2 posts tagged “jesus”
(please forgive all the typos and run on sentences, I'm a wee bit medicated on sudafed. I gave in and took it b/c I am SO congested with a nasty cold i suddenly developed late last evening!)
Christmas thoughts in review:
we had a few goals this year. We decided to focus on a much more religious and tradition based Christmas, having decided that traditions (if used properly) are an invaluable way of teaching and giving stability to a family. are goal was to add a few things for the next few Christmases, eventually settling down into a nice tradition. it takes a while to figure out what works and what doesn't. here is our list with some of my thoughts on it:30 day of advent activies:
in review it was just too much. even the kids (who LOVE this sort of thing) we clearly getting too much and their attention was drying up. little kids have little attention so I need to keep that in mind. I think we will do perhaps 2 things per week next time. I want them to be able to focus and enjoy learning and crafting etc... not thinking "not again!".
Chrismon Tree:
total hit! However the kids got a little bored with coloring them everyday. well actually Eli loved it, but Eva got kinda off... she would forget what she was doing and start drawing instead ect. maybe next time we will do one per kid every other day. so it's like 20 ornaments total and not like 40. again, I think it was in danger of losing it's special meaning by becoming monotonous. It was easy to start topics about God/Jesus/Holy Spirit and the nativity etc when each symbols means something. Most of t was over Eva's head but that is fine. she will get the hang of it.
Daily Bible readings in relationship to/gearing up for the Nativity:
I never got to do it like I wanted b/c our family went through that bought of sickness and someone was always sick. Sean was quite sick. this one I want to plan ahead better on next year so it's not so last minute. We talked a lot, and read a little. but not in a scheduled way like I was hoping.
Christmas singing:
we do sing a lot in this family. it's important to me. I can't sing worth beans, but Sean is a musical talent so he makes up for it. what I lack in talent I try to make up for in joy heh. But we was super sick with that cold, and usually we sing at night before bed. it was hard b/c by then we were so tired and his voice so sore. it's not the same when daddy doesn't sing too. BUT, we really like this and it will always be one of our traditions.
Christmas Tree decoration:
love it. I know some of different feelings about it... but we REALLY enjoyed the family event of getting it and putting it up together.
Christmas eve/day Nativity reading:
never happened. we found it immensely difficult to start this tradition with others in the house. since they had other plans it just kept going that way. hmm... next time we will plan better on how to make this happen for sure. even though we talked about and learned about the Nativity all through the season, it almost seemed lost on Christmas day. Plus there were no church services on either Christmas even or day, which we had planned on. It was hard for me to even remember the right spirit of it. Not that I had a bad spirit.... I mean it was all about family togetherness and everything lol. but I still wanted a slightly higher priority, if you know what I mean.
That was the new things we tried to incorporate. I'm happy with our progress thus far. I hope next year will give a sense of new traditions and firm it up a bit.
Pictures to come soon =)
Something I have been giving real thought to lately. those of you who know me well would know this is really unlike me... but as I grow he less I am satisfied by the shallow -guised as deep- spirituality. This is an uncomfortable change for me. uncomfortable to consider... but something (or someone) is leading me thru this. it is not a choice so much as a must. I must do this. I must allow myself to consider more, think longer and react slower. and most important as well as most difficult, I must allow myself to consider that logic doesn't always equal truth. the truth of the matter is not how well it can be argued nor by whom. Truth need not prove itself in our timeframe. This may seem obvious, but it is a lie I've believed for a long time - that I believe what makes most sense to me at the time. it seems so reasonable doesn't it? until it's considered I am not all knowing, nor particularly smart.
-----------------------------------
A LOWER LEVEL
O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. (Psalm 71:17)
There are leaders and there are churches within the Christianity of our day who will surely answer for their failure to apply the disciplines of the New Testament to the present generation of young people.
Much of Christianity today does not hold to the necessity for disciplines in the Christian life. If we have any of God’s concerns in our hearts, we must grieve over the lack of spirituality in the lives of great segments of professing Christian young people.
It is not my calling to assess blame. It is part of my Christian calling to proclaim the fact that no one, young or old, has the right to come to Jesus Christ and stake out their own conditions and terms.
Segments of Christianity have made every possible concession in efforts to win young people to Christ; but instead of converting them to Christ they have "converted" Christianity to them. Too often they have come down to the modern level—playing, teasing, coaxing and entertaining. In essence, they have been saying to them, "We will do everything as you want it," instead of giving them Christ’s insistent word, "Take up your cross!"
-----------------------------------------------
when I posted this on another forum a friend said this to me:
-
"I've walked the same road. I do think it's a spiritual maturity thing. Though I will say, that if it wasn't for Christian Lite, dh and I wouldn't be going to church at all. When we started we would have been TERRIFIED of a church taking itself or its message seriously."
this is what I've been thinking about lately. and why I often forget to blog here. it's weighing heavy on my mind and I'm finding myself often lost in thought. I try to stay on topic here as much as possible, but how can one have a blog and not be honest to some degree? I am a doula... but there is also more to me than that ;)"I've thought of this a lot too. convinced I never would have come to christ if it weren't for my very alternative christian youth group... but when I think about it those are just mediums. If Christ calls you, you'll hear it. granted it may be your choice whether or not to answer, but you'll hear it regardless. I'm not trying to imply christians need to stick to some kinda regimented way of spirituality. dull boring and one size fits all... but I am saying that making Jesus "cool" or "hip" or "rawkin" (which was my word hehe!) isn't really Jesus... is it? but, just some weird slant we try to make on Him to make him look more appealing to others. But, what really appeals us to a life for Christ isn't how cool he is, but that he SAVES us. shouldn't that be more than enough? I mean really... it's pretty pathetic if you think about how we taylor Him to meet our needs for extra-cirricular activities. give us a false sense of purpose and meaning in our lives. looks deep but is quite shallow."
