#livingboldlyinabrokenworld

Cultivating a Christmas in Everyday Life Mindset

Well, it’s January. Time to move on to the next thing, right?

Nope. Nope. Nope.

I’m going to throw out something really crazy: Just because December is over doesn’t mean Christmas is over.

We have decorations that we only put out at Christmas, food that we only eat at Christmas, and music we listen to only at Christmas. So it’s easy to see why we might feel like the Christmas story is only for Christmas.

We spend December celebrating THAT Jesus came. During our other days we walk in the WHY He came.

Why DID He come?

He came to be with us in our after-December-days, in our after-the-holidays-moments, in our this-is-so-messed-up struggles.

This is important to remember because if He is with us in these days, moments, and struggles, then we are not alone.

God knew that we could not navigate life in this world on our own without being crushed by the brokenness. We need God with us, we need His power living and working in us, we need His grace, His forgiveness, His redemption.

We need Him and He is with us, in every moment, in every situation. This is Christmas in Everyday life.

What does a Christmas in Everyday Life mindset look like?

Does it mean we wear Christmas sweaters year-round? Keep our decorations up? Do something really crazy and make peanut brittle or fruit cake in April?

We could, but that’s not really what it’s about.

A Christmas in Everyday Life mindset is one that believes that “God with us” is true in every moment, every situation.

It means praying prayers that are honest like, I don’t know what to do. I need Your help. I need wisdom.

Your Word says You are with me, but I’ve never felt more alone. Please teach me how to see you in my everyday life.

The manger is empty which tells us Jesus knows what it is like to walk through this broken world. He KNOWS.

The cross is empty because Jesus broke the hold sin and death have on us. He broke the brokenness of this world and began the process of making things right.

Because of this truth, we can walk through our days looking for the ways that God is with us. Looking for His fingerprints.

The definition of a fingerprint is “A unique pattern that presents distinctive evidence of a specific person.”

In mysteries, a fingerprint at a crime scene puts the person at the scene. In the same way, when we learn to look for God’s fingerprints we will see evidence that He is with us all the time.

It is something that we have to learn to do.

God often reaches out to us through the people in our lives.

My daughter has had a rough week. One of her friends called to check on her. And another came by with a hug and a gift. Those friends and the way they love my girl are God’s fingerprints in her life. They let her know she is not alone in her rough days.

He also speaks to us through His Word. Even if it’s just for a few minutes, reading God’s Word helps us get to know God and to see His hand in our life.

2 ways to Cultivate a Christmas in Everyday Mindset

Keep one Christmas decoration out that reminds you that God is with you. I chose a large ornament that has “O Come Let Us Adore Him” in beautiful script. It is hanging where I will see it every day.

Look for His fingerprints in your days and write it down. I created a place to list the ways you see His fingerprints in your everyday life. Writing down helps us remember. It also gives us a record to go back and look at on the days when we are discouraged or weighed down.

So, while the world marches on to the next thing, can we pause for a moment?

Can we ask God to help us see that He is with us?

Because if we begin to see His fingerprints in the moments of our days, we will begin to believe that we are not alone.

And when we believe that we are not alone, we will begin to live life differently – we will walk through our days with peace in our hearts and bold hope in our steps.

Better Than Wishes

Are you feeling Corona weary these days?

I asked that question during Mug to Mug a few weeks ago, and I was met with a resounding YES!!!

These days I can relate to the moment in The Lord of the Rings when Frodo admitted to Gandalf “I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.”

We could fill in Frodo’s statement with many, many things from our own lives, couldn’t we?

“I wish _______ had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.”

J.R.R. Tolkien began writing The Lord of the Rings during World War I. I can imagine that this thought came to mind as he crouched in trenches, fought, and lost friends in battles.

In fairy tales wishes are made and granted all the time. Sometimes the wishes have strings attached, or the things wished for aren’t really what is best. Characters in fairy tales, and people in real life, make wishes based on comfort level, and on what is seen.

Thankfully, we have something far better than wishes. We have God’s promises. God’s promises are made with the very best for us in mind and they take into account future events that we have no way of knowing.

So what do we do when our wishes don’t match with His promises? When the working out of His promises in our life doesn’t look anything like we thought it would?

We place our trust in the unchanging nature and character of God.

We seek out comfort and avoid conflict, but God often calls us into situations and places that are uncomfortable and filled with conflict. He brings us into places where all we can do is trust Him. Maybe He knows that in trusting Him, we will know Him more deeply. And that, besides seeing us face to face, is His heart’s desire.

Take a moment to read this beautiful description of the intersection between our wishes and His precious promises.

My Wishes and His Promises
God has promised me His eternal life, but not a long life.
God has promised me perfect health on the new earth, but not on this earth.
God has promised me His comfort, but not a life without pain.
God has promised me His righteousness, but not righteous people.
God has promised me His home in heaven, but not a house on earth.
God has promised me His wedding feast, but not a spouse.
God has promised me His joy, but not a life without sorrow.
God has promised me His justice, but not human justice.
God has promised me His power, but not a life without weakness.
God has promised me His sufficiency, but not a life with no needs.
God has promised me His wisdom, but not a life without questions.
God has promised me His guidance, but not a life without confusion.
God has promised me His victory, but not a life without conflict.
God has promised me His presence, but not a life without loneliness.
God has promised me His vengeance, but not a life without forgiving.
God has promised me His grace, but not a life without repentance.
God has promised me His blessing, but not a life without obedience.
God has promised me His reward, but not a life without a race.
God has promised me His love, but not a life without rejection.
God has promised me His peace, but not a life without turmoil.
God has promised me His faithfulness, but not a life without faith.
Peter Reid, General Director of Torchbearers International (Jan.2020)

Let’s Talk! Where you are hanging on more tightly to your wishes than to His promises? Are those the areas in your life you have trouble trusting God with?

What are your thoughts on this quote by Dietrich Bonhoeffer ? “God sent His Son not to fulfill my wishes, but His promises.”

If you would like an artsy copy of “My Wishes and His Promises” click here to get one designed by @themakingsofjoy. Then run over to Instagram and see what else she does. She’s one talented lady!

When God and Granny Clampett Agree on Vittles

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you.” Psalm55:22

On the Beverly Hillbillies, Granny was always offering people vittles, and usually the description of said vittles made people turn up their noses. But Granny’s heart was in the right place. She knew people needed food to live, and she loved providing for them.

Did you know that God gives us vittles too? Ok, it’s actually spelled victuals, though still pronounced vittles. But in Psalm 55:22, when it says He will sustain you, the word for sustain carries the idea of nourishing us, giving us food or provision. You know, victuals.

When he sustains us, He doesn’t give us just enough to keep our head above the water, He gives what we need to walk boldly in this broken world. He knows the difficulty of navigating circumstances and relationships. He walked through this world, and He understands.

How does that hit you today? Are you feeling overwhelmed, lost, or unseen? When we give our burdens to the Lord, He will hold us, guide us, hear us, be present with us.

And the word for cast? It carries the idea of throwing, hurling, to throw out, down, or away. It’s a very active word. The Lord invites us to hurl our burdens on him. To throw them away from us. To stop trying to carry them.

Casting our burdens on the Lord means we are trading the heaviness in our soul for abundant nourishment for our soul. We are trading anxiety for peace. We are trading fear for trust.

Casting off and trusting in God takes courage. It takes believing that God is who He says He is, and that He will keep His promise to sustain.

When we fling our arms out wide to cast our burdens on the Lord, we are then free to wrap our arms around Him. We cast so that we can cling.

As we cling to Him, He wraps His strong arms around us, and sustains us in every sense of the word. He isn’t stingy, like we sometimes secretly believe he is. He gives like a loving parent. He gives the vittles our soul needs in the deepest places.

#livingboldlyinabrokenworld isn’t easy, but it is possible. When storms swirl all around us, it’s difficult to keep our eyes fixed on God’s truth. I’ve gathered the truths that help me through the storms of life into a pdf, Truths that Anchor in the Storm. These verses aren’t lifeboats, pulling me out of the storm, they are anchors to help me stand inside the storm. I hope they will help you as well. Click on the side bar to receive your copy today.