It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's that time of year again! The leaves have changed, people are traveling to Grandma's house, trees are being decorated, and over-eating has started. Not to mention the fact that Christmas music is being played on every radio station and some type of Christmas movie is always showing on TV. It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

However, for some, it is also one of the hardest times of the year. Sometimes all people experience is the stress of trying to please everyone with the gifts they want, making sure they see every single family member, decorating, and...well, you get the picture. It's also a time of year when loved ones that have passed away are remembered and missed a little more than usual, which also brings more stress and sadness.

What most people, including myself, forget a lot of times is that this time of year is a time to experience joy, peace, hope, love, selflessness, thankfulness, and so many other things. So this year, I'm going to try to concentrate on experiencing all of those wonderful gifts that God has given me, instead of any of the other feelings people have around this time of year. Maybe you can be that little light of Jesus to the world as a reminder of who He is and what this time of year is all about. And after that, hopefully you and I will continue to be a reminder of Jesus and who He is instead of simply during this time of year, because after all...It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Mulligans for Everyone!

For those of you who aren't big golfers out there, a mulligan in golf is (according to dictionary.com) a shot not counted against the score, permitted in unofficial play to a player whose previous shot was poor. In other words, a little bit of grace shown to the other player.

A couple months ago my family and I visited some very dear friends in Florida over our fall break. We had the opportunity to see where they live, shop, eat, swim (they live about 10-20 minutes from the beach), and attend church. Now the weekend we were there just happened to be the Sunday when their pastor was out of town and they had a guest pastor speak. He spoke on grace and talked about the mulligan in his message. (Yes, I am repeating lots of what he said because I thought it was a wonderful life lesson.)

I know I keep talking about grace, and some of you might not even know what that is. Basically, it is something freely given that no one can ever earn. God extends grace to us when we sin and He did this when He sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins. Jesus did nothing wrong and lived a perfect life, but the gift of salvation was given to us when He sacrificed His life for everyone in the world. Because He paid the ultimate price for our sins on the cross, God can look at us as holy and blameless and pure. However, you have to accept the gift of forgiveness that God gave us for Him to view us in this way.

Anyway, back to the story...

The speaker kept talking about how God has given us grace and how we need to do the same for others. We need to show people God's grace. Because God has extended grace to us, we need to follow His example and do the same for others. We need to be carrying mulligans around in our pockets and have some ready to give to others.

Now, you might be wondering why I'm sharing all of this with you. You see, grace is something that is very hard for me to give out. I tend to view things in a more just manner. My thought a lot of times is, "Well, you really deserved that." But how dare I think like that. There are so many times people have extended grace to me when I don't deserve it, and I am so grateful they have. Not only that, but God has extended an abundance of grace to me. I am a wretched person who deserves death and to be separated from God for all of eternity. But God has extended grace to me that I have accepted, and I now get to spend a lifetime with Him. I don't deserve to, but He gave me that wonderful gift. (Now, are there times when you will still receive consequences and punishments? Yes. This is because God is not only a God of grace, but He is also a God of Justice. And I know all of that can be confusing, but that's another story for another day.)

God has been making it very clear to me these last couple of months that I need to extend more grace to people. The other day I found this verse on my iGoogle home page...You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Philippians 2:5 (New Living Translation). Then, on facebook, I found this post on a friend's status...Grace will be my song. These were both reminders to me to show grace to people. The verse got me thinking about how God would act and what He would do. His whole attitude would be that of grace and love. That's exactly the attitude I need to have.

These are just some thoughts on where I am on my journey learning more about extending grace and love to people. So I hope we can all remember to carry around some mulligans in our pockets to give out to people. :)

♥ Annie ♥

The Feast

The Feast. It sounds like a Thanksgiving feast filled with turkey and corn casserole and rolls and the other traditional Thanksgiving day foods, right? Well, not exactly. The Feast is an event at my church that we have been holding for four years now. And what it is is a school-on-school competition to see who can eat the most hamburgers. I know this sounds crazy or insane or weird or gross or any of the above, but it is an event that many students at the local high schools have come to know.

I love the Feast. It is a time for worship and a message, as well as a time for stuffing your face with tons of hamburgers. However, it's a little more than just that. It's a time for a seed to be planted. These kids may come for some free food that they can actually eat, but they are also being able to intake some free spiritual food. It gives them an opportunity to experience God's love and what He has to say to them. And I am someone who is all about the seed being planted...because it only takes one. After it's planted, it's our job to leave it up to God to grow it. Now that may include God nudging us to invite them to church again or it might include just loving them and showing them who God is. But one thing I do know is that every single kid there last night was there for a reason and I can't wait to see God's plan unfold in their lives. :)