New Year!
New Month!
New Relationships!
New Rhythms
New Strategies!
New plans!
New Journal Entries!
New Joys!
New opportunities to forgive!
New Responses!
New Reflections!
New Hobbies!
New Emotional Investments!
New Social Networks!
New levels of Discernment!
New and fresh wisdom to apply!
New sources of Knowledge!
New ways to tap into the Spirit of God!
New ways to follow His leading!
New approaches to fasting and worship!
New and improved understandings about the rhythm of relationships!
Monday, December 19, 2016
Christmas
Merry Christmas!
Happy birthday Jesus!
Family and friends usually gather to celebrate Christmas together! Most often loved ones share a joyous atmosphere. Laughter, shared meals, cozy moments in front of a fireplace, sharing a couch, reading a good book, watching a movie, talking, playing a board are things I look forward to during Christmas. I love pondering the details of the Christmas story.
There are also times when friends and I have bemoaned the lose of a friend or family member near the holidays. What an empty and sad experience this can be! Although others may invite you to join their celebration, there is a strange feeling deep within the our hearts. We truly miss Gram and also the holiday meals that she prepared for years. We miss the warm and welcoming atmosphere that she cultivated! We miss Uncle and Auntie! Without a doubt, it is not the same without hearing the voices and laughter of our friends and classmates: Grace, Valerie, Terri, Gerald and Bonnie. Their seat is unfilled at the fellowship table. Not so long ago, "they decked the halls with us!" Now they are with Emmanuel. Time and the grace of God heals this emotionally awkward season and feeling. This too shall pass...The Comforter mends the brokenhearted.
Happy birthday Jesus! After all, You really are the reason for the season!
Happy birthday Jesus!
Family and friends usually gather to celebrate Christmas together! Most often loved ones share a joyous atmosphere. Laughter, shared meals, cozy moments in front of a fireplace, sharing a couch, reading a good book, watching a movie, talking, playing a board are things I look forward to during Christmas. I love pondering the details of the Christmas story.
There are also times when friends and I have bemoaned the lose of a friend or family member near the holidays. What an empty and sad experience this can be! Although others may invite you to join their celebration, there is a strange feeling deep within the our hearts. We truly miss Gram and also the holiday meals that she prepared for years. We miss the warm and welcoming atmosphere that she cultivated! We miss Uncle and Auntie! Without a doubt, it is not the same without hearing the voices and laughter of our friends and classmates: Grace, Valerie, Terri, Gerald and Bonnie. Their seat is unfilled at the fellowship table. Not so long ago, "they decked the halls with us!" Now they are with Emmanuel. Time and the grace of God heals this emotionally awkward season and feeling. This too shall pass...The Comforter mends the brokenhearted.
Happy birthday Jesus! After all, You really are the reason for the season!
Taking time to give thanks to the best Giver of All!
It is appropriate to give thanks to the Lord God for family, church, school, marketplace, political, global, interracial, domestic, governmental, social, romantic, mentoring, kingdom-centered and casual relationships. Relationships are a gift. You are a gift.
Others can be considered a gift to you. We learn from everyone, whether younger or older. We gain knowledge and can benefit from friends and foes alike. Some will consider you a gift to them. Together you and those you are connected to may be thought of as a creative, caring, edifying, healing, receptive, problems-solving, supportive, and encouraging gift .If this is true, then you are blessed. On the other hand, certain relationships with individuals seem to be no more than an irritation, much like a thorn in one's side.
Like relationships, gifts are usually fun to receive. I am thankful for the thoughtful gifts that I receive and to the most thoughtful Giver...ever! Gifts are different. Not all gifts are practical and useful. Some gifts are ornamental. Some gifts have a short life span and do not last a lifetime. Particular gifts may be fragile and break easily while others last for along time and are considered heirlooms. Some gifts must be assembled.
Relationships are assembled, built, developed, and grow over time. The rhythm of our relationships typically vary (in purpose) from season to season.The rhythm is unpredictable. If we viewed relational rhythms beneath the surface, there may be great value in the type of unique relationships most represent in your life, and in the type of special rhythms they each produce.
God is a genius. The Lord is sovereign. He knows what we need. We think that we know what we need. Oh give thanks unto the Lord for He is good, and His relational gifts (especially) to us are to be cherished
Others can be considered a gift to you. We learn from everyone, whether younger or older. We gain knowledge and can benefit from friends and foes alike. Some will consider you a gift to them. Together you and those you are connected to may be thought of as a creative, caring, edifying, healing, receptive, problems-solving, supportive, and encouraging gift .If this is true, then you are blessed. On the other hand, certain relationships with individuals seem to be no more than an irritation, much like a thorn in one's side.
Like relationships, gifts are usually fun to receive. I am thankful for the thoughtful gifts that I receive and to the most thoughtful Giver...ever! Gifts are different. Not all gifts are practical and useful. Some gifts are ornamental. Some gifts have a short life span and do not last a lifetime. Particular gifts may be fragile and break easily while others last for along time and are considered heirlooms. Some gifts must be assembled.
Relationships are assembled, built, developed, and grow over time. The rhythm of our relationships typically vary (in purpose) from season to season.The rhythm is unpredictable. If we viewed relational rhythms beneath the surface, there may be great value in the type of unique relationships most represent in your life, and in the type of special rhythms they each produce.
God is a genius. The Lord is sovereign. He knows what we need. We think that we know what we need. Oh give thanks unto the Lord for He is good, and His relational gifts (especially) to us are to be cherished
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