset3100598
ad at Christians who act…well…un-Christlike.  I’ll never understand the hostility that Christians show towards people who don’t allow nativity scenes on the lawns of civic places and those that don’t say "Merry Christmas", but "Happy Holidays".  I’ve heard the song by Go Fish, called "Christmas with a Capital C", and while it’s not a bad song, it’s just another excuse for Pharisee’s to say, "Yeah!  It’s called Christmas!  So I’m gonna be rude to you because you don’t want to say, ‘Merry Christmas,’ or let me put my nativity scene out!!!!!!!!"  The word "Christian" literally means "Little Jesus", which actually causes me to realize that I don’t really deserve such a description.  We just don’t act like Him, and it really comes out during this time of "celebration"…sadly. 

Honestly, a lot of the people that "celebrate Christmas" do so simply because it’s become a cultural thing.  I couldn’t possibly care less if the store I buy things at have the words "Merry Christmas" on anything, or they wish me so.  This season is about Him and me.  I could wish a thousand people a MC and yet still walk with deep sin in my life…would Jesus be pleased with my MC?  Of course not. 

Don’t get me wrong…I would be so happy if everyone at Kohl’s today knew Jesus in a deep way-so deep that they were overflowing with joy about Who He is and that they couldn’t help themselves but wish me a Merry Christmas…but a simple Merry Christmas from someone that has no concept of the love of Jesus really doesn’t matter all that much to me! 

Merrychristmasmyspaceglittergraphic
So I got this email forward (that I hadn’t received before:) and I liked it…

   





Dear Children,

It has come
    to my attention that many you are upset that folks are taking My name out of
    the season. Maybe you’ve forgotten that I wasn’t actually born during this
    time of the year and that it was some of your predecessors who decided to
    celebrate My birthday on what was actually a time of pagan festival;
    although I do appreciate being remembered anytime.

How I personally
    feel about this celebration can probably be most easily understood by those
    of you who have been blessed with children of your own.

I don’t care
    what you call the day. If you want to celebrate My birth, just GET ALONG AND
    LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Now, having said that let Me go on. If it bothers
    you that the town in which you live doesn’t allow a scene depicting My
    birth, then just get rid of a couple of Santa’s and snowmen and put in a
    small Nativity scene on your own front lawn. If all My followers did that
    there wouldn’t be any need for such a scene on the town square because there
    would be many of them all around town.

Stop worrying about the fact
    that people are calling the tree a holiday tree, instead of a Christmas
    tree. It was I who made all trees. You can remember Me anytime you see any
    tree. Decorate a grape vine if you wish: I actually spoke of that one in a
    teaching, explaining who I am in relation to you and what each of our tasks
    was. If you have forgotten that one, look up John 15: 1 – 8.

If you
    want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth here is my wish list.
    Choose something from it:

   

   

1. Instead of writing protest letters
    objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love
    and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely
    this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Visit
    someone in a nursing home. You don’t have to know them personally. They just
    need to know that someone cares about
    them.

   

   

3. Instead of writing George
    complaining about the wording on the cards his staff sent out this year, why
    don’t you write and tell him that you’ll be praying for him and his family
    this year. Then follow up. It will be nice hearing from you again.

4.
    Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can’t afford and they
    don’t need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I
    came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that
    I love them.

5. Pick someone that has hurt you in the past and
    forgive him or her.

6. Did you know that someone in your town will
    attempt to take their own life this season because they feel so alone and
    hopeless? Since you don’t know who that person is, try giving everyone you
    meet a warm smile; it could make the
    difference.

   

   

7. Instead of nit picking about what
    the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who
    work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word. Even if they aren’t
    allowed to wish you a ‘Merry Christmas’ that doesn’t keep you from wishing
    them one. Then stop shopping there on Sunday. If the store didn’t make so
    much money on that day they’d close and let their employees spend the day at
    home with their families.

8. If you really want to make a difference,
    support a missionary – especially one who takes My love and Good News to
    those who have never heard My name.

9. Here’s a good one. There are
    individuals and whole families in your town who not only will have no
    ‘Christmas’ tree, but neither will they have any presents to give or
    receive. If you don’t know them, buy some food and a few gifts and give them
    to the Salvation Army or some other charity which believes in Me and they
    will make the delivery for you.

10. Finally, if you want to make a
    statement about your belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like a
    Christian. Don’t do things in secret that you wouldn’t do in My presence.
    Let people know by your actions that you are one of
    mine!

   

   

Don’t forget; I am God and can
    take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do. I’ll
    take care of all the rest.

Check out the list above and get to work;
    time is short. I’ll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have
    a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love and remember:
    

   

   

 Detailblueringbabyjesus

   

   

I LOVE YOU,
   

   

   

JESUS

~Earthly Author
    Unknown~

A Moment to Ramble

How do you even jump back into blogging when you haven’t done it in so long?  Wow.  It has certainly been a stretch these past couple of months.  Just when I think I’m about to start to really de-stress, something else comes along.  Eh, that’s life. 

I really miss writing, although I have been writing some-just not here for everyone to see.  I kind of felt the need to not write for everyone to see for a little bit and gain some of my own perspective on some life stuff.  You know, the stuff that only God can really help me with anyway. 

So here I am, rambling on about how I haven’t written for awhile.  Give me some time, I don’t have anything profound to share at the moment…or even really funny.  But I will tell you about the last week or so….

I did get to spend my Thanksgiving break with my brother, Dave, and his family, in Chicago.  Stephanie’s parents were there too, and that certainly added to the enjoyment.  Anthony and Angie Sorbo…one was a church planter and Bible school builder in Indonesia for 50 years and the other was a church planter’s wife for about 30 years, I guess.  Angie was also the Pennsylvania/Delaware District Missionettes Coordinator, and when I was a little girl, she was one of my heroes.  That’s an entirely different story, but nonetheless, I got to hang out with some heroes.  Good times. 🙂

Ryder is getting bigger and funnier, Ross is getting better at soccer and Robert is actually getting smarter…who’s 12 going on 16.  What’s up with teenagers anyway?  Today’s newest update is that Ross has a new email address, so we’ve already emailed several times this evening, and I’ve even introduced him to chatting online (did I mention he’ll be 8 in February?).

Mom gave us a HUGE scare on Thursday when my dad had to call 911 to rush her to the hospital because she wasn’t conscious.  It’s a long story, but PRAISE GOD, she got out of the hospital yesterday and she seems to be doing much better.  Her heart rate is a bit abnormal, so please pray for her complete healing.  She’s been working hard to get healthy…

Funny story about her heartbeat though…So she was telling me that when the nurse put her in her new room (from ICU), she had noted that she could see Target from the window.  My mom’s heartbeat immediately sped up when she realized that and the nurse said, "Well, I can see where you’d rather be today!"  My mom’s response was, "Yeah, the worst part about me being in the hospital is that I’m missing all my good sales!"  Well, folks, that’s my mother for ya!  I’ll be praying that God gives her even better sales than she would’ve had before.  He would honor that kind of stewardship, right? :0)

In talking with her today, she inspired me in a healthy way.  I’ve not been doing so well with all of my health goals…well, with any of them.  I get so discouraged and that really stinks.  I can actually sit there and read The Word and reject encouragement about my issues.  Now, that really stinks!  So I’ve been praying through this…crying through this…and coming up and down over this.  Then I talk with my mother today, while I was in the grocery store, and I feel inspired!  So I dragged myself back to the produce section, which I originally sped through, and bought some great stuff to make vegetable soup.  Well, it’s a start…again.  I wish I was as patient with my own failure as God is with me…then again, I’ll never quite reach God’s potential.  Still, it’s something to shoot for.

Lately I’ve had some tough walls to push through, and thankfully, I’ve pushed through many of them.  They have to do with several areas of my life, not just one or two, but somehow they all intertwine into ME.  I’ve seen sides of me that I don’t like and sides of me that I’m shocked by.  Moments of bravery and confidence have come out of nowhere and insecurities attack when least expected.  Let’s just call my life, Cedar Point, and hopefully that makes some sense.  Through every moment of sick desperation and ugly depression I want holy moments to arise.  I want missional moments to bring life to dead moments and I want to seize opportunities of hope.  There are few things more certain than hope, as it comes to life from the grave!  Deep hope and trust arise from deep places of gravity…but only if we allow them to.  This is key.  Staying in the deep places of gravity too long will lesson our senses to the true hope of the Cross.  We become numb to the Cross and it’s purpose in the world…in our lives.  It distorts our desire for community with others and fabricates something else…something that was never intended for us.

Jesus.  He is the focus.  Who He is…this is what draws us from the depth of our graves to the depth of the presence of the Holy Spirit.  Wait in His presence.  Wait.

A Quote I Liked Today

"The sooner we give up the illusion that a church must be perfect in order to love it, the sooner we quit pretending and start admitting we’re all imperfect and need grace. This is the beginning of real community." – Rick Warren

*I have too much to say about many things, but no real time to say anything…But, yes, I’m still alive;)

My Deal with a 5-year-old Pt 2

Quick update and Allison’s dream to be a flower girl…

Two of my most amazing friends, Brad and Leah (who happen to be getting married in January) had already planned on asking Allison to be their flower girl!  So when they read the post below, of course they knew it was going to make her day!  Yesterday was the big day for them to ask and with wide eyes…she said, "Yeah!" 

They talked with her about it and they all agreed that they would still pray for me, even though Allie was going to have her dream fulfilled.  My intercessory prayer team is growing!! 😉

**As a side note, I hear that Allison said if Miss Katie was still alive when she (Allison) got married, that she wants her to be a bridesmaid. 🙂

My Deal with a 5-year-old

Tonight I was hanging out with a few of my favorite Sullivans…okay, all of them…and the smallest oneFlower_girl
shared a dream of hers.

I forget that while I’m dreaming of someday being a bride, there are little girls dreaming of being flower girls.  My 5-year-old friend, Allison, shared with me that she really wants to be a flower girl someday.  And as I feel like the closer I get to being 30, the less chance I have of getting married, Allison seems to feel like the closer she gets to being 7, the less chance she has of being a flower girl.  Men and boys don’t understand that these are the fears that plague women and little girls. 

Knowing that Allie is a girl of faith, I asked her to make a deal with me.  I said, "Allie, if you will find me a man-a good man-to marry (and soon), then I will have you as my flower girl."  In her Allison-sort-of-way (and facial expression) she said, "Well, I don’t know where I’m going to find you a man."  (and if you know her, that face that you’re thinking of…yep, that’s the face she made;) 

So I replied, "What if I just ask you to promise to pray for me everyday to find the right man?  That can be part of the deal!  And you can still be my flower girl."  She agreed that was a deal, and we shook on it.

So I’m set!  I’ve got my young friends, Brianna Bradshaw and Allison Sullivan praying for me everyday!  Kids know no boundaries in their faith.  My faith is being built:)

Slowing Down

Well, the stress of the beginning of the school has begun to slow…just begun though:) 

It’s crazy how different the beginning of the year can be from the rest of the year!  Honestly, I’m a little anxious about progress reports that go out next week.  And I’ll leave you wondering about why, but if you think of me (or perhaps, right now) would you please pray for me?  I’m desperate for His help this next week.  I need incredible favor with parents during this time of transition from tradition teaching and grading, to do what I’m doing right now.  I need others to be patient with, as I grow, and as I often feel sorta clueless…blindly walking forward. 

When I have too many things going on, I don’t prioritize well, and I go numb about everything.  People are always like, "well, there’s still going to be work tomorrow, so you’ll have to prioritize," and it seems to me like those people have no clue what I’m dealing with here.  I’m thinking I just don’t handle stress too well.  How’s that for honesty?  I really think that I just plain stink at it.  (God, help my future husband!)  I guess I’m not horrible at it, but I’m definitely not great at it.

So, my prayer verse for the night…which is not simply a cliche or a "positive thinking" tool…God’s Word is real and His promises are real and He’s proven that to me in the past, so He won’t let me down.  (Thanks, God, for caring so much about me!)

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7

A Small Taste

I am literally craving an opportunity to really write, but I need to go to bed soon.  If only I didn’t have to sleep:)

This past weekend I had an awesome opportunity to go to the Ancient Future Community Conference at Willow Creek in Chicago.  There’s so much that God is doing in my heart right now, as far as the church and community goes…I feel as if I’m about to bust at the seams.  As the saying now goes, "my cognitive desk space is full".  What’s so great though, is that my heart is also full and that definitely helps a little with the processing.  And as my prayer life grows, that will really help:)  Small groups and community have been around for quite some time and this whole new era of the "emergent church" is nothing new.  Looking at what it was meant to be has been so rich in developing my understanding of how my life is meant to be lived out.

I’d love to go through and blog about some of the different things I learned about-especially the things that impacted my life the most.  There were certain things that I felt a strong tug about and some that didn’t really do much for me.  An excitement was built in me, about what I see God doing in our church-under the surface.  He helped me to see some of the feet that will be put to the vision that he’d given to me for discipleship at CotK, and I’m simply geeked about it! 

I can’t really say that the American church as we know it is 100% God’s plan for what the church should look like, but that will not scare me away from it.  I’m pumped to be apart of the changes that are already taking place and the ones that will take place, simply because of my own obedience to Him.  God is always faithful to accomplish what He’s started out to do, and I am happy to join him in whatever that may look like.

That’s a small taste of what God’s doing in my heart, as it regards to ministry.

Some Thoughts of Late

  1. I’m not really sure that this title makes sense
  2. I really love my class
  3. I still miss my old class
  4. They miss me-mostly because I made them pancakes:)
  5. My new class LOVES it when I read The BFG to them
  6. I have more ESL students than I ever thought I’d have
  7. I have a kid named Freddie who cracks me up to the core (I’m sure you’ll hear more about him)
  8. My friend’s dad passed away from cancer this morning…
  9. I’m really tired and trying to get over a cold
  10. Tonight I spilled coffee ALL OVER my shirt…sad
  11. It’s fun mentoring teachers!  This year I’m an official mentor for 2 teachers-one that I informally mentored her first year, and one that’s brand new!
  12. It’s fun being officially mentored!  I’ve had such a great experience watching Brian and Susan come into my classroom and show me how to do some of the things they’ve been talking about.  What a cool thing to see myself becoming better, just because of that!
  13. As I’m growing into a better teacher, not only year by year, but (now) week by week, I realize how much I’ve really changed from my first year teaching.  I’ve been making so many statements about things like curriculum and management and following them up with, "If First-Year-Teacher-Kim would’ve heard Fifth-Year-Teacher-Kim say that, she would’ve thought she was crazy…and maybe wanted to punch her in the face!"  It’s hilarious how much my perspective has changed.  I’m currently fighting to get the kid that barely speaks English and has zero parent support at home (who recently punched a girl in the face) into my class!  Honestly, what’s happened to me?  🙂
  14. Tomorrow I get to take a girl’s senior pictures!
  15. I wish that I had more time to write right now-perhaps I’ll continue later.

My First Birthday Present!

I got my first birthday present this morning!!!  Katie gave me a few books, including Skippyjon Jones, and it is theSkippyjon_jones
funniest kids book ever.  It looks kinda boring, if you only look at the cover.  Please, a dumb cat?  But once you open the pages to read about the siamese cat who lives his life pretending to be a chihuahua…you will fall in love and cry with laughter…especially if you try to do the Mexican voices of the characters.  Perhaps I will videotape myself reading the story aloud.  That would be fun.  Would you watch it? 🙂