Tia Price

I woke up today thinking about  the various New Years messages, resolutions, goals, etc.  When I listened to 104.9 FM on the way home from work they were discussing seting realistic New Years’ goals/resolutions and not getting discouraged if you don’t succeed in the first month.  At New Birth the New Years message was about Waiting (active) and Stoping (Stand still, Trust God, Obey God, and Praise God in advance).  The messages were great but it seems that everywhere I turn in the New Year people are looking at the whole year, the end of year 2010.

When think about what God wants for me I can’t think of a whole year (and I am a goal setter).  God has layed it upon my spirit to think smaller.  Shorter than a month, a day, even an hour.  he ahs asked me to live for Him “by the minute”.  Living for Him by the minute seems a whole lot easier than making plans for a tomorrow that He may not give me.  It is realistic.  When we wake up in the morning we don’t know what the day will bring.  We can plan and direct and visualize all we want to but we do not have that power.  God does.

The only thing we can control is the choices we make minute to minute.  You might even say second to second.  Do I listen to the Holy Spirit when he tells me to take a different route to work or do I allow habit to determine my route?  Do I stop and speak to the person God has pointed out to me or do allow “how I might look to others” to push me to keep walking?  Do I follow my classroom management plan exactly or do I talk to the student and discover that his family is struggling at home?  True change is all about immediate choices.  In this minute are you going to make the right choice… or the wrong one?

This minutes choice for me:  Get ready for school:-)

The prince should think: Christ has served me and made everything to follow him; therefore, I should also serve my neighbor, protect him and everything that belongs to him. That is why God has given me this office, and I have it that I might serve him. That would be a good prince and ruler. When a prince sees his neighbor oppressed, he should think: That concerns me! I must protect and shield my neighbor….

The same is true for shoemaker, tailor, scribe, or reader. If he is a Christian tailor, he will say: I make these clothes because God has bidden me do so, so that I can earn a living, so that I can help and serve my neighbor. When a Christian does not serve the other, God is not present; that is not Christian living.

-Martin Luther

“And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
Luke 1:33

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate His reign this year.  May you and your family be blessed in the coming new year and in years to come.  From our family to yours, Merry Christmas!

During my reading time today I came across the coolest thing I’ve read about in a long time. In her book, Until We Reach Home, Lynn Austin writes about how two characters, who speak different languages, communicate with each other by using passages in the Bible. The male character (German) would right out a passage location and the female (Swedish) character would look up the passage in the Bible of her translation.

It made me think about how many topics the Bible really does cover. Just think how universal it is; how many cultures and people are bonded by its words. I don’t know my Bible well enough to communicate with someone who doesn’t speak my language but I want to now.

How many people must have known their Bibles that way? You know, before radios, TV, video games, software, and the Internet. Before great big libraries, concordances and city life. For some, the Bible might have been the only book they owned. How often did they read their Bibles and how long would it have taken them to know it enough to think of a passage and know its location immediately? All these questions and other thoughts ran through my mind.

My solution is memorization. My daughters are memorizing verses every week. I did to when I was younger and still do. My problem is that I have grown accustomed to my concordances and online Bibles. I never placed value on knowing where to find the scriptures I memorized. I know so many and yet most of them I would not be able to find without the help of the instruments mentioned above. I think I will start my new found endeavor by going back and memorizing the locations of the scriptures I know (using my special instruments of course :-))

It is a small step but one I will take to reach my ultimate goal. How well do you know your Bible?

Has the current economy got you thinking about the true meaning of Christmas, your spending habits, and how much time you are spending with family and friends. Which would you appreciate more; a thoughtful handmade gift or a $25 dollar gift certificate? Would you have chosen differently last year? Are you sending out less Christmas cards and making more phone calls and sending more email greetings than before? Are you putting more focus on spending quality time with family or trying to avoid them because you can’t keep up with the gift-giving? Don’t get caught up. Think about what this season really means to you and follow your heart.

This season I’ve made a commitment to sharing. Sharing God’s love, sharing my time, and sharing my knowledge with others. I will serve others and in doing so demonstrate God’s love for us. I will share my time with my family and in doing so cultivate a closer bond with my girls before they hit those teenage years. I will share what I have discovered about debt and how to be free from it with everyone I encounter and release those families tied down by it so that they can enjoy life again.

I won’t worry about who I give presents to and who I didn’t. I won’t worry about how much or how little I am spending. I won’t complain about what gifts I receive or don’t receive. I will share. Those who will receive, will receive and those who will not, will not.

God’s love: John 3:16
My Time: Volunteering and Family Nights
My Knowledge: Debt Elimination