Once Upon A Time to Happily Ever After–A New Year’s Devotional December 31, 2007

“He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.’”
Revelation 21:6

Imagine you’ve been given an amazing book to read in a super comfy chair with no distractions. You open it up, read the credits. Then you see the introduction, which informs you that this particular book is self-timed, but it doesn’t let you know how long you have to finish it. As soon as you open it, though, you only have a certain amount of time to read it before it self-destructs. The timer has begun the moment you opened the book. How exciting and nerve-wracking!

The beginning is so thrilling that you are sitting on the edge of your seat and your heart is racing: “Once upon a time…” Your mood changes by the time you get to the middle of the story, and the words begin to run together. You hate to admit it’s even a tad on the boring side. You keep reading, however, because you’ve got an unknown deadline. As you go on, your boredom turns to frustration, then to apathy. When will I get to the exciting part?

It seems to me that this is often the way many of us live our lives on this earth. We’re here, in the middle of our life stories, knowing our days our numbered, and we’re just waddling through or struggling on until we get to the “exciting part” or even the end itself. We know that our Lord is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, but we need fresh reminders that He is here with us every day in between, surely, to the very final chapter!

Our Alpha did not come at the beginning only to give us a promise at the end–He came to keep His promises in the middle as well. He says in John 10:10b, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” And He gives us that fullness each and every day through the dwelling of the Holy Spirit in us and through us: “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever–the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:16-18.

At the beginning of this New Year labeled 2008, let’s ask the Lord to help us make a great start to this chapter in the middle. It’s sobering to think that we have no idea how close to the end of our book we actually are. First, though, let’s take a pop quiz over the chapters before this one:

Who have been the main characters in my story?
What pain have I carried with them or they with me? When was the last time I shared my God-story with someone?”

Now recall the plot:
Where was I when I gave my life to Jesus, and what details led up to it?
How have I grown as a Christian since then?
What sin struggles have been overcome, and which ones am I carrying over?”

And on and on…continue to ask yourself some true or false questions and spend this time deciding which facts you need to leave behind and which ones you need the Lord to use to make changes in you today.

Here’s the happy ending:
“Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then He said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’” Revelation 21: 3-5

When we know the hope that exists at the end, it makes us want to live our now to the fullest. What stimulating characters, adventures and plots will our lives record this year? What struggles will the Lord allow to shape us and grow us up? Will we choose to be the conflict or the climax in others’ life-stories? Why should we waste a single moment we’ve been given? Let’s live on in the Spirit together, shall we?

Until the “HAPPILY EVER AFTER…” So be it.

Copyright 2007 Laura L. Shaw

Laura Shaw is a wife and a mommy of three. She is the founder of lovinthearts.com, a web ministry to encourage spiritual growth in the family of believers. Her ministry passions include leading Kids’ Worship and writing. Share your comments:
http://www.lovinthearts.com

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com – CHRISTIAN WRITERS

Encouraging Word December 30, 2007

  

…behold, how good and pleasant it is for families to live together in harmony.

Psalm 133:1

What’s for Dinner? Chicken, Broccoli & Garlic Pasta December 29, 2007

Another easy, quick meal my kids enjoy.

• 12 oz. rotini or some other easy to eat pasta
• 3-4 cups coarsely chopped fresh broccoli
• 1-2 cups chopped chicken
• 3 cloves garlic pressed or 2 tsp. minced
• 3 Tbs. olive oil
• 2 tsp. dried basil or 2 Tbs. chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts (optional. I’ve used sunflower seeds for an easy, extra crunch when that was all I had on-hand and it was really good)
• Parmesan or romano cheese for topping

Start cooking the pasta according to package directions.
Heat olive oil in a skillet. Brown chicken in skillet. Saute garlic briefly.
Meanwhile, cut up and steam broccoli. When broccoli is done refresh under cold water.
Add broccoli, basil, salt, pepper, and pine nuts (walnuts) to skillet.. Saute 3-4 minutes.
Drain cooked pasta and toss with broccoli mixture. Serve topped with parmesan or romano cheese.

Boredom Busters December 28, 2007

Is Christmas break starting to seem a little too long?  Is the newness of the toys already starting to wear off? Are you starting to feel stir-crazy–or even worse, hearing the whining of “I’m bored!” 

We’ve put a number of activities on the site in the past.  If you missed them, we have fun, easy (or “lazy mom”–I put that in quotes because NO mom is a lazy mom!) activities you can do with younger kids here and here.

FamilyFun.com has a whole page of Indoor Activities here.

Funology.com has crafts, games, flying things you can make and online games here.

Kaboose.com has a page full of winter activities here.

Finally, AmazingMoms.com has some indoor, rainy day activities here.

Do you have a bordeom buster that works wonders at your house? If so, please share!

Take A Break December 28, 2007

When you begin to see a bad attitude or hear that manipulative whining voice, have your child take a Break. With young children, as young as two or three years old, have them sit in a particular place, a chair, a carpet square, the hallway, or a bottom step. For older children, you might send them to the parent’s room or to another quiet place.

We believe that the Break is much more helpful than Time Out. The instructions given are simple and clear. “You need to go take a Break. Come back and see me when you’ve calmed down and are ready to talk about this nicely.” Two differences are important. The child knows that the objective in taking a Break is a changed heart and also the child helps determine the length of time spent in the break place, coming back only when ready for a debriefing.

These two differences between Time Out and the Break change the posture of the parent. With Time Out, the parent is the policeman, keeping the child in the chair until the sentence for misbehavior has been served. With the Break, the parent is eagerly waiting for the child to return so that they can debrief and more forward.

The Break helps parents address heart issues with children and can become a primary discipline technique. It actually comes from the Bible in the teaching about discipline in God’s family, the Church (Matthew 18, 1 Corinthians 5, and 2 Corinthians 2). The idea is basically this: If you can’t abide by the principles that make this family work, then you can’t enjoy the benefits of family life. The two go hand in hand.

For more information about how to implement the Break in your family, see the chapter about four steps of correction in the book, “Good and Angry, Exchanging Frustration for Character in You and Your Kids,” by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN.

Saying Thank You December 27, 2007

Now that the gifts have been opened and played with, it’s time for the Thank You Notes! This can be a great way to teach your children gratitude and get them in a habit that will serve them well! It can also be a fun activity.

For younger children, simply coloring or stamping a piece of paper may be all they can do to help.  This year with my preschooler we have made potato stamps (not that effective, but fun to stamp with). I took the stamped paper, cut it into 4 squares and mounted it on a sheet of colored scrapbook paper I was trying to use up. This way the outside is colorful (he has fun picking out who gets which pattern) and the inside is blank. Once I write the note he dictates (and I try to do it word for word, I think it makes it funnier) he or his younger brother can color on blank part of the card. 

Last year we used the Crayola Wonder Finger paint paper. He had fun making lines and finger prints/dot. Then I wrote the “Thank You” part over his design with a black Sharpie. One grandma wanted to know where we got the nice paper!

The year before that we tried to make handprints.  This is very messy if you don’t have the right washable paint (and it still is messy with it, but easier to clean up!). This is a fun way for kids who can’t write yet to put their on “print” on the card.

If you are more ambitious, here are some other ideas: 

• Family Fun.com has a unique idea here and a printable “form” here.
• If you want to make a unique card, mycraftbook.com has directions for preschoolers to make feather painting, comb painting, straw painting, toothbrush painting, marble painting and string art painting.
• Since most small children LOVE mail and are facinated about the mailman, you can turn this into a whole creative week of pretend mail. Kids Craft Weekly had a week devoted to mail which included several cute ideas about making pretend stamps, stampers, a post box and wacky letters, as well as a day of pretend play at the post office. During this play time kids can have fun putting real stamps on the Thank You notes they’ve helped with and understand what you are doing as you mail them.

Just remember this is supposed to make them thankful–not make you or them frustrated! If it’s becoming too much work, stop for the day and work on it again the next day.  Have fun with the time so your children will want to keep this habit!

Obey First and Then We’ll Talk About It December 26, 2007

When parents give an instruction but children don’t want to comply or it’s not convenient for them, sometimes they need to learn to “obey first and then we’ll talk about it.” This emphasizes obedience.

If little Brian has pulled a chair over to the counter and is climbing onto it, you may say, “Brian, we don’t climb on chairs.”

“But I was just…”

“No, you need to get down. Obey first and then we’ll talk about it.” Once he gets down, discuss the problem and find a solution together.

“Karl, go get your pajamas on.”

“I don’t want to go to bed.”

“No, obey first and then we’ll talk about it.”

To some parents this may sound like blind obedience. We’ve all heard stories about people who were led into cultish activity because they couldn’t think for themselves. No parent wants a child to fall into a pattern of blindly following a leader’s instructions, but evaluating instructions is an advanced skill.

Many parents have gone too far in the other direction ending up with children who can’t follow simple instructions without a dialogue. Parents sometimes believe they have to talk their child into wanting to obey. Inadvertently, these parents teach their children that if you don’t like a request then that’s enough reason to resist it. These children make poor employees, develop selfish attitudes about following someone else’s leadership, and have a difficult time in relationships because they haven’t learned how to sacrifice their own agenda for others.

Talking about it is important but sometimes even we, as adults, must obey first and then understand later. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son without fully understanding and then considered it faith for him to obey. Peter didn’t know why he was to go to Cornelius’ house but went anyway only to discover that God wanted to bring salvation to the Gentiles. Philip was asked to leave a revival in Samaria and go out into the wilderness, not knowing why, but when he got there he led an Ethiopian man to Christ.

Evaluating instructions is an advanced skill and will become important later on but children need to learn that sometimes we all must “obey first and then we’ll talk about it.”

This tip was taken from the book, “Say Goodbye the Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes in You and Your Kids” by Dr Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller RN, BSN.

Merry Christmas! December 25, 2007

The First Christmas Facts, Events & Characters December 24, 2007

The events surrounding the birth of Jesus as a baby are recorded in several sections of the Bible:
• Matthew 1:18-2:12 • Luke 1:26-56 • Luke 2:1-20

Mary:

She was a small town girl, engaged to be married to Joseph, the local carpenter. She was a virgin; she and Joseph had not had sexual relations. An angel came and told her that she was going to become pregnant. The father of her child was not Joseph. She became pregnant in a miraculous way; the Spirit of God impregnated her — her child was the Son of God, the Messiah
that so many generations of Jewish people had hoped for.

Joseph:

He was engaged to Mary and they had not had sexual relations. When he heard that Mary was pregnant, he thought perhaps he should break off the engagement. In a dream an angel told Joseph to go ahead and get married to Mary, and told him that the father of the child she was carrying was in fact God.

Bethlehem and the trip:

Mary and Joseph were from the town of Nazareth. But the Roman authorities who had political control over Israel at the time decided it was time to do a census of all the citizens. So each family had to go to the hometown of their ancestors to be part of the census. Joseph was a descendant of David, so they had to go to David’s city (Bethlehem) for the census. There were many travelers in Bethlehem, so the inns were full. When Mary went into labor and Jesus was born, they used an animal feed bin (manger) for his bed.

Angels:

Angels are messengers from God who may appear to people to explain realities which humans may not be able to see in the physical realm. Angels made a number of appearances to the characters of the Christmas history, including Mary, Joseph and the shepherds who were outside tending their sheep on the night that Jesus was born.

Shepherds:

The shepherds were bystanders in the Christmas story, until the angels came and told them about the special baby who had been born. The shepherds also were eyewitnesses to the amazing choir of angels that was celebrating Jesus’ birth. They went to confirm the story of the angels and found Jesus and Mary and Joseph, as they had been told. There are many other important characters in the Christmas story, including the Magi (Wise men), people in the temple and relatives of Jesus. Take a few minutes to read through the biblical accounts listed above.

Jesus:

Of course, the central figure in the Christmas history is Jesus. His birth is unique because it is the first and only time that someone was born from the womb of a woman and the father was God. Jesus was born fully as a human baby; and yet he is also fully God. The theological word for this reality is “God incarnate” or “God in human form.” Since the beginning of the human story when man and woman chose to disobey God, there has been a gap between humans and God. The Bible calls this sin. That choice of humans to live apart from God continued through many, many years of human history. The result of the separation from God throughout the years was physical death and spiritual death. God chose to bridge the gap between humans and God. Jesus’ birth is one step in God’s plan which continued with Jesus’ life, his death on the cross and his resurrection at Easter. The sin that separated us from God and caused physical and spiritual death was dealt with by Jesus’ sacrificial death and his resurrection.

Jesus’ action on behalf of all people gives us access to a relationship with God without barriers and separation. The result of our personal belief in Jesus’ action of our behalf is a full life in relationship with God now, and also eternal life as we continue in relationship with God after our physical death.

What difference does Jesus’ birth at Christmas make in your own life?

Jesus made the choice to come to earth and to offer a way to bridge the gap between people and God. We also have a choice to accept his action on our behalf, to accept his forgiveness for our own disobedience toward God and for our choices that are selfish. If you have questions about your own response to Jesus’ birth, life and death, discuss them with one of your MOPS group leaders.

MOPS International, Inc. By Carla Foote. Permission to copy for MOPS group use. www.MOPS.org

Encouraging Word December 23, 2007

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
      and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

Luke 2:1-51