Tis The Season To Be Jolly...Oh And A Little Bit Of Annoyance

Isaiah 9:6 

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace

Luke 2:9-12

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

I was, and still am, saddened by something I read this morning by a friend of mine.  This person mentioned hating this time of year because of the rain, cold, and having no money to spend on Christmas.  My initial reaction was a somber "Wow".  I immediately went into my thought process of wondering how someone, anyone, could feel that way about Christmastime.  Then I was quickly reminded by God that it wasn't very long ago that I felt that exact same way.  So...it made me think....

My flesh constantly looks at our society as a whole, myself included in that society, and gets frustrated at how we have let ourselves get to the point of being so selfish, self-indulgent, entitled, and continue to walk away from the only good thing that we have EVER been given.  Christ. I can feel myself wanting to go in a million different directions with that statement but I'll try to keep this on point which is what should be the obvious and blatant point of this time of year.  Our society has turned Christmas into a hectic, over the top, debt filled excuse to praise our God that we don't even serve or honor!  Or dare I say believe in!  Are we such an arrogant people that we so enjoy the benefits of oh let's see....having time off work, getting presents, being bound and determined to make sure those "sweet and fun" little make believe elves come into our homes to only destroy things, and let's not forget the most important benefit....Santa Claus.  We even justify Santa Claus by trying to somehow weave the story of St. Nick in there somewhere that, let's be honest, we just googled ourselves to find out the story.  It's all just ridiculous.  Point. Blank. Ridiculous.

I don't mean to sound judgmental because that is not my intent.  I do mean, however, to sound saddened, bothered, and a bit disgusted by the whole deal.  And I was right along in there with all of that just a few short years ago so I certainly have no place to judge anyone.  It is just craziness to make ourselves worn out and misguided by succumbing to the new worldly views and acceptances of Christmas.  This should be a time of year where we look forward to celebrating the birth of a baby boy.  A baby named Immanuel.  A time of year where we look forward to spending extra time with our family.  A time of year where we give gifts because we want to celebrate the birth of Christ, not because we feel obligated.  A perfect time of year where we have the opportunity to show our children and remind ourselves what really matters in our lifetime.  And we so often even joke about how we spend so much money on our children for Christmas only to have it broken within 2 weeks or how the newness has worn off and the things we bought just sit collecting dust only to eventually be put in a garbage bag or brown box to be given to Hannah Home, Kings Ranch, or some other kind of charity because those things are no longer useful to us or they clutter our homes. Yet we do the same thing year after year after year and joke about it again year after year after year.  We drown ourselves in debt and materialism only to turn around and throw them away or give them to "someone less fortunate".  How backwards is that??!!  Does it not occur to us to spend some of that overindulgence on those less fortunate before it became useless to us.  Are we so far removed from the needy that we think they only deserve our hand me downs or what we don't want anymore?  Ok...pause.  I'm getting off track and heading towards a different soap box....

I'm sorry but Christmas is not about anything else except a baby named Jesus.  Had that baby not been born then all of this other sacrificial junk may actually make some sense.  But He was born.  And He was born for a reason.  

Galatians 4:4-5 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.

Most people know the verse John 3:16 which says For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.  However, most don't know the next verse John 3:17 which says For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through him.

Did you get that?  ....but to save the world through him.  To save the world.  Jesus wasn't born to bring peace - as He even said himself in Matthew 10:34 Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.  He wasn't born to be used as a legalistic practice.  He wasn't born to make us feel better about ourselves.  He was born as a scapegoat! And we seriously show our love and adoration for that scapegoat by dipping and drenching his birth in greed and Santa ClausISM???  Then get this....we actually justify that way of thinking because we say "They're just kids.  It's ok.  They'll out grow Santa Claus.  It's fun for now."  We put so much force and effort into something and/or someone that doesn't even exist because it's fun yet we can't seem to put any push or drive behind the someone or something - like the birth - that totally exists!

How many of us even mention Jesus during Christmas?  Is that even an occurrence?  How many of us only mention Him on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning after we've opened our presents and had our time. How many of us only mention Him when we go to that "special service" at church on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning because that's just what you do at Christmas?  If He is mentioned only in those scenarios, it is hardly recognizing the Son Of God in the honor He deserves.  It is mentioning about a man that once lived a long time ago named Jesus.

I pray that we become a people who know and love Jesus.  I pray that we don't become so self absorbed in the rainy cold weather and how our pockets and perceptions are going to be affected by spending money that we do or don't have.  I pray we don't hate Christmas or see it as an inconvenient time.  I sit here and try to look at this from a mother's point of view.  How would I feel if when either of my two sons were born and came into this world that everyone around me disregarded them?  Made light of them.  Didn't see them as the gift that I saw them.  Or quite frankly really didn't care on any level about them.  Hurt is the word that comes to mind.  That's not to mention looking at that in an unfathomable way to where one of my two boys were brought here to this earth for the purpose to be sacrificed for those exact people who disregard them. Hurt. Certainly not that God needs our understanding, love, or attention but I can't imagine how He feels.

I in no way want to demean anyone's intention on how he or she celebrates but when everything else surrounding Christmas is put on the front eyes and He is left to sit on the back burner it is disturbing to me. It is disheartening to see what Christmas has become.  It is even more disheartening to think about the fact that unless some radical changes are made within our hearts and our homes that it will only continue to lead farther away from it's intent.  Jesus.  A sticky, messy Jesus.

Does God Call You By Name?

I want to start off this post with this 4 minute video on Grace.  Please watch before reading any further.

Ok, so I have a feeling this is going to be a long and random post since I have so many thoughts and feelings running through my mind and my heart that it will be hard to keep it composed.  But hey, that's my style anyway right??  ...random and un-composed and raw.

So obvious to me, my heart has been elsewhere this past week.  I was burdened with the men's Discovery Weekend these past several days.  Firstly because my boyfriend, (yes I said it..boyfriend..I know crazy!  And I know who you all are who are thinking it because I vowed to you that never again would I but I digress..haha) was a participant.  But as the weekend approached and Thursday came along, it brought back so many feelings and memories. I found myself re-living the days down to the hour because I remember being there, prepping, praying, and trusting God that He would have me be the tool He saw fit. Throughout the weekend, I had mixed emotions from the time on my women's weekends from being a participant to a team member to knowing exactly what my boyfriend was experiencing.  I must admit it was nice but different being on the other side this time.  I love that weekend no matter where it falls throughout the year.  I love that ministry and I love the people who support it and make it was it is.  I love that I get to continue to experience the hearts of Marty and Holly Erwin and see their unexplainable and indescribable love for men and women and most importantly for glorifying the Lord down to the tee.  It is a blessing and gift from God that He somewhere along the way placed me in the path of that couple and their ministry.

As I was talking to my boyfriend about his weekend, I asked him if he kept his coffee mug that says 36 Hours.  As he answered he told me that as he was staring at the mug during his weekend, it was then that he realized the correlation between that and the title of my blog.  I intentionally named this blog The 37th Hour on the heels of my first Discovery Weekend.  My intent was to remind and ask myself "What's next",  "What's the next chapter",  "What are you going to do now",  "Will your next steps be for yourself or for the glory of God"?  I still have to ask myself those questions constantly.

So why do I still struggle with things that I believe God ordains for me?  It use to be shame, guilt, unworthiness, and so on.  But I really feel like those aren't the reasons anymore and haven't been for some time. It's my lack of acceptance of His grace that I struggle with more than I even realize.  Grace from God I can not comprehend.  As I watched the above video, I began crying when I realized what Jesus' character was repeatedly asking Peter's character.  I have never looked at Mark 16:7 that way...

But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee.  There you will see him, just as he told you.'

By the authority under God, the angel told Mary to go tell the disciples and Peter the news. Peter was set aside.  Why?  Because of anything righteous that he had done before and because he loved Jesus more than the others?  Because he was more equipped than the others?  As I recall, Peter denied Jesus 3 times basically hours before this angel told the women to find the disciples and Peter.  Doesn't sound very righteous or more loving to me. More equipped?  Wasn't Peter pretty much a hot head and spoke often without thinking? He set aside Peter out of grace.  Simple as that.  Grace.  There is no other reason and no other reason quite frankly makes sense.  To side note here, many were used by God who didn't seem to fit the job.  For example, I have this reminder as my screen saver..

As noted in the image, God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the CALLED!  There is a reason I have had this as my screen saver in order to see it every day.  God called out Peter by His grace and because He saw fit to do so and would qualify who He chose to use as His tool.  Peter didn't deserve to be set aside and favored and called out by name.  But he was. And so am I.  God has chosen to call me by name aloud.  He has chosen to use Lisa.  He will continue to use me, Lisa, as long as He desires.  Does that mean I am deserving? Haha! I laugh aloud.  No! I am in a lot of ways like Peter.  I've been known to have a hot head, temper, and quite often say exactly how I feel to who I want in any way that I want.  I'm not so much that person anymore but I do struggle with those personality traits at times. Just because God chooses to use us doesn't mean we finally have it figured out or have become righteous or perfect in our ways.  It's His grace.  Another side note....as I was writing to my boyfriend earlier this morning about some of my struggles I've been having, I was listening to a Jim Brickman song and went to change it and realized it was a song from his album title Grace.  Just sayin'... :)  Then God leads me to two videos, one on Baggage and one on Grace.  Again, just sayin'... :)

So what does The 37th Hour mean for me?  To live according to God's calling upon my life. To embrace that God calls me by name.  To continue to see and accept the vision God gave me 4 months ago when I, for the first time, saw myself dancing with Him to the song Beautiful You when I left Marty and Holly Erwin's house.

I have to rest assured that I can do nothing to gain God's grace or favor.  I know this and yet I still listen to the enemy and wonder if I still try so hard sometimes without even realizing it.  Or maybe, just for once, I can admit and accept that I actually do want to live my life pleasing God and seeking His will.  Maybe I do get on fire for the Lord and enjoy serving Him and glow when I'm in the midst of His work.  Maybe I long to be used by Him not because I need to feel His acceptance but because I want what He wants and desire what He desires.  And that's ok and that's good.  Even when I am weak!

2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power works best in weakness".  Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

God laid this song on my heart last week and I have not stopped listening to it...