Refreshing Faith
2 Corinthians 8:9 sums up Christmas for me. Below are links to some Christmas inspiration including an article from Reflections Ministry, one by me, and my favorite Christmas song. I hope you enjoy them as we take time to reflect on what Christmas cost Jesus and His Father.
Merry Christmas,
Bully “One who hurts or browbeats”[1]
Having recently counseled people dealing with bullies got my husband, Larry, thinking about how prevalent they are. Here are some lessons he learned.
My walk home from elementary school often included unpleasant encounters with local bullies. I hid my money for a butter brickle ice cream cone in my shoe. This precaution protected my money—and me.
I’m grown, but bullies have continued to pop up in my life. They’ve shown up in places I’ve worked, in seminary, in extended family, and even in church.
Bullies use their advantages to steal more than ice cream money. They take our freedom, dignity, and closeness with God if we let them.
What can we do about bullies?Continue Reading
Christ…sent me “to spread the Good News. I didn’t use intellectual arguments. That would have made the cross of Christ lose its meaning” (1 Cor. 1:17 GW).
Many of us will connect with friends and family during this Christmas season. Have you wondered how you might discuss the “reason for the season” with those who may not know Jesus?
My son and I recently joined my sister and brother-in-law and their ministry team on university campuses. We asked students if they would take a short survey with us. Many shared their thoughts with us. Afterwards, one man told me he wanted to continue our discussion. (For your convenience, links to the tools we used are included in this post.)
God has placed eternity into the human heart. We want to know why we are here and if our lives matter. Yet problems, pleasures, and the pursuit of the urgent distract us from the inner longing to know God. The Great Exchange uses a survey to tap into that natural curiosity.Continue Reading
With Christmas less than a week away, I was remembering one of my favorite Christmases.
The first Christmas I spent away from my family was also my first Christmas of walking with the Lord. I was living in Needham, Massachusetts. Having grown up in the deep south, my assignment to Boston out of college couldn’t have been more exotic if it’d been Mars.
I had arrived in early October. The beauty of the colored leaves intoxicated me. I loved the quaint town with its mixture of Victorian houses and small clapboard homes. The locals’ accents fascinated me. One student, named Barbara O’Conner, introduced herself as “Barba-er O’Conna.”
The ministry team I joined was made up of seven young single men and women. We quickly became fast friends.
I’d planned to return home for Christmas. But our national director had other plans. He asked everyone to remain at his or her assignment to prepare for the conference that would begin the day after Christmas.
The Lord had prepared my heart for this change in plans. I was actually excited to experience a New England Christmas. Since Boston winters were much colder than Savannah winters, I wanted the perks of a New England Christmas. I asked the Lord for a white Christmas.Continue Reading