6 Christmas Memory Makers For Your Family

Angel Tree, Grapevine Mills Mall, Dec ’10

Christmastime locks memories in a child’s mind that last a lifetime. You may not remember everything as a kid, but you do remember Christmas. As parents, we can intentionally create memories for our kids that will shape their futures. Here are six, fun, meaningful and intentional memory makers we’ve been doing with our family.

1. Christmas Services:

There is no better way to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas with the family than to attend a Christmas Production or Christmas Eve service at a local church. The whole family gets dressed up, nerves get tested, and emotions get tense as everyone scurries to make it on time and composed. I love this, because it makes a memory, a fun memory about going to church together and the whole family hears the Good News of Jesus!

Milestone Church’s Christmas Services

Production: Dec 16th 7pm, Dec 17th 3pm, 5pm, 7pm, Dec 18th 9am, 11am, 1pm

Christmas Eve: Dec 24th, 1pm, 3pm, & 5pm

 

2. Christmas Light Excursion:

Pick up, or pack up some hot chocolate, put on some Christmas music and have some fun. Score the houses 0-10 and get everyone involved. If you have gifts to deliver to friends, then make that your route as you elf around the city.

3. Angel Tree

This is a great way to take kids focus off themselves and bring some joy to another. Adopt an Angel(s) the same age as your kid(s), then go shopping for the desired gift. As you shop, talk about how special this will be for the kid you’re buying for. Throughout the rest of your Christmas celebrations, talk about these kids and pray for them.

4. Christmas Movies

There are so many fun Christmas movies to watch as a family. Whether it’s Frosty or Santa Clause, Elf , or Rudolph , the main things is the memory. Get out the blankets, pop some popcorn and curl up on the couch. Embrace the moment because too soon our kids will be watching these movies with their kids.

5. Interactive Nativity Story

If you have a Nativity set, this is a great way to get the kids involved in the real story of Christmas. Read the Nativity story right out of the bible and as each character is introduced; have your kids place that character in the Nativity setting. You can even have your kids repeat some of the key dialogue from each character.

• Luke 1:26-38 (Angel Gabrielle, Mary)
• Luke 2: 1-20 (Joseph, manger, animals, Baby Jesus, shepherds)
• Matthew 2:1-11 (Wise men )

6. Birthday Cake for Jesus

Make a cake with your kids to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Let them decorate it how they think Jesus would like it. Sing Happy Birthday if you’d like, then eat it up!

What ideas or traditions do you have?

My name is…. The Initiators Impact

Initiator in action

About a year ago I was at a school function for my kids called “Donuts With Dads.” I think you get the idea. Dads bring their kids to school and eat donuts in the gym while our kids run around with their friends. It was a great time and I met some really cool guys, but as I was driving away I had a thought…. “Nobody introduced themselves to me.” I was feeling a little insecure about it and as I began to think more about it, another thought came in… “I can’t remember if anyone has ever introduced themselves to me?” You see, I am usually the one making the introduction, the initiator.

This was the first time I realized the importance of initiators. These are the people who get the conversation going, make the approach, hold the eye contact, or extend the hand. Initiators do this over and over again never knowing how the other end is going to receive it. There could be great connection or great rejection and it’s a risk every time. But here’s the thing, relationships are worth the risk, and they never have a chance until someone takes the initiative.

You can be an initiator. It is activated inside you when a desire for relationship is stronger than your nerves or insecurities. As a Christian I am looking for as many opportunities as possible for God to use me to impact someone. I call them divine intersections, when someone’s life path intersects with mine. Maybe God has it set-up for them, or maybe he has it set-up for me? Neither of us will know until someone becomes an initiator.

God’s View of Success

You Are With Me

Where Did The Bible Come From?

“The B-I-B-L-E. Yes that’s the book for me. I stand up on…” Whether you know that old song or not,  at some point in life you’ll probably ask the question… “Where did the Bible come from?” I’ve been asked this a couple times recently so I thought it may be worth a quick answer to explain how 66 books written by 40 contributors, over 1600 years, containing one fluid message inspired by one author came to be one Holy Bible. Did little angels float down the original leather bound thin-line edtition? Then how? What would you tell someone if they asked?

You may be thinking, “I’ve never even thought about this.” It’s fascinating how so many people (including myself) have committed our lives to a book we know the author (God) but not where it comes from. Don’t feel overly discouraged for two reasons. First, God draws people to Himself regardless of our Bible trivia knowledge (John 6:44). You are saved by grace through faith because you trust that it’s God’s word that says you are (Ephesians 2:8). And this takes us back to the root of our questions, who first said that these words are God’s words? The answer to that is the second reason you shouldn’t feel bad for not knowing all of this yet. It’s been tested and researched for hundreds of years by skeptics and scholars much smarter than us. So even though you didn’t do the research you still got it right! Here we go.

First off, you need to know that there’s an Old and New Testament. There is a 400 year gap between the two. Now here’s some cohesive thoughts I’ve inserted from a great mind, Dr. Jim Denison, a brilliant man I met a few years back. He’ll start with the Old Testament and then quickly bring it all together.

How the Old Testament came to be

Christians typically call this section the Old Testament, but those who wrote the New Testament didn’t. When Paul, writing from death row in Rome, asked Timothy for his scrolls and parchments (2 Tim 4:13), he was asking for his copies of the only Bible he knew. Most scholars appropriately call these 39 books the Hebrew Scriptures.

The Hebrew Bible was first divided into Law, Prophets, and Writings, the arrangement current in Jesus’ day (see Lk 24:44). The Jews numbered the Scriptures as 24 books, combining Ezra/Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, and the 12 Minor Prophets as “The Twelve.” These books were written and compiled over centuries of use. According to Jewish tradition, a council of rabbis and scholars met at Jamnia on the Mediterranean Sea, in AD 90 and again in AD 118. They finalized the list of books as we have them today, recognizing what their people had accepted as God’s word for centuries.

How the New Testament joined the Old

Eventually the Christian movement began recording its faith and doctrines as well. The eyewitnesses to Jesus’ life and ministry were dying or growing old. Fraudulent claims were beginning to appear. Believers needed a canon (“rule”) by which to measure truth and defend the faith. The New Testament was the result. Over time, four criteria were developed for accepting a book as inspired.

First, the book must have been written by an apostle or based on his eyewitness testimony. Matthew the tax-collector was a disciple of Jesus before he wrote his gospel, as was John. Mark was an early missionary associate of Paul (Ac 13:4-5) and was a spiritual son to Peter (1 Pt 5:13); early Christians believed that he wrote his gospel based on the sermons and experiences Peter related to him.

Luke was a Gentile physician who joined Paul’s second missionary journey at Troas (note Ac 16:10, where Luke changes the narrative from “they” to “we”); he wrote his gospel and the book of Acts based on the eyewitness testimony of others (Lk 1:1-4). Paul’s letters came from an eyewitness to the risen Christ (cf. Ac 9:1-6), as did the letters of James (half-brother of Jesus), Peter, Jude (another half-brother of Jesus), and John. This criteria alone excluded most of the books suggested for the canon.

Second, the book must possess merit and authority in its use. Here it was easy to separate those writings which were inspired from those which were not. For instance, The First Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ tells of a man changed into a mule by a bewitching spell but converted back to manhood when the infant Christ is put on his back for a ride (7:5-27). In the same book, the boy Jesus causes clay birds and animals to come to life (ch. 15), stretches a throne his father had made too small (ch. 16), and takes the lives of boys who oppose him (19:19-24). It wasn’t hard to know that such books did not come from the Holy Spirit.

Third, a book must be accepted by the larger church, not just a particular congregation. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians was an early instance of a letter which became “circular” in nature, read by churches across the faith. His other letters soon acquired such status. By the mid-second century, only the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were accepted universally by the church, as quotations from the Christians of the era make clear. Others were not considered to be inspired by God.

Last, a book came to be approved by the decision of the church. The so-called Muratorian Canon was the first list to convey the larger church’s opinion regarding accepted books of the New Testament canon. Compiled around A.D. 200, it represented the usage of the Roman church at the time. The list omits James, 1 and 2 Peter, 3 John, and Hebrews, since its compiler was not sure of their authorship. All were soon included in later canons.

The list we have today was set forth by Athanasius in A.D. 367. His list was approved by church councils meeting at Hippo Regius in 393 and Carthage in 397. These councils did not impose anything new upon the church. Rather, they codified what believers had already come to accept and use as the word of God. By the time the councils approved the 27 books of our New Testament, they had already served as the established companion to the Hebrew Scriptures for generations.

Conclusion

So who decided what books should be in the Bible? Ultimately, their Author. The same Holy Spirit who inspired the biblical revelation (2 Pt 1:20-21) led the Christian movement to those books he inspired. You can know that the Bible you hold today is the book God means you to have. He did in fact hand it to man, through man. Though the color of the cover is your choice. Jim Denison, God Issues.

10 Songs That Shaped My Life

While I’ve never been much of a musician I’ve always been captivated by the art of music. Lyrics and melodies come together for just a few minutes and impact a person for a lifetime. I love hundreds of songs, but only few have impacted my life in a profound way. Here are 10 songs that have shaped my life. Try looking past the cheese of the era and sense the power of the lyric. (Click links to play songs in Youtube.)

1. I Want To Know What Love Is, 1984, Foreigner

I connected with this song as a kid, but never quite knew why. All I knew was that when it played I could play video games better. I know it sounds odd, but something about the rhythm made my brain function faster. A few years ago I did some research and found that Mick Jones always thought of it as a spiritual song and that’s why he brought a choir in to the studio for the recording. Just a few months ago, l learned it’s one of my mom’s favorite songs. I called her to say hi, and she was on her way to a Foreigner reunion concert!

2. When God Ran, 1986, Benny Hester

The story of the “Prodigal Son”, or Loving Father, is my favorite story in the bible. This song brought it to life for me. I couldn’t find a link to the original Benny Hester version that first impacted me, but here’s a link to the Philips, Craig and Dean cover. Consequently my favorite portrait is also “Prodigal Son” by Rembrandt.

3. Honestly, 1987, Stryper

This was my favorite band as a kid and this was my favorite song. It made it to the top of the MTV charts and 23 on the Hot 100. I always connected with the song as reflecting God’s heart toward us. I got to meet the band at Kmart when I was 10, that was awesome!

4. Thank You For Giving To The Lord, 1988, Ray Boltz

Whenever I heard this song, it would bring me to tears in the backseat of my parent’s station wagon. I’d think of my childhood Sunday school teachers, Awana leaders and Kelly Canon, (Ms. Kelly) the lady who led me to Christ. This song forged in me a deep appreciation for those who serve the Church and give of their lives for others, for Christ.

5. Be The One, 1990, Al Denson

I wonder how many future pastor’s felt what I felt when I first heard this song. This song calls you to the mission of the Gospel like no other. My youth pastor, Tim Schrader played this video at Southcliff Baptist church in Fort Worth. I remember exactly where I was sitting when the song closed and I answered inside, “I will.” While cheesy as heck, I can’t help but appreciate the directness of this song to call believers to Christian living and witness.

6. Shameless, 1991, Garth Brooks

Yeah it’s an odd fit in the list. This song caught my ear while dial surfing the radio. I kept tuning back to 99.5 KPLX to hear it again, and along the way I heard a few others songs I enjoyed, within a week I became a country music fan.  A couple years later I started working in country radio, writing country music, and eventually going to school in Nashville.  It all started with Shameless.

7. Love Song, 1996, Third Day

When this song came out, I was trying to figure out, how to love God. I was maturing as a young man and struggling to connect emotionally with God. When I finally figured out how much He loved me, that took care of it. We love because He first loved us. I John 4:19

8. I Can Only Imagine, 2001, Mercy Me

I first heard this song on the radio on my way to work at the Athlete’s House in Nashville. I pulled in to the parking lot and just sat their numb with tears in my eyes. I love the line, “Would I dance for you Jesus, or in awe of you stand still”. My buddy Tony Russell introduced this song to secular radio where it ended up #5 on Billboard AC chart and even #50 on the country charts.

9. Voice of Truth, 2003, Casting Crowns

I can put this song on and get pumped up to do about anything for God. It’s easy to know when I am scared, because you’ll hear me humming this song under my breadth. Before doing a funeral, preaching a message, navigating conflict, or walking into a devastating situation, I sing this to build my faith in who God is and who He’s called me to be.

10. Closer To Love, 2009, Matt Kearney

This song hasn’t passed the “time test” yet, but it makes the list because is has one of my favorite lyric lines of any song… “I guess we’re all one phone call from our knees”. Tragedy in life is real, inevitable, never expected, and never answered. The hope of drawing closer to God’s love is all we have in those moments. One of my favorite things Jesus said is… “in this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.” Matt and I were friends in Nashville; he paid his dues and served his way into his destiny, a super cool guy.

What songs have shaped your life?

Window To The World

Window To The World, 10-4-10

“Four-dollar bucket of chicken…that’s so funny!” My son said this to me as I walked into the living room a couple days ago. He was sitting on the couch watching football with his grandpa. “No commercials” I reminded him and informed grandpa. I was mad some advertiser just planted something in my son’s head.

Television is an amazing window to the world. Through it, we can literally “see the world” in a way pre-television eras could only dream of. From our couch we can visually experience anything on the planet or in space a camera can capture. We can mentally explore different cultures, philosophies and worldviews; be inspired by art, moved by story, fascinated by science and thrilled by sports. Like I said, it’s an amazing window.

The thing about a window is that it works both ways. With our retina we focus out, but audio/visual stimuli is focusing in. If the television is literally a window to the world, ask yourself this, “What in the world is coming into my house… my head… my kids? A “Four dollar bucket of chicken” came through the window and impacted my son. What else is getting through?

There is enough in the world we cannot control, we must not give up the control we do have. Sometimes, that’s as simple as getting a hold of the remote control.

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. (Mat. 6:22)

A Lesson In Thankfulness

From My Journal – Two Lists of Thanks

Last week I was thanking God for various things, when all of a sudden I stopped myself. The things of thanks that were rolling off my tongue where all things that money can buy… air conditioning, house, car etc… all gifts, purchased, paid for, or billed for. All things I am thankful for, but in that moment I realized – — I need to check my heart.

My frustration led me to list out the things in my journal that I’m truly thankful for. I decided to list them in two columns. Column one was for things that can be bought with money, column two was for things that money cannot buy. This exercise taught me three things.

1. The list of things that money can buy was much shorter than the list of things money cannot buy. The further I went down the list of things money cannot buy, the deeper I went into the goodness of God in my life.

2. After comparing the two lists, and doing some direct comparisons, there was not one thing in the list of things that money can’t buy that I would trade for something in the list that money can buy. (read that again, this was huge!)

3. There are things that I even neglected to include on my list of things money can buy, because I take them for granted, such as food and freedom. Worldwide these would probably come up on the top of both sides of the list, and I simply forgot them.

After this little exercise, it opened my eyes to an even greater gratitude for God’s goodness in my life and second, a reminder to hold a higher value to the higher things. I encourage you to make your own lists, and see for yourself how great God is and how He truly knows what we need.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

Psalms 100:4

Are You Protecting or Propelling Your Wife?

Gabrielle doing the Milestone Welcome 7.18.100

Two weeks ago my wife was asked by Pastor Pat to do the “Service Welcome” at all of our weekend services. Milestone is not massive, but we run nearly 2K on the weekend, definitely bigger than her usual Small Group stage. Needless to say – out of her comfort zone.

She did the 1^st service welcome Saturday night, did alright, but never got in front of her nerves like she wanted. She came home disappointed because she wanted to do great, and really make people feel welcomed and it just never got there.

Honestly, I didn’t want her to do the welcome in the first place. Up to this point I’d been pretty quiet about the whole deal. “Why?” I wanted to keep her from the fear, disappointment, and anxiety that comes with stepping this far out of your comfort zone. I wanted to prevent any hurt, nerves, or embarrassed. I wanted to protect her.

Saturday night following the service we got home and she began to voice her disappointment. I jumped in to fix it. I wanted to give her an out. I told her we could do it together or I could do it for her. We settled in that we’d probably go with one of those options in the morning and then I went off to brush my teeth.

That’s when I decided to ask God what He had to say about the matter. While in the spiritual act of brushing my teeth, this goes through my head – “quit trying to protect her and get behind her. This is way bigger than just the welcome. This is one of the most uncomfortable thing she’s ever had to do and she’s having to really trust God in her weakness.”

I rinsed out my mouth, jumped in bed, and told her she’s doing the service welcome on her own in the morning. Told her she’s going to do great, God’s going to use her and I am going to help her. We started the coaching that night in bed. The next morning we talked some more and I met her backstage five minutes before each service to pray with her and coach her… She did awesome!

I learned that I can’t protect my wife from the discomfort of God’s process but I can propel her through it and into the great purpose God has for her. Growth is always uncomfortable and God always wants us to grow. This lesson is only the beginning.

Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. – I Peter 3:7

What Is Great?

They’re Great! Great restaurant! GOOD TO GREAT. Great Scott!!!”

So, what is great? God created us on purpose, for a purpose, to do something great. We get one shot at this life and we want to make it count, we want to make it great, be great; but what does that mean?

When we play out our passions to a point of “greatness” we often visualize a scenario of achievement to define great for us. If you’re a singer, great may be a recording career. If you’re a thinker, great may be an invention. If you’re a businessperson, great may be a CEO position. Great can be an opinion, a comparison, self defined, or defined for us, but in the end, only one definition counts…

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. – Jesus (Mark 10:42-43)

With just a couple sentences, Jesus turns the hierarchical structure of society and the ambitions of men, upside down.

GREAT = SERVING OTHERS

The voracity in which we serve others is Jesus’ measure of greatness. It is a choice today, not a someday achievement. It is a daily decision to put others before ourselves and look out for their success, betterment, fulfillment, and not our own. Great is seeing others be great. Be GREAT!