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Have you Shown Your Love Today?

What makes your husband (or wife) happy? Certainly we know what pleases ourselves, and can name a litany of things with a moment's notice. But are you as good of a study of your spouse as you are of yourself? Do several things come to mind easily, or are you stumped?

What would happen in your relationship if you spent time praying how to be a better mate ... and listened for God's response? Inspired by the movie Fireproof, my Bible-study group recently went through The Love Dare book, taking a 40-day challenge to show unconditional love toward our husbands. And the process was quite revealing.

In answer to my prayers, God showed me numerous ways to bless my husband. Surprisingly, it was the little things that seemed to matter the most to him. It's not that big of an inconvenience for me to prepare dinner by 6 pm, or to watch an action movie on date night when I'd rather watch a chick flick. True, some were harder than others, and required more sacrifice on my part. But as I went out of my way to bless him, and put his needs ahead of mine, an unexpected thing happened.

He began to respond with thoughtful deeds and small sacrifices of his own. Although he had no idea that I was going through The Love Dare, it was as if he was reading the same book and taking the same challenges. Everyone knows a dog bites when you kick it and wags its tail when you pet it. Can human nature be as simple as that?

It bears mentioning here though, that the purpose of the book is to help you discover your weaknesses and make positive steps toward loving your spouse unconditionally. This is not a book on how to change your mate. But as I shared some of my experiences going through the book with my group, I was amazed to learn that my friends were experiencing some of the same surprising results. Our husbands, consciously or not, noticed a change in us and were responding in kind.

The 40 days is past now, and I am trying to retain those lessons learned. My day is full of opportunities to react the wrong way or make a mess of things, but God always provides an option to choose love.

Evening is approaching, and dinner needs to be made, so I must go now. But before I do, can I ask, have you shown your love to your spouse today?

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A Christian’s New Year’s Resolutions

By Sallie Hagen

We’ve all heard or read that the majority of New Year’s resolutions are abandoned by the end of January. In fact, the mere mention of New Year’s resolutions conjures up memories of past years’ failures, so many of us don’t even make them any more.

But we all have changes that need to be made, don’t we? And the hope of a New Year with a fresh start is irresistible.

This year, as I contemplated possible resolutions for myself, I prayed to God to show me what He would have me change, whether physical, spiritual, or emotional. I prayed that He would guide me and help me examine my motivation for change, and make my motivation only to please Him. God’s answer was immediate and surprising.

He inspired me to make a list of 30 things that He wants to help me change about myself and assign one to each day of the month to focus on. With His revelation, I wrote the list immediately and printed it out and put it with my Bible to review regularly.

Since I don't want to lose the list or forget about it later in the year, I took it one step further and entered each item in my calendar program (i.e. Outlook) with a monthly recurring reminder, one for every day of the month. Every single morning one of God's reminders will pop up to help me stay on track.

I could share my list with you, but God has His own list for you. Will you ask Him to reveal it to you?

Article for Further Reading: What sort of New Year’s Resolution should a Christian make?

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Reformation Day – October 31

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church. This simple act began the Protestant Reformation. Luther opposed the selling of indulgences, saying that people could not pay to have their sins forgiven. Luther’s beliefs came from the Bible; he could not be dissuaded, so the Pope excommunicated him.

Luther also taught that salvation was not earned by good works, but a free gift from God through belief in Jesus Christ. In direct opposition to the Pope, Luther also taught that the Bible was the only source of divine knowledge. He was convinced that the Church was corrupt and was ignoring central truths of Christianity.

Luther was also responsible for translating the Old Testament from Latin to German, making it available to the common people. Later he collaborated with others to complete the New Testament translation as well.

Luther married an ex-nun that he helped escape to freedom. They had six children and he loved her dearly.

Sadly, I would be remiss not to tell the whole story about Martin Luther. Although Luther at first preached acceptance of Jews and wished to convert them to Christianity, he later advocated violence and expelling them “from all time” when his efforts to convert them failed. His contribution to Christianity was great, but it will be forever marred by his bitter hatred of Jews in his later years.

Due to the Protestant Reformation begun by Martin Luther on October 31, 1517, mainstream Protestants generally trace their separation from the Catholic Church to the 16^th century.

Resources for Further Study:

“Night of Reformation – Celebrating the Reformation with Family and Friends”

Martin Luther Biography

Kid-Friendly Medieval Menu

* Roasted Turkey or Chicken Legs *

* Apple Fritters *

* Ginger Ale *

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Celebrating Advent at Home

Don’t let busyness keep you from the real business of Christmas

By Sallie Hagen.

If you’re run ragged with Christmas preparations, consider taking time out to focus on the coming of Christ by having nightly family Bible devotions together.

Advent began on November 29 this year and ends on December 24. During Advent, Christians look forward to celebrating the Nativity of Christ, and also look forward to the second coming of Christ.

Advent Storybooks

Some of my favorite story books used to celebrate Advent at home include Arnold Ytreeide’s Advent trilogy, which includes Jotham’s Journey, Bartholomew’s Passage and Tabitha’s Travels. Each book is an exciting adventure story set at the time of Jesus’ birth and is divided into daily Advent readings with corresponding devotionals. Though hard to find in recent years, the first two books have been reprinted due to overwhelming demand and are now readily available. The stories were ideal for our entire family. Each reading is such a cliffhanger, that the kids begged for the next one. We eagerly looked forward to each day’s reading and you will too!

Bible Reading Plan

For a focused Bible reading plan option, try this one specifically designed with weekly Advent themes of hope, peace, joy and love.

Hope	Peace	Joy	Love
Isaiah 40:1-5	Isaiah 40:9-11	Habakkuk 3	Zephaniah 3:14-20
Psalm 42	Philippians 4:4-7	John 16:5-28	Psalm 89:1-4
Romans 8:18-27	Jeremiah 33:7-16	Isaiah 55:9-13	Ephesians 2:1-10
Isaiah 11:1-10	Isaiah 42:1-9	Psalm 66	Isaiah 9:6-7
Hebrews 6:13-20	Zechariah 9:9-17	1 Peter 1:3-9	Luke 2:1-20
Psalm 33	2 Corinthians 1:2-5	Psalm 96
Isaiah 35	Isaiah 52:7-10	Isaiah 12

Jesse Tree

Another meaningful way to celebrate Advent is to create a Jesse tree. In addition to reading selected passages, special symbolic ornaments are created to represent Jesus’ ancestors and the events leading to Jesus’ birth. Afterwards, the ornaments help children to easily recall the various Bible stories of Jesus’ ancestors. Jesse Tree books and ornament patterns are also widely available if you’d like some help pulling it all together.

Adam and Eve- Apple (Genesis 2:4-3:24)

Noah-Ark or rainbow (Genesis 6:11-22, 7:17-8:12, 20-9:17)

Abraham- Knife (Genesis 12:1-7, 15:1-6)

Isaac- Ram (Genesis 22:1-19)

Jacob- Ladder (Genesis 27:41-28:22)

Joseph- Colorful coat (Genesis 37, 39:1-50:21)

Moses- Tablets of the law (Exodus 2:1-4:20)

David- Harp (1 Samuel 16:17-23)

Isaiah- Lion and lamb (Isaiah 1:10-20, 6:1-13, 8:11-9:7)

Mary- Lily (Luke 1:26-38)

Elizabeth- Small home (Luke 1:39-55)

Joseph- Hammer or saw (Matthew 1:18-25)

Advent Wreath

Consider incorporating an Advent wreath into any of the above Advent activities. It consists of an evergreen wreath with four candles, three purple and one pink one. Light one purple candle the first week of Advent, two during the second week, three during the third week, and light all four during the fourth and final week. Some variations also include a white candle in the center, which is lit on Christmas day signifying the birth of Jesus. In our home, it’s a special responsibility to light the Advent candles.

It’s not too late to focus on Christ this Christmas season. Advent is a meaningful family tradition that will bless your family for years to come, even to eternity.

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Teaching Children to Obey

When directing or correcting a child, use this simple process consistently for success:

1- Attention: Get the child’s undivided attention.

2- Directions: Give the child clear directions with a reasonable time frame.

3- No Yelling: Expect the child to obey. If he or she does not obey, do not yell or nag.

4- Action: If the child did not obey, take immediate action with appropriate discipline.

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