The 'Reel' Side of Christmas

No matter how old I get, I always look forward to watching all the classic Christmas movies as soon as December rolls around. If a new Christmas movie is hitting the theatres, I am the first one to buy tickets.

I always get a twinge of excitement about plopping onto the couch, popping popcorn, grabbing some hot cocoa, and snuggling with the kids, as we fall back in time and watch the same Christmas movies that we have watched dozens, if not hundreds, of times before.

Whether the movies include real people or animated characters - I love them. Whether they are in black and white, or fully colorized, I love them. Whether they are old or new - I love them! My husband finds that strange and does not really share my enthusiasm for holiday flicks, but to each her own, right?

As a result of my movie-loving self, I thought it would be so fun to reminisce about some of my favorite Christmas classics, and yours, and talk about the life lessons we can pull from them. So often we enjoy a good holiday movie, but neglect to dig into the real meaning, and miss out on a teachable moment for our kids, or for ourselves.

So for the next few weeks, I am going to focus on the REEL (as in movie reel) side of Christmas, so that we can gleam some REAL spiritual truths.

Believe it or not, from Rudolph's red nose to the Grinch's green puckered face to Its a Wonderful Life - there are some important and reel truths that line up with Gods Word and hold biblical significance.

I have a few ideas about which movies I want to highlight this month, but before we kick off this holiday movie series on Friday, I would love to know what some of your favorite classic movies are, and if you have any suggestions of movies for me to dig for truths in.

Will you consider these questions and share your thoughts and ideas?

(Email subscribers, please be sure to click back to my blog and leave your comment in the comment section, instead of replying to this email, so that we can all see the ideas!)

Here are the questions:

** Which holiday movies or cartoons bring back the fondest memories for you?

** Do you have a favorite holiday movie?

** Which movies have you been able to pull nuggets of truth out of?

** Were there any movies that impacted your heart over time or as a child?

** Which movies have impacted your family in years gone by, or changed your perspective about Christmas?

** Which movies help foster a family night over the holidays?

Come on now, be reel!   Smiles.

12 Days of Christmas Giveaway

Hi friends! Can you believe that tomorrow is December 1st? My how time flies when you are having fun. :) As far as I am concerned, I am thrilled that the holiday season is officially underway! 

To get the season rolling, my sweet P31 sister, Karen Ehman, is hosting her 4th annual 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway which started this week.  Each day, one of our Proverbs 31 speakers will be highlighted, and will share something special about the holidays, in addition to offering a special giveaway item.  And today, Wednesday, is my day to guest post on Karen's blog.

So hop over to Karen's blog to check out my giveaway and learn how to put your name in the hat to win. Also, make a note to visit her blog every day for a chance to win a special Christmas prize, and to be entered for the grand prize drawing.

Tomorrow, I will kick off my holiday series "The Reel Side of Christmas", and spend the month of December focusing on various modern and old holiday movies, and the spiritual lessons we can gleam from them.  If you love Christmas movies as much as I do, you will love this series!

Be on the lookout for the first Reel post tomorrow!

Staying Filled Up After Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a day full of "fillers". We get filled with family, filled with thanks, filled with blessing, and most of all, filled with food. Too bad that feeling of "full" doesn't last!

Throughout this sweet day where we overindulge in good food and homemade goodies, we feel full. We feel satisfied for the moment, yet we know that in just a few hours, that familiar feeling of emptiness will return, and the stomach will growl once again.

That's the thing about filling up with food - it only temporarily meets our need to feel full. Wouldn't it be great if our spirits could 'growl' like our stomachs, when the feeling of emptiness sneaks in, letting us know that we need to indulge in a little spiritual food?

Ephesians 5:18-20 says this, "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

This is a popular verse, often interpreted differently among differing denominations. Some churches see this verse as proof that Christians should refrain from drinking alcohol at all, while others view it as a verse that encourages self control when consuming alcoholic beverages so as not to negatively affect a person's witness for Christ.

However, regardless of personal opinions about drinking, the real truth tucked in between the lines here holds a much broader purpose than beverage consumption.

This verse encourages us to think about anything that we are filling ourselves up with that is not only temporarily satisfying, but results in leaving no room for the Holy Spirit to reside.

Apparently, some pagan worshipers in Paul's time would intentionally get drunk as a form of their worship. They filled themselves with the affects of wine before and during worship, rather than seeking the affects of the Holy Spirit. They sought after the physical feelings that the wine caused, instead of the spiritual feelings that the Holy Spirit could fill them with.

Paul is mainly concerned here with the fact that their drunkenness not only led to reckless actions, but that they were purposely filling up with wine, instead of filling up with the Holy Spirit. They were choosing a temporary substitute of fulfillment, instead of seeking a permanent fullness of heart through God.

Most of us would agree that being overly filled with any alcoholic beverage is not pleasing to God, however we often overlook or justify the act of over-indulging in other sinful ways.

For example, have you ever considered how "filling up" with powerful emotions in our hearts and minds - such as as jealousy, lust, anger, hurt, bitterness, temptation, worry - can result in leaving little room in our heart for the Holy Spirit?

If we are filled up with negative emotions, the the Holy Spirit is slowly pushed out. Leaving us empty. Full of something that is not of God.

This week, we may get filled up with food, but what will fill us up next week? Will we be focused on only on our physical needs and feelings, or our spiritual needs and feelings as well?

Staying spiritually filled up is a choice we all must make. A choice to spend time in prayer, reading God's Word, attending church, serving His kingdom, and fellowshipping with other believers. These things take time, but are always time well spent.

Once we accept Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to reside in our hearts. However, to stay filled up with Him, we have to continue to overindulge in what He has to offer, and take no substitutes.

Thanksgiving day comes and goes, sometimes all too quickly it seems, but the desire to be full in heart and soul can continue all year round.

What has been filling you up lately? How will you stay spiritually filled up now that all the Thanksgiving dishes are put away?

My Gratitude List

Out of habit  (not because it is the right way or only way to pray), I typically start out my prayers by thanking God for the day at hand, and any other things that I am feeling especially thankful for. Then I proceed to ask for forgiveness for my sins, and progress through my conversation with God. When praying with my children, I have always followed this pattern as well.

Now, when I listen to my children pray out loud, it is obvious that they have picked up on  my prayer habits, and usually begin and end with thankfulness.

In the mind of a child, it is easy to thank God for the small things, and the obvious things -  such as this day, the sunshine, the rain, food, friends, etc. After all, God created us with a heart of gratitude for His goodness. It is His will that we practice being thankful, as stated in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 "in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." (NASB)

But as we grow up and life gets busy, we often lose that innate desire and ability to be thankful. We tend to look at all the problems, instead of the blessings, and focus on all the things we wish were different, instead of all the things that are good.

So in light of the season, I thought it would be nice to return to that child-like mentality, and focus my prayers on nothing but thankfulness. I created a gratitude list and poured my heart into thanking God for each thing that came to mind. It was refreshing, and thought provoking, and reminded me of many God-given blessings that I take for granted every day.

I want to encourage you today, to put aside your 'normal' way of praying, making your only focus be one of thanksgiving, and create your own gratitude list. If you are like me, as you focus specifically on your gratitude to God over everything else, you may have lots of things come to mind that you would ordinarily not even pause to think about. To help get your thoughts rolling, I will share with you my own gratitude list.

My 2011 Gratitude List:

1. My relationship with Jesus Christ and knowing that I am whole because of Him
2. The privilege of being allowed to worship Him freely in this country
3. My faith, and knowing that He is always with me
4. The possession of many Bibles for me and my family to read
5. My husband Michael, and the 21 1/2 years we have been together
6. Having a loving husband that provides for our family & loves our children
7. Having a husband who is my best friend
8. Two beautiful daughters and one handsome son, and the joy of watching them grow up
9. A husband and 3 children who all love the Lord, & that all our extended family members love the Lord
10. The incredible church we belong to, and all the people who attend there that are so dear to our hearts
11. Our Youth Pastor, Kasey, who has helped foster my children's walk with God
12. The re-dedication of faith, and baptism, of my two teenage daughters this year
13. Seeing my son go down to the altar at church and pray a few weeks ago when God spoke to his heart
14. The happiness in our home and the heart of God that makes it a wonderful place to live
15. The precious laughter of my family and the fun times we enjoy together
16. Good health
17. Being blessed with the best mother in the world, who I also call 'best friend'
18. My Dad, sister and brother and their spouses and all the little nieces and nephews that we love
19. My husbands parents, sister and her husband, of whom love us as dearly as we love them
20. Having cars to drive to get us where we need to go
21. Good schools and education systems for our kids
22. Feeling safe and secure in our home and neighborhood
23. Knowing that we have enough to food to eat each day
24. The joy of being a speaker and a writer
25. The blessing of being a part of the Godly group of women at Proverbs 31 Ministries
26. The privilege of working at a local Pregnancy Resource Center and witnessing to women in need
27. Clothes to wear, shoes for my feet, and a warm coat for the winter
28. Clean air to breathe
29. Peace in my heart even when life is not peaceful
30. Cell phones, so I can always reach my loved ones, especially my teenagers
31. Clean water to drink
32. A computer, and access to the Internet so I can share what God lays on my heart with others; be encouraged by reading how others experience God in their lives; stay connected with everyone, and more.
33. Apple Butter & Starbucks coffee
34. The beach
35. A soft bed to sleep in every night, and my contour foam pillow
36. Sweet friendships with my girlfriends
37. The problems that we have encountered this year, because they have brought us back to a greater dependence on God
38. How God has used some difficult circumstances in my marriage to bring my husband and I closer together
39. Christmas, my favorite time of the year, and all the sights, sounds, and smells that it brings
40. The smell and feel of a fresh, crisp morning which revitalizes my spirit

What will be on your gratitude list today?

A Thanksgiving Lesson From Peppermint Patti

I love all the old Charlie Brown cartoons. Despite the fact that they are obviously outdated and painfully inferior to the animated graphics of today, there are always moral lessons to be learned.

In the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving cartoon, we are reminded to make sure that we approach Thanksgiving with our hearts, and not just with our words. Peppermint Patti, Charlie Browns tom-boyish friend and wanna-be girlfriend, shows us what TO DO, and what NOT TO DO, during this special holiday.

You see, Peppermint Patti, upon sitting down at their Thanksgiving meal, brought up the subject of prayer, or saying grace, before they began eating. Her reason for praying was because "its thanksgiving, you know."  In other words, "we are supposed to be thankful on Thanksgiving, so let's say a prayer of thanks."  She had head knowledge of thankfulness, but not heart knowledge.

Here is a little clip of Peppermint Patti initiating the prayer, and the incredible prayer of Linus that followed:

(email subscribers can click here to watch this video)



This is an example of what TO DO: Pray and give thanks for everything.

Saying 'grace' before we eat is something we should all do, not only at Thanksgiving, but every meal of every day of every year. Yet often we neglect to do so because we are busy and pressed for time; we simply forget; or we just fail to see its importance.

In fact, even at Thanksgiving - the primary day of the year for giving thanks to God in prayer - we can easily dive into the holiday and all the yummy food, and forget to give thanks to the One who provided all that we enjoy. Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks from the heart, for food, but also for everything that God has provided.

Although Peppermint Patti gets a gold star for iniating the call to prayer, her actions that followed left a lot to be desired. Take a look at this quick clip, proving that Patti's heart was not in tune with her words:

(email subscribers can click here to watch this video)



This is an example of what NOT TO DO: Pray because you think it is expected, but then forget to actually be thankful.

Based on Patti's actions, it appears that although her mind thought that praying was the "right" thing to do, her heart did not embrace true thankfulness, which resulted in her not acting the "right" way towards others.

You see, when her expectations of the holiday did not match up with her reality, Patti got upset. She got irritated. She began to verbally express her dissatisfaction. She was annoyed at the guest (Snoopy) at her table. She was agitated that the food did not meet her traditional requirements. She complained and yelled.

She quickly forgot all about the prayer of thankfulness as she focused on her surroundings and her perceived shortcomings in their celebration. Her mind was distracted from prayer and thanksgiving, whem she became focused on people and circumstances.

Unfortunately this scene is all too familiar in households across the country. We want Thanksgiving to look like glamorized holiday commercials, but our reality may not match up to our expectation.

It is rare that families sit down at the Thanksgiving dinner table.....with perfect white tablecloths, exquisite China and matching lacy napkins.....glistening, brown turkeys that are perfectly cooked.... twelve elegant side dishes... and a buffet of desserts that look like Paula Deen stopped by.

Rarely do families get through Thanksgiving dinner.....with children who exhibit pristine manners.... with babies who do not cry and hold off on bowel movements... with siblings who dont argue... with spouses who dont quarrel.... with drinks that are not spilled....with extended family who actually agree on which ballgame to watch or when to cut the pumpkin pie... with perfection in every way.

When emotions are high and expectations are unmet, we can immediately morph into a Peppermint Patti if we are not careful - a person who gives thanks with their mouths, but not with their hearts and actions.

I want to leave you with two challenges as you wake up on Thanksgiving morning this year:

(1) Commit to prayer. Not just before you eat, but all day long, thanking God for all the things that you are blessed with, big and small. Take nothing for granted and pray from the heart.

(2) Commit to carry that mindset of prayer thoughout the day as your foundation for unshakable gratitude. When the day does not go exactly as desired, focus on exhibiting a heart of love, in all situations -- even if popcorn is the main side dish. Smiles.

Thanksgiving is not a holiday, but a holy attitude.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thankful For Undeserved Blessings

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving has rolled around again. Next week, millions of people will focus on being thankful for their blessings, because of the designated day that prompts us all to exhibit gratitude.

But is one day really enough? Did God orchestrate a day of Thanksgiving through the picnic of the Pilgrims long ago, so that we would remember to be thankful for at least one day?

I think not. Thanksgiving is a day to celebrate God's goodness, but it should not be the only day we intentionally do so.

True gratitude is a lifestyle, not a holiday.

Recently as I was making out my grocery list and preparing for our family gatherings next week, I felt God nudge my spirit, and had this overwhelming desire to stop what I was doing, and simply say thank you.

I laid down my pen, and took a moment to chat with God, thanking Him for all the people and blessings in my life that were far too many to count. Yet, as I made my mental gratitude list, a question began to plague my thoughts.

Why has God blessed me so? What have I done to deserve His goodness? What did I ever do to warrant any mercy or grace from God? Not that I don't have problems in my life or issues to resolve, but overall, I am truly blessed...... why?

As I pondered these questions, I was reminded of how undeserving I really am. My thoughts began to wander to all the not-so-pretty parts of 'me' and my life overall.

I am not always a patient mom. I am not always a loving wife. I am not always the best daughter, sister, friend, or neighbor. I have sins in my past, and my present, as I fail daily in big and little ways, falling so short of the glory of God. Sometimes bitterness, resentment, discontentment, and jealousy reside in my heart. I do not always make God a priority as I run through my busy days.

I became acutely aware that I definitely deserved nothing from God. And that thought compelled me to pour out love and gratitude for my Lord even more.

This moment with God was prompted by something I had done a few weeks earlier. I had entered "Thanksgiving" as a recurring daily appointment into the calendar on my cell phone, so that each day, the calendar reminder would pop up on my screen as a  visual reminder.

I didn't need a reminder about when Thanksgiving was going to occur, but about what Thanksgiving was to be about. 

You see, in that recurring calendar reminder, I had not only typed in the word "Thanksgiving", but also included the verse Hebrews 12:28a.

Hebrews 12:28 says this from The Message Bible, "Do you see what we've got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God."

The New Living Translation says it this way: "Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe."

Sometimes in the busyness of life, I lose sight of what I am supposed to be seeing. I forget what I have and what God has really given me, when I become distracted by problems, worry or negative feelings.

I tend to focus on being thankful for the tangible blessings I enjoy, but inadvertently forget to be thankful for all the intangible blessings that God has offered, like peace, hope, grace, mercy, forgiveness and eternal life.

All of which are much undeserved.

We have a kingdom and a God that cannot be shaken, no matter how much our life seems to be shaken up. We have a God whose blessings pour out every day, even when we fall short of His glory in more than ways than one.

If you ask me, those are certainly reasons to be thankful all year long.

Recently I read a blog post about a man who keeps a small rock in his pocket every where he goes. Each time he puts his hands in his pocket and feels the rock, he is reminded to thank God for at least one thing.

What do you do, or what can you begin  doing, to help you remember to be thankful for undeserved blessings?