Love Extravagantly

Love Extravagantly

“We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.”

I Corinthians 13

Did you ever receive a very extravagant gift? During November and December of 1996 my husband was extremely secretive. He would go out on unexplained trips and have secretive conversations at church. Finally, late Christmas Eve afternoon I was sent to the bedroom with the door shut while he brought in the big surprise, covered in quilt after quilt so not one square inch of it showed. He was very pleased with himself and would not let me near the thing for the whole evening. The next morning at the very first light I padded to the bathroom (because that is what women do when they are great with child) and saw the light beginning to shine on the great monstrosity that sat in the middle of the living room. I awakened Tim and we headed to turn on the Christmas lights and start coffee. This was our first Christmas on our own and I think we were both a bit nervous about it measuring up to the other Christmases we had both known. Tim told me to open my gift. Carefully I removed the layers of blankets and quilts. Beneath the layers was a cherry wood cradle, lovingly handmade by a man in our church and my husband. The spindles were each hand-turned and the wood had been sanded to the texture of pure glass. The pieces were put together with wooden pegs, with no nails or screws used at all. It was exquisite. Tears leapt to my eyes. Money had been tight yet my husband had squirreled away the cash to buy this quality wood. Mr. Bill had literally spent hours carving and sanding and measuring to make this perfect piece of furniture. He had made only two before, one for each of his grandchildren, and yet he had poured out hours crafting this cradle for me and the baby in my womb. My heart told me that the hours he poured into this place that my child would rest her head were small compared to the hours he had prayed for the health of this child I had been told would never be.

The gift was extravagant. My heart was so full. I was loved extravagantly. This is the kind of love God lavishes on us. This is the kind of love He wants us to lavish on others. The dictionary says that extravagant is abundant and beyond what is reasonable. Most days we don’t have to wait for that opportunity. When I bake a pie for my husband when he was grumpy that morning, it is loving extravagantly. When I smile at the lady in the grocery store that has 38 items in the 10 items or less aisle and let her go ahead of me I am loving extravagantly. When someone lets me down once again and I continue to love them I am loving extravagantly. Something tells me there are enough relatives in most households this time of year to give most of us plenty of opportunities to love extravagantly. This Christmas why not find as many opportunities as you can to love others beyond what is reasonable. After all, isn’t that what brought our Lord to the manger anyhow?

Discussion Question
Who has shown me extravagant love? How can I show extravagant love to someone tomorrow?

Family Activity
Make a list of five people that you are going to make an effort to love extravagantly over the next few days. Go out of your way to love them better than they deserve. Enjoy watching them and their looks of confusion at your extravagant acts of love.

Joy to the Heart

Joy to the Heart

Joy - Week three - Friday

“The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb.” Psalm 19:7-10



Ever wonder what a precept is? What are these precepts that give joy to the heart. The dictionary says that a precept is a principle that guides someone’s actions. Because of my work as an applied behavior therapist, I understand this concept very well. I frequently lay out principles to guide a child’s behavior. A great example is communication. A child with autism may not have any words and I come in and demand that they communicate their wants and needs…that if they want that train they are going to have to sign or talk or show me a picture to ask for it. They may weep and wail and gnash their teeth but in the end they get it and then suddenly they realize this is pretty cool because they can tell people what they want and need and they understand and they actually get it. And it doesn’t just bring them joy…those around them find great joy from these principles that are being followed. That is how God’s precepts are at times. We may argue with Him and fight with Him and then we resign to His ways and find that it was the right way all along and we were silly to battle Him. We find joy in following His precepts. Learn to trust His heart and His precepts and find the joy that comes from obedience.


Discussion Question


What does joy look like to you? What does it feel like? How do others know when you are experiencing joy?


Family Activity


Why not make some joyful luminaries to line your sidewalk or driveway? Using some paper lunch sacks, cut out designs on each side. You can have small children draw designs in yellow and older children or adults can cut out the designs. Put about an inch of sand in each one and set them along the sidewalk or driveway. Add a small votive cup and candle and light them. Add some sand or dry beans to the bottom to keep them upright. Be creative in how you can share the real joy of Christmas through this decoration.

Paying Attention to the Message of Peace

Paying Attention to the Message of Peace

Peace - Week Two - Friday

“And the angel said unto them, “Fear not: for, behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you, ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Luke 2:10-14

Shepherds in the field were not usually the first to find out the latest news. They spent their time with sheep that have a reputation of not being terribly intellectual and with other shepherds who spent their time out in the fields and the countryside, not in the towns and cities. No one dropped by with a Sunday paper. They didn’t get CNN. They could not bring up the internet. Nope, not even a text. They spent much of their life pretty much cut off from the rest of the world. They were an unlikely bunch to hear the news of Christ’s birth first…or news of any kind first, for that matter. So on this night when the city is bustling with so much activity that there is not even one single room to house another visitor, they are out in the fields under the stars. I can’t help but wonder if one of them, who were so familiar with the stars that shone above them, might have noticed that one star shone a little brighter…looked a little less familiar…seemed a little different than the others. Was it possible that wasn’t there before? On this night of restless activity in Bethlehem these shepherds are sitting under a starry sky and being still. And then the sky lights up like the noonday sun, blinding the shepherds under its intensity. Shielding their eyes, they try to see what it might be that had invaded their quiet night. I cannot begin to imagine the fear they must have felt. But the angel comes to them and says, “Look, you have absolutely nothing to be afraid of, as a matter of fact you are not going to believe the news I have. It is the greatest news you can imagine for unto you is born this day, right up the road in Bethlehem, the Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” Then the angel proceeds to tell them how to find this baby, after which he is joined by a huge choir of angels saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men.” Then the angels are gone…simply gone, perhaps leaving the shepherds to wonder if they would make the cover of the Bethlehem Enquirer if they shared with folks what had just transpired. Nonetheless it took them about a split second to decide to ditch the sheep and head to Bethlehem. It took them just a second because they knew Who had made it known to them….”Let us go see this thing that the Lord has made known to us”.

I don’t know if the angels came to the shepherds because they were quiet and still and prepared to listen or perhaps God simply wanted the common man to know that His Son had arrived among them, the Lamb that would pay for our sins. We cannot know why God chose a group of lowly shepherds to share the biggest news in the world but we can know that they were given an opportunity to find peace and they dropped everything and headed for the stable where they were told they could find it.

And so I sit amongst piles of ribbons and rolls of wrapping paper with a to do list a mile long. I haven't noticed the stars in days and stillness is something I simply long for...not experience regularly. And yet, at this time of year especially, God wants me to receive the very same message. He wants me to understand that His Son has arrived and all this is about Him. He wants me to quiet my heart and feel the awe of it. God's own Son dwelling right here...in my heart, bringing me peace.

What about you this Christmas? Do you have peace with God? Jesus came to be that peace (Micah 5:5). It is free and it is for you. Why not find true Peace this Christmas?

Discussion Question

What does it mean to say that Jesus is Peace? How is He the peace between God and man? What do you have to do to have the Peace in your life?

Family Activity

Together create a Bethlehem Gazette or a newscast in which you pretend you are the ones telling of the events in Luke chapter 2. You may want to dress up and pose for pictures that depict the parts of the story. You can work together and draw pictures. If you are technically adept you might make it all on the computer. Then you can send it out to family members and friends who will enjoy the fun but also hear the message of Christmas.

A Heart of Rest and Peace

Peace - Week 2 - Wednesday

"David said to Solomon: "My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the LORD my God. But this word of the LORD came to me: 'You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.' "Now, my son, the LORD be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the LORD your God, as he said you would. May the LORD give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the LORD your God. Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the LORD gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged… He said to them, "Is not the LORD your God with you? And has he not granted you rest on every side? … Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the LORD your God. Begin to build the sanctuary of the LORD God…

I Chronicles 22:5-19

In this passage of Scripture, David tells of his desire to build a beautiful and magnificent sanctuary for God. He has all the supplies needed to do it. He has craftsmen from throughout the known world at that time. It says he has more trees than he can count. He has a plan. He is ready to build. So why did his son build the Temple instead of him? He was missing one key ingredient. God told him to wait. God told him that his life had been about turmoil and war and destruction. God told him that He needed a man of peace and of rest to focus on this job of building the Temple. And while David was a man after God’s own heart, the disruption around him kept him from building this sanctuary before God… this Temple that would be worthy of housing the Ark of the Covenant which represented God’s presence housed within it. Several times in this passage, God’s Word reiterates that Solomon would build it because he was a man of peace and rest and that God would grant the nation rest during this critical time.

The Scripture clearly tells us that we as Christians are the Temple of God. We are to prepare our hearts and lives with the same type of attention as one would in building a Temple to God. But this requires periods of rest and peace. It requires seasons when we shut out the world and quiet the busyness around us and even our own hearts to focus on building our lives on Him. For us, nothing may seem more difficult. Everything we are doing feels very important. Everything David was doing was very important, too (Well, except for that whole Bathsheba thing) but it meant he lacked the focus to do this important task of building. In this season of celebration of the birth of Christ, set aside time to have rest and peace….to focus solely on building your personal relationship with God and that of your family’s. Make time to worship Him privately and corporately. Enjoy periods of resting in Him and building your relationship with Him. Enjoy times with your family away from the technology you think you can’t live without…and rest.

In the book The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan, the author says this about taking time for true rest and quiet:

"Indeed, this is the essence of a Sabbath heart; paying attention. It is being fully present, wholly awake, in each moment. It is the trained ability to inhabit our own existence without remainder, so that even the simplest things... the in and out of our own breathing, the coolness of tile on our bare feet, the way the wind sculpts clouds into crocodiles and polar bears...gain the force of discovery and revelation. True attentiveness burns away the layers of indifference and ennui and distraction...all those attitudes that blend out days into a monochrome of sameness and reveals what is hidden beneath , the staggering surprise in infinite variety of every last little thing. "

Take time this year to notice and thank God for the delights He sends to our senses. Notice the way the lights twinkle on the tree, how different arrangements of the same Christmas carol touch us in a different way, the smell of cinnamon and spices, the hugs and kisses, and so much more. Live in the awareness that this is the everyday beauty God has given you to enjoy…..don’t miss one bit of it!

Discussion Questions

Take turns naming at least one way you enjoy this season for each of your senses. I love smelling this….I love tasting this….I love hearing this…I love seeing this…I love feeling this.

Family activity

Choose one night to shut out the noise. Turn off televisions and computers and phones. Shut off the video games. Listen to Christmas music while you do something together as a family. Make popcorn and cranberry garland to hang on your outside trees. Make Christmas gifts together. Play a game. Enjoy just growing together as a family. To finish off the night, have a devotional time together. Pray together. Grow in Christ together. I am thinking this may just turn out to be something you want to do again and again.