King Herod is still part of Christmas

I was reading the Christmas story to my 3M's tonight before bed. After finishing, I asked them each their favorite person of  Christmas. Matthias quickly answered, "Jesus because he is the savior!" And Malachi followed quickly in his big brothers footsteps. Miracle she said she liked the angels who brought the good news and also the shepherds who went and told everyone about Jesus whom them had seen. 

Then, Miracle said, "Ask us the worst part of Christmas?" And they all answered, "King Herod!" Their faces cringed as if Christmas would be better without King Herod.

I challenged them to think about why King Herod was an important part of Christmas? Yes he was the mean King ; trying to be the death of Jesus, but he is also another reminder to us as followers ofJesus that God protects and leads those that are His. I asked them each to think of the meanies in their world right now. For Matthias it was his struggle to make a super long playdough hotdog just like his sister today...tears and frustration filled his body as the battle in his mind was so easily seen through my mom heart. I quickly called him to me and he squeezed me tightly with tears. I whispered truth loudly in his ear, "you are good, you are not measured by the playdough, you don't have to believe the lie that wants to ruin your fun of playing playdough."

What is it that is seeking to "kill" your life today, to keep the real Savior and King from claiming the throne in your heart and mind and entire life? I know for me, I recognized it as pride today. It's a monster that I wish I didn't have to admit. The silent loud whisper in my head...the control, the nagging angry rise to know ... If pride could just get to the stable where He lay...my 'King Herod'...plays to deceive...but God is greater! Because of 'King Herod's' in our lives, God has more opportunity to speak and appear more...continuing to prove His promise and Authority, and Rule and Reign! The silence was broken, and God's word fulfilled demonstrating that nothing can alter the sovereignty of God. Have you made it to the manger this Christmas because of a 'King Herod' that drove you to find Him? And are you willing to take a different route in obedience of God's warning? After all, the only reason you found Jesus the Savior was because God led you with the star in the sky...

Read the Christmas story account for yourself and ponder...it's time to breathe Him in! From Matthew 2...

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ” Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.” After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: “A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.”

Matthew 2:1-23 NIV

http://bible.com/111/mat.2.1-23.niv

God IS...

Immanuel! Yes God IS with us. This is ever comforting. He is my perseverance.
God is with you.
God is with me.
"Fear not, for I AM with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10
I find myself pressing into this truth in my emotional aches that pang me for understanding, peace and God's perspective, longing for contentment in this life for my man, and crying out for the ability to surrender my 3M's to the King of Kings because whatever this earthly life may bring..
I have to believe that God IS with us...and this changes my life.
And if God is with us, He is also FOR us...the world whispers that He is not, how could a perfect God be FOR this chaos, mass confusion and violence, why the suicide rates, and stone cold faces, the wide open mouths of disbelief every time we see the news, the thousands that lose the battle to cancer, the many situations that bring hopelessness, and I could go on...
"But if God be for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31
Just ponder that question. What if it's true that God is with us and that He is for us? I don't know your life but I know there are battles you fight daily that seem never ending. I can feel alone in my struggles...but something tells me that I'm wrong. Are our battles different yet the same? What are you believing in the midst of your pain - that God IS with you or do you just bank on that screen to be with you? I've tried that, oh facebook please rid me of my loneliness and deseire for adult conversation, or how 'bout all those times of hard to swallow news when you pick up your cellphone and can so easily call someone from your 'favorites list' ; they will know exactly what to say, right? But these days, I'm asking the Lord to help me to live like Mary as she journeyed with Joseph to Bethlehem. The quickest physical help she had was one earthly man named Joseph, and the faith that angels had been among her...yet without a cell phone she was tired, weary, and pressing on...she knew that God was with her and this MIRACLE that the angel presented to her was growing bigger and drawing nearer ever hour. This didn't seem to lessen the world's disbelief and the overwhelming bombardment of situations to try to detour and prevent and confuse...but guess what?
God is with us.
God is for us.
And if God be for us, who can be against us?
The stable held Immanuel and the animals sang his praises and the star shown brighter than the rest without doubt providing warmth, protection, and certain hope. A baffling overwhelming head shaking realization that this was not of the world....sustained by the One great God - the creator of the universe.
These days have me changing ... I've been kneeling on my knees. Not because I am holy but becasue I cannot stand any longer. I am undone, running out of words. From one conversation to the next, I fail to communicate God's faithfulness and sovereignty, seems the cracks in my voice and look on my face speak frailty to the others. I am a cracked pot. Here is the truth: God is faithful and this world is faithful to try to disapprove it. I won't let it. In the midst of my weariness, I find myself with tears running down my face with such passionate desire to trust that God IS good. I know that His love will endure...can His great faithfulness sustain you and me? 
Life is stepping towards another move...at this point, it can be hard to determine what type of move. It might be a physical and spiritual move, or it might end up being only a spiritual move within our hearts and minds. Whatever happens, I know it is going to be life altering. No one moves 5 times in 4 years without forever being changed and may it be because God is with us and God is for us. Yes!
This Christmas season, will you join me in fighting the tides of the culture and living the truth that "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which being interpreted is, GOD WITH US." Matthew 1:23
And will you fix your eyes up with me...as we each look in expectation for the 'star' that shines so bright to show us the way to go in our 'merry go round' lives...
"When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy." Matthew 2:10
There are tears along the way, but joy will soon fill us forever and ever.
Endure. Don't give up. Fight the good fight. The WORD is living and active sharper than any two edged sword. (Hebrews 4:12) Choose to declare it even when you and I ask 'why?' because
He
is
Immanuel.
God with us.
God for us.

Memory Care

I prepped them. We can choose to shine our light and spread the love of Jesus. There is nothing to fear in these elderly people. They might look different, smell different, talk different, or act different...They love to see children, you bring health and joy and memory sometimes... We prayed on our walk over that God would be with us.
It was awkward, honestly, knowing the faith and literal value of conversations that three young children possess. Unsure, of how it would go...we were escorted into the locked down facility. Activity time was our invitation. Yahtzee was the game today. My 3 kiddos followed my prep so well and stood in the doorway boldly introducing themselves to the elderly.
My heart broke. There they sat all gazing from person to person, wondering what Yahtzee was, and if they were part of the game.
She had white dandelion hair, she walked so slow yet with much anticipation as she reached my youngest sitting upon my lap, gently stroking my child's face asking to play. My son's lil' smile consumed his face and the elderly gal was comforted. He talked back and said he could play...yet on the walk home, the kids so innocently asked, "can she really come over and play?"
She continued to move towards the seat at the end of the table, stopping at my middle child and he so lovingly looked over his shoulder at her, his brown eyes tossing rays of acceptance and wonder...
Another gal sat quietly in the corner, I told my youngest to go say hi. He did. She talked of nothing that made sense and how she wanted to hold him on her lap...he declined the invitation. But over came my middle child accepting the invitation and was suddenly, being held. My oldest sat beside her, nodding her head as the elderly gal rambled on about past regrets that seemed but recent to her and how she marveled at the seam on the shorts of my middle child she was holding. My heart continued to break as the Yahtzee game continued, the activity therapist went from one to the next telling them how to shake and what to shake and then writing their score for each of them.
Another elderly gentlemen sat beside us, commenting on his similar haircut to my two boys.
 He asked his name,
"Malachi." my youngest son replied.
"He will change his name," the man responded looking at me.
 "Oh do you know what his name means?" I ask. "Would you like me to tell you?"
"No one knows," the elderly man replied.
And then I told them, "it means a messenger of God."
And it brought the greatest stir of the Yahtzee game thus far and many spoke in agreement of this lil' boy's purpose. Many spoke about the blessing of children from the Lord.
There was another elderly man who prompted a treasured confirmation for my broken heart. I asked him of his day, and he said his wife and him were reading through the old testament together. I asked him his favorite scripture and he began to say, "The Lord is my shepherd..." I said that the kids and I had just memorized it and then it filled the room, the rich voice of the elderly man and the comfort of my children's voices quoting Psalm 23.

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

2He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

3he refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths

for his name’s sake.

4Even though I walk

through the darkest valley,^a

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

5You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

6Surely your goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord

forever.

It was the moment we came for, the moment we prayed for...and the elderly were still, some with tear filled eyes and red noses...it might have been the best memory care of the day even.
My heart continues to break for the failing minds and the bondage that wasn't chosen or intended but now most are prone to wonder. But one thing was confirmed today...God cares for the memory of His greatness.
Psalm 145;7 "Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised. They shall abundantly utter the memory of they goodness."
His word is our Memory Care whether we know it or not.

Moving Realizations...Part 5

My blog was paused. But much has happened! 

I am still breathing...

Ok maybe, I've held my breath a few times... 

I have been breathing Him in through much joy, yet another transition (we moved 7 months ago AGAIN, and miracles and trials continue to flow in the rivers of Gods grace and mercy... Thankfully unceasing. 

Moving realizations part 5...it's not over...

I am so being changed. Many days I have been stressed. Learning how to cast down my fears and stand firm in truth. Learning how to break down boxes and store them for part 6:) with excitement and perseverance, I am for Him. I am living in Miracles of what God does because He can and His greatness who can fathom? His love is so overwhelming For Me. He is my deliverer of more than cardboard boxes from one city to another. He has done great things for me!

Most days the crumbs multiply without fail and the broom dances over the floors more than once in the hours of light. But it's those moments of scooping each child up one by one for "some lovin" I call it! And we dance and I tickle and kiss 'em and hug 'em and the other two anxiously watch with the statement, "I need some lovin too." It's not the whining or fighting that shows me perspective of hope and a future but surprises like this found in my journal: 

It's when I experience so much more of what our many moves are enforcing...- a steadfastness in the home of our hearts. We cannot get comfortable in this earthly life. It doesn't satisfy. But what I do know after moving again...just the sound of a Uhaul unseen but driving towards the front door wells in me emotion and a ball of unknown. The nest so quickly becomes cardboard castles of various sizes and the labels each year have gotten sweeter with handwriting that is not my own...I am constantly working myself out of a job...laughing myself into more spontaneous memories...because old marshmallows can't easily be thrown away. And the floor needed a reason to be mopped for sure. 

It doesn't take long to get the boxes unpacked and turn our hearts toward a new place to call our home. The same pictures go up on the walls, the 3 hooded towels hang nicely behind the bathroom door. I am reminded that God provides and confides His comfort in  my abiding. The rest we find in God's holy word is beyond comprehension. After all these moves, the memories that are cherished (from my kids recollections) are God's word that was painted into the bedroom walls, that was handwritten upon colorful construction paper and tacked upon as wall border, and we continue to sow through His word. My prayer is constantly growing that we would continue to move--to move in the currant of Gods precepts.  

I catch myself at many meals telling myself to turn from annoyance and experience the blessing; thankful for not one lil mouth that wants to pray for more than the food before the meal but 3 lil mouths and hearts that just want to pray...I guess they aren't as hungry as me. Or are they hungrier than me for the right thing that will satisfy? Oh let it be that we could be always moving in the mighty power of Almighty Abba Father who never changes but has moved with us Every. Single. Time. And He will be faithful to complete it...the final move comes nearer every day and cardboard boxes won't be part of it!