Christmas Rundown (12.25.09)

• What God is teaching me and reminding me of this Christmas:
  
  
  
  • He is completely SOVEREIGN -- God took 1000s of years to bring His Son into humanity and into history; He used a pagan ruler, a full inn, an manger, and a virgin. Nothing falls outside of God's sovereignty and nothing trumps His ultimate plan.
    
    
    
    • I am resting in His sovereignty in our adoption process and for RBCC in 2010.
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • Waiting on God is hard but definitely worth it -- The Jews went 400 years without any prophetic word from God (the time from Malachi to Matthew in our Bibles). Then John the Baptist and Jesus burst onto the scene. The Scriptures report that Jesus came when the "time had fully come."
    
    
    
    • I struggle with patience ... patience with myself, with others, and with executing plans. Adoption has revealed this struggle in a big way and yet, I sense God smoothing those rough edges of my character to be a bit more conformed to His Son. AND at the end of the day, I know from the Bible and from personal experience that waiting on God is worth it!!
    
    
    
    
  
  
  • Passion for Christ can sometimes wane and must be rekindled -- life, sin, temptation, struggle, criticism all zap our passions.
    
    
    
    • Recently, I've felt mine wane. Then we had our last staff meeting of the year this week and we all confessed our weakened passion. Then a team member said, "The stuff we do is life or death." Think about that ... Jesus did NOT come to create Santa Claus or so we could have an excuse to overeat. Jesus came to die for us so that we do not have to experience spiritual death, so that we could be made right with God. The message of Jesus is of ultimate importance. This conviction sustains and strengthens my passion!
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  
  
  
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    • I wrote down 3 things that I want to fuel my passion for exalting Christ in 2010:
      
      
      
      • The Gospel is the power of salvation for ALL who believe ... we must share it boldly!!
      
      
      • God's love is unfailing ... we must live it out sacrificially!
      
      
      • The hope of God does not disappoint ... we must offer it consistently!!
      
      
      • God's wisdom is the only true way to navigate life ... we must teach it unapologetically!!
      
      
      
      
    
    
    
    
  
  
  
  


• Onto a few other things --
  
  
  
  • My 2 favorite meals of the year are literally 12 hours apart: Christmas Eve dinner with Beth's family and Christmas breakfast with mine :)
  
  
  • Beth & I will be taking some time off this season and I don't think I've ever needed it more. God is stirring my heart with so many things that I need some time just to be still and focus.
  
  
  • We are still waiting word on our adoption. We were told we would wait 1-10 months before receiving a referral. We have been waiting 7 1/2.
  
  
  • May everyone have a Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!