Karen Moore's Blog, page 18

Making New Year’s Resolutions for Your Faith!

Sure, it’s just December 29th, but it’s time to start thinking about those New Year’s resolutions. Most of us start out every New Year with great intentions! We’re going to lose weight, we’re going to take better care of ourselves, and we’re going to be the best human beings ever! At least, we’re going to try. We’re exhilarated on January 1st, but it isn’t long before our enthusiasm takes a nosedive.  Our normal routine kicks in. It’s familiar, it’s less demanding, and we know how to deal with it. Maybe next year, we’ll do those other things. 

But have you ever considered making New Year’s resolutions about matters of faith? What if you decided to be much more intentional about those things that effect your beliefs?  If you want to step into January 1st with a faith-building checklist, here are a few ideas.

Start every morning with God. That’s right! Set up some time to chat, one on one and give God 80% of the talking time.Ask God to help you with the things you want to change about your life, your habits, and your attitudes.Keep a journal to note how things are going.Go to Bible Gateway and create a daily reading plan.Pray.Read a daily devotional book or a devotional blog.Seek out opportunities to share your faith…at home…at work… anywhere you happen to be.Be intentional about giving God credit for good things that happen in your life.Take note of times when you clearly see God’s hand at work.Hand your worries over to God.Step aside from the news and those things that dampen your spirit.Seek out a faith partner, someone you can pray with, or someone who will help you when you’re trying something new in your faith journey.Go to church.Practice loving those who are difficult.Let your light shine!Do at least one thing a day that inspires your faith.Ask others to pray for you.Trust that God is with you in every circumstance. When you fall down in your faith walk, ask forgiveness, and get up and start again.Most of all, remember that God knew you even before you were born, and He’s been loving you ever since. God’s plan for you is that this year you will be blessed with hope and a joyful future. 

May these ideas bless you and help you usher in an exciting New Year, as you continue to grow in faith and fulfill your divine purpose.

Happy New Year, Dear Ones!

 

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The First Day After Christmas

If you stuck with tradition, it’s likely that you still have scraps of wrapping paper around your Christmas tree. After all, yesterday was the big day to explore all the treasures waiting there. For some, it was all about Santa and presents. For others, it was about the birthday of the Savior of the world. Either way, it was a great day to share with those you love. So, what’s next? What happens on the first day after Christmas?

For me, the Santa track is sweet and fills a desire within me for people to be more thoughtful and generous to each other. I want Santa to exist in the hearts of those who do their best to love and honor others. But, as I move away from the twinkling lights and the warm memories of family and friends, I want something more, something deeper. I want to keep seeking the truth, the wisdom, and the understanding of the bigger picture, the design that God initiated and the one that He still controls. I want to travel with the wisemen, those astronomers who had studied the skies, waiting for the day when the Messiah would be born. I want to feel the anticipation and the hope they must have felt as they followed the most incredible star they had ever seen, for perhaps 900 miles. They were willing to cross the desert sands, face the difficulties of thieves that lurked behind the rocks and shadows, and go toward that manger in Bethlehem.

The child had been born some time before they would actually see Him, but that didn’t stop them. They wanted to see Him for themselves. They wanted to discover the truth of HIs coming. I want to join them; I want to start out the first day after Christmas on a journey that is unforgettable. Like those ancient travelers, I want to be intentional about searching for something that is truly life changing. For most of us, it’s simple. We can hear the stories, attend churches, and discover the Spirit of God anytime we choose. But will we? Will we choose to step aside from the world, move closer to the Light so we can see for ourselves the gift of God’s grace and mercy?

The first day after Christmas is a good time to set out on your faith journey. God already sees you and beckons you to come. He’s holding the door to the new you, ready to walk beside you the rest of the way, all the way into eternity. Perhaps this is the best gift you can give yourself the day after Christmas. Simply surrender your heart, open your eyes and see all that God has done in your life already. He continues to lead you; He continues to wait for you. He continues to love you.

As that ancient philosopher Lao Tzu once wrote, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”  The journey of faith will carry you from here to heaven.

Those who are wise still seek Him!

 

 

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The Birthday Boy

Today is the birthday of someone very special to me. I suspect we’ll celebrate with a few thoughtful gifts, create a favorite dinner menu, and blow out a few candles. After all, that’s what we do when it’s the birthday of someone who means a lot to us. This special boy happens to be my husband, Bruce, so if you see him today, send him a little birthday love.

We often create delightful moments to celebrate birthdays. It makes us happy to honor those we love.  In a few days, just three to be exact, many of us will celebrate a special boy who was born over 2000 years ago. We’ll gather with friends and family, decorate our homes to make the atmosphere more festive, and reflect a little on what that special boy did to change the world. It will be a celebration of honor and humble respect. We’ll go to church and sing of angels and shepherds. It will make our spirits merry and bright.

Others will celebrate that same day but without a hint of the boy off in the distance. They may not know what He did so long ago, or what He still does for each person who invites Him in. They will share the gifts of the season and the joy that fills the air, but it won’t really be about a birthday boy. It will be another date on a calendar, another meaningless holiday. Their souls will sit quietly waiting for the light to dawn.

It’s the job of the storytellers to keep the Boy’s story alive, to keep it fresh and new. They are the ones who remind listeners of the amazing experience of a young girl named Mary who agreed to the plan revealed to her by an angel. Mary did not know exactly what the angel’s plan would mean for her life, but she pondered it at great length, trusting in how important it all was to the people she loved. Astrologers of the day were studying the stars waiting for the advent of God’s special one, believing that they might even witness it in their own lifetimes. The shepherds who knew little about the things of God, were startled by a heavenly choir proclaiming the good news that a boby boy had been born; a boy that was born to save them from their sins. All of them, found a way to get to the manger to see this little child who would be God’s gift, His answer for every person ever born. 

Life is all about stories and on every birthday, we celebrate the story of people we love. At Christmas we tell the story of a miraculous event that happened in Bethlehem, where a bright light filled the night sky and let everyone know where to find the birthday boy. Perhaps those candles we put on a cake each year, are just little stars lighting up the life of the one we celebrate, helping us to see them a bit more clearly. 

Yes, it’s time to tell the story once again, and celebrate the Light of the world, God’s baby boy. Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Have a blessed Christmas!

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The Gift of Christmas Memories

One of the opportunities we each have at Christmas is the chance to create new memories. Whether we have wonderful memories from childhood, or whether the child within us still comes out to play, Christmastime can truly be a blessed time. I remember a precious story my dad told me about a Christmas tradition he enjoyed. When he was just a young boy, he remembers that his family would visit his grandparents. His grandfather would write a special poem to each child and then hang it on the Christmas tree. Dad said they would run to the tree with great excitement, looking for the poem with their name scrawled across the top. It was one of dad’s favorite memories, and maybe part of the reason that he wrote poems to us, his daughters, as we were growing up. It was a tradition he never forgot.

When we were very young, we lived on a dirt road that was often snow-covered and difficult to maneuver by the time Christmas came around. I remember my aunt and uncle, getting stuck at the bottom of the hill, but trudging their way through the snow to deliver gifts for little girls who were anxious that Santa would never make it to our house. We were thrilled to receive little purses and dolls with eyes that could open and close. It was a most wonderful thing. I also remember at that same old house, the year we received tall, plush, black cats, wearing pink necklaces. They had little bands on their toes so you could dance with them. It was big fun, especially when dad joined in and let us dance on top of his toes like we were one of the precious kittens. 

I know that not everyone has enjoyed wonderful Christmas memories, and I pray for all of you who need to create new ones, that you will be blessed with special moments that delight your hearts this year. Some of us have simple stories as I do, topped off with trudging down the snowy road to go to church for the Christmas Eve festivities. It was fun to sing in the choir or act out the nativity story.  Of course, there was always a coloring book or some special gift from the Sunday School.

We topped off our Christmas day with a big family dinner where all my aunts and uncles and grandparents joined together, each bringing their favorite dish to pass. Sometimes I look back at those days, and like my dad waiting to find his special poem on his grandpa’s Christmas tree, I reflect on the simple joys we shared.  I’m not sure now with all the technology and ease of online shopping, if anyone takes the time to make simple gifts so filled with love. For those who think Christmas is too commercial, I would only suggest that yours doesn’t have to be. This could be the year you write a little Christmas memory and hang it on the tree for each of your grandchildren. Who knows, they may indeed find that a gift they will treasure long after the computer games have failed to operate.

Whatever you do this Christmas, create new memories, enjoy the love that surrounds you, and look up to your Father in heaven who delights in you today.

 

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Just a Little Bit Scrooge

Charles Dickens character of Scrooge puts a little fear and trembling in our hearts. After all, like it or not we have our own Scrooge moments. We may not always feel generous when we’re asked to give yet another donation to a good cause at the holiday season. Our personal Scrooge might say, “there must be good organizations to handle those things.” Those people who insist on being positive no matter what else is going on in their lives, might just rub us the wrong way. I mean, when do they face reality? Scrooge’s nephew Fred can’t be happy all the time. Of course, The Christmas Carol, put Scrooge into some scary moments as the ghosts of Christmases past, present, and future came to remind him of important matters.

Personally, I love this story, because it’s such a great reminder that we are all so capable of changing our Scrooginess! We can all be more than we imagine. No matter what happened in childhood, God has been molding and shaping our lives, giving us friends like Fezziwig who accept us just as we are. He’s gifted us with love even when we didn’t feel lovable. Certainly, our hearts are softened toward the sour face of Scrooge, when we witness his loneliness and his sense of abandonment as a child. Somewhere along the way, he lost track of love and family and all that it means. Christmas can bring out sad memories for some of us, but do we have to stay there? Do we need a ghostly visitor to get us over the hurdle of our own distress? Ultimately, the message comes through loud and clear for Scrooge, who had given up on love and friendship and family. He realized that there was still hope, still light, and much of that light could only come from a heart that was willing to give to others.

Christmas brings the gifts of hope and possibility. It brings the Spirit of all that is good, and that Spirit invites each of us to come and share the blessings of God. We are not alone. We are not expected to do all the good things by ourselves. We are simply meant to love and live in as generous a way as we can. We are meant to be a blessing to one another so that we can shout along with Tiny Tim, “God bless us, everyone!”

So put on your nightcap and get ready to wake up to a joyful celebration of all that God has done. Set those “Bah-humbug” moments far behind you.

Merry Christmas!

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Let Us Adore Him

As we go through the Christmas season, we are enchanted by sparkling lights all around the places where we live. We put our favorite Nativity in a special place, lighting it softly, delighting in the gift God gave to us through His baby Son. We play our favorite Christmas songs, and along with those that filled our childhoods, we hum along with “Angels We Have Heard on High” and “O Come, Let Us Adore Him!” We sing with humble hearts and with deep gratitude, not really concerning ourselves with the proper notes as much as with having the proper attitude. We seldom actually think about what it means to “adore” Him, but at this time of year, it feels right to say so.  In fact, it brings joy to our hearts to say it out loud. Through the year, we seldom offer God our thanks and praise, but somehow at Christmas, we can’t help ourselves. We want to simply adore the name of Jesus. 

Christmas reminds us to share the love in our hearts with one another and with the Creator a bit more freely. We want to be a little kinder, more giving, and more generous to those around us. We want to forgive and find hope in the future.  If it happens that we slipped away from the baby in the manger at some point, perhaps without even realizing we were walking much too far on our own, Christmas encourages us to return to Him. After all, He came for all of us. If we’ve been feeling isolated and lonely, left out in the darkness, wondering where to go, this is our chance. We can listen to the voices of angels, beckoning us to experience the joy of all that God has done. If we’ve been overwhelmed by work or intellectual pursuits that kept us from seeking the direction that only the heavens can create, then we can turn around now, and follow that star to Bethlehem. All we have to remember is that He adores us!

It doesn’t matter where you’ve been this year, it simply matters where you want to go from here. One of the most beautiful paths to joy starts with that song in your heart that says, “Come, let us adore Him!” If you begin the song in your heart, it won’t be long until you feel it in your soul. Let this be the year you adore Him in the depths of your spirit, to find peace beyond measure.

 

 

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Open House and Open Heart

Christmas is not for curmudgeons! Charles Dickens famed character of Scrooge had to dredge up his cold and ghostly past before he could remember that he once was a pretty warm human being. We may have Scrooges in our midst, but we can’t let that stop us from opening our homes and our hearts to others. Part of the gift of Christmas is seeing the way God revealed His plans to those He would use to become part of His blessed event.  He invited shepherds to see his touring group of angelic singers who were celebrating with endless hallelujahs. A heavenly star filled the night sky, opening the way for some ancient kings to discover that small stable, the temporary home where Mary and Joseph would hold an open house for complete strangers to come in and express their joy. It was a continual celebration of open hearts and open houses.

Matthew 10:12 says, “When you enter someone’s home, say, ‘Peace be with you.’ If the people there welcome you, let your peace stay there.”  It’s hard to imagine a gift of more significance than the one that brings peace to your soul, to your heart, and to your home. If there’s anything the world is lacking these days, it’s a sense of peace and contentment, a true sense that all is well. Maybe you can’t hold on to that gift every day of the year, but what if you stepped away from those who shout “Bah, Hum Bug!” and instead shouted “Peace be with you!” What if you made it your present to everyone you know to bring them a gift of peace as soon as you enter their door? The chances are good that things will feel more festive, more energized and blessed. 

If you go to an open house this holiday season, walk through the door with the joy of knowing you have a gift to bring. You have a blessing that is more radiant than all the decorations, more beautiful than the tree in the hall, and more amazing than anything the retail world can devise. You have the secret of the season, the gift of God’s Son, who brings peace to every heart and every home where He is welcome. 

Oh, I can hear those angels singing even now! Peace Be with You and those you love! 

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When Heaven Comes to Earth

At this time of year, we’re full of anticipation, hope for tomorrow, brought about by the glimmers of kindness we see everywhere. For some we invite Christmas in with falling snow and fireplaces aglow. For others, just writing out a few Christmas cards for people we love, or making travel plans, brightens our thoughts, reminding us that special days are just ahead. Yet, a few will be full of questions about why hope has all but disappeared. In Psalm 8, David questioned the Creator. He looked at the twinkling stars and the amazing world around him and he couldn’t quite understand why God would even bother with human beings. He asked his question out loud, “What is man that you care about him?” 

The answer is found in the hearts of every soul who peeks into the manger. God chose the most loving way that could ever be, to bring heaven to earth. He delivered an infant into the care of human beings. This infant was not like anyone before or since. This infant would live a life without greed or avarice, without sin, or shame. This infant would shine a light that would get brighter with the years, become bigger than the star the wisemen followed into Bethlehem. This light would make the world glow, and everyone would see it. 

The child of Christmas is the answer for many, a challenge to some, and a blind spot for others. He cannot be seen by simply searching, although He will come to those who earnestly seek Him. He cannot be known by study, although He’ll open the minds of those who sincerely want to know more about Him. His light is blinding for those who simply want to turn away and walk in paths of darkness, unwilling or unable to see the Truth that has come from heaven to earth. 

The fact is that heaven comes to earth every time your heart reaches out to Him. It opens the door with every moment you spend with Him in prayer, or when you generously give to those around you. Heaven comes to earth today just as it did back when angels appeared to lonely shepherds. It comes to those who look up with anticipation, trusting that God is there and that He does indeed care about every human being. All He really wants is for every human being to care just as much about Him. He sent His own baby boy so that our hearts would follow Him forever.

May your home be filled with a little bit of heaven this holiday season.

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Zechariah and the Angel

Our personal prayers are often focused on one or two objectives. We need help. We need something to change. We need God to intervene in our lives. Sometimes, God answers those prayers in ways that assure us that He knows what we need, and He is working on a great plan to help us. Other times, according to His perfect timing, He answers prayer as He did with Zechariah and Elizabeth. They prayed for a baby for years.  They believed. They were faithful to God’s call on their lives. Yet nothing happened! Then one day, an angel appeared. 

The angel told Zechariah that God was ready to answer their prayer. They would have a son and he would be named John, Traditionally, the first male child was named after his father, so this was important information.  You may remember from the story that Zechariah could hardly believe it. His doubt came with a cost. He was not allowed to speak from that moment on until the baby boy was born. The angel told Zechariah that John would be a blessing to many, and he would be filled with power from the Lord; filled with the Holy Spirit from birth. John would be like the revered prophet, Elijah, and he would go before the coming Messiah to help prepare the way, Of course, Zechariah did not know then that Elizabeth’s cousin Mary would receive a similar revelation in just three months’ time. God was setting the stage for something incredible; His plan of salvation for all human beings. A Light was coming into the world and baby John would help people to recognize it. Imagine how startling this information must have been to the old priest. 

Elizabeth and Zechariah’s prayers for a baby opened the first chapter of God’s great plan, the birth of the Messiah. Believers then, and believers today, pray God will guide them, prepare their hearts and show them the way to see the Light.  The Christmas story is just the beginning of all God has planned. His angels continue to lead us toward the brilliant star that will guide many hearts to Bethlehem. 

As you put a shining star atop your Christmas tree, or perhaps an angel this year, may it cause you to think more intentionally about all that God has done. Like John the Baptist, may you continue to tell His story to those who still need to hear it, and may you yearn even more for that other baby who is still born anew in hearts around the world.

 

All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired, although not in the hour or in the measure, or the very thing which they ask; yet they will obtain something greater and more glorious than they had dared to ask.

                                    Martin Luther

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What Do You Want to Be?

Early on in high school, people start to ask you that big question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Even though you haven’t really settled on that answer just yet, you offer some options you may be considering. If you have no clue, you simply smile and shrug your shoulders. After all, you’ve got plenty of time to figure that out.

This will surely date me, but when I was growing up, girls were only encouraged to consider three, maybe four careers.  You could be a secretary, a nurse, or a teacher. The other option of course was to get married and be a wife. Wow! Things have truly changed.

It strikes me that God asks us that same question. He wants to know what we want to be…for Him. He wants us to recognize our calling so He can equip us to do our job well.

You may indeed grow up to be a great teacher, or an incredible mother, or maybe even a rocket scientist, but those things are not exactly the calling God has in mind. Of course, God’s call on your life, may fit nicely with your career choice, because He provided the skill sets to make your goals possible. But then again, could there be something more?

So, when God draws near and asks you, “What do you want to be—for Me?, how will you answer? You might still shrug your shoulders, or you may have truly been blessed to live, act on, and develop your calling. Your spiritual purpose, your Divine purpose is what you are here for, the reason you came to planet Earth. It’s your mission.

As you look at where you’ve been in life, and where you are now, open your heart and mind to consider God’s question one more time. He doesn’t care what age you are. He is still asking you today, “What do you want to be…for Me?”

I think that no matter what you’ve accomplished, and no matter how pleased God is with the work of your hands, He’s always got a little bit more He’d like you to consider.

What do you want to be…now?

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