Does it strike you as a little odd to see a post about Mary on the day after Christmas? I promise, I didn't get my Mondays confused. No matter what time of year it is, there are many things that we can learn from just taking a look at this young woman, things that we should try to apply to our lives all year round. In Luke chapter one, where what we think of as the Christmas story begins, we see the angel appearing to Mary. The first thing he says to her is, "Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee" (Luke 1:28). She was highly favored by the Lord. That's what God had the angel refer to her as. But why was she so highly favored? What made her different than other women? We sometimes have a habit of thinking of Mary as some special woman, different than us and with some sort of heavenly nature. Even if we wouldn't say that, we tend to think of her as being on a level that is impossible for us to attain to. But Mary was just as much a human as we are. She had a sin nature, she was tempted to do wrong, she battled selfishness, and she had the same emotions as any of the rest of us do. On top of this, many historians don't place her to be very old. We don't know exactly how old she was, but considering historical facts, she was probably around fifteen or sixteen years old. She was simply a young lady, most likely barely more than a girl, who had come to be highly favored by the Lord. But back to our question. What caused her to be highly favored? Of course, this question probably has scores of answers, but for now, let's take a look at six traits that we see in Mary as a young lady that we can strive to develop in our lives as well. 1) She was pure."And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin..." (Luke 1:26-27a). Mary was a virgin. She was pure. She had chosen to save herself for the man that God had for her. Often we think of purity as just being a choice we make on the outside, just choosing to refrain from sin. But purity starts in the heart, just like lust and sinful relationships start in the heart. Keeping our hearts is the only way to keep ourselves pure mentally and spiritually as well as physically. Psalm 119:9 shows us how to keep our hearts and, ultimately, our way. "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word." ~Psalm 119:9 "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." ~Proverbs 4:23 2) She was submissive."And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word." (Luke 1:38a) The angel had just told Mary some shocking news. It was exciting news, but you have to think that it had to be scary news as well. What would people think when they noticed she was pregnant? Would Joseph believe her? Would it crash the dreams she'd been having of marrying Joseph and starting their own family? Mary didn't say any of this though. She simply submitted herself over to the Lord's will, trusting that He knew best. All she considered herself as was the handmaid of the Lord. It's a lot easier said than done. Are we willing to put our dreams on the line and fully submit ourselves to and joyfully embrace God's will? In the end, His Way will be far better than ours ever could have been. "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." ~Proverbs 3:5 3) She believed."And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord" (Luke 1:45). This verse is Elisabeth talking to Mary when Mary comes to visit her. Mary chose to believe what God had said. It didn't make any sense using human reasoning, but she chose to believe God anyway, because He is God, and as the angel told her, "...with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37). Not everything God tells us through His Word always makes sense. Sometimes we want to stop and try to reason it out. But we don't need all the answers. We just need to believe. "But without faith it is impossible to please him..." ~Hebrews 11:6a 4) She magnified the Lord."And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord" (Luke 1:46). The Lord was very important to Mary. Her soul magnified Him. She joyed in talking about Him, in proclaiming Him and His goodness to everyone she was around. This started in her own heart though. She chose to make the Lord a priority. He wasn't just a great God, but He was her great God. And all the joy that bubbled in her because of this spilled out to others. "O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together." ~Psalm 34:3 5) She guided her spirit to rejoice in God."And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour" (Luke 1:47). Your spirit doesn't just rejoice in something of its own accord. It swims in the things that you fill your heart with. When that thing that you fill your heart with is the Lord, it causes your spirit to truly rejoice. God puts a peace and a joy and a hope in our spirit that can never come from anything else. A large portion of that comes from being God's child, but even more of it is added when we have an intimate relationship with God. "But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee." ~Psalm 5:11 6) She studied God's Word.This one is not one that stood out to me until I heard it pointed out in a sermon. If we look closely at verses 46 through 55, we see that Mary is talking about truths from the Bible and quoting the Old Testament. Her heart was so full of God's Word, that it naturally spilled from her lips. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." ~Psalm 119:105 For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield. How was Christmas for you?
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And we're back with the second and final part of A Friend for Christmas (if you missed the first part of this story that was shared last week, you can check that out here), as well as the final post here before Jesus' birthday! (Though there may or may not be a slightly Christmas-y post coming the day after Christmas, because, who doesn't want to keep the joy going for one more day? :D) I hope you enjoy the last part of this story! Katherine touched up the edges of the Christmas tree-shaped sugar cookie that she was decorating with a spatula, smearing the green icing over the edges. Amarise sat beside her on the kitchen bench, setting down the spatula she had been using to decorate the last snowman with white icing on a paper towel, and then laying the snowman on the full plate of cookies in the middle of the table. Nana walked up to the table from the sink where she had been washing the dishes from baking the cookies with the two children. “Are you girls finished decorating them?” she asked, wiping her wet hands on her bright green apron. “Uh huh,” Katherine replied, laying her spatula on the paper towel and the last Christmas tree cookie triumphantly on the plate next to Amarise's snowman. “Oh, y'all did a good job,” Nana admired the cookies on the plate. “And you did good about keeping the icing even too.” Katherine smiled and thought she saw Amarise blush a bit, though she did look happy that Mrs. Gordon thought that they had turned out well. “Can we eat one?” Katherine turned her eyes up to her grandmother standing beside the bench. Nana laughed. “Well, that's what they're for. Go ahead.” “Can we eat one in the living room, by the Christmas tree? Please?” Katherine ventured. Nana hesitated, though a smile twitched at the corners of her lips. “We'll be careful,” Katherine promised. “Won't we?” she glanced over at Amarise. Amarise nodded, her blonde curls bouncing on her back. “And we can use paper towels and won't get it on the floor,” Katherine pleaded. “Oh,” Nana put her hand to her forehead and pushed back her gray hair, laughing a bit, “Alright. But you have to promise to be very careful,” she added in a more serious tone. “We promise,” Katherine assured her. Amarise bobbed her head in agreement. “Okay,” Nana's voice still held hesitation. “I don't know why I'm agreeing to this though, Katherine,” she laughed, sounding half amused and half nervous. “Don't make me regret it.” Her eyes held a teasing, yet still serious, gleam. “We won't, and we'll try very hard to keep it on the paper towels.” Katherine slid off the bench, dashed over to the roll of paper towels by the sink, and ripped some off. “Oh, you'd better do more than try, Katherine Gordon,” Nana teased. Katherine grinned and dashed back over to the table, folding the towels on her way. She handed one to Amarise. “Come on,” she invited, grabbing one of the trees she had decorated off the table. Amarise rose from the bench and, after looking at her choices for a moment, slid one of the snowmen she had decorated off the plate and onto her paper towel. “Alright, you girls be careful. I'll be there in a minute, after I get the last of this stuff put away and my apron off,” Nana instructed. The two girls, holding their paper towels with both hands and being careful to keep the cookie exactly in the middle of the towel, walked out of the kitchen with Katherine leading the way. After reaching the living room, Katherine sat down in front of the lit Christmas tree, keeping her eyes on her cookie. She leaned back a bit against the black couch behind her. Amarise sat down beside her with even more care than her friend had. The room was dark, the only light being from the white lights of the Christmas tree and the two pretend candles Nana had put in the windowsill behind the tree. The darkness sent a bit of a shiver up Katherine's spine, filling her with even more excitement about the evening. “Wanna pray?” she asked, keeping her voice barely above a whisper so as to not break the tranquility of the room. “Sure,” Amarise agreed, her voice low as well. Silence followed, making Katherine giggle. “Who's going to pray?” “You.” Amarise gave a sly, bashful grin. “Okay.” Katherine bowed her head but didn't dare to close her eyes. She instead kept them fixed on her cookie to ensure it didn't fall. “Jesus, thank You for these cookies, and that Amarise could come over and we could spend time together. Amen.” Looking up, she picked up her Christmas tree and took a small bite off the bottom of it. She glanced over at Amarise, who was biting off the bottom circle of her snowman. “You eat the bottom first?” Amarise took her cookie down from her mouth and looked over at Katherine. “Uh huh. How come?” “I always like to eat his head first.” “That's mean.” Amarise took another bite of the cookie. Katherine grinned mischievously. “Well, that way, I can put him out of his misery before I go to eating on him.” Amarise stopped chewing and turned her full attention to the girl beside her. “Ew! It's not real!” “Yeah, I know,” Katherine giggled. Amarise glanced at her cookie, a slightly disgusted, critical gleam in her eye, then took another bite from the bottom. A few seconds of silence followed as the girls chewed. “Katherine?” Amarise spoke up, keeping her eyes turned downwards on her paper towel. “Uh huh?” “Thanks for being my friend.” Katherine smiled. “Thanks for being my friend too.” Amarise returned the smile and ate the last little bit of her snowman, then laid the paper towel on the floor beside her. Katherine swallowed hard. Here was her chance. “Amarise?” she ventured. “Have you ever made Jesus your Friend?” “Huh?” “I mean like, have you ever prayed and asked Him to save you?” Amarise kept her eyes turned partly downward toward her lap, though she looked up at her friend from the tops of her eyes. “I don't really know what that means,” she admitted. Katherine took the last bite of her cookie, thinking as she chewed. She'd never really tried to explain it to anyone before. But it couldn't hurt to try. How would she make it make sense though? Swallowing her cookie and laying the paper towel down, being careful to keep the crumbs in the middle of the towel so that they wouldn't fall onto the floor, she began. “Well, it just means that you know that you're a sinner and that you can't go to Heaven because of it, and instead when you die you have to go to a lake of fire called Hell, except for that Jesus was born, you know, the story Miss Sydney was telling, and He died on the cross so that we could go to Heaven and not Hell, and then you ask God to save you and you tell Him that you accept His gift on the cross and want Him to be your Friend, and He does.” Amarise stared at Katherine for a moment. “What's a sinner? And a cross?” Maybe she hadn't done too good at explaining it after all. Amarise looked confused. “A sinner is someone who does bad things, like everybody does, and a cross is these pieces of wood that they nailed Jesus to and killed him.” “Oh.” Amarise still looked a little bit confused. “How do you ask God something though?” “You just pray.” She really wasn't doing very good at this. “Want me to ask Nana to show you the verses about it in the Bible? I don't really know where they are.” Just then, Nana entered the living room, and came and sat down on the couch behind the girls. Katherine turned around to face her. “Nana, will you show Amarise the verses about how to get saved and stuff?” Nana looked over at Amarise, who had turned her eyes downward once again, fiddling with the fabric of her bright pink leggings. “Do you want to see them, Amarise?” Amarise nodded, turning her eyes upward a bit to meet Mrs. Gordon's for a second. Nana stood up and went over to the bookshelf on the other wall of the room. After pulling her Bible off of it, she walked back over to the couch and sat down. “Do you want to come up here so you can see?” Nana asked Amarise, patting the spot on the couch beside her. Amarise hesitated. Sensing her friend's nervousness, Katherine jumped on the couch, leaving the spot beside her grandmother open. “Come on,” she invited. Amarise stood up and sat in the open spot, keeping herself closer to Katherine than to Mrs. Gordon. “Well,” Nana began, “The first verse that I usually like to show people is Romans 3:23.” She flipped to the passage. “It says,” she read, tracing her finger underneath the words as she read them, “'For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God'. Some people like to think that they don't really do bad things, or they say that they're not that bad because they think that other people do worse things than they do. “But everybody has sinned, or done wrong things, and because of that, we can't go to Heaven when we die. Instead we have to go to a place where the Devil is, and there's fire, and we'll never be able to get out, because people who do bad things can't go to Heaven. But God loved us so much that He didn't want that to happen, so He came down to earth as a baby named Jesus. That's what Christmas is about. And when He got older, He was tortured and killed. That was how He got in trouble for us, so that we can go to Heaven when we die.” Katherine glanced over at Amarise as Nana flipped back a few pages in her Bible. Amarise was looking at Nana's Bible, and she looked like she was listening closely. Katherine felt her heart give a little skip. Maybe Amarise understood! “See, here,” Nana pointed underneath the verse she had flipped to, “It says, 'For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.' “Since He took our punishment for us, all we have to do to go to Heaven and to not have to go to that lake of fire when we die is to be sorry for the bad things we've done and to ask Him, just to pray and talk to Him like you would talk to anyone else, to save us. And if you really mean what you say, He will. He'll come and be in your heart, and one day when you do die, you'll get to go to Heaven and live with Him forever." Nana just sat there for a moment, quiet, and then shut her Bible, put it back on the bookshelf across the room, and returned to her spot on the couch. Katherine looked over at Amarise from the corner of her eyes. She was looking down at her lap but then turned her eyes up to Nana's. “Can I do that too?” Amarise asked, looking up but not meeting Nana's eyes. “Ask Jesus?” Nana asked. Amarise nodded. “Of course you can. Do you want to now?” Once again, Amarise just nodded. Her eyes focused on Nana's lap, as if she was intent despite her shyness. “What do I say?” she asked, barely above a whisper. “You just tell Jesus that you're sorry that you do wrong things and ask Him to forgive you and save you and take you to Heaven. That's it. There's not any fancy words or anything. You can just say it however you want to.” Nana bowed her head, and Amarise followed her lead. After Amarise didn't say anything for a few seconds, Katherine slipped her hand into hers and bowed her own head. Amarise's hand was shaking in hers. “Jesus,” Amarise whispered, barely audible, “I'm sorry that I do wrong things. Please forgive me and take me to Heaven when I die. Thank You.” Amarise didn't say “amen,” just lifted her head. But Katherine figured out she was done, and lifted her head; maybe Amarise just didn't know about saying that. Katherine squeezed her friend's hand. “You did it.” She could tell a small smile was pulling at the corners of Amarise's mouth. “Now, if you really meant what you said from your heart, there are angels in Heaven that are happy and singing about you asking Jesus to save you. And He's in your heart to stay.” Amarise let the smile loose. **** Katherine stood on the front porch next to Nana, waving at Amarise as her family's blue van pulled out of the driveway. The headlights, compounded by the Christmas lights shining down from around the top of the porch, prevented her from being able to see her friend, but she waved anyway until the van rounded onto the next street and out of sight. Nana put her arms around Katherine's shoulders and pulled her close in a sort of side hug. “You know how amazing that was?” “That Amarise got saved?” Katherine looked up at her grandmother. “Yeah. Just about two weeks ago you were upset about not having a friend, and look now,” Nana's voice held tears in it. “You took the time and effort and bravery to reach out to someone else, and now you have a friend and were able to share Jesus, the true Friend, with her.” “Yeah,” Katherine smiled. “It is amazing.” And that's it until after Christmas! This Christmas, let's not get distracted by the less important things and forget the true reason we celebrate: Jesus, our Friend, Who humbled Himself, left His glory, and became a man so that He could take our punishment and provide a Way for us to have restored fellowship with Him now and for all of eternity. How amazing is that? Do you have a verse that you've been meditating on this Christmas season that you'd like to share (whether it's usually thought of as a Christmas verse or not)?
Well, I don't know about you, but I'm starting to feel like the Christmas season has really started! I've been hearing Christmas music everywhere I go, the weather seems to have decided that it will stay cold, gifts I've ordered for family have been coming in the mail, and our house is fully decorated. And today, in celebration of this special season, I'd thought I'd share the first part of a Christmas story that I wrote last year. It hasn't been heavily edited or anything, but I still thought that y'all might enjoy it. :) A Friend for Christmas (Part 1) Katherine Gordon rested her fist against the side of her cheek, her elbow resting on the kitchen table, doodling circles around the printed Christmas wreath on her arithmetic worksheet. She glanced up at the clock hanging on the green wall of her grandmother's kitchen. 10:20. It wasn't too long before she could take a break. Nana always let her go outside for a bit at 10:45, just as long as she had finished at least her Bible reading, arithmetic, and language. She ran her eyes down the paper, her fist still planted against her cheek. She had quite a bit of work left to do if she was going to finish this and her language exercises all in—she stopped for a few seconds and counted up the minutes—twenty-five minutes. Not that it would be too terrible to miss getting to go out this morning. It wasn't like she had any friends to play with or anything. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she pulled her legs up onto the wooden bench she was sitting on. She hugged her knees, and buried her face on top of them. That was just it. That was why she felt the way she did, so unmotivated. This morning, she hadn't even wanted to do her personal Bible reading; she always looked forward to reading her Bible after she got dressed in the mornings, but today her mind had just been too busy. She had been here at Nana's and Grandpa's for almost three weeks now, and she had went to Sunday School every Sunday morning, and then to grown-up's church every Sunday night, and she went to Wednesday night class at church too, and had went to the children's Christmas party at Nana's and Grandpa's church a few days ago, all on top of going with Nana to town to go shopping and things three or four times. But she still didn't have anybody who was being her friend. It was like nobody liked her well enough to want to talk to her. Katherine's grandmother walked into the small kitchen from her and Grandpa's adjoining bedroom. She stopped in front of the table, facing her granddaughter. Katherine could feel her gaze on her, though she didn't lift her face from her knees and no words were said for a moment. “Having trouble?” Nana asked, coming to stand behind her and look over her shoulder at her worksheet. Katherine raised her head, then turned it to look at her worksheet. “No, not really.” Nana pulled out the other side of the bench and sat down a few inches from Katherine, turning to face her. “Is something wrong?” “I'm fine,” she said, lifting her eyes up to meet her grandmother's and pushing a hint of a smile onto her face. “Well, then, if nothing's wrong, what have you got to look so down about?” Nana asked, a half chuckle in her voice. She paused for a moment, then prompted, “Katherine, what's wrong? You can tell me. I know my smiley granddaughter too well to fall for that.” Katherine pulled her legs closer to her. “I don't know. It's just that—well,” her eyes filled with tears, “I just want a friend. I miss all the ones back home, and I don't have any here!” A cold tear trickled down her cheek. She tucked the end of her navy blue sweater's arm around the palm of her hand and wiped it away. Nana nodded her understanding and leaned her arm onto the table. “Well,” she began, “That's not quite true. You do have Grandpa and me.” “Yeah,” Katherine looked back up at her grandmother, “And I love you and Grandpa alot, but it's not the same.” “Don't forget that you also have Jesus. He's the Friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” “And Jesus is a very good Friend too, but,” tears filled her eyes once more, “I don't know how to explain it,” she gave up. “You don't have to explain it; I think I understand. You mean you want one that's your own age, another little girl that you can talk to and play with. Is that right?” she guessed, reaching over and tucking Katherine's straight hair behind her ear. Katherine nodded. “But I don't have any,” another tear trickled down her face, bringing another along with it. “Sweetie, you've only been here for three weeks now. I think as time goes on, you'll find and make friends. Have you tried to be a friend to anyone else while you've been here?” Katherine lifted her tear-stained face to meet her grandmother's. What did that have to do with anything? She was the one who was lonely and needed a friend. “What do you mean?” she voiced. “I mean,” Nana began, looking into her eyes, “Have you tried to talk to anyone while you've been here? Have you gone up to anyone and tried to be their friend? Say, any of the other girls at church?” Katherine looked down at the table. “No, but,” her voice trailed off. She stared at the table, a couple more tears spilling over. It wasn't the other girls who needed a friend; it was her! Why didn't Nana understand that? “But what?” “I–well,” Katherine continued staring down at the table, trying to think of how to say it. “They're not the ones who need a friend; I am,” she let out, whimpering. She felt Nana's nimble hand on her shoulder. “I know that you're the one who wants a friend, but you know what the Bible has to say about friends?” Katherine shook her head, keeping her eyes down. “It says 'A man that hath friends must show himself friendly.' The way to get a friend is to be a friend. If you reach out to someone else, they'll more likely than not want to reach back out to you. Right here at Christmas time is actually an excellent time to try to be a friend to someone else. And, you know, your Friend that sticketh closer than a brother? He wants you to reach out to others, and be a light for Him. You have something to share that a lot of other people don't. I know it's hard to have moved from your mom's house and be here and in a new place and have to make new friends at a new church and all, but you can do it. Your Friend will help you, if you'll let Him.” A moment of silence followed. Katherine sniffed. She didn't really feel like trying to be friends in a place full of strangers; she really just wanted someone else to come be friends with her. But Nana was right. That was what her Friend wanted her to do. “But who would I reach out to?” she voiced, bringing her eyes up to Nana's. “Hmm,” Nana paused for a couple moments. “Have you thought about Amarise?” “No. Is she the girl with the blonde hair that's in Sunday School?” Nana nodded. “Mm-hmm. She's new too, you know?” “She is?” “Yep. I'll bet you and her have a lot of things in common.” Katherine looked up questioningly at her grandmother. “Why?” “Well, for one thing, she's near your age. She's seven. But she's also a foster kid.” Katherine furrowed her eyebrows. “I didn't know that. So,” she stopped and thought for a moment before continuing, “She doesn't live with her parents either?” “No, she lives with the Garrisons. But she's only been living with them for two and a half weeks now, and she just met them. She isn't with her parents, she's in a new place, with new people, and a new church too, just like you. She would probably really like it if someone who at least partly understood how she feels was to come and talk to her and be her friend.” Nana paused for a moment, and then continued. “One thing about Amarise that you two might not have in common though is that Amarise may not have had the privilege of being in a place where she learned the Bible.” “You mean like, she doesn't know about God?” “She might not know a whole lot about Him. She might not know how He loves her and died for her and is waiting to save her, if she hasn't given Him her heart already. But that's where you could come in. You can be a light for your Friend that sticketh closer than a brother and show her God's love for her. And through reaching out to her, you know what would happen?” “What?” “You might just gain a friend too.” Katherine's lips turned upward in a small, subconscious smile. “I hadn't really thought of it that way. How would I try to be friends with her though? I've never talked to her before.” “Why don't you just go sit beside her during Sunday School? Introduce yourself, and then ask her something about herself.” “Like what kind of things about herself?” “Anything, really. You could ask her what her favorite color is or how she's enjoying Sunday School or what she does for fun. Sometimes just showing an interest in somebody is the best way to show them you care and to be a friend.” “Hmm. Maybe I will.” She let out a tiny sigh. “I'm a little bit shy though,” she admitted. Her grandmother reached her arm around her shoulders and gave her a small squeeze. “Ask God to help you not to be shy; He will. And I think you should. I think that it'll help Amarise, and you too. I'll be praying for you. You know, that could even be a birthday present in a way for Jesus. Now,” she added, straightening, “Why don't you finish up that arithmetic paper and get started on your language so you can go outside?” Katherine set her legs back down under the table. “Okay.” **** The morning sun shone through the window of Katherine's small room, casting it's rays onto the blue bed where Katherine was perched on the end, dressed in her favorite Christmas dress, a red and white striped one with sequins and white fur on the bottom, and her hair laying in a braid, with a red and green ribbon at the end, against her back. Her socks lay in her lap and her boots beside her on the bed. She unrolled her socks and pulled them onto her bare feet. Picking up her boots, she glanced out the window. Grandpa was in his truck, starting it up to heat up for their drive to church. She pulled on her boots, keeping her eyes on him as he slipped out of the truck and closed the truck door, then waved at her as he passed her window on his way towards the house. She waved back, then turned back to her boots and began lacing them up. It must not be long before they left for church, since Grandpa was already warming up the truck; it wasn't too terribly cold outside. Today was Sunday School. Butterflies flitted around her stomach. That was when she was going to sit with Amarise. But what if she froze when she walked in and didn't know what to say? Or what if Amarise didn't like her, or said that she didn't want to be friends? Or what if Amarise ended up being really different, and they didn't have anything in common to talk about at all? “Father,” she whispered, finishing up with her boots and looking down at her lap. “I'm scared to talk to Amarise, and I'm afraid that I'll be too nervous to, or just that something will go terribly wrong. Please help me not to be nervous, and to be brave to go and sit with her. And please give me the words to say, and please help Amarise to want to be friends with me, and me to be a good friend.” Katherine stood up and walked across the room to the dresser. Pulling out the top drawer, she spotted her Bible and her Glow Jr. devotional and lifted them out. After pushing the drawer closed, she returned to her spot on the end of her bed. Fingering the dark pink cover of her Bible, the one that her grandmother had sent her in the mail one year for her birthday back when she still lived with her mom, she added, “And thank You for being my Friend that sticketh closer than a brother, and for always being with me, even if I had to move a long way away.” **** Katherine walked through the long church hallway, holding tight to Nana's hand as they walked past a couple other families who had been early as well. Several doors lined each side of the hallway. She looked ahead at the door at the end on the left side of the hall, her classroom. Miss Sydney, her teacher, stood at the door talking and laughing with a couple parents. The butterflies that had been in her stomach earlier that morning began to flit around a bit as they approached the door. She turned her eyes downward, almost looking at the floor. “Good morning, Katherine! You're really early,” Miss Sydney greeted. Katherine brought her eyes up to meet her teacher's bright green ones. “Good morning,” she returned. Nana poked her head into the room as Miss Sydney returned to the conversation she has been holding. She turned back to Katherine, who was still holding onto her hand. Leaning closer to Katherine's ear, she almost-whispered, “Amarise is here. She's actually the only one here yet.” Katherine tightened her grip on Nana's hand. The only one there? That would mean she would be in there alone, all by herself with Amarise. Why couldn't she have just stayed up in the auditorium with Nana and Grandpa until it was time for Sunday School to start? Then she wouldn't have to talk to Amarise all alone. “Go ahead,” Nana interrupted her worrying. Nana tried to slip her hand out of Katherine's tight grasp, causing Katherine to instinctively tighten her grip. “I'm scared to,” Katherine whispered to her grandmother, who was still leaned down close to her granddaughter's ear, and she cast a quick, hesitant glance into the classroom. “It won't be that bad, Sweetie. Jesus will help you. You're trying to be a friend for Him after all,” Nana assured. “This is actually a great opportunity for you to try to make friends with her, being just you and her. Why don't you go ahead and go in there, and just sit beside her and talk? I'm sure it won't seem so scary once you go sit down.” Nana gave a quick squeeze to her hand, and then pried her hand loose. “Alright?” Katherine hesitated, then gave a slow nod. “Alright,” she agreed, playing with the sequins on the sleeve of her dress. Nana gave her a slight push forward. “Love you. I'll be praying for you,” she whispered. “I love you too,” Katherine whispered back. She looked into the classroom. The butterflies were still flitting around, making her kind of want to leave and go hide somewhere. She turned around to look at Nana, but she was already walking back down the hall. Taking a deep breath, she willed herself forward into the classroom, past Miss Sydney and the other adults, who were still busy talking. Amarise sat at the end of the last of the three white folding tables lining the light blue room. Her blonde, curly head was turned away from Katherine, looking at the wall. For a moment, Katherine just stood there, staring at the back of the other girl. She pinched the side of her dress, fiddling with the brightly colored fabric. Amarise turned her head hesitantly towards Katherine, then dropped her green eyes down to the table. “Um,” Katherine mustered up the courage to say, twisting a bit, “Can I sit with you?” “Sure.” Amarise kept her eyes on the table. “Okay.” Katherine walked over to Amarise, pulled out the small blue chair beside hers, and sat down. Smoothing the skirt of her dress over her knees, she began, “My Nana said that you were new here.” Amarise nodded. “I'm new too. I just moved to my grandparents'. Do you like it here?” “I guess so,” she replied. A moment of silence followed, leaving Katherine racking her brain for something to say, before Amarise added, bringing her eyes up to meet Katherine's for the first time, “It's kinda fun being the youngest.” “You're the youngest?” Amarise nodded. “Yeah. They have two kids, but they're older. I don't have any real siblings,” she informed her, still keeping her voice at a hesitant, shy low. “I don't have any siblings either. And Nana and Grandpa don't have any other kids at their house.” “Is it lonely there?” Amarise asked, her eyes filled with genuine interest and concern. “Sometimes it is.” Here was her chance to ask! Taking an involuntary deep breath, Katherine ventured, “Do you want to be friends with me?” “Sure,” Amarise agreed, jumping up a bit in her chair. “That would be fun. I don't really have any friends here yet.” “Me neither. But now we do.” “Yeah.” A small smile was over Amarise's thin lips. Neither of the girls said anything for a moment, though this time Katherine didn't feel so desperate to find something, but she finally did speak up. “Do you like Sunday School?” “Yeah. It's kinda loud though.” “Yeah, it is. But I guess the other kids are just excited and more comfortable than we are. Maybe we'll be louder when we get more comfortable.” Amarise snickered a bit. “I'll never be as loud as those boys though,” she vowed. “You mean those three brothers?” Katherine asked, laughter tinting her voice. Amarise nodded. “The ones that were playing cowboys and Indians last week.” “And then got the other boys to be rustlers and sheriffs,” Katherine remembered. “Yeah, them,” Amarise shook her blonde head. “They get too excited.” “But, besides people being loud, do you like Sunday School?” Katherine changed the subject. “Yeah.” Amarise twisted a silver bracelet on her wrist. “I like the stories. I've never really heard those before.” “The Bible stories that Miss Sydney tells you mean?” Amarise nodded. “Like the one she told last week about the angel who came to that woman and told her about Jesus and stuff. I'd never heard that story before.” “Mary you mean? You've never heard that story?” Sure, Nana had told her that Amarise might not know a whole lot about God and the Bible, but Katherine wouldn't have thought she wouldn't even know the Christmas story! “No,” Amarise shrunk back a bit in her chair “Is that bad?” “No,” Katherine quickly assured her, “It's just that I, well, I didn't know that you didn't know the Christmas story. That's one of my favorites.” “Oh. I know it now though, and I like it so far. Why is it your favorite though?” “I like it cause it's about how Jesus was born for us, and I like to think about how Mary must have felt, and how the angels looked, and about how amazing it is that God was born so that He could die for us.” A couple more girls, followed by a little boy, walked in and sat down at the table on the other side of the room. Katherine's eyes fell to the table, feeling shy now that there were so many in the room. Amarise's quiet voice beside her brought her mind away from her nervousness and back to their conversation. “What do you mean?” “What do I mean about what?” “That He came to die.” “He was born so that He could die on the cross when He grew up.” “But why would He want to do that?” More children trickled into the classroom, several coming in groups of twos or threes, and the classroom was filling with voices. Three girls sat down at the table Katherine and Amarise were at, but they were talking among themselves, leaving the two new friends a couple more moments to talk. “So that we could go to Heaven when we die. He had to die for us and take our punishment for all the bad things we do so that we could go. That's why He was born from Mary,” Katherine explained, leaning towards Amarise, feeling shy about the other children overhearing their conversation. More children came and sat down in the room, including a couple boys who came and sat down at the table with Katherine and Amarise, followed by Miss Sydney. “I don't get it,” Amarise whispered back. Miss Sydney walked up to the front of the room. “Okay, y'all,” she called, quieting several of the conversations. Katherine leaned closer to her new friend. “Miss Sydney will probably tell more of the story about it today,” she whispered. And don't forget to come back next week for the rest of the story! What have you been doing for Christmas? Do you enjoy reading Christmas stories?
When we think of giving gifts on Christmas, we usually think about giving gifts to other people. Sometimes we'll even think of picking something special that we wouldn't normally do for Jesus for His birthday. But have you ever thought about what gifts God gives us at Christmas (and all year round too)? Christmas is really all about God's Gift to us, His Son in the form of a baby to eventually be the Sacrifice for our sin so that, if we accept the Gift, we can have His righteousness. But there are many more gifts that God gives us in addition to that. James 1:17 talks about God's gifts: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." Let's get on with what some of those good and perfect gifts are. 1) Eternal LifeThis is by far the best Gift that God has ever given to mankind or that you could ever receive! It's the most important decision you'll ever make. How amazing that God would even care to save us after, having created us for Him, we chose sin and continually choose it every day! That He would take on all of our sin in exchange for His righteousness! And that we don't have to do anything but believe, repent of our sin, and accept Jesus as our Savior! If you haven't made this decision or if you aren't exactly sure what all it's even about check out the Becoming a Daughter page for an explanation. Most of these other blessings are only for those who have accepted Him as their Savior. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." ~John 10:27-28 2) JoyWhile others go about their lives with sorrow and darkness, we as Christians have joy. Joy from God Himself. It's not just happiness, a fleeting feeling of satisfaction. But it's an everlasting joy that, even in hard times, kindles brightly. "The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish." ~Proverbs 10:28 "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." ~Psalm 16:11 3) StrengthNo matter how strong we think we are, in reality, we can't do anything on our own. God gives us the breath that keeps us alive. It's easy to think of God's strength as something that we need during hard or challenging times, but it's something that we need every single moment of our day. One interesting thing to note though is that, not only does strength come from God, but God is our Strength. "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." ~Philippians 4:13 "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." ~Isaiah 40:29-31 "The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments." ~Habakkuk 3:19 4) PeaceKnowing and believing that there is someone greater than you Who loves you and will take care of everything brings peace. Knowing that you are in a right standing with God and will be in Heaven with Him brings peace. Being able to go to our Heavenly Father about everything brings peace. God didn't make us to carry all of the stress that we so often do. He made us to enjoy the perfect peace that He has for us as His children. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." ~John 14:27 "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 4:6-7 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." ~Isaiah 26:3 5) FavorGod gives us favor. He loves everyone, shown by His death and resurrection for us, but the Bible talks about God taking a special interest in His children. It's amazing that we can be favored by God. Not only has He redeemed us, but He wants and delights in having a special relationship with us. "For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield." ~Psalm 5:12 "The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy." ~Psalm 147:11 6) PurposeAlot of young people today seem to struggle with depression. Even if it's not what they would identify as depression, they find themselves wondering if they really matter and what they're even here for. The teachings of evolution only compound this problem. But as daughters of the King, we have a purpose. We have the most amazing purpose given to us by God Himself. "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." ~1 Peter 2:9-10 7) WisdomWith the God of the universe being our Heavenly Father, whom we are told to approach boldly, why should we find ourselves not knowing what to do or what to think about something? He wants to give us His wisdom, but we get it by asking Him for it and reading His Word. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed." ~James 1:5-6 "For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding." ~Proverbs 2:6 8) LifeWe wouldn't be able to enjoy any of these blessings if it weren't for this one. God created us in His image so that we could have fellowship and a relationship with Him. But He didn't stop with giving us life; when we ask Him to be our Savior and then we continue to thrive in Him, we find that He's given us abundant life. "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." ~Genesis 2:7 "The spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life." ~Job 33:4 9) CreationBefore God even made man, He made the world and everything in it for us to live with and have dominion over. Now it's a constant reminder to us of God's glory, beauty, creativity, majesty, and still others of His traits. "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." ~Genesis 1:28 "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork." ~Psalm 19:1 "And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:" ~Hebrews 1:10 10) Our circumstancesWhether our circumstances are good or bad in our understanding, they are what God has given us, and He only gives us what's best for us, even if it doesn't seem like what's best to us. Even the trials of our lives are used to ultimately bring good and satisfaction. "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." ~James 1:2-4 "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." ~Romans 8:28 "Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness of heart through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:" ~1 Peter 1:6-7 11) The bestAs touched on in the last point, God only gives us what's best. We can trust Him with our lives, hearts, minds, and souls because He loves us. He never uses His wisdom against us, but instead He uses it to understand us better than we understand ourselves and to give us exactly what we need, even if we don't recognize it. "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." ~Jeremiah 29:11 "It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places." ~Psalm 18:32-33 Can you think of any other gifts that God gives us?
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