AN ADVENT DEVOTIONAL

  

This Christmas season I decided to go through the Scripture text of Handel's Messiah as a way of preparing for Jesus' birth.  

What an amazing experience!  

Here is a summary of  what I learned:

Part one: PREPARING FOR CHRISTMAS

1. "Comfort Ye" and "The Glory of the Lord"

Isaiah 40: 1-5

a. Jesus paid for my sins.

b. Keep the focus of Christmas on why He came.

2. "Thus Saith the Lord", "But Who May Abide, " and "He Shall Purify"

Haggai 2:6-7, and Malachi 3:1-3

a. This baby Jesus changes everything whether we accept or deny Him.

b. If we deny Jesus: loss of opportunity/possibility of what the Lord could do in our life, loss of comfort and peace in this life, loss of perspective and guidance for life choices, easier but emptier life, ultimately eternal life versus eternal death

c. Purifying is a painful process: squelching sinful response and choosing Godly response.

3. "Behold A Virgin Shall Conceive" (Recitative)

Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23

a. Jesus was not an ordinary baby- divine conception.

b. This prophecy requires faith to believe.

4. "O Thou That Tellest", "For Behold, Darkness Shall Cover the Earth", "The People That Walked in Darkness",  "and For Unto Us a Child is Born"

Isaiah 40:9, 60:1-3, Isaiah 9:2-6

a.  Have to realize the despair of sin to appreciate the joy of the Messiah.

b. How to Live: Counselor= comfort and strength, Mighty= power and authority, Everlasting= hope and priority, Peace= Love and Interaction with the Lord

5. "There Were Shepherds" (Recitative), "And Lo", "And the Angel Said Unto Them" (Recitative), "And Suddenly", and "Glory to God"

Luke 2:8-14

a. Do I have a powerful life-changing response to the message of Christmas?

6. "Rejoice, Rejoice" and "Then the Eyes of the Blind" (Recitative)

Zechariah 9:9-10 and Isaiah 35:5-6

a. The birth of Jesus should have an impact on the world around us.  

b. How can we help the world know and experience Christ?

c. Jesus brings healing- both physical and spiritual.

7. "He Shall Feed His Flock" and "His Yoke is Easy"

Isaiah 40:11, Matthew 11:28-30

a. We need to love people, not just stand up for the Truth.

b. Jesus brings relief, both physical and spiritual.

c. Jesus helps us do life.

8. "Behold the Lamb of God"

John 1:29

a. Christmas is really about the cross.  We need to connect the dots between the birth of Christ and the death of Christ.

9. "He Was Despised", "Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs", "And With His Stripes", and "All We Like Sheep"

Isaiah 53:3-6, Isaiah 50:6

a. Am I thankful and grateful for what Christ did for me?

10. "All They That See Him", "He Trusted God", and "Thy Rebuke" (Recitative)

Psalm 22:7-8 and Psalm 69:20

a. Cherish the beauty of the birth of Jesus even though the life ahead of Him would be filled with sorrows.

b. His mother Mary had to ponder this and have hope and faith in the Lord's plan.

11. "Behold and See"

Lamentations 1:12

a. Jesus either means something or nothing to you.  Jesus either is the reason for the season or He's not.  You have to make a decision.

12. "He Was Cut Off" and "But Thou Didst Not Leave"

Isaiah 53:8 and Psalm 16:10

a. What is my response to such love?

b. Jesus brings hope.

13. "Life Up Your Heads"

Psalm 24:7-10

a. Don't doubt it: this humble baby is truly King!

14. "Unto Which of the Angels" (Recitative) and "Let All the Angels"

Hebrews 1:5-6

a. Jesus is Lord of All.

15. "Thou Are Gone Up High", "The Lord Gave the Word", "How Beautiful Are the Feet", and "Their Sound is Gone Out"

Psalm 68:11-18 and Romans 10:15-18

a. The undeniable need for us to tell others about Christ.

b. The power of God's word to change lives.

Part Two: RESPONDING TO CHRISTMAS

1. "Why Do the Nations", "Let Us Break Their Bands Asunder", and "He That Dwelleth in Heaven" (Recitative)

Psalm 2:1-4

a. I should be more aware and committed to planting seeds for the Kingdom.  

b. God loves us so much.

2. "Thou Shalt Break Them" and "Hallelujah"

Psalm 2:9, Revelation 19:6, 11:15, and 19:16

a. God's awesomeness

b. Our reverence and adoration for the Lord

3. "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth" and "Since by Man Came Death"

Job 19:25-26 and 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

a. Choosing Christ means hope and assurance and a better perspective on life instead of fear of death and dying.

4. "Behold, I Tell You a Mystery", "The Trumpet Shall Sound", "Then Shall Be Brought to Pass" (Recitative), "O Death, Where is Thy Sting?", and "But Thanks Be to God"

1 Corinthians 15:51-57

a. Encouragement

b. Hope

c. Conviction

5. "Worthy is the Lamb"

Revelations 5:9-14

a. What we should strive for in our worship- this level of adoration and praise.

Handel's Messiah, Instrumental

Click HERE for Instrumental Videos by Song

Handel's Messiah, Singing

Click HERE for the Singing Videos by Song

SO COOL (AND SO SILLY!)

Yesterday the boys' teacher texted me some photos showing the boys typing their research papers.  Yes, you read this right: the boys are working on research papers.  

Ben is studying tigers, and 

Jonah is studying gorillas.  

Yesterday was the day to start typing up the research they have been doing the past few days.  Their teacher got them adapted keyboards and let them type away.  She said they worked very hard to type one sentence, but we are so very proud of that one sentence.  Here are their sentences:

Jonah: Gorillas are cool.

Ben: Tigers are cool.

This brought tears to my eyes.  These little guys get to do the same assignment as their peers.  It may not look the same, but the intent is the same.  I am so proud of the boys and our school!

Now the silly part.  The boys watched Snow White the other day (Yes, we caved and signed up for Disney Plus...)    At lunch time, Jonah came to the table as one of the dwarfs.  I tell you this kid has a future in costume and set design!

       

RELATIONSHIP PEARLS OF WISDOM

Because one of the purposes for this blog is to be digital scrapbook and memory keeper for our children, I wanted to share something that has been a big help for me in dealing with the different relationships in my life- marriage, parent-child, friendship, church family, etc.

Hopefully these pearls of wisdom will help my kids in their relationships both now and in the future.

No. 1:
THERE ARE ALWAYS TWO SIDES 
TO EVERY STORY

The older I get, the more I realize that quite often no one is 100% right and the other person 100% wrong.  Often the truth of what really happened is somewhere between the two versions being told.  To manage conflict and keep peace in a relationship, this is an important thing to keep in mind.  

RELATED BIBLE VERSES 

Proverbs 18:17
In a lawsuit the first to speak seems right,
    until someone comes forward and cross-examines.

Colossians 3:13

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

HUMOROUS BUT MEANINGFUL ILLUSTRATION:

This is not the best resolution video- it is quite old.  But I think this clip from "Everybody Loves Raymond" really captures what often happens when two people disagree.  That is why compromise, forgiveness, understanding and prayer for the Lord's guidance and wisdom is so important when dealing with conflict between two people.  And the ability to find some humor :)

No. 2: ONE MORE PEARL OF WISDOM:

DEAR HUSBAND: A LETTER OF COMMITMENT

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION

This is me each year coming up with the usual list: eat better, exercise more, lose weight, be a better wife, be a better mom, be a better person...

This is generally how I feel about those New Year's resolutions....

Then this morning the following happened to be the verse that came up in the list of "100 Bible Verses of Praise to the Lord" I have been working through the past 2 months.  

I thought it was quite fitting on this 2nd day of the new year 2020.  

This is my New Year's resolution and my prayer for loved ones who are searching but haven't yet accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  

I especially thought it was neat the verse mentions a "new" song and that many will "see" God.  

I pray my "song" this new year will help others "see" the Lord with 2020 vision.  

WHO YOU WOULD CHOOSE? and HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020!

If you wanted to try making a rum cake from scratch with a difficult recipe you never tried before, who would you choose for your helpers?  

Well, I chose these two very special helpers.  

And guess what?  

The cake turned out perfectly, and I didn't need to sample the rum during our baking time- haha!

I thought rum cake could be come a New Year's Tradition.  

Maybe the other part of that tradition will be that the little boys and I are the bakers each year.  

How funny!

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!

TAKING THE TIME TO "LISTEN"

Below is a video of what I found Jonah doing this morning after breakfast.  

One of the skills we have to have in communicating with Jonah is we constantly have to trace back to what we have been talking about.  Chances are something that Jonah heard us say caused him to think about something else, and that something else (or it may be a 2nd or 3rd leap of thought) is what he is currently trying to communicate to us.  

So at breakfast, Jonah and I were "talking" about the Grinch movie.  We finished breakfast, and I was cleaning things up.  Jonah started creating a scene in the living room by our tree.  Then I heard him singing.  When I went over to ask him what he was doing, he said something, but sadly I couldn't understand what he was saying (often our dilemma as Jonah gets more creative).  However, Jonah is getting more resourceful/determined so he proceeded to hunt down the Grinch DVD and excitedly pointed to it.  Then the light bulb went on for me.  

This is what Jonah acted out this morning:

This is the scene from the Grinch movie he was trying to recreate:

With Jonah, it always makes sense once you take the time to understand his context.  

The biggest mistakes one can make when interacting with a nonverbal person is assuming because he can't talk that he doesn't have anything to say.  From experience, we are realizing Jonah has some amazing stories to tell...if we take the time and effort to "listen".