Christmas Love

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.

 Luke 2:14

Mary heard the shepherds account of the angels regarding the birth of Jesus and she "treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." Mary, a mom, remembered and cherished these moments. 

The middle candle on the Advent wreath, the LOVE candle, reminds us of Jesus. 

This week, make a pact with your family to treasure and ponder Jesus. 

Bring Jesus into your home through your conversation and actions. Be blessed... because you are! Be a blessing...because you can! Glory to God in the highest. Amen and Amen.

How did you include Jesus in Christmas? How do you plan to  keep Christmas love, joy, hope, and faith alive throughout 2013?

Christmas Bread

Joy is the fourth candle on the Advent Wreath.
Make a pact with your family to be joyFILLed this week. 
Jesus is coming!

Now we break this bread together

Lord be with us here today

Make our lives your home forever

In Jesus name we pray.

Thank you for all you've given us

and on this special night

We share the gift of your son Jesus

Truly born in love's pure light.

Such a gift beyond all knowing

We are humbled in His sight

To live our lives like candles glowing

Our purpose to reflect His light.

So now we start but without merit

Lord please show us the way

Grant us your grace so we inherit

Christ, our bread, on Christmas day.

Amen.

*******

                                      ....Rockman, 12/24/90

Merry Christmas. From my home to yours. Blessings.
~Lori
       Miss you, Pops.

A Prayer for the Newtown Families

Here is a prayer we can pray on behalf of the Newtown families.

Father,

We know You are near. Lord God, show Yourself. Each day, let these heart-broken parents and family members see, hear, smell, touch or feel one thing that shows you are near. They need Your comfort. Your compassion. Your closeness. We know you will not leave them  in their time of great sorrow. Let them know you are beside them, holding them,  listening to them, weeping with them, carrying them. You are close to the brokenhearted.
Come Lord Jesus.

Amen

My mom heart aches.

It cries for you. 

It cries for your unimaginable loss.

 "I'm sorry" falls so short. 

Few words found, many tears come.

I want to hug you, to cry with you, to sit beside you.  

Yet...down on my knees is where the need is met. 

I will pray for you.

~Lori Wildenberg

The Birth of Hope

The day my dad died, Hope was born.  Hope, a beautiful baby girl, my cousin Jim's fifth child. Jim is my Dad and Mom's nephew and Godkid. How poetic that God ushers in one life while bringing another home. My Dad's hospital room was just a couple floors below the birthing room in the same hospital. How like God to make sure we didn't miss the miracle of hope- the reminder of new life and eternal life. The day I let go of my Dad's hand was the same day I held a new life. Hope. 

On the third week of Advent make a pact with your family to hold onto hope. 

Hope...is what baby Jesus brings to a world in desperate need of him. Hope...what a crucified Jesus brings to sinful man. Hope...what  resurrected Jesus brings to a dying man. Hope...what Jesus, the coming King, brings to a broken world. 

The cradle, the cross, and the crown are all pictures of hope. 

Jesus... our Hope for a future- an eternal, heavenly future.

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 

In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so I would have told you.

I am going there to prepare a place for you; and if I go and prepare a place for you, 

I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 

You know the way to the place where I am going. 

John 14:1-4

How do you model hope to your children?

6 Actions to Help Kids Deal with the Newtown Tragedy

Dear Friends,

The news of the Newtown massacre in Connecticut shook us all. Becky (my ministry partner) and I are heart-broken for each family directly affected by the shooting. We mourn with you. We pray for you.  We are both in a place of disbelief – nothing is sacred or off limits to evil.

Becky and I are both former elementary school teachers and more importantly both moms. This news takes a direct hit to our hearts. In our grief we want to reach out and help.

We have come up with a short list of six actions parents can implement during this terrible time.

      1. Turn off the television. It adds to the anxiety.

      2. Be calm and be present with your children. Their world has been rocked. They are looking to mom and dad to provide the security that has just been shaken. It is appropriate and good for your kids to see you are saddened by this but avoid showing BIG emotion.

      3. Don’t feed their fear, try to quell it. Maintain your normal routine but be sensitive. If your child is afraid make reasonable accommodations.

      4.  Be honest about the event but be wise in how much you share. You are the parent.You know your child best. Take his age and personality into consideration. Listen to his questions and answer what has been asked, avoid giving lots of detail. Listening is more important than talking.

      5.  If you can move your child to the place of helping others, he will be less likely to fearfully focus on his own situation.  (Possibly raising money to help remodel the school.)

      6. Pray with your child. Take your concerns to the Lord.

Hang with your kids and hug your kids. 

They need your time and your affection.  Just between us parents, the awful truth is we can’t always keep our kids physically safe so we must make sure they are ready…spiritually ready. Invite Jesus into your home today.

For God so loved the world...

Shalom,

Lori & Becky

Keep the Faith

Faith is the second candle on the Advent wreath. It follows the promise candle. First the promise then the faith-the belief the promise will be fulfilled. Faith is believing without seeing. Faith, as Phillip Yancey says, "Only make sense in reverse." 

This week the second week of Advent, make a family pact to focus on faith.

This is a great opportunity to read through the Bible's heroes in Hebrew 11- The Hall of Faith.The men and women listed in this summary of the Old Testament were real people with real flaws but all had a strong faith. They each had an against the odds type of faith. The kind of faith Mary demonstrated when the angel told her she "was with child" even though she was a virgin. The kind of faith Joseph had when, in a dream, an angel told him to take Mary home to be his wife. Initially both were afraid, yet both believed.

Faith depends on the elements of steadfastness and courage.  Faith is not a wimpy response to a situation. Sometimes people of faith stand alone.

Encourage your kids to be able to articulate what they believe and why. Christmas is the perfect time of year to discuss the foundations of  faith. 

How do you set the tone for spiritual growth in your family?

 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 

Hebrews 11:1

I Promise

The first candle on the Advent Wreath represents The Promise- the promise of the Messiah. A savior who, the prophets said, would bring peace and love to a broken world.

God made good on his promise. Jesus, the bread of life,  was born in Bethlehem, the house of bread. God is faithful to bring about that which He says He will.

This week, the first week of Advent, make a family pact to focus on integrity.

Talk about how God is a promise keeper and He is our best example. Show what being a person of your word looks like. Be honorable in the small things as well as the big things. By following through with what you say you will do, trust will increase. If your child says, "Hey, let's play a game together." And you respond with, "In a minute." Mean it. Get back to your child in short order and play that game.

When God brought his promise to fruition He announced it with a multitude of angels and a bright star. The event was worthy of a huge celestial celebration! When you follow through with or your child carries out a promise- point it out- so the teachable moment doesn't quietly pass by. "Okay! Let's play. I told you we'd play in a minute and that minute is up. You are important to me and I want to honor you with my words and actions."

Your child will feel valued and you will have increased your "trust factor".

Making and keeping promises or making and breaking promises. We have a choice. If we want to build the quality of honesty in our children and  encourage their trust in us we must be faithful and true to our word. Faithfulness is demonstrated and trust is birthed when the promise becomes a reality. Even when that reality is born in a manger!

So how are you doing in the trustworthy department? Are you true to your word? Do your kids believe what you say?

Wait for the LORD, be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

Psalm 27:9