What Lies Beneath

Today we are having new carpet installed in the house. The mess is tremendous.

As we removed the carpet from the rooms we begin to see the flooring/foundation. There were some obvious aging marks but for the most part all was well the foundation was strong.

However in one of the rooms, in a small corner the flooring was rotten. Water had leaked in and caused the damage. Now we have to replace the floor with new wood. The kicker is we had no idea this was going on.

This provoked a thought about what lies beneath.

What if in this new year we all did some personal improvements or at the least inspections. What would you find if you started digging around your spiritual/personal life? What if you could remove the layers for just a moment and examine the foundation of your heart.

What lies beneath? Beneath the show we put on for friends, beneath the act at the job, beneath the drama in our families?

How is your flooring? Sometimes we don’t even notice the small things that leak in and begin to destroy our foundation. Things like greed, gluttony, and pride they all start off small but if left unattended do some major damage.



What lies beneath?

Spending at Christmas

Instead of spending more money this Christmas spend more time.
The memories you make from spending time with friends and family will out last the gifts you recieve.
Spend more time Spend less money

Tis The Season for Voices

There are voices in my head! These voices are driving me crazy!

Have you ever heard statements like this?



I have a theory where some of these voices come from.

Some come from the commercialism of the season. They say Buy more, Spend More, Go here and get this and when all is said and done they say Spend, Spend, and spend.

Some come from past experiences. You may still hear the voice of disappointment and aggravations. These usually come from the people closest to you.

Some come from the greed in our hearts. This voice says “Bah Humbug.” This voice wants more but refuses to give more.

But then there is a voice that says be compassionate and spend less give more. A voice that sometimes gets drowned out due to the season. This voice says to be still and know something greater. This voice says there is a reason for the season.



The question is what voice are you listening to?

Tis The Season

Here is a great idea for gift giving.
If you are having a hard time finding that perfect gift for the person who has everything try this...
Give a gift in thier name to a trustworthy cause.
Here are some suggestions

Noahs-Ark

Food for the Poor

This is something Nikki and I are doing this year.

The Gift.

What kind of gift are you going to give to your love ones? Will it be a gift card so they can get what they want? Will it be money? As you consider your gift giving here are a few things to think on.

Give a relational gift - I read this from Advent Conspiracy. Maybe we should put a little more effort to making the gifts we give mean something. Not spend more but give more. Consider the person and what they mean to you. How can you celebrate that relationship through a gift? It could be as simple as a picture in a nice frame.

And another thought

Nikki and I try to give gifts that speak to one of three areas Physical, Spiritual or Educational.

The simplicity of the gift we received on Christmas from G-d meant something for the relationship between us and Him. Maybe we can honor Jesus through the gifts we give; they simple need to mean a little more.

TLC

TLC what does this mean? The Learning Channel were we learn how a family of eight split up. Or maybe TLC is just initials for a R&B group or maybe the all time favorite Tender Loving Care, which we all need. A very smart person presented something a little different to me that may even help you and your family. Here's the thought -
You need to practice TLC with the ones you are in relationship with.
T - Touch. A hug, pat on the back, a kiss. We should affirm the ones we love through positive, healthy touch.
L - Loving. I think this is the obvious. We would be wise to learn how to express our love for others.
C - Compliment. We could afford to give out more compliments. This is a very inexpensive way to let the ones you love know you love them.

Show TLC everyday and watch your relationships grow and mature into a fullfilling life.

Not all that Different

You know I have figured out that we are not all that different. We all face storms. We all face things that make it tough to sleep at night. We all do things we don’t like. We all have needs. We have a need to love and to be loved. We all have desires, some good some bad. We all probably have things that we don’t want others to know. We are not all that Different.

We maybe from different cultures, maybe different sizes, maybe different personalities. But we are not all that different.

Here is an email thought from Anita that had a conversation about this on a mission trip to Benin.

Your message this Sunday reminded me of a conversation that the team I went to Benin with was having. We had a doctor from Benin that gave us a crash course on Tropical Diseases and he was saying that the people become victims of their environment. I thought to myself that people where we live become victims of their environment too,(fast food, crime, lifestyle).

We were also saying how the people seemed so needy and was looking for something and we were saying that we find the same situations in America that people are needy and looking for something.... that is Jesus. One of the best things about the clinic that we set up in Benin was that we were able to give them quality healthcare and then pray with them and share the love of Jesus. I was thinking and my heart feels so strongly I wish that we could do that in our area...give quality health care to the needy, pray with them and share the love of Jesus. I just don't know how to do that...

I think at the heart of the matter we all want this world to be a better place