Seven Sacrifices to Joy!

Thanks for stopping by today. Hmm, my mind is on the upcoming holiday, swirling with all the facades of romance. Grab your coffee, your red Strand of Faith and let’s go talk about sacrifice and Valentine’s Day!
Ah, so a little over a week ago, I took a little breather from what I was doing – actually I was cleaning out my email and there was a Groupon ad in there for whale watching in Newport Harbor, so I checked it out and thought, huh, this would be a fun thing to do for V-Day, and if I wait for my honey to do anything romantic… I may be disappointed. So, without reservation, I booked a reservation for a whale/dolphin watching cruise for February 14^th, this Valentine’s Day.  At least I knew we would do something “romantic.”
What does this have to do with sacrifice, you’re wondering? Well, I’m glad you wondered aloud because the sacrifice on my part is taking the burden from my husband and initiating the romance instead of always expecting him to do it! I’ll tell you, our men get a bad rap, having to not only provide the majority of anything which requires money, but also be romantic, too?
But as the days blurred into one another and this holiday is getting closer, I’m feeling a little nudge on my heart to include in our little excursion some single friends who are in their SOS, their season of singleness. Oh, I remember my SOS and how I would cringe with loneliness and a bit of resentment the closer we got to V-Day. It’s a difficult day/evening for single people, don’t you think?
Don’t get me wrong; I’m all for romance in marriage for that is where/when it is desperately needed. I just wonder what it is we sacrifice to make it what we want it to be. If I am honest with myself, especially since we no longer have kids at home, we could do something romantic any day of the week, seven days a week, any time of the month and many times throughout the year. Why do we need a holiday to tell us to be romantic?
Oh, but I need work in this area, to initiate that romance and do my part to keep the love alive … this would be a sacrifice for it would take me into waters unfamiliar, where my feet have never wandered, stretching me and increasing my stock in Spandex! I think I’ll ask my husband, without telling him what we’re doing what he thinks would be for the greater good!
So, let’s bring this whole sacrifice subject full circle, back to where we started a couple of days ago, with the verse found in Hosea 6:6 which resonates the words of Matthew 9:13: “For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
What in the world is Jesus saying? While religious “rules” can help us understand God and even nourish our relationship with Him, especially if we look at them as safety lines, they are only helpful if carried out, followed with an attitude of love for and an obedience to God. Jesus Himself showed concern (mercy) for others over ritualistic observances and legalistic behavior; the ultimate act of mercy demonstrated in His being unjustly accused … and saying nothing – talk about a sacrifice – His beatings and not saving Himself – again, a sacrifice within a sacrifice because every super hero we know comes to the rescue and brings a happy ending. Contrarily, Jesus didn’t save Himself; He gave Himself.
To truly know Christ is to know that He will stop at nothing to teach you everything. The only thing He asks for is your sacrifice, one piece at a time.
I think we’ve pretty much covered what we need to learn about the contexts of sacrifice. Join me tomorrow for Faith-Filled Fridays with Debbie, and next week for our February WOW! Then we will move into the actual Seven Sacrifices …
Love,
Evinda

The 7 Sacrifices to Joy! From Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power…

Happy day to you and thanks so much for joining me for more of the Seven Sacrifices to Joy! Did you ever think in your wildest dreams that God would use so many principles to teach us about joy? I had no idea, seriously! And then to discover that many of these ingredients to a healthy life — joy, righteousness and communication — are actually considered sacrifices! Wow, I am humbled by all He continues to teach me despite me, encouraging me toward less of me and more of Him! Grab your coffee and let’s hope and pray we can get through the final part of this third sacrifice, the sacrifice of communication.
So far we’ve been able to come up with a few diamonds in our digging through some scriptures about communication, which actually translates to fellowship. We’ve learned much from one of the most prolific communicators in the Word of God, Paul. Come with me to discover another huge benefit of fellowship/communication and how we can best utilize it as a sacrifice in our daily walk with our Keynote Speaker.
God knew we would have difficulty in this area of communication and fellowship that brings unity, so He sent us a Helper, his Holy Spirit. He longs for us to communicate with Him; that’s without a doubt! But He doesn’t leave us without help and that humbles me, knowing He loves us enough to not let us figure this stuff out on our own. What a loving God we have!
We are told in Romans 8:26 that when we do not know what to do or what to say, the Spirit will intercede for us! This goes for anything, anytime, anyhow and anywhere! And that’s not just for His benefit, but for ours. It’s to help us stay in fellowship with Him, first and foremost, and then when we step outside of our personal relationship with Christ, and seek that fellowship with like-minded followers of Christ, we are told in 2^nd Corinthians 13:14 that we also share together a fellowship with the Holy Spirit!
The Holy Spirit is the Super Glue for unity in the church. If we relied more on His Spirit to guide us in our interactions, there would be more unity among the diversity creating harmony that is ever so pleasing to His ears.
Paul tells us in Philippians 2:1-4 that without the Helper, unity in the church would not be possible! We are to lean on the Spirit, not our own understanding, but how many of us forget this when we are wounded by someone within the church? And trust me when I say, I’m talking to myself here. We must be led by His spirit and not our flesh to maintain that unity for that is true fellowship. When we are out of unity with any member of His church, then we are out of alignment with Him, the one we are engaged to, the One we are waiting for.
Don’t misunderstand me; there are those people whom you can never please, who will never appear on your list of your top ten friends, family members, et cetera, but when you think of them, are you keeping a list of all the ways they’ve offended you? Is there a little tug on your heart when you merely think about them, a little sting of bitter seeping into the soul? We need His Spirit to reveal the answers to these questions and then be the healer of the hurt!
Oh that we would be in fellowship with the Spirit so we may be guided by the Spirit and not our flesh; that we would be a part of the solution, and not part of the problem, creating true unity in the church, protecting our relationship with our Bridegroom, the One who we are waiting for, the one we are engaged to, and hopefully with!
So I almost made it to the final part of the sacrifice of communication! Next week; I promise! Join me tomorrow for a fun new series based on the book, Not a Fan, by Kyle Idleman!
Koinonia to you, my coffee hour friend,

Evinda

Nana Holds from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Thanks for coming to share your coffee break with me and more of this sweet series. I still can’t help but be amazed with the changes in my heart since I wrote the very first blog of Nana Holds. God is so good, so faithful, working all things to our good and His glory. Grab your coffee and come on in.

I began to look forward to our Sundays which began with church, breakfast, maybe a quick grocery shopping trip before heading off to spend a few hours with Bryce at the Castle in Riverside and in between all of that were many special moments.

We normally park in the same place for church – my husband is such a creature of habit! He likes to park in a place that he won’t get door-dinged so he usually parks on the street. I can hear Bryden’s words as soon as he touches the concrete sidewalk: “Wet’s run, Nana; Wet’s run,” and off we’d go, running down the sidewalk and onto the church property, in the back door and down the hall, right to his little class. And he wouldn’t even stop to collect a hug or a kiss, let alone $200!  He went right in and would always begin to play with the other children.

After church, if we go to breakfast, it’s usually the same place, Gus’s in Redlands. Lo’ and behold, we’d always order the same thing: Bryden loves their pancakes and while we still couldn’t get him to eat eggs, this is where Bryden tried something else besides pancakes: bacon, and he liked it, or as he says, “I wike it!”

Bryden in sugar heaven!

After breakfast, we’d head for Stater Brothers for our weekly grocery shopping. Herein lay some habits that make me smile, like running through the parking lot to the entrance. Part of my maternal instinct is screaming at the child in me raring to join him; and I finally, I quiet the screaming mama and throw caution, not completely to the wind, but enough to enable myself to join him. Don’t panic; of course I stay somewhat ahead of him to protect him from unseen cars.

Once inside, he and papa go to the same place to look for the car shopping cart. He’d much rather ride in a car than in the top little shelf inside the grocery shopping cart. Usually we score, and shopping is a bit easier with him safe and sound in the cab. Don’t tell him, but I like this because he doesn’t seem to see as many things that he has to have, cookies, candy, toys, et cetera.  Speaking of cookies, that’s also become one of our habits; we buy Oreo cookies, yep, uh-huh, a pack every two weeks. I know; someone call the sugar police on me, please!  But, in my defense, I’ve learned to use them to not just our advantage, but his as well.

I hear you thinking, so let me answer your questions before you ask. “Bryden, when” – and I try not to say if – “you eat your dinner, you get two cookies.” Guess who more often than not eats all his dinner, including his veggies? Give up?

Join me Thursday for a journal entry which includes more memories with all three of our grandchildren that make me smile and squeeze my heart.

Evinda

Nana Holds!