There Is More To This Life...

Kids  have trouble seeing the big picture. They sometimes have trouble seeing beyond this moment in time. That is because they are kids and that is how the mind works before maturity teaches us to look down the road or outside of our own little world. I imagine it would be pretty overwhelming to see all that there is to see to a little mind that is still in awe of what currently surrounds them.

As we grow in our faith and travel closer to God we begin to realize that there is more to this life than this life, however, we still need to be reminded. Our lives get full and busy and exhausting and just trying to make it to the end of the day is all we can manage to focus on. But when our focus is on today we lose sight of what really matters. The life we are living here and now is for nothing more than to honor God and bring the eyes of those around us to His greatness. There really is more to this life than this life.

How does this reality play out at home? How are we preparing our children to live with eternity in their sights? Well, the simple answer is, if we are simply focused on making it through the day or the week or the month; getting all the tasks checked off our list; keeping food on the table; making it to all the lessons, meets and meetings; making our bonus at work; paying all the bills; packing lunches and checking homework… then we are not teaching them anything about keeping eternity in their sights.  We are teaching them to exist and be busy and to cover the basics of human life on this planet and forfeiting the most important lesson of all: living in preparation to meet Jesus.

This time of year we reflect on the coming Messiah; Savior of the world. As you walk your children through the story of that first Christmas, be reminded of the reason for His coming; to reconcile all of us to our Creator. That is the reason for Christmas. That is the reason He created us. If walking with Him has lost significance in your life then you are likely living as though you believe there is no more to life than this life. Children will learn to live as they see you live.

As you prepare for the season of Advent, remember to show the children that there IS more to this life than this life and that every day we can live like we are preparing to welcome a living God into our homes. We can give with more joy. We can live with less stress. We can speak with more kindness. We can look with less judgment. We can see with more compassion. Then we will begin to demonstrate for our children what it looks like to live like there is more to this life than this life.

Blessed

As I look back to the beginning of 2015, I seem to recall that I felt very poor. We were either recovering from huge repair bills or racking up new ones! New well, new septic, new stovetop, new water softener, new drainage ditch, furnace threatening to quit on a regular basis; dryer chewing our clothes to bits, roof leaking, windows leaking… We were wondering what would break next and how in the world we would pay for it! We were seriously thinking we couldn’t afford to stay in our home and needed to earnestly consider selling.

Now, my husband has always been a great handyman. There is not much that baffles him when it comes to fixing things so I have seldom had to pay someone else to make repairs around the house, but these problems were bigger than he could tackle…especially since he was always tired. Midway through the year, we found out why. A heart cath revealed that he had 100% blockage in two of the 3 major arteries and an 80% and a 90% in others. This discovery led to a 6 bypass operation, from which he recovered marvelously… until the week he went back to work when he spiked a fever and ended up in the hospital with an acute infection in his leg where veins had been harvested for the bypass surgery. This required 3 additional surgeries and 10 more days in the hospital.

Considering how the year started and my frame of mind facing all those bills for home repairs, you would likely surmise that I was seriously depressed over the medical bills that were piling up. Strangely, through those days in the hospital and throughout the recovery process, the feelings of gloom and doom I had felt during the winter months were replaced with praise. God had spared Dana’s life. He had given me the greatest gift I could imagine, considering the likelihood of losing my husband to a massive heart attack if they hadn’t performed the surgeries. Through the medical journey to likely over $1 million in services (before insurance), I have been feeling blessed. The only way I can explain that to you is that I found out that I am surrounded by wonderful people who care deeply about others and want to stand in the gap, lift others up in prayer and lend a helping hand. In the last couple of months, as friends and family came to our aid, we received cards, prayers, money, meals and assistance beyond what we felt worthy to accept.

A truly amazing experience was when Mill Creek Church sent over 30 strong bodies to put a roof on our house. Every time I went outside to check the progress, my eyes filled with tears watching these wonderful people give time and energy to do a really tough job on a cold and windy October weekend. I love to be on the giving end, so this was a totally humbling experience for me. I deserved none of this and all was given to me with loving hearts and smiling faces. It was overwhelming!

I am RICH!  And God is faithful! And His people are amazing! If I have learned anything in 2015 it is the importance of being available for God to use me to bless others and, no matter how painful it is, I will be humble and receive blessings from others when I am in need.

Be careful not to load up your calendar, deplete your bank account, spend all your energy on things that will not bring blessings to those in need. Show them the love of Jesus by living RICH!

It Really Is Better To Give

How many times have you heard a child ask, after tearing through a small mountain of gifts, “Is that all?” No matter how many they get, they seem to always be looking for more. Why? Well, if I asked you how much money you want to make next year I seriously doubt that you would give me a total that would be less or the same as the amount you made this year. We seem to be doing a fairly good job of modeling wanting more for our kids. Sad, but true.

Last week I picked up a little snowman holding a chalk board that said “_____ days ‘til Christmas” for my granddaughter. The countdown is on for all the magic of Christmas in the eyes of an 8 year-old. As I saw the excitement in her eyes, I kept thinking how nice it would be if they made the chalk board read, “__ days ‘til Jesus birthday.” Maybe then our focus could be on the gifts we could bring to Him rather than the list our children prepare for Santa.

What if our advent calendar didn’t supply a piece of candy every day, but a thoughtful gesture or helpful deed they could do in preparation for the coming of the Christ Child?

What if our family searched for people who were in need and delivered a sack of groceries to their door on the way home from the store?

What if our children were trained to notice the child on the playground with no gloves or a coat that no longer zips and brought home that information so you could anonymously purchase one for them?

What if we replaced a storm door for the neighbor whose door dangled from a broken hinge, or raked the yard, or shoveled the walk?

What if we had a regular night every month that was designated as an M25 day (Matthew 25:40) when we would, as a family or a group of families, be on mission to help “the least of these?”

Here’s the bottom line: A child who learns to want things for themselves will never have enough, but a child who learns to see the needs of others and reach out in love, will find contentment. This year, focus on the needs of the world. You learn the joy of being rich when you give to those in need.

By the way… it’s only 43 days til Jesus Birthday. 

Be Rich!

Don’t you just love being rich? Every day you get to put shoes on your kids feet as you send them off to school to get an education that many children around the world cannot afford. Every day you eat food that you didn’t have to dig out of a dumpster. Every day you get to drink as much clean water as you want. Every day you get into a vehicle to travel from point A to point B. Every day you can wear a different outfit… for how many days running????

We are truly rich, monetarily speaking, compared to most of the world. If your combined family income is $44,000 a year you are in the top 1% in the world. That may not feel rich to you, but compared to most of the world, you are living in the lap of luxury! Growing accustomed to having what we need at all times and what we want most of the time is causing an epidemic of entitlement with our children and grandchildren.

How do we live in America, provide for our families and NOT raise children that expect everything to be handed to them? Maybe it begins with letting them see the rest of the world. Don’t shelter them from the needs of others. Allow them to make the choice to give to others. Choose a charity and support it as a family. Be willing to make sacrifices, even if it is sticking a frozen pizza into the oven rather than having one delivered….wearing knockoffs instead of Nike...or getting water at a restaurant rather than soft drinks…or settling for only a few new outfits when school starts…or having less gifts under the tree. Make the kids aware of the savings THEN TAKE THAT SAVINGS AND INVEST IT IN THE LIFE OF SOMEONE IN NEED!

Let these examples get your wheels of generosity turning... 

I know a little girl who, on her 11^th birthday, asked for anyone who intended to buy her a gift, to just give her the cash they would have spent so that she could give it to an orphanage in Guatemala. She is learning to live with a world view rather than looking at herself as the center of the stage.

I heard a father say that he is considering forgoing the traditional family vacation and rather take his kids to a third world country to open their hearts to the needs of the world.

I know of a father that gives all his children a mission trip with him as a graduation gift. What a great way to prepare them for all they will experience in college in the coming years.

I know of a family who gives small Christmas gifts so that they can give a needy village a goat or a chicken or a cow or…. in honor of the one they would normally give a nicer gift.

Take an honest look at your Christmas gift list. How many people on that list NEED something from you? Probably very few. Why? Because we are RICH! We just haven’t learned to admit it. As we approach the holiday season, remember to Be Rich! Don’t just talk the talk, but walk the walk. Learn to live generously and be intentional as you teach your kids to live unselfishly. 

"Teach those who are rich in this world (um... that's us) 

not to be proud and not to trust in their money, 

which is so unreliable. 

Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. 

Tell them to use their money to do good. 

They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need,

 always being ready to share with others.

1 Timothy 6:17-18 nlt