11 Days Until Christmas!

Good morning! Can you believe it?! Only 11 days until Christmas! Where has the time gone? Does it feel like time seems to pass faster and faster with every year? It's funny how 11 days for the kids seems like an eternity ... yet for Tony and I, it's "ohmygosh ... we only have 11 days to get this ever-growing list of things done!" :0) Perspective ...

I wonder if this is how the apostle Paul felt when he said, "We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." 2Corinthians 5:7-10


There are days when Tony and I look at the state this world is in, especially with Tony's calling in life, and wonder when the Lord will return again ... we long for it - for peace among all of His people. We feel like the children waiting for Christmas to arrive: "11 more days?! That's gonna take forever!!" :0) Yet, at the same time, I do not want Him to come quite yet. There are many who do not yet know His salvation - many who have not yet received new life through Him. Many I love who do not claim the name of Jesus Christ as their Lord. There is much to be done in, with and through His Kingdom. So, like our parental-selves, we exclaim, "There's so little time left to accomplish so much!" :0) And so we 'walk by faith and not by sight'.





What if we knew WHEN He would return? What if everyone on this earth knew and believed that He WAS returning? How would things be different? How would we set our priorities? How would our choices be different?


You know, I like that we have a family of five and that our table seats six. Often, when I'm setting the table, I feel like setting an extra place for Jesus. He's always with us. He's part of our family and every moment of our lives. We are so very thankful for the life He has given us. Last night, we watched the movie, "Click" with Adam Sandler (not a kids movie, BTW ... we had to fast forward a TON of stuff ... ) The point was that we can get into an "auto-pilot" mode in life. Just working, sleeping, eating, working, sleeping, eating, working, sleeping, eating. And maybe, somewhere in there - shopping, video-gaming, movie-ing, eating, drinking ... I don't know ... you know what your addictions are - whatever those things we all use to numb the "routines" of life and help us to feel some kind of 'satisfaction'. We REWARD OURSELVES instead of receiving the blessings from God with thankfulness.


Anyway, Adam Sandler's character had lost perspective. He was focused on the "here and now" stuff instead of having any kind of eternal vision. He genuinely loved his family and his children, but had a very typical 'western' ideaology of work, work, work and you will provide for your family what you never had. But, the thing is, what HE had was two parents who may not have had alot of money or material things - but they LOVED each other deeply - and they loved him too! He missed the point!


Tony and I appreciated the story of the movie (not so much the language or humour) but didn't feel like it spoke to our lives. We just don't have those issues - thankfully. There was a time in our lives when I was working full time, Tony was working full time and the kids were being raised by others (BTW - thank you to our cousin Jenn for being a consistent, loving influence in our children's lives for so many years ... you are a blessing! :0) But, Tony and I never connected as a couple, we were stressed with the kids because of exhaustion and we didn't have a long-term vision for our family or the ability to make healthy decisions for ourselves or our children (cuzn' Jenn could attest to the amount of Pizza that came in through our front door! Domino's actually sent us a Christmas Card - I'm not kidding ...)

I'm not saying that working hard is bad - not at all. But our focus during those periods was not about being thankful for the work we had to do or fulfilling a calling on our lives ... it was pure panic-mode, just trying to 'get ahead'. Well, we survived and things have definately changed. We have learned a little bit of patience can take you through ALOT of hard times. We've learned that if we can't afford something "right now", that it can probably WAIT! We've learned that if you are willing to put in the effort, God will bless those efforts and everything will work out alright. We've learned that when God uses people to bless you, there will come a time to give back! and it feels really good to be able to bless others! :0)


In the Old Testament, in the book of Ecclesiastes, there is a statement that reads, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven". What season are you in right now? Are you sowing when you should be plowing? Are you harvesting when you should be watering? Are you toiling when you should be resting? Or are you seeking wisdom and learning to be sensitive to the whisper of the Holy Spirit each and every moment of the day?


Let me leave you with the rest of this Scripture to ponder today. May we seek the Lord in this glorious season, in that deepest, quiet place within our hearts and find Him there - patiently waiting for our response.

" There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men: yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men that to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil - this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere Him."

Ecclesiastes 3:1-14