OneVOICE Babble

Holiday Survival 101, part 13. Merry Christmas!

What matters.

Today as we celebrate “SweetBabyJesus”, we must also remember that He was a man!

From the cradle in a manger to the cross on Calvary, Jesus came to earth, humbled Himself to the point of death, serving as a sacrifice for my sins and yours. He was resurrected and one day that same Jesus is coming back to judge the living and the dead and will be chauffeuring those of us who believe in Him to His after-party in Paradise—FOREVER. Mmmm…yes, please! :)

Call me crazy but this reminds me (once again) of the movie Elf:

The manager of the store where Buddy is working says, “Okay people, tomorrow morning, 10AM, Santa’s coming to town.” Buddy responds by screaming, “SANTAAA! OH MY GOD! Santa’s Coming! I know him. I KNOW HIM!!”

Why was Buddy so excited? Because he KNEW Santa. He belonged to Santa. Buddy was one of Santa’s elves!

Similarly, Jesus is our great Shepherd and we are His sheep. His children. His beloved. We belong to Him! And He desires to know us…not that we just know about Him…but know Him. Personally. Intimately.

Buddy knew Santa because he had spent every day with him, talked to him, grew up with him. If we knew Jesus, like Buddy knew Santa, we should be just as excited at the thought of His visit!

Tonight I took some moments to sit in silence. As I thought about the things I share with you, I must humbly admit I don’t consider Jesus’ return nearly as often as I should. 

But now, reflecting on the life of Christ this Christmas—from His birth to His death to His resurrection and to the hope we have of Him coming back—well, it makes me want to live differently. 

It makes me want to treat my time, my thoughts, my money, my words, and the people in my life, better, wiser, more prayerfully, more passionately. I need to treat them in whatever way is going to make a difference in God’s Kingdom. Not how it will make a difference for me, but for eternity. 

So here I am, realizing if my boss told me that Jesus was “coming tomorrow, 10am” I know exactly what I would get crack-a-lackin on!  And that scenario in my head of what I would go straight to work on reveals to me the things that truly matter. 

As we celebrate Christmas we are reminded that Jesus was also called Emmanuel which means God with us. Even if Jesus doesn’t choose to return for us tomorrow, He is here among us now. His Word is living and breathing. His Spirit is able to dwell within us.

So, let’s make this Christmas matter by connecting with the One who came to earth for your freedom, life and wholeness. Live for the One who died for you. I want to connect with, live for and know Jesus so intimately that I respond to His name, just as Buddy the Elf responded to the name of Santa: jumping, squealing, screaming, smiling, unable to contain excitement.

He loves you and wants you to join His party this holiday…and He wants to add your name to His VIP list for the eternal afterparty!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, MY FRIENDS!

THANKS FOR JOINING ME IN THIS JOURNEY TOGETHER!!

Holiday Survival 101, part 10

Just a couple quick ones today…

Understand your priorities. Know your personal limits. Set boundaries with respect to both this week.

Remember: it can be good and healthy to say “no” to others. And it can be good and healthy to say “yes” to yourself.

And, lastly, SMILE…for no good reason!

If someone asks, “Why are you smiling like that?” Answer like our good friend Buddy the Elf: “I just like to smile. Smiling’s my favorite.” And call it good.

:)

Holiday Survival: BONUS Day 13

What matters.

From the cradle in a manger to the cross on Calvary, Jesus came to earth, humbled Himself to the point of death, serving as a sacrifice for my sins and yours. He was resurrected and one day that same Jesus is coming back to judge the living and the dead and will be chauffeuring those of us who believe in Him to His after-party in Paradise—FOREVER. Mmmm…yes, please! :)

Call me crazy but this reminds me (once again) of the movie Elf:

The manager of the store where Buddy is working says, “Okay people, tomorrow morning, 10AM, Santa’s coming to town.” Buddy responds by screaming, “SANTAAA! OH MY GOD! Santa’s Coming! I know him. I KNOW HIM!!”

Why was Buddy so excited? Because he KNEW Santa. He belonged to Santa. Buddy was one of Santa’s elves!

Similarly, Jesus is our great Shepherd and we are His sheep. His children. His beloved. We belong to Him! And He desires to know us…not that we just know about Him…but know Him. Personally. Intimately.

Buddy knew Santa because he had spent every day with him, talked to him, grew up with him. If we knew Jesus, like Buddy knew Santa, we should be just as excited at the thought of His visit!

Tonight I took some moments to sit in silence. As I thought about the things I share with you, I must humbly admit I don’t consider Jesus’ return nearly as often as I should. 

But now, reflecting on the life of Christ this Christmas—from His birth to His death to His resurrection and to the hope we have of Him coming back—well, it makes me want to live differently. 

It makes me want to treat my time, my thoughts, my money, my words, and the people in my life, better, wiser, more prayerfully, more passionately. I need to treat them in whatever way is going to make a difference in God’s Kingdom. Not how it will make a difference for me, but for eternity. 

So here I am, realizing if my boss told me that Jesus was “coming tomorrow, 10am” I know exactly what I would get crack-a-lackin on!  And that scenario in my head of what I would go straight to work on reveals to me the things that truly matter. 

As we celebrate Christmas we are reminded that Jesus was also called Emmanuel which means God with us. Even if Jesus doesn’t choose to return for us tomorrow, He is here among us now. His Word is living and breathing. His Spirit is able to dwell within us.

So, let’s make this Christmas Eve matter by connecting with the One who came to earth for your freedom, life and wholeness. Live for the One who died for you. I want to connect with, live for and know Jesus so intimately that I respond to His name, just as Buddy the Elf responded to the name of Santa: jumping, squealing, screaming, smiling, unable to contain excitement.

He loves you and wants you to join His party this holiday…and He wants to add your name to His VIP list for the eternal afterparty!

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE, MY FRIENDS!

THANKS FOR JOINING ME IN THIS JOURNEY TOGETHER!!

Holiday Survival: Day 2

Create new traditions.

A fave quote from one of my fave movies, Elf, goes like this: ”We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corn and syrup.”

Some of us are like Buddy the Elf. We prefer to stick to the same things every holiday season: the same cookies, the same music, the same decorations, the same outings, with the same people, in the same town, year after year. Don’t get me wrong—a good tradition can make the holidays nostalgic, memorable, warm, exciting and fun! But we should acknowledge here that it can make life hard for some, too.

If an old holiday tradition relates you back to a bad memory or maybe a good memory that you are grieving a loss from, then consider taking a break from it this year — or getting rid of the tradition in your holiday plans forever.

Remember: there is no right or wrong way to do the holidays. Make up your own traditions!

If Christmas caroling makes you wanna vom because you did that every year with the family that abused and abandoned you, then this year take some friends to the local homeless shelter and serve a meal instead. Or visit with some lonely grammas and grampas in your town’s assisted living center. Instead of taking a full weekend to bake your Great-Aunt Yolanda’s famous cut-out cookies, go for a long walk with a friend, build a ginormous snowman with your kids, or get tickets for the Nutcracker Ballet.

As you create new positive associations with the holidays, you can replace the negative ones, turning a horrible holiday season into a happier one.

Do you have a favorite tradition? Or recommendations for survivors looking for new ideas this year? 

A favorite new tradition for me is curling up with a soft blanket, a cup of hot cocoa and watching ELF — it brings out my high-pitched kid laugh, year after year!

~Nicole

Holiday Survival 101: Day 13, Merry Christmas!

What matters.

I received a text a couple nights ago from a friend—she was giving her daughter a bath when her girl suddenly looked up and said “Jesus is comin, but He not a baby anymo.” This might sound crazy to you, maybe prophetic, possibly neither, but the point is that she was excited…and according to the Word of God, she was also correct!

This weekend we celebrate SweetBabyJesus. But we must also remember that He was a man!

From the cradle in a manger to the cross on Calvary, Jesus came to earth, humbled Himself to the point of death, serving as a sacrifice for my sins and yours. He was resurrected and one day that same Jesus is coming back to judge the living and the dead and will be chauffeuring those of us who believe in Him to His after-party in Paradise—FOREVER. Mmmm…yes, please! :)

I totally get my little friend’s excitement about Jesus return to earth! And it reminded me (once again) of the movie Elf:

The manager of the store where Buddy is working says, “Okay people, tomorrow morning, 10AM, Santa’s coming to town.” Buddy responds by screaming, “SANTAAA! OH MY GOD! Santa’s Coming! I know him. I KNOW HIM!!”

Why was Buddy so excited? Because he KNEW Santa. He belonged to Santa. Buddy was one of Santa’s elves!

Similarly, Jesus is our great Shepherd and we are His sheep. His children. His beloved. We belong to Him! And He desires to know us…not that we just know about Him…but know Him. Personally. Intimately.

Buddy knew Santa because he had spent every day with him, talked to him, grew up with him. If we knew Jesus, like Buddy knew Santa, we should be just as excited at the thought of His visit!

Tonight I took some moments to sit in silence (all but for the congested breathing from this precious infant boy sleeping next to me…poor guy). As I thought about the things I share with you, I must humbly admit I don’t consider Jesus’ return nearly as often as I should. 

But now, reflecting on the life of Christ this Christmas—from His birth to His death to His resurrection and to the hope we have of Him coming back—well, it makes me want to live differently. 

It makes me want to treat my time, my thoughts, my money, my words, and the people in my life, better, wiser, more prayerfully, more passionately. I need to treat them in whatever way is going to make a difference in God’s Kingdom. Not how it will make a difference for me, but for eternity. I want every moment to matter.

So here I am, realizing if my boss told me that Jesus was “coming tomorrow, 10am” I know exactly what I would get crackalackin on ASAP.  And that scenario in my head of what I would go straight to work on reveals to me the things that truly matter. 

As we celebrate Christmas we are reminded that Jesus was also called Emmanuel which means God with us. Even if Jesus doesn’t choose to return for us tomorrow, He is here among us now. His Word is living and breathing. His Spirit is able to dwell within us.

So, let’s make this Christmas Eve matter by connecting with the One who came to earth for your freedom, life and wholeness. Live for the One who died for you. I want to connect with, live for and know Jesus so intimately that I respond to His name, just as Buddy the Elf responded to the name of Santa: jumping, squealing, screaming, smiling, unable to contain excitement.

He loves you and wants you to join His party this holiday…and He wants to add your name to His VIP list for afterparty in eternity!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, MY FRIENDS!

THANKS FOR JOINING ME IN THIS JOURNEY TOGETHER!!

Holiday Survival 101: Day 2

Create new traditions.

A fave quote from one of my fave movies, Elf, goes like this: ”We elves try to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corn and syrup.”

Some of us are like Buddy the Elf, preferring to stick to the same things every holiday season: the same cookies, the same music, the same decorations, the same outings, with the same people, in the same town, year after year. Don’t get me wrong—a good tradition can make the holidays nostalgic, memorable, warm, exciting and fun! But we should acknowledge here that it can make life hard for some, too.

If an old holiday tradition relates you back to a bad memory or maybe a good memory that you are grieving a loss from, then consider taking a break from it this year — or getting rid of the tradition in your holiday plans forever.

Remember: there is no right or wrong way to do the holidays. Make up your own traditions!

If Christmas caroling makes you wanna vom because you did that every year with the family that abused and abandoned you, then this year take some friends to the local homeless shelter and serve a meal instead. Or visit with some lonely grammas and grampas in your town’s assisted living center. Instead of taking a full weekend to bake your Great-Aunt Yolanda’s famous cut-out cookies, go for a walk in the snow, build a ginormous snowman with your kids, or get tickets for the Nutcracker Ballet.

As you create new positive associations with the holidays, you can replace the negative ones, turning a horrible holiday season into a happier one.

Do you have a favorite tradition? Or recommendations for survivors looking for new ideas this year? 

A favorite new tradition for me is curling up with a soft blanket, a cup of hot cocoa and watching ELF — it brings the childlike laughter out of me, year after year!