Tag Archives: Christmas

Obey, Adore, Pursue

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The first Friday in December is our Women’s Tea at Freedom International Church!  It’s one of those events that the ladies, 6 years old and up, wait for all year long.  There’s lots of singing, laughter, gifts, fellowship, and food!  At this year’s tea, Pastor Sarah shared these anointed thoughts with us and they touched my heart.  I asked her to write them down to share with you!  So, I’m excited to introduce guest blogger, Pastor Sarah Lehmann, to you!  Pastor Sarah has an amazing way of speaking life and encouragement to those around her.  When you talk with her, you feel like the most important person in the room!  She is an anointed woman of God, wife, mother, and friend.  May her words lift you up, encourage you, and challenge you as they did me.

Obey, Adore, Pursue

December’s airwaves are filled with notes of joy and words of truth as carols proclaim our Savior’s Birth!  Christmas is a time of celebration like no other… filled with sharing, friends, family, and traditions. Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus can almost seem common place during this season.  But His birth was anything but a common place!  As I meditated on the approaching season, my heart longed for fresh revelation.  It was with this mindset that I considered some of those figures in our Nativity scene.  What do their actions teach us today?

Mary… she demonstrated unquestioning obedience even in the hard things. Mary’s decision to obey came at a great cost.  We can only imagine the stigma, being unmarried and with a child, she faced in the culture of her day.  When Gabriel revealed to Mary her destiny, she didn’t ask for guarantees or affirmation.  She simply obeyed.  Mary received no applause for her obedience.

An opportunity to obey in the ‘hard’ things, is also an opportunity to see with eyes of faith without looking for affirmation or applause from others.  From our obedience to God, we derive a fulfillment greater than any applause that comes from men. We obey because we love the Father and we have a deep, meaningful, and abiding sense of fulfilled purpose as a part of His plan.  The lesson of Mary: Be willing to be obedient in all things!

 

Shepherds – these people dropped everything. After the angels’ radical announcement, the shepherds were quick to search out and adore Jesus! They left their work… their ‘do-to-list’… and made adoring Jesus their first priority. Life is busy and we all have obligations and priorities that require our time, energy, and attention. In our busy lives, can we be quick to ‘drop’ what we feel is important and run to Him?

God honors our love-gifts of time spent with Him by giving us all that we need in order to accomplish (with joy) the things we had set aside to spend time with Him. The lesson of the Shepherds: Be quick to adore Jesus!

 

Wisemen – those who kept seeking Jesus.  The Wiseman were wealthy, had influence and were most likely very comfortable. Yet they chose to search long and far to find Jesus.  They endured all kinds of weather, rough roads, wrong directions, and threats from an insanely jealous king. But in the end, they found Jesus!  They never stopped pursuing Him.

Have we become satisfied with a ‘comfortable’ relationship with God?  Has going to church, doing good, and even daily devotions developed into a spiritually sedentary lifestyle? Let’s never stop seeking the King of Kings.  Let’s not allow storms, rough roads, or threats from the enemy to keep us from actively cultivating and growing our love for Jesus.  And may comfort be a blessing that comes from our increased capacity to love our King! The lesson of the Wisemen: Never stop seeking the King!

Obey, adore, pursue… lessons from the ones who were there on that very first Christmas! Lord, May our hearts be willing to obey You, quick to adore You, and persistent to pursue You!

In Him, Pastor Sarah

Freedom International Church, Pastors Eric & Sarah Lehmann, Wesley Chapel, Florida

 

Thank you, Pastor Sarah, for sharing this encouragement!  You are a blessing!

Joy

Savor the Season!

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year!  November and December usher in wonderful opportunities to reflect on the blessings in our lives as well as the people who make our lives richer!  But as our calendars fill up and our wallets empty, the season seems to slip by much too quickly and on January 2nd, we look in our rearview mirror wondering how it flew by in the blink of an eye!

It feels this way each year for me…  so, I’ve been contemplating…  what can I do, or not do, to treasure the days, value the moments, and capture the pleasure instead of haphazardly racing through the season.

Savor… I’ve decided to purposely savor… savor the preparations, savor the time invested, savor the opportunities, savor the finds, savor the people!

Savoring involves using the 5 senses to experience and appreciate the world around us.

Tasting…  so easy this time of year!  Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa… each involves deliciously prepared foods that we anticipate each year.  But there’s so much more to tasting!  The preparation time and effort going into our food can involve times of cooking together, whipping up cookies with a promising baker, sharing a special recipe with a new family member, inviting the input of someone who usually doesn’t offer it.  Savor the moments of food preparation as well as the food.

Smelling…. Ahhh, at this moment, there’s a caramel pecan candle filling my home with a sense of warmth and delight.  Cinnamon, pine, favorite perfumes, honeyed-ham, all evoking images that bring delight… or maybe not.  Our sense of smell is uniquely connected to our memory.  Sometimes memories can be painful or remind us of loss.  But even those moments have value.  They remind us of past blessings, victories over pain, and anticipation of new memories being made.  Savor the smells and the memories that come with them.

Feeling… Feelings of the heart and feelings of touch are precious opportunities to savor the season!  Whether you live alone or in a houseful of chaos, look for opportunities to encourage others with kind words, thoughtful actions, and genuine affection.  Give to those who don’t expect it and can’t give in return.  Hug instead of shaking hands. Offer soft answers to those whose stress levels push yours.  Savor the opportunities to be a blessing.

Seeing…  We see with our eyes and envision with our mind.  Savor the people in your life with both!  See who they are and who they are destined to be.  Understand that our loved ones do not always show us their kindest moments yet love embraces the person for who they are not for what they do!  Savor the delight on your loved one’s face as they open a gift from you.  Capture a mental snapshot of an unexpected, serene moment. Delight in the splashes of color uniquely displayed during the holidays.  Savor the sights of your eyes and heart.

Hearing… Close your eyes and hone in on the sounds… the laughter, the music, the greetings, the bells.  Choose to tune out the demands on you that seem so urgent—but can wait.  Sift through the must dos and set them aside for some things you choose to do that bring you joy.  Listen to the words of Christmas Carols, focus on the silly stories your children share, laugh at the joke you’ve heard 10 times before, hear the heart of your loved ones, even if their words don’t match.  Listen carefully, hear with your heart and savor the tune.

Savor the Season! Embrace the moments!  

The new year will come with its demanding schedule, list of responsibilities, and new challenges.  But for now, pause with me to enjoy this season of celebration!  Enjoy the reminder that God loved you so much that He sent Jesus to earth to bring His Kingdom into our hopeless situation.  Thank Him for the blessings of breath in your lungs, food on your table, and sunshine each day. He’s a good, good Father!

Live Loved,

Please share your thoughts in the reply box!

His Celebration, His Way

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  • But that’s the way we’ve ALWAYS done it…
  • We can’t change that, it’s tradition!
  • The way we did it last year is fine; if it’s not broke, why fix it?
  • At our old church (school, office, etc.) we did it this way…

Do any of these sound familiar?  Have you introduced an idea just to have it cast aside in favor of “the way we’ve always done it?” Or are you the one who has been shaken up by the idea of doing something different than you have in the past?

As humans, we are habitual creatures.  We sit in the same seats at church, our morning routines are consistent, and we buy the same spaghetti sauce we always have.  So, when the Holiday season rolls around, it’s not surprising that we tend to celebrate in the same ways, give to the same charities, and attend the same events that we have each year before. There’s something to be said for embracing family traditions that build unity and a sense of stability.  But when traditions hold you captive and stifle growth and change…

It’s time! It’s time to shake things up!  Look for new direction! Explore possibilities that we have ignored till now!  Why?  Simply put, we need freshness in our lives!  We need to see the world around us with a new perspective from time to time!

More clearly, we need to see the world around us with HIS perspective!  After all, it is the Lord that we should be focusing our thanksgiving on…  And it is His birthday that we are celebrating!  Do you think that maybe He has some ideas about what He wants us to do?  Could it be that He has plans for how He wants to spend time with us?

I do!  I think He has some great ideas!  I think He has some people on His heart that He would like us to bless; or maybe He wants us to open our hearts to be blessed by others.  I imagine that He would like to show us some clear ideas of what His heart holds.  I’m thinking that there’s a new song He’d like to hear and a fresh opportunity He’d like to present to you and your family.  But how will we ever know if we are so caught up in doing things the way we always have?  If we are locked into routine and tradition, we leave no opening for the Lord to give us His perspective.

As time marches us towards this special time of year, explore new possibilities!  Embrace fresh perspective, listen for clear direction, and open your eyes to new opportunities!  The Lord is an endless Source of dreams, visions, and ideas!  When you turn your ear in His direction, He will pour out His heart and share His passions!  He will whisper to you the delight He takes in spending time with you and how it blesses His heart when you share His love!

Dive Deeper: Proverbs 2:6-11, Hosea 10:12

 http://day2dayjoys.com/

I could give you some ideas… but I suspect you won’t need my suggestions!

As for me… I’m already feeling inspired to drop some bits of blessing in a new way this year!

Please share your thoughts and ideas to inspire others by clicking on the bubble near the title!

Live Loved,