"She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” -Genesis 16:13
Do you ever feel unnoticed at Christmas...
When you search for hours for a gift for someone that gets opened, glanced at, and tossed aside…never one simple "thank you"?
When you see so many spending quality time with family and you have a family member that you miss with every aching breath?
When you spend days shopping for and cooking a meal that draws complaints because this person wanted this, that person wanted that, and none of "this" or "that" is found on the table?
When everyone around you seems to be crazy with merriment and you feel just plain crazy from the stress of the season and life in general?
When you so desire to feel the "joy to the world", "peace on earth", "goodwill toward men", but there is a situation, maybe many situations, causing you so much heartache that those feelings that the songs describe feel nothing short of impossible?
It is so easy to feel unnoticed, unappreciated, unloved in ways both tiny and enormous at Christmastime …scratch that…at ANY time. Somehow the Christmas season can make those feelings bigger than any crowd at the mall, over-the-top lights display, or tree at Rockefeller Center.
How grateful I am that when humans in their imperfect ways forget or choose not to notice us…our efforts, our triumphs, our failures, our pain…our perfect God never takes His eyes off of His children. He knows all. He sees all. He notices all.
There is no better example of this than that very first Christmas that we have all heard so much about.
God noticed Mary. She most likely was not Prom Queen of Bethlehem High School. Her clothes probably were not the finest money could buy. Though she was extraordinarily beautiful inside, we have no account in scripture of what she looked like. But God noticed her and chose her for a task that would bless her, challenge her, and change her in ways she could never fathom.
God noticed Joseph. You would think God would have chosen an earthly king to be the earthly father of the Prince of Peace. But He noticed Joseph, a carpenter with more faith, obedience, and love than any amount of riches, and chose him for a task that would require more heart and humility than human wealth could buy.
God noticed the shepherds. The hard-working guys, men who were not afraid to get their hands dirty, not wealthy but earning an honest living. God noticed them tending their sheep and sent an angel of the Lord to announce that the Lamb of God had been born.
God noticed the magi. Men who were wealthy and powerful, as well as wise and prayerful. You can be poor with no social standing to speak of, rich with more money and influence than you know what to do with, or anywhere in between, and God can and will use you if you allow Him to do so. These men knew where the true power in the world lay, and they laid their riches at His feet.
God noticed King Herod. What??? You mean that villain of the story who plotted to murder the Savior whose birth we rejoice over? Yep, him. God saw Herod and his evil plan. Jesus was meant to die for our sins, but there was no way it was happening before God divined it to come to pass. God notices us whether we are submitting to His will or scheming to interfere with it.
You know what I love about this? All of these people that God noticed, they noticed Him too. Granted some had angels in their bedrooms and offices at work to help them pay attention, they did not turn away from what was revealed to them. Even Herod, who did not notice God and His plan for the amazing blessing they are and worked against them, realized that there was a monumental power at work around him.
So here are my questions for us all, not only during Christmastime, but then too:
1) Will we remember that our God notices us? That He sees our pain, cares about our efforts, and wants to walk us through the good, the bad, and the ugly of this life?
2) Will we notice Him? Will we praise Him for who He is and all that He does? Will we spend time with Him in prayer, in worship, in the reading of His Word? Will we look into His heart and marvel at the unlimited grace, mercy, strength, wisdom, peace, and love to be found there?
3) Will we notice other people? The ones who are hurting, lonely, unappreciated, looked-over, in need? The ones like us, not like us, the ones we don't like? Will we see them as God sees them and seek to meet their needs however we can?
Let's take notice, friends. Because it is nothing short of amazing how He notices us. Just like He saw the residents of Bethlehem that night so long ago, He still sees us. The poor, the rich, the faithless, the faithful, the world in need of a Savior.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for noticing us. Please help us to remember to notice You this season and every season of life. May we also notice a hurting world around us that is in desperate need of You and be faithful to take You to them however we can. Thank you for Jesus, for the manger, for the cross, for the empty grave, and for His residence in our hearts. We love you, Lord. In Jesus's name I pray, Amen!
Monday, December 23, 2013
Monday, December 16, 2013
When You're Sick and Tired of Trying To Do Good…
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." -Galatians 6:9
Some verses in the Bible I read and wonder why God chose to include those words in His magnificent Love Letter/Instruction Manual/Sword/Lamp/Best Book Ever Written a.k.a the Bible. It is not that I doubt His sovereignty or supreme knowledge; I just either do not understand the verse or do not grasp its significance in my life at that time. The above verse is in NO way one of those verses. I do not have to ask the Lord about His reasoning in including this scripture in His Word and await His faithful response. If you are anything like me, you know the answer and do not have to tie up the God-lines with that question either: Galatians 6:9 is there to encourage us not to give up, because it is often monstrously easy to want to do so!
I don't know about you, but I frequently become sick and tired (my version of "weary") of not only doing good, but trying to do good. My intention is not to shock or offend anyone with that statement, but I feel I need to be honest about my struggles in order to grow in Christ myself and hopefully help others to as well. Some of that sick and tired comes from the times we live in, some from lack of spiritual maturity, some from good ol' impatience, some from listening to the devil's Chatty Cathy self too much, some from stressful situations…you get the idea.
Like those times when….
-There is near constant conflict with someone I know despite my best efforts to pray about it, respond to them in a godly way, and tip-toe around the land mines of drama they lay out.
-I get avalanche-style reports of bad news on top of bad news on top of bad news.
-A situation I have prayed about for years seems no closer to being resolved than when I started praying about it.
-Something seems to go wrong with everything I touch in the same 24 hours.
(Disclaimer: I make no claim to being nice all the time, holy half of the time, or perfect anytime. The above examples are simply some of my own personal triggers for weariness. Everyone has their own, and it is quite possible that I am part of someone else's, though I hope not.)
Those are some of the times when I become not only weary, but reach the level red danger zone of giving up. And no one is more excited by that or spurred on by that than Satan himself. So he shows up for a chat…usually when I am at my most tired, my most frustrated…the point where I can almost physically feel my brain bursting with the thoughts that are threatening to head south and out of my mouth. He chimes in with something like, "Why are you wasting your time trying to do good or be good? Where is that getting you? That person still doesn't like you, the bad news is still coming, that situation is still unresolved, and you are still messing up so much. You are not doing any good, and you certainly are not being good. Remember what you said yesterday? Remember what you thought about this situation last night? Would a "good" person say or think that? Why don't you just give up on all that praying, Bible, Jesus stuff? It's so much easier than what you're doing….and it's not like your situation could get much worse anyway."
Oh, he is good at his job alright…LYING. Spinning half-truths into whole lies. "Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible" gives this explanation of the word "weary" in Galatians 6:9: "to be (bad or) weak, i.e. (by implication) to fail (in heart):--faint, be weary." That is exactly the theme running through my example of a Satan-speech above: "You are weak. You have failed in heart. Give up this doing good business, and be bad for a while…or at least kick back and be lazy."
(Note: Please do not misunderstand my quotations of the verse's words "doing good" or use of my own like "being good". This is not about trying to be a "good little boy or girl" or works of the flesh or any of that jazz apart from Christ that gets us nowhere even when we have nothing but the best intentions about it. This is about seeking to do good for God and His Kingdom through His power, according to His instruction, and with bucket loads of His guidance and help.)
Just when the devil has me almost ready to bench my Bible, retire my praying knees, and sit out every game God calls me to play in, I remember something (by God's reminder, not coincidence). There have been times when I became weary and gave up (however temporarily), times when I did quit trying to do good and did my share of bad. Get this: AND THOSE TIMES WERE NOT EASY. Life did not magically turn into a Kay's Jewelry commercial where problems do not exist and diamonds are the size of your fist. In fact, I was quite miserable without the closeness to God I enjoyed when I was seeking to do His will, however imperfectly, and the blessings and anointing that came from it.
So, there, Satan. Doing good IS tough. It IS something that requires patience, endurance, and Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. It IS often easy to want to give up on. BUT IT IS WORTH IT. And God Himself through the words of the apostle Paul says that "…at the proper time we WILL reap a harvest if we do not give up." So, I won't…not permanently. You may succeed in convincing me to momentarily at times, but I have read the Book, and I know Who wins in the end. I am on His side, weary or not.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank You for the reminder in Your Word not to grow weary in doing good, the encouragement not to give up. Thank You for knowing how hard it is to follow that advice and loving us even when we get it wrong. Please strengthen us against growing weary and giving up. Help us to draw close to You for encouragement, refreshment of spirit, endurance to keep on fighting the good fight. Thank You that You supply all of our needs, and we need not worry about how to defeat the devil and his tactics of lies, discouragement, and defeat. You have given us the tools for victory in Jesus; help us to use them, oh, Lord, In Jesus's name I pray, Amen
Some verses in the Bible I read and wonder why God chose to include those words in His magnificent Love Letter/Instruction Manual/Sword/Lamp/Best Book Ever Written a.k.a the Bible. It is not that I doubt His sovereignty or supreme knowledge; I just either do not understand the verse or do not grasp its significance in my life at that time. The above verse is in NO way one of those verses. I do not have to ask the Lord about His reasoning in including this scripture in His Word and await His faithful response. If you are anything like me, you know the answer and do not have to tie up the God-lines with that question either: Galatians 6:9 is there to encourage us not to give up, because it is often monstrously easy to want to do so!
I don't know about you, but I frequently become sick and tired (my version of "weary") of not only doing good, but trying to do good. My intention is not to shock or offend anyone with that statement, but I feel I need to be honest about my struggles in order to grow in Christ myself and hopefully help others to as well. Some of that sick and tired comes from the times we live in, some from lack of spiritual maturity, some from good ol' impatience, some from listening to the devil's Chatty Cathy self too much, some from stressful situations…you get the idea.
Like those times when….
-There is near constant conflict with someone I know despite my best efforts to pray about it, respond to them in a godly way, and tip-toe around the land mines of drama they lay out.
-I get avalanche-style reports of bad news on top of bad news on top of bad news.
-A situation I have prayed about for years seems no closer to being resolved than when I started praying about it.
-Something seems to go wrong with everything I touch in the same 24 hours.
(Disclaimer: I make no claim to being nice all the time, holy half of the time, or perfect anytime. The above examples are simply some of my own personal triggers for weariness. Everyone has their own, and it is quite possible that I am part of someone else's, though I hope not.)
Those are some of the times when I become not only weary, but reach the level red danger zone of giving up. And no one is more excited by that or spurred on by that than Satan himself. So he shows up for a chat…usually when I am at my most tired, my most frustrated…the point where I can almost physically feel my brain bursting with the thoughts that are threatening to head south and out of my mouth. He chimes in with something like, "Why are you wasting your time trying to do good or be good? Where is that getting you? That person still doesn't like you, the bad news is still coming, that situation is still unresolved, and you are still messing up so much. You are not doing any good, and you certainly are not being good. Remember what you said yesterday? Remember what you thought about this situation last night? Would a "good" person say or think that? Why don't you just give up on all that praying, Bible, Jesus stuff? It's so much easier than what you're doing….and it's not like your situation could get much worse anyway."
Oh, he is good at his job alright…LYING. Spinning half-truths into whole lies. "Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible" gives this explanation of the word "weary" in Galatians 6:9: "to be (bad or) weak, i.e. (by implication) to fail (in heart):--faint, be weary." That is exactly the theme running through my example of a Satan-speech above: "You are weak. You have failed in heart. Give up this doing good business, and be bad for a while…or at least kick back and be lazy."
(Note: Please do not misunderstand my quotations of the verse's words "doing good" or use of my own like "being good". This is not about trying to be a "good little boy or girl" or works of the flesh or any of that jazz apart from Christ that gets us nowhere even when we have nothing but the best intentions about it. This is about seeking to do good for God and His Kingdom through His power, according to His instruction, and with bucket loads of His guidance and help.)
Just when the devil has me almost ready to bench my Bible, retire my praying knees, and sit out every game God calls me to play in, I remember something (by God's reminder, not coincidence). There have been times when I became weary and gave up (however temporarily), times when I did quit trying to do good and did my share of bad. Get this: AND THOSE TIMES WERE NOT EASY. Life did not magically turn into a Kay's Jewelry commercial where problems do not exist and diamonds are the size of your fist. In fact, I was quite miserable without the closeness to God I enjoyed when I was seeking to do His will, however imperfectly, and the blessings and anointing that came from it.
So, there, Satan. Doing good IS tough. It IS something that requires patience, endurance, and Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. It IS often easy to want to give up on. BUT IT IS WORTH IT. And God Himself through the words of the apostle Paul says that "…at the proper time we WILL reap a harvest if we do not give up." So, I won't…not permanently. You may succeed in convincing me to momentarily at times, but I have read the Book, and I know Who wins in the end. I am on His side, weary or not.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank You for the reminder in Your Word not to grow weary in doing good, the encouragement not to give up. Thank You for knowing how hard it is to follow that advice and loving us even when we get it wrong. Please strengthen us against growing weary and giving up. Help us to draw close to You for encouragement, refreshment of spirit, endurance to keep on fighting the good fight. Thank You that You supply all of our needs, and we need not worry about how to defeat the devil and his tactics of lies, discouragement, and defeat. You have given us the tools for victory in Jesus; help us to use them, oh, Lord, In Jesus's name I pray, Amen
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Stinkin' Awesome
Do you remember experiencing the Christmas season as a child? Barring amnesia, I am quite certain that, like me, you do. It is also reasonable to assume that, with a few exceptions, it was stinkin' awesome (yes, "stinkin'" means something quite different from "stinking"…or at least it does to this Southern gal)! Back then Christmas was an all-consuming season of eager anticipation of presents, joyously belting out Christmas carols and hymns that celebrate Jesus's birth, enduring embarrassing church programs (for me anyway ;)), peacefully sleeping during silent nights (excluding Christmas Eve, of course), accepting gifts freely, and, in general, observing the joy of the season with awe. Stinkin' awesome, right?
Recently, I have been in awe to discover that the mentality of a child at Christmastime mirrors in many ways the manner in which God would have His children approach life. Not life in December…but life every month of the year, every day of the month, every hour of the day, every minute of the hour…LIFE with God. How He desires to mold our lives into something stinkin' awesome for Him, and how often we easily discard the glorious free gifts He offers in favor of expensive lessons that we do not have to buy for ourselves.
Let's break it down line by line…
(Confession in advance-I struggle with each one of these personally, so every "we", "us", "our", etc. most definitely includes me, too)
"eager anticipation of presents"- Do we expect God to come through for us? To help us? To bless us? To carry us across the stormy waters and through the blazing infernos? Or do we dreadfully look ahead to the worst that is "bound to happen"? Do we see the mountain we are facing as too big, too strong, too immovable for our God? What would happen if we chose eager anticipation instead of despair? "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." -Hebrews 11:1 (P.S. I would encourage everyone to read Hebrews 11 in its entirety)
"joyously belting out Christmas carols and hymns that celebrate Jesus's birth" -What is our attitude toward worship? Is it a happy time of truly celebrating how great our God is whether we are at home, in our car, or at church? Do we choose to worship willingly, personally, and whole-heartedly? Or is worship something that we go through as mindlessly as washing the dishes, one more task to complete, another check mark to make on our list? Do we pour our heart out to God in worship or hold ourselves back out of fear of what others would say, pain concerning what we are facing in life, or mistaken notions about what worship is "supposed to be"? "Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! …" -Psalm 150:1-6 (ESV)
"enduring embarrassing church programs" -Okay, here is a humorous break from our otherwise serious discussion. I was not big on participating in church musicals, programs, and plays as a child…and by "not big on", I mean quite a few fits were pitched. For a shy (yes, I was once) young girl who had the singing voice of a bag of cats, they were just not my choice for a rompin' good time. Though I rarely endured them patiently and humbly, I now know it would have been to my benefit to do so. Just as it is to all of our benefit to draw near to God in hard times, to trust in His plan, to wait on His word, rather than run our own path through the maze, work on how we will fix the situation at hand, and, when all else fails, throw a grade A temper tantrum. How I wish that I could honestly state that the best choice as described above is the easiest or that I always make it…or even usually make it, but that is just not true. HOWEVER, I know that victory in Jesus is possible, and He and I are working on it together. I encourage you to as well. "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." -James 1:12 (ESV)
"peacefully sleeping through silent nights" -If the only gift that I received for Christmas was the ability to sleep as peacefully, soundly, and restfully as my two year old daughter does, I can honestly PROMISE that I would be more than thrilled with that one present. Sleep does not come easy for me. Worrying, stressing, going over to-do lists in my head, retrieving problems from the past and borrowing them from the future…none of that makes for a restful night. My desire is to find rest in God's promises (day or night), to entrust my past, present, future into His capable hands, and to not waste time on fretting over problems that only He can fix. Makes my eyelids a little heavy just to type those words. :) "In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." -Psalm 4:8 (ESV)
"accepting gifts freely" -This is a big one, folks! Santa's sleigh can only hold so much, but God's storehouses have boundless gifts in stock for His children: grace, mercy, forgiveness, joy, peace, strength, compassion, holiness, power, LOVE, and so much more. BUT, do we receive those presents that are paid for by the blood of Christ freely? Do we reach out for them and clutch them as prized possessions? Do we fight against the devil when he tries to convince us that they are not ours for the taking? Or do we neglect to accept them because we feel unworthy? Even worse do we not allow ourselves to believe they even exist in this corrupt world? Do we treat them like we do childhood myths: too good to be true? Oh, that we would accept what God is offering. It is so much better than what we are settling for. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." -James 1:17 (ESV)
"observing the joy of the season with awe"- Let's just be honest…it is often difficult to be joyful. There are traffic jams, family feuds, diseases, political pow-wows, and a million other circumstances just waiting to bump our happy. Though I have by no means achieved greatness in this area, I know that any joy I find in the day-to-day grind of life will be (1) found in God and (2) a choice that I make. I could make you a list longer than Santa's "Naughty List" of all of my hundreds of grievances, things that just set my every nerve ablaze, but there are innumerably more reasons in Christ that I can locate and choose joy. May we all pray to observe and celebrate the joy of our Savior daily with awe…even in traffic jams, Lord help us. ;) "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4 (ESV)
Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank You that You long to make our lives as stinkin' awesome as that of a child at Christmastime. Life is hard, that we know, but we also know that You are good. I ask You to continually remind us of Your goodness, help us to anticipate it, celebrate it, endure hard times because of it, find peace and joy in it, and accept it freely. This world is often wild and crazy, unpredictable and scary, confusing and disheartening, but the abundant life You offer in it is no myth. Never has been; never will be. Don't let us forget it, oh, Lord. We love You and praise You for all that You are and all that You do. In Jesus's name, Amen.
Recently, I have been in awe to discover that the mentality of a child at Christmastime mirrors in many ways the manner in which God would have His children approach life. Not life in December…but life every month of the year, every day of the month, every hour of the day, every minute of the hour…LIFE with God. How He desires to mold our lives into something stinkin' awesome for Him, and how often we easily discard the glorious free gifts He offers in favor of expensive lessons that we do not have to buy for ourselves.
Let's break it down line by line…
(Confession in advance-I struggle with each one of these personally, so every "we", "us", "our", etc. most definitely includes me, too)
"eager anticipation of presents"- Do we expect God to come through for us? To help us? To bless us? To carry us across the stormy waters and through the blazing infernos? Or do we dreadfully look ahead to the worst that is "bound to happen"? Do we see the mountain we are facing as too big, too strong, too immovable for our God? What would happen if we chose eager anticipation instead of despair? "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." -Hebrews 11:1 (P.S. I would encourage everyone to read Hebrews 11 in its entirety)
"joyously belting out Christmas carols and hymns that celebrate Jesus's birth" -What is our attitude toward worship? Is it a happy time of truly celebrating how great our God is whether we are at home, in our car, or at church? Do we choose to worship willingly, personally, and whole-heartedly? Or is worship something that we go through as mindlessly as washing the dishes, one more task to complete, another check mark to make on our list? Do we pour our heart out to God in worship or hold ourselves back out of fear of what others would say, pain concerning what we are facing in life, or mistaken notions about what worship is "supposed to be"? "Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! …" -Psalm 150:1-6 (ESV)
"enduring embarrassing church programs" -Okay, here is a humorous break from our otherwise serious discussion. I was not big on participating in church musicals, programs, and plays as a child…and by "not big on", I mean quite a few fits were pitched. For a shy (yes, I was once) young girl who had the singing voice of a bag of cats, they were just not my choice for a rompin' good time. Though I rarely endured them patiently and humbly, I now know it would have been to my benefit to do so. Just as it is to all of our benefit to draw near to God in hard times, to trust in His plan, to wait on His word, rather than run our own path through the maze, work on how we will fix the situation at hand, and, when all else fails, throw a grade A temper tantrum. How I wish that I could honestly state that the best choice as described above is the easiest or that I always make it…or even usually make it, but that is just not true. HOWEVER, I know that victory in Jesus is possible, and He and I are working on it together. I encourage you to as well. "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." -James 1:12 (ESV)
"peacefully sleeping through silent nights" -If the only gift that I received for Christmas was the ability to sleep as peacefully, soundly, and restfully as my two year old daughter does, I can honestly PROMISE that I would be more than thrilled with that one present. Sleep does not come easy for me. Worrying, stressing, going over to-do lists in my head, retrieving problems from the past and borrowing them from the future…none of that makes for a restful night. My desire is to find rest in God's promises (day or night), to entrust my past, present, future into His capable hands, and to not waste time on fretting over problems that only He can fix. Makes my eyelids a little heavy just to type those words. :) "In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." -Psalm 4:8 (ESV)
"accepting gifts freely" -This is a big one, folks! Santa's sleigh can only hold so much, but God's storehouses have boundless gifts in stock for His children: grace, mercy, forgiveness, joy, peace, strength, compassion, holiness, power, LOVE, and so much more. BUT, do we receive those presents that are paid for by the blood of Christ freely? Do we reach out for them and clutch them as prized possessions? Do we fight against the devil when he tries to convince us that they are not ours for the taking? Or do we neglect to accept them because we feel unworthy? Even worse do we not allow ourselves to believe they even exist in this corrupt world? Do we treat them like we do childhood myths: too good to be true? Oh, that we would accept what God is offering. It is so much better than what we are settling for. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." -James 1:17 (ESV)
"observing the joy of the season with awe"- Let's just be honest…it is often difficult to be joyful. There are traffic jams, family feuds, diseases, political pow-wows, and a million other circumstances just waiting to bump our happy. Though I have by no means achieved greatness in this area, I know that any joy I find in the day-to-day grind of life will be (1) found in God and (2) a choice that I make. I could make you a list longer than Santa's "Naughty List" of all of my hundreds of grievances, things that just set my every nerve ablaze, but there are innumerably more reasons in Christ that I can locate and choose joy. May we all pray to observe and celebrate the joy of our Savior daily with awe…even in traffic jams, Lord help us. ;) "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4 (ESV)
Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank You that You long to make our lives as stinkin' awesome as that of a child at Christmastime. Life is hard, that we know, but we also know that You are good. I ask You to continually remind us of Your goodness, help us to anticipate it, celebrate it, endure hard times because of it, find peace and joy in it, and accept it freely. This world is often wild and crazy, unpredictable and scary, confusing and disheartening, but the abundant life You offer in it is no myth. Never has been; never will be. Don't let us forget it, oh, Lord. We love You and praise You for all that You are and all that You do. In Jesus's name, Amen.
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