New Year, New... You?

{by Rachel Coker}

Every time the year rolls to an end, I start to thinking. Call it making resolutions, or planning changes, but it usually involves resolving to be a better person. This is the year I am going to work out. Like every single day. Or stop procrastinating (I am just now realizing the irony of putting this off as a New Year’s Resolution). Or memorize an entire book of the Bible. I always set out with the absolute best of intentions. I tell myself that I can do this. With enough resolve and determination, I know that I will succeed!

Obviously this year started out the same way. Me pumping myself up to do this or that. Getting ready to make some permanent changes. To finally bite the bullet and work at it. But you know what happened? Nothing, that’s what. I’ve already messed up on all of my resolutions to be a better person. And it’s only three weeks into the New Year!

I was sitting on my bed yesterday and I just about had a breakdown. I had started this year out with so many hopes and expectations, none of which had come true. I wasn’t a better sister, or daughter, or a happier person. I was still the disgruntled, imperfect sixteen-year-old I’d been three weeks ago. No matter how hard I tried, I just failed over and over again. My attempts just weren’t good enough.

While I was wallowing in my own self-pity, I realized something very important: I am never going to make myself a better person. At first I wanted to smack myself in the forehead and let out a: “Duh!”, but then the truth of that statement sunk in. The reason why my attempts at self-improvement are always failing is because I am a sinful human being whose heart is bent toward the worse, not the better. No matter how much my head wants to be sweet and loving, my sin nature wants to be rebellious and dishonest.

It kind of hurt to admit that. To come to a point where I could really grasp that all my hopes for improvement were in vain, if I didn’t have the ability to make them come true. I had to get to a place where I stopped looking to myself for all the answers, and started looking to God.

Our sermon at church last Sunday was on Jeremiah 18. God is the potter, we are the clay. In Jeremiah 18:6, the Lord says to Israel, “Look, as clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand.” It’s the same for me. My life is in the hands of God. It doesn’t matter how much I try to squeeze myself and mold myself into a certain shape, I won’t be able to change until I cry out to God. Only then will He take me and shape me, making me into the woman He wants me to be. And it will probably hurt, as His fingers prod the clay and take away the defects, smoothing out all the lumps and mistakes. But the end result will be beautiful. So much more so than anything I could have done myself. Because it will be His will for me. God will form me according to His plans for my life in 2012.

So does that mean I’m done with the crazy fad dieting and exercising that comes along with trying to be a better person? Well, maybe not. But I do know this: I want 2012 to be the year that I start trusting in the Lord to make me a better person. I want it to be the year that I remember as the time in my life where God met me on my knees, and turned my life around. The year when my number one focus was Him, and Him alone. I know that changes don’t happen overnight, and that the Lord moves in mysterious ways, but my prayer is for Him to move in my life this year. And then, no matter what trials or triumphs might come along, I’ll honestly be able to say that 2012 was a successful year.

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May Your Christmas be Merry and White and Bright [With Sugar Plums and Jingle Bells and Herald Angels] Oh, and Joy to the World!

{by Hailey Sadler}
It's kind of a pity about Christmas.

I mean, there are some things I definitely LOVE about Christmas: family traditions, picking out a perfect tree, the excuse to eat lot’s of cookies and drink things like salted caramel lattes and egg nog and Chic-Fil-A peppermint milkshakes [the best!]. And presents. I love presents.

But the pity about Christmas is inherent to the very nature of its celebration. It comes every year. We sing about it. Preach about it. Send cards because of it. [Each sporting pretty much the same twelve words just in different combinations.] We shop and watch movies and have parties because of it. For like a solid month. The pity about Christmas is that it has become so common. It has become so typical, so everyday, that I can sit in a church pew and listen to someone read the words, recorded in ancient times and passed down for generations, of the mind-blowing, world-shattering, reality-shifting, Christmas story and instead of being amazed I look at the preacher standing up to speak and think, “Ok, how is he going to make this interesting?” How could truth such as God Himself came to earth in the form of a little human baby to save the world from sin have become cliché? But it has.

It’s sad. That honestly the most monumental event in history [second only to the resurrection, basically] sometimes seems, if we admit it, kind of …boring now. Not surprising, anymore. Sometimes I wish I could hear the story for the first time again, or see it from someone’s eyes that were there when it happened, the unheard of, for the first time. 

I like to think of the shepherds, because unlike Mary and Joseph [who had been preparing their minds since the angels visits] or the wise men [who had been traveling along time, which always takes some of the excitement out of things… think long car ride...] the shepherds heard about it for the very first time in a burst of glory the very night it happened. [Or at least I like to imagine it that way, I know Biblical scholars can argue otherwise.]

But, outside of a Christmas pageant [and maybe not even then... I always had to be an angel] I doubt I’m going to get the shepherd experience. So we can do what we can, try read the story over with fresh eyes, glimpse the wonder, ask God to create a shepherd's experience in our hearts, and wrap our minds around the scope of the event that Christians now call Christmas. And then be grateful. Because whether or not the Christmas story seems cliche, it still changes our world, our lives, and our entire reality. Which is pretty cool, when you stop to think about it.

Now put that on a Christmas card.

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Cinderella Goes to the White House: Seeking God's Heart in Singleness

{by Beth Pedison Gibson}

My first day of work at the White House turned out to be the annual staff Christmas party.  It was a magical evening.

Because I had spent the preceding few days “dressed in rags” unpacking what seemed like hundreds of boxes after moving into a tiny two-room apartment on Capitol Hill, I truly felt like Cinderella going to the ball. 

On that evening, the White House sparkled.  The President’s own Marine band played Christmas tunes.  The State Dining Room table overflowed with every delicacy imaginable.  Waiters served eggnog on silver trays. 

 

A line formed for guests to greet the President and Mrs. Bush. When it was my turn, I stepped forward. Before the military officers could announce me, Mrs. Bush said, "Beth, you’re here!”  She introduced me to President Bush saying, "She’s one of my new writers—no, she’s one of your new writers." 

I said, "This is my first day at work." 

The President joked, "Oh, this is just a typical day at the White House."  We chatted for another minute, and then the President and Mrs. Bush both said, "Well, we’re glad to have you here, Beth."

The photographer took our picture and I moved on, completely aglow.  Later, as I took a taxi home, I tried to re-live every moment of an almost perfect day. 

But I do remember thinking, “This was an amazing day, but it would be nice to share it with someone.”

I have thought about what I most want to share with you.  Because many of you reading this are single, and because I didn’t marry until my mid-30s, I decided I wanted to share some of my thoughts on being a single Christian woman in today’s world.  

It’s hard!  While people today – inside and outside the church – seem to be more accepting of singles than ever before, being single can still be lonely. 

God did say, “It is not good for man to be alone.  I will make a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18)  While I don’t interpret this as a promise that God will make a mate for every person, it does acknowledge what many of us feel so deeply. 

However, Paul wrote in the New Testament, “Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.” (1 Corinthians 7:27-28)  

 

How do we reconcile these statements?  I believe both are true.  It’s difficult to be alone, but we shouldn’t marry for the sake of being married because marriage does bring a new set of challenges. And we certainly should not seek a marriage when it’s clearly outside of God’s will for us. 

I have noticed another seeming disparity in what many Christian leaders teach about how (or if) Christians should go about seeking a mate.  Many whom I respect say we should pray, have faith, and then take a completely passive role, waiting for God to bring the person He has to us.  And many can share personal stories of how God has done this.

Other Christians whom I also respect have expressed a different philosophy that goes something like this:  “If you wanted a job, you would pray and have faith about it.  But you would also send out resumes, network, and use resources available to find a job.  So why would we treat dating differently?”  They tell us that if you want to find a mate, pray and seek God’s will.  But also consider becoming involved with Christian singles ministries, websites, and other networking.

I could never decide which camp I was in.  So at different times, I alternated between the two.  But when I finally met my prince, Ken, I realized that you do first and foremost have to pray without ceasing and believe.  You can take some reasonable steps to put yourself in situations where you could meet someone God has for you.   But ultimately, it is a miracle when you find someone you fall in love with and want to marry, and he feels the same way about you, and it is clearly God’s will.  

What I’ve learned since being single is that this time (however long or short it is) does help prepare you for what’s ahead – marriage, children, and later, even the loss of loved ones.    All of these difficult “times of transition” require heavy doses of prayer, faith, seeking God’s will, and acting accordingly.  

While many people (Christians and others) may share helpful insights and advice, only God knows every detail and nuance of your circumstance and what His perfect will is for you.   If we learn to seek Him with all our hearts and listen to His still small voice while being single, we will be better prepared to see and embrace all God has in store for us. 

I encourage you -- whatever your circumstance – with God’s words:  “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”  Jeremiah 29:13

Much Love, 

Beth

((read more of Beth's story here and here))

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All I Want for Christmas is You

{by Rachel Coker}

So, it’s that time of year. Wherever you go all you can hear playing are bad remakes of classic Christmas songs. Like Justin Bieber or Jessica Simpson singing “Silent Night”. This kind of annoys me, but I manage to tolerate it for 25 out of 365 days, for the sake of “Christmas joy”.

At the risk of sounding like some kind of unsentimental freak, I have to admit that my favorite Christmas album is Mariah Carey’s. Yes, more than Perry Como and Bing Crosby. There’s just something about her music that makes me want to jump around and throw stuff onto the tree because I’m just so full of yuletide joy. Yeah, it’s weird.

Anyway, the other day I was listening to her song “All I Want for Christmas Is You” on my computer. I was singing along quietly (so that my family can’t hear my off-key attempts at the high notes), when suddenly it dawned on me: I only want one person for Christmas too. And that is Jesus Christ. (Albeit, I could probably also add a small handful of good looking actors, but I’ll keep them out of this for now…)

The more I mulled over this thought, the clearer it became to me that all I want for Christmas is HIM. I don’t need presents to make me happy this Christmas. Or snow, or stockings, or mistletoe. I definitely don’t need some prince charming to come in and sweep me off my feet, filling me with holiday joy and warm fuzzy feelings. All I really desire is to be filled with the love and joy of Christ.

Even though Christmas is a Christian holiday, I think it is the hands-down easiest holiday to forget about Christ on. There’s so much going on that can distract us from what this season is really about. We run around and waste time on silly things that we wrongly think are important. We get hung up, like Mariah Carey, on thinking selfishly about what and who we want this year. But all we should really want is Christ.

Christmas isn’t a time for greed and business. It’s a time for slowing down and getting back to the basic truth of Christianity: desiring God. Wanting to know Him and be near to Him, and being thankful for what He did for us. Because, if you think about it, His salvation is the only gift we can know for sure we can get this year, no matter how naughty we’ve been! ;)

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