Christmas Is Over

Ecclesiastes 3:1-6 "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to search and a time to quit searching; a time to keep, and a time to throw away..." ESV

Today, I took down the Christmas tree and put all of the seasonal decorations in the attic. What a chore. I dread this day every year. I love putting up all of the festive garnishments and then looking at its beauty throughout the Christmas season. But the day of taking it all down is just depressing, and what a chore it is! Usually, I delay it because I just hate it so much. My kids' birthdays are in the middle of February, and one year on their birthday, there was a birthday cake/ice cream photo taken with the unlit Christmas tree in the background. But no matter how quickly I remove all of the decor, I'm always shocked at how bare the house looks when it's done, and things have returned to their normal places.

A wise person recognizes that everything has its own season, both in our physical life and in our spiritual life. We should be able to determine the appropriate time to engage in or stop an activity. But unfortunately,we as humans would just like to live our lives in the fun times. No one wants to go through trials and storms, but such is life. Someone once told me that if I were going to thank God and enjoy the good times, then I needed to accept the hard ones in order to appreciate the good ones. Such wisdom.

The remaining two days that we have left of this year are short. Much has happened in our lives, in our country, and in our world this year. I saw a meme on social media yesterday that said "2015: The Year Everyone Got Offended." Tis true. Our world is different now. Heartache has happened, people have been taken from us, we've relocated to another part of the country, and my ministry role has changed. But through it all, God has been good.

Things may look a little different in your home, in your heart, or in your family after living through 2015. The question is, how will you end it? Make the most of these last 2 days. It's the season for organizing, for cleaning out, for taking inventory of those Christmas lights that quit the third week of December. But's it's also the season for realizing that 2016 is coming, and it's a blank slate. What will happen this coming year? None of us know the answer to the question, but we can embrace the new season upon us and clean our hearts and homes for its arrival.

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Satisfaction

Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” NLT

The goal weight had been in my head for months. I had it posted too in several places throughout my house, just to keep me focused, reminding me constantly that everything I did either contributed or hindered my weight loss. I envisioned what it would be like to finally see that number on the scale, what I would wear to my celebration party, and what I would look like on that day. Then the day came when I finally hit that goal weight. But I wasn’t happy. What I envisioned and what I saw in the mirror just didn’t match. Oh the number on the scale was correct, and my clothing size was unbelievable, even smaller than what I thought it would be. But all I saw was sagging skin, and the person looking back at me in that mirror didn’t look very happy. Would I ever be content, I thought? I was confused and frustrated, certain something had gone wrong. 

But nothing had gone wrong. Like clockwork, and with perfect math, I hit my goal weight the exact day that I thought I would, but I didn’t look the way that I thought I would either. For over a year, I had breathed, dreamed, and lived workout and fitness. I thought about ways to help my weight loss journey progress constantly, and most all of my conversations certainly revolved around the subject. As I look back on it all, I feel sorry for my friends and family whom, I’m sure, got tired of hearing me talk about it every single day. I was so laser-focused that I would often put my relationship with God to the side, only doing the bare minimum some days of reading Scripture and prayer. As so often stated before, I asked God for help, and He answered! But my mind wasn’t always focused where it should’ve been. 

Isaiah writes vividly here in this Scripture, called the Little Apocalypse, of the new creation that will exist in the last days. The descriptions are so attractive, as he details the perfect unity and harmony in which God’s people will live, and the ways that God will reveal Himself to the world. But what catches my eye is the verse on peace. Peace is often misunderstood as merely the absence of conflict, and certainly, that’s part of peace. But peace is so much more, in fact, peace is really the aspect of well-being. God has promised that those who keep their eyes on Him (instead of themselves and their own problems) will find that perfect peace.

In life, we all face hardships and problems, as we live in a fallen world. It’s just part of life. We can’t always avoid conflict, disappointments, and setbacks, but we can set our eyes on Him. And His Word has promised that when our eyes are fixed on Him, we can have perfect peace and contentment.

As I reached my goal weight, I didn’t have peace or contentment that day. I was focused on me; my self-orchestrated visions hadn’t come to fruition. Instead of celebrating and thanking God for what He had given me, I chose to walk around in a state of disappointment and frustration. How I wish I’d fixed my eyes on Jesus instead in order to have that perfect peace and contentment, and in order to see that I was still a work in progress.

Just because an outcome may look differently than what we’d hoped doesn’t mean we should reject it. We must remember that we are always going to have areas of our lives where God is at work. We’re not finished yet!

He desires to do more in our lives than to allow us to go about life, living simply in our own circumstances. He longs to give us perfect peace and contentment if only we will accept it! Keep you eyes on Him. 

Where do you need to be more content? In what areas of your life have you seen God trying to give you peace yet you’re focused on something else? 

Encouragement for Today

Ecclesiastes 1:5-6 “The sun rises and the sun sets, then hurries around to rise again. The wind blows south, and then turns north. Around and around it goes, blowing in circles.” NLT

Isaiah 64:8 “And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.” NLT

Beauty

Song of Solomon 4:7 “You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way.” NLT

My parents always told me I was beautiful. My daddy especially made it a point to build my sister and me up in every way so that as we grew older, we had confidence. But as I grew, kids were mean. As mentioned before, I have a birth defect that affects my eye alignment. It’s unnoticeable to some, but to others, it’s glaring. At every chance, kids would point it out, and sometimes, even adults. As I journeyed on in life and grew obese, I felt ugly and unsightly. Despite my best attempts at hairstyles, makeup application, and nice clothing, I still felt ugly. My husband tried his best too to make me feel loved and commented regularly that I was beautiful. Still, I didn’t feel it. I struggled too with the thought that there are so many bible verses that speak of a woman’s outward beauty as something that wasn’t necessary. I knew that soul beauty was more important, but I still struggled with the desire to like what I saw in the mirror. All I needed was to lose weight, I thought. 

Song of Solomon is a book about the love Christ has for His bride. Much debate has been discussed through the years as to whether this is really about King Solomon or Christ Himself. I happen to believe that it’s both. While the story is true for Solomon, it’s applicable to how much Christ loves us, his beautiful bride, and in turn, how much we should desire relationship and intimacy with Him. If you’ve never read through Song of Solomon, buckle your seatbelt for some interesting reading. It’s much unlike any other book in the Bible. In it, the man consistently tells the woman how much he loves her and how much he adores her. She is beautiful to him, and despite her insecurities, he insists that he loves her and finds those flaws beautiful still.

Whether we want to admit it or not, the desire for outward beauty for women is there. But like the Apostles Paul and Peter and the author of several proverbs, I agree that our truest desire should be that we are beautiful for our Bridegroom, Christ Jesus Himself. No other person’s opinion matters. We as women struggle with this desire to be beautiful, but yet Christ Himself sees who we really are. Without our makeup, on bad hair days, and even when we feel gross and ugly to the outside world, He still sees what’s on the inside. With that said, though, we can be beautiful on the outside, yet have hideous souls on the inside.

It was only when I began my healthy lifestyle change that I began to feel beautiful. Some reading this may say that it’s because I was losing weight. Sure, my self-confidence was boosted a little as I grew stronger, but the truest transformation was when I gave total surrender to every aspect of my life totally over to Him, my Bridegroom. 

There are those within the Christian realm that believe that women shouldn’t care at all about their appearance. However, I believe that the Bible contains several instances where husbands take note of their wives’ beauty as well as other instances where a woman’s beauty is mentioned. There is nothing wrong with taking pride in our appearances if it’s done with the right motive. Whom are we striving to please? Remember also, though, that with age, beauty fades. It’s a natural course in the circle of life. 

When you look in the mirror, what do you see? What do you feel that others think about you? Who’s opinion matters most?

Let me tell you today that no matter who you are, YOU are beautiful. No matter how you may feel or what others may have told you, YOU were created in the image of God with a plan and purpose for life. Living in the way that God has designed you is nothing less than perfect.

Take some time today to soak in the verses listed in the “Encouragement” section. They are transformational and breathe beauty into our souls.

Encouragement for Today

1 Peter 3:3-4 “Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.” NLT

Proverbs 31:30 “Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.” NLT

Ecclesiastes 3:11a “Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time.”  NLT

Psalm 139:14 “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous--how well I know it.” NLT

Further Reading: Genesis 12:11; Song of Solomon 1:5; Esther 2:7; Song of Solomon 4:1; Genesis 29:17; 

Celebrate

Psalm 126:2 “We are filled with laughter and we sang for joy. And the other nations said, ‘What amazing things the Lord has done for them.’” NLT

A woman from my neighborhood was trying to lose weight too. We’d initially talked over our goals with one another, and she’d decided that she too would set short-term attainable goals. But she decided that at every 10 pound weight loss, she would celebrate with an all-out cheat day. Whatever she wanted, donuts, french fries, or ice cream..it was her’s. She reasoned that she wouldn’t have a weekly cheat meal, but after a ten pound weight loss, she deserved it, right? 

After her first ten pound weight loss, she held her much-anticipated cheat day. She had planned for two weeks what she would eat, and she enjoyed every bite. Unfortunately, the next day when she stepped back on the scale, she had gained three pounds. Although, she quickly lost those three pounds, it took longer to lose the next 20 pounds. She decided that to celebrate this victory, she would simply have 1 cheat meal. She enjoyed this meal too. But unfortunately, the next day when she stepped on the scale, she had gained weight again. After her third 10 pound weight loss, she decided that she’d choose a healthier way to celebrate. 

When the Lord rescued Israel from exile and brought them back home, they celebrated! It closely mirrored the rescue of God’s people out of slavery in Egypt. The radical change that had taken place for them turned them from crying and weeping to rejoicing and laughter. There was certainly reason to celebrate! The Lord had done great things for them, and they couldn’t help but express their joy. The Psalmist goes onto record their prayer that God would restore their fortunes as they “plant in tears” but will harvest “with shouts of joy.” 

As we think of our spiritual lives, there will be times of weeping as it seems as though we are in exile. Troubles come, storms rage, and it seems as though God is absent. It is in those times though that we press in closer to God, crying out in faith that He is there, even when it doesn’t seem so. In time, the storms will clear, the sun will come out, and we will rejoice that He has brought a season of harvest.

It’s hard too when we transform our physical lives. Changes in any way are a hard adjustment, but physical ones may seen unnatural and awkward. We too may “plant in tears,” but we have the hope that we will harvest “with shouts of joy.” Celebrations are tricky. It’s true that in biblical times, celebrations often included feasts, but they also included other forms of merriment. Dancing, singing, and fellowship were all common in praising God for the blessings they enjoyed.

When we reach weight loss goals, we should celebrate, but there are healthy ways to do it! And we must remember who gave us the strength to achieve our goal! We must praise and thank Him first of all, for leading and guiding us every step of the way. Secondly, we must be reminded that a transformed life doesn’t celebrate a change by resorting to old ways.  An alcoholic certainly wouldn’t celebrate sobriety by having a drink to celebrate. What makes perfect sense in our old way of living suddenly seems odd when we are transformed.

Think of ways you can celebrate the victories God has given you. For me, I celebrated weight loss goals by rewarding myself by buying a new outfit or going on a weekend biking trip with my family. In whatever way you give praise and thanks to God, make sure it includes healthy shouts of joy!

Encouragement for Today

Ecclesiastes 3:4 “A time to cry and a time to laugh, A time to grieve and a time to dance.” NLT

Ideas for Healthy Celebrations

-New Outfit

-New Hairdo

-Physically Active Outing like skating, biking, bowling, golfing, swimming

-New Fitbit or other Digital Heart Rate Monitor

-New Piece of Fitness Equipment

-Sign up for that fitness class you’ve been wanting to try

-Enjoy a expensive dinner but choose healthy grilled or baked exotic fish on which you normally wouldn’t splurge.

-Massage

-Manicure or Pedicure