Christmas Disappointments Can Become Sweet Memories-

After Christmas Tip:

Don't allow this Christmas season to go by without recording your special memories. Surely, there are many! Christmas Keepsake Journal provides 6 years of space for memories. There's space to record:

• New traditions you made-
  
• This year's Christmas picture-
  
• How you spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
  
• Who you spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with -


• What you ate-
  
• Much more!!!
  

I'll be giving some examples in the day's to come. To order, simply click on the Knowing God Ministries Page.

Christmas Disappointments...

In the mean time, allow me to share a Christmas memory that I'll be recording this year. At first glance you'll think it's heartbreaking, but I love how God worked it out.

On Christmas Eve, my husband and I were bracing for the ultimate disappointment we knew would surely come the next morning despite our efforts. And as predicted, it did.

My son, Will was dying for a PS3. It was all he wanted for Christmas. But early in December, Tim and I had made the decision that we wouldn't be buying another game system. So when Christmas morning arrived and Will realized there was no PS3 under the tree, he was devastated. (Truly a Ralphie - Red Rider BB Gun moment, from the movie The Christmas Story!)

Had he thrown a temper tantrum - it may have been easier. Had he not shown any interest in what he received - it definitely would have been easier. Instead, I watched a little boy trying to be excited about what was under the tree, yet was doing all he could to hold it together. His lower lip was quivering -tears were filling his eyes. It was pitiful. For a moment, part of me regretted the decision. But I knew in my heart we had done the right thing. In fact, I had prayed about it and there was no peace in my heart over buying a PS3.


After the initial shock, Will got excited about his new toys and began playing with them. Later however, he resolved to buy a PS3 with his own money.

At our Christmas celebrations later in the day with extended family, Will received gift cards and money for Christmas. (For him, there couldn't have been a better gift.) When we got home, he eagerly counted his money plus what he had in his piggy bank. He lacked $40 from having enough to meet his goal!



Talk about a boy on a mission - With a little creative maneuvering (I bought his $30 Walmart card he rec'd 6 mos ago.) and extra chores - he had enough money to buy a PS3! Will was beside himself with joy!



This afternoon, Tim drove Will and a friend to Target where he cashed in his gift cards and the remainder of cash in his piggy bank. He came home and proudly announced he had it! The little techie boy hooked it up himself. Truly, a memorable moment.



Now I know why God moved on our hearts not to get a PS3 - Another reminder, that if we'll stay in sync with God, following His lead, He'll do far more than we could have asked for. What if I would have bought the silly thing despite my lack of peace? I would have missed out on God showing Himself to this sweet little boy. And Will would have missed out on God transforming disappointment to one of the most memorable events of his life thus far.

Today was a red-letter day in the Furman house. This is a memory I don't want lost on the pages of everyday ordinary life. I think I'll record it now in my Keepsake Journal!

Make it a great day!

Heroes

Luke 1:6-7

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no room for Him in the inn.

Yesterday, during my family's Christmas Day celebration, I cornered my cousin, Emily's husband. I won't name him. I'm not sure if I should. But He is a soldier in the United States Army and just recently got home from deployment in Afghanistan. I've been so excited about talking to him since his return. My questions were endless. That sweet man patiently and graciously tolerated me. He answered each of my questions without going into too much detail. I so admired how he carefully choose his words. His stories were fascinating -I could have held him hostage all day!


But before we were interrupted, he told me that his platoon will deploy again next year. They will be placed in one of the most dangerous areas in the world. And he was having a hard time deciding about re-enlistment.

Personally, I didn't understand why it was even a question.
Why would you want to leave the posh living of being at home?
Why would you want to leave your beautiful wife again?
Why in the world would you ever want to leave to go to one of the most dangerous and most horrible places on the planet?

His response surprised me. I'll never forget it. "It's what every warrior dreams of doing," he replied.

Wow. I cannot imagine. Talk about the heroes among us. These soldiers quietly walk our streets. They blend in with the crowds at our shopping areas - yet they are far from common, ordinary people. They are our heroes. They sacrifice - so that we can live our "posh" lives. I don't want to even imagine what our lives would be like were it not for men like Emily's husband.

As hard as his response is for me to understand - I get it. He didn't have to say another thing. This soldier was created by God to be a warrior. I thankful I am for him.


So how does this relate to the Christmas story?

As I sat in my quiet time this morning, contemplating the sacrifice Jesus made by coming to earth, I thought of yesterday's conversation. There are many similarities - except Jesus' deployment was much more extreme. Jesus left the "plushness" of heaven. Everyone loved, adored, and worshiped Him there. Jesus lived in a place that was:

• sin free
• disease free
• heartbreak free
• tear free
• bad economy free
• disappointment free
• bad weather free...

Talk about paradise; talk about riches; He had it all! Why would Jesus purposefully leave His "cushy" life in heaven to enter a world that is riddled with:

• sin
• disease and sickness
• corruption
• poverty
• rejection
• hopelessness and helplessness
• homelessness and starvation?

Because just as Emily's husband is on rescue mission for our country- Jesus came on a rescue mission for you and for me.

God knew that we could never work our way to Him. No amount of good behavior, righteous or religious living; and no amount of earth loving conservation would ever be good enough for us to reach heaven. So He came to us! The King left His throne - and chose to sleep in a feeding trough in order to rescue you and me from our sins.

So it's not just a baby in a manger. It's God, Himself stepping out of heaven - into the body of a human -to become visible - to rescue us. His sacrifice opened heaven for any and all who places their faith in Him. How have you responded to Him?

It's a personal response - not one made by our religion or our parents or by the church we attend. It's a personal transaction between you and God.

And as far as it goes with those quiet heroes among us - let's treat them as such. They are worthy of our respect and admiration.

Happy Winter Wonderland!

When God's Plans are Not Convenient

Christmas Tip #13:

Try settling any controversial family matters ahead of Christmas to avoid any misunderstandings or awkwardness.

Luke 2:1,3-5

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem... He also went there to register with Mary.

I cannot imagine it coming at a worse time - the government issuing a decree requireing everyone to return to the home town to register. The King James translation says that "Mary was great with child" at this point. So she, along with Joseph would have to make a 75+ mile trek - through the mountains, hills and rocks - on a donkey, no doubt- in her third trimester of pregnancy. All to fulfill a difficulty imposed upon them by the government at the worst possible time.

We see no mention of whining and complaining. We see no mention of heartbreak on Mary's part that she would be away from her mother at the time the baby could and would possibly come. I don't think I've ever met a woman who didn't want her mother around when having a baby. Yet God allowed - even prompted this inconvenient hardship. God is sovereign over all the affairs of mankind - even governmental and political. Nothing is coincidental with God.

What difficulty has been imposed upon you? Something out of your control that has become a hardship?

• Have you been asked to host Christmas at your house and this is a true hardship for you?


• Have you been asked to do something that you don't want to do - but out of necessity - are having to do it?

I have a dear friend, Maggie, who is facing the loss of her precious husband. He has stage IV prostate cancer and has been recently told that there is nothing more that can be done. This active and vibrant woman is now confined to her home to take care of her husband each day. Yet, everytime I talk to her, SHE is the one who cheers me. Her countenance bubbles over with hope, peace and confidence. Never have I heard her complain. She is inspiring to all those around her. How? Because of her daily and moment by moment dependence on Jesus in her midst during this very difficult time.

God's plans are not always convenient. And we see that even when we are in the center of God's will as Mary and Joseph were, we are not promised an easy and comfortable life. Yet during the long, difficult, uncomfortable journey Mary and Joseph were required to make, we see God's:

• provision,


• protection and


• Presence.

God's grace will be sufficient through our uncomfortable journeys. Trust that even our discomfort has meaning and purpose if we'll turn it back over to God each day.

Have a great day!

What Will They Think?

Christmas Tip #12:

Make plans now to include the Guest of Honor, Jesus, in your Christmas festivities. Christmas celebrations are so void and empty when He is ignored. If you need fresh and practical ideas of ways to include Him in your celebrations - check out my new Christmas Keepsake Journal.

Matthew 1: 24

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.

Do you believe that God loves you despite your disappointments and failures? Do you believe that God has your best interests in mind? And that He has good things planned for your life?

[I hope your answer is "Yes" to all of the above. Because it's all true!]


After God redirected Joseph's steps in his dream, Joseph may have been tempted to believe that God didn't have his best interests in mind. God gave him an out-of-the-box new direction: "take Mary home to be your wife..." But, what would his family think? What would his friends think? What would this mean for his family's reputation or his for that matter?


After studying for this devotion series, Mary and Joseph have become my new heroes. To them, it didn't matter what others thought. They didn't weigh obedience to God based upon the opinions of others, their circumstances or their feelings. They radically embraced all that God wanted to give them by responding "yes" to His every direction.


So how does this relate to us today?


Often what God tells us to do, will not make sense to other people - this includes family and friends. They may think we're radical! Can't you hear them now, "she's taken this whole religion thing too far..." I've experienced this. I've lost friends over the last few years. I've been shunned by others. And often, I'm misunderstood by those closest to me.


Yet, if we truly believe that God loves us; that He has our best interests at heart; that He has good planned for us - then we must wholeheartedly follow His directives in our life. This could mean:

• Radically breaking from your normal family tradition at Christmas to include the Guest of honor, Jesus, in your festivities. One way would be having the true Christmas story read from Scripture during your gatherings.


• Sharing what He's done in your life over the last year with others - (who cares what they think - do you realize how much this honors God?! He gets so excited about stuff like this! Football players do it was they're running into the end-zone, why can't we?)


• Doing what He's placed on your heart to do - even if it requires getting out of your comfort zone and doing something you've never done before.

If we truly want to embrace all that God wants to give us, we have to overcome the fear of living a life that is very different from the people around us. We can't look to others for confidence and peace, we have to look to Him daily - trusting that He will never throw us under the bus!


Merry Christmas!

When Making Big Decisions...

Christmas Tip #11:

Don't wait until Christmas Eve to wrap your gifts. Wrap them as you purchase them. This will prevent a possible stress-meltdown later in the week!

Matthew 1:20

"But after he had considered this (divorcing Mary), an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit."

Have you ever been faced with a big decision and didn't know what to do? Afraid of making the wrong decision because either way - the consequences would be huge?


In today's reading, Joseph was faced with with a big decision. Because Mary and Joseph were engaged, Mary's apparent unfaithfulness carried a severe social stigma. According to Jewish law, he could divorce her or turn her over to authorities to be stoned to death. Joseph, wanting desperately to do the right thing, did what seemed most logical - he decided to "break the engagement quietly so as not to disgrace her publicly." (v19 NLT)

What happens next is a truth that I carry in my heart almost every time I have a decision to make. Joseph was doing the best he could do. He did what seemed most logical. Yet we see that most logical - isn't always God's path. So in His amazing mercy, God intervened and redirected his steps.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

I used to think that God would sit in heaven and shake His head in disappointment every time I made a bad decision. Yet, nothing could be further from the truth. He loves you and I so much - that if we will just acknowledge Him in every decision - He'll make sure we get on the right path.
How do you acknowledge Him?

• I look up and say, "Lord, what do I do?"
• I'm on the lookout in my quiet time for a Word from Scripture directing either way;
• I'm looking at common sense logistics (yet not relying completely on what's logical - )
• I'm also looking for peace in my heart.
• Once a decision is made - I'm on the lookout for God's confirmation or evidence of red flags.

The next time you have a decision to make, remember Joseph and be encouraged. God loves us so much - that He'll redirect our path if we've made the wrong decision. Isn't that comforting?!!! God is so awesome. His mercies are new everyday. We just have to be pliable to that new direction...

Born for a Purpose

Christmas Tip #10:

Curl up in front of your fireplace and Christmas Tree with a hot beverage in hand and read your Bible. It is the Comfort of all comforts!

Luke 1:45

"Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

Yesterday, while on the way to get blonder and less gray, I was listening to Glenn Beck on the radio. He was talking about something very near to my heart and the subject of today's devotion. He was saying that "every human being was born with a purpose, but that it's up to us to find that purpose." I agree with Glenn wholeheartedly - we are all born with a purpose. Yet he's missing a very important ingredient to finding that purpose: We will never find our God ordained purpose for living apart from God and His Word. This brings us to today's Mary and Elizabeth -

Mary had just been told her reason for living. She would be the mother of our Lord and Savior, Jesus! What a task! What an assignment! I love what happens next: she treks the the 60+ miles to visit her cousin, Elizabeth. In addition to the obvious, we also see the tenderness and kindness of our God in these passages. (Read Luke 1:35-56 when you get a chance.)

1st: God provided someone to share Mary's joy and her belief in the impossible. How precious for God to provide someone nearby who could relate. The two women - one too old - the other too young - both had one thing in common: questionable pregnancies, sure to stir up some town gossip!

2nd: God used Elizabeth to confirm what He had told Mary. Without Mary even saying anything other than a greeting to her long-lost cousin, Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, exclaims, "blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (v42-43)

So how does this relate to us today? Just as Mary and Elizabeth were both born for a divine purpose, YOU and I WERE TOO!

I have a good friend named Amy Carroll. She's on the Proverbs 31 Ministries speaking team. We met in Bible study years ago and have been friends ever since. I can remember when she first began speaking. She told me, "Tara, I feel like I'm going to be sick every time, but I was born to do this." I've never forgotten that statement.

Even in my own life, my dream was to be a stay-at-home mother. I didn't want anything else out of life. God graciously blessed me with this. Yet, something was missing. After finally getting what I wanted, how could I be so discontent? One dreary day in February 2004, when I was up to my eye-balls in dirty diapers and whiny children, I asked God, "is this it? Is this what I'm here for? There's got to be more in life." The very next day in my quiet time, my Scripture reading was 1 Timothy 4:12-14:

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity... Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift."

I had a secret desire to teach yet, I had not told anyone about this desire, not even my husband. Yet God was nailing me. Soon after getting this Scripture, God used other women to confirm what He had told me - just as He did for Mary. Without me uttering a word, they randomly told me that one day I'd be teaching God's Word. (By the way, that would freak me out a little bit. I was still relatively young in my faith.) Three years later, God opened a door and started this ministry.

I am no one special. Just an ordinary woman, who loves an extraordinary God who's in the business of giving us the desires of our heart. You too were born for a purpose. Do you realize this? Do you even believe this? Listen to some of these Scriptures:

"Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord? He [God] will instruct him in the way chosen for him" Psalm 25:12 (bold mine)

"We ask God to give you complete understanding of what He wants to do in your lives, and we ask Him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom" Colossians 1:9 NLT

You were born for a purpose. If you are unaware of your God-ordained purpose, start spending time with Him on a regular basis. He'll make your purpose known. What are your dreams? What are you naturally good at?

Our purpose will always include sharing with others what we know about Jesus in our spheres of influence. Our purpose may take us out of our comfort zones. However, when we live out our God ordained purpose, we will live life like no other!

In a horrible economy, in a time of unprecedented unemployment and political unrest, God is shaking things up. Could He be drawing you to Himself so that you can start living life like no other? I'd love to hear your comments today. You can post anonymously.

Can't wait to hear!