Merry Christmas From the Weirauch's!

“The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).” Isaiah 7:14b (NLT)

I feel as though every year, Christmas becomes more stressful. What food to make, putting up the perfect décor in the house, cleaning and making room for guests, getting in all the family gatherings.  Head out to the malls and people are spending hundreds (and yes even thousands) of dollars on gifts they are expected to give.

The expectations we have placed upon ourselves, our spouses, and our families, which are usually unintentional, slowly become the dread that is the anxiety that leads up to Christmas.

This year, I began to think of Mary and her journey through out the Christmas story.  (Maybe it is because Samuel is very interested in the baby Jesus this year in his little people nativity set :).  The baby Jesus is near and dear to his heart. :))  When the angel appeared to her the anxiety, excitement, nervousness, and the expectations she must have had going through her mind when she thought of giving birth to the Son of God.  Oh, I bet she didn’t expect that her son, the Savior of the world, would be born amongst the livestock, and placed in a manger.  But it was God’s perfect plan.

All of those expectations Mary held prior to the birth of Jesus in no way compare to a mother holding her child, and not just any child; our Immanuel “God with us”.   Like Mary, we can remember through the expectations, the stress, and the hustle of Christmas, that the greatest gift is that of our Immanuel.  Our God and King who came down from His throne, to walk the earth with man, to be the savior for all.  May you be filled with the peace of our God who is the giver of life, the creator of the world, and who holds each of you in His hands.

The Weirauch's

Enjoy the Lasagna Soup!

"So I do not run aimlessly;  I do not box as one beating the air.  But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."  1 Corinthians 9:26-27

There are some days that I am like a chicken with my head cut off…. just ask my husband.  He is so wonderful, but there are some days where he needs to put me (respectfully and lovingly) in my place.  I cannot do it all.  As hard as that is for me to admit, I am not super human. 

There are some days where I am walking from the bedroom to the kitchen to start dinner and I will get there about a half an hour later because I stop along the way when I remember there is laundry to switch over (and fold) and an email to send out quick (it’s usually VERY URGENT ;) ).  By the time I get to the kitchen to start dinner, we are all so hungry, we end up settling for peanut butter sandwiches rather than the lasagna soup I had planned (which happens to be David and Samuel’s favorite these days J).

It’s far too often where I am who Paul is talking about.  I am running.  I am running fast.  Not only fast, but also I am at times running aimlessly (like a chicken with its head cut off), forgetting my goal and my task at hand.  It is as Paul says, “like boxing as one beating the air”.

I would be kidding myself if I didn’t humbly admit that I not only do this in my every day life but in my walk with the Lord too.  I am so often trying to find my own way running so aimlessly trying to accomplish my own goals and ideas, I am running around in circles, and hence running aimlessly.  Often times, when I am running so aimlessly trying to find my way, I end up settling for the peanut butter sandwich rather than the lasagna soup the Lord so desperately wants me to have with him. 

 Discipline involves being grounded in the Word. Jesus commanded his disciples to be with him. 

"Abide in me, and I will abide in you. Just as the branch cannot produce fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.” John 15:4.  

We are commanded to abide in Christ. When we commit and discipline ourselves as Paul says to hear and listen to the Lord in His Word, we have purpose. We are no longer running aimlessly.  It’s then we are able to produce the fruit we were created to bear.  We don’t have to settle for the peanut butter sandwich, we can enjoy the abundant life and the lasagna soup. J

Parade

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. -Exodus 14:14

8 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. 9 The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them encamped at the sea. 10 When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” 13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

These past few months I have felt some Egyptians coming in and reigning on my parade.

Imagine, the Israelites had tasted freedom at last.  They were free from slavery to the Egyptian rulers.  What was ahead?  They didn’t know, but they were free.  Imagine the parade, joy, and pride they felt leaving Egypt.  The Lord had rescued them, brought them out of Egypt.  The Egyptians even gave their belongings to the Israelites as they were walking out of Egypt in fear of what the Israelite god might do if they didn’t please him.

Then the Egyptians come back, out of nowhere.  They had changed their minds.  They had the Israelites trapped at the Red Sea.  Nowhere to go.

How often do we feel as though we have Egyptians raining in on our parade?  We are doing God’s will, we feel as though we are serving Him with our entire being, dedicating our lives to him and then we see the Egyptians.  Closing in on us.

Of course, our Egyptians could be a number of things.  Maybe they are people.    The Lord had hardened the heart of Pharoh.  He deliberately hardened it.  Why? Maybe the Israelites became too full of themselves during their parade.  And does it really surprise you…it’s the Israelites....Go ahead and read the rest of Exodus.

Sometimes I get a little too wrapped up in my own parade, and don’t we all?  This is all for the Lord and not for me.  I have been set free, but not by me.

The deliverance out of Egypt was for the glory of the Lord, not for the glory of man.  And so to on our journey, where ever that may be.  May it be only for the glory of the Lord, never for our own parade.

Let the Lord fight for you.  Whatever struggle that may be.  So it may be for His glory, and never for your own.

Take comfort, be still.  The NIV says, “be silent”.  Oh how our lives would be different if we were able to just be silent and let the Lord fight our battles.

After all isn’t it our act of worship?  Our entire lives are to glorify him.  Go ahead and let the Egyptians rain on your parade and let the Lord fight your battle to show the world His glory.

SENT

I have given them your word and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.  As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.  John 17:14-18

I don’t know about you, but I don’t watch the news.  I don’t read the news, I don’t watch the news on TV, and I don’t listen to the news on the radio.  I avoid it at all costs.

With this mindset, there are days where I feel very out of the loop.  Especially because I am at home, I feel slightly secluded from the world.  Lately I have been feeling very convicted about this revelation of isolation.

Am I interacting with unbelievers or “the world” on a daily basis?  Yes, I have my laptop that is the world of Facebook and Twitter.  But, do I have personal contact and forming relationships with unbelievers? Or am I living a daily life of isolated comfort?

For too long I have taken the verse “ Do not yoke yourself with unbelievers” to an extreme.

In John, Jesus says that we have been SENT into the world.  Although we are not of the world, we have been SENT here for the distinct purpose of declaring The Truth and sharing the hope.

Am I doing what I have been SENT here into this world to do?  Am I sharing Christ to unbelievers?  What a mission.  You are not of the world, but you have been sent here for a purpose, and that is to share Christ.

Too often, I think Christians get too comfortable in their Christian bubbles.  Certainly the Body of Christ is a place to form relationships rooted in Christ and His Truth, but are we stepping outside of our comfort zones to our mission field of unbelievers that is the world?

What parts of the day are you actively engaged with unbelievers?  Are you taking the time to form relationships with them?

Jesus says that we will be hated.  We are not of this world.

We have been given His Word, the Truth.  We are not taken out of the world.  We are here because we have a mission.  Hold on to the promises.

Consider yourselves SENT. 

Your Grace is More

Luke 14: 16-24

16But He said to him, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many;17and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’18“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; please consider me excused.’19“Another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please consider me excused.’20“Another one said, ‘I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’21“And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’22“And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’23“And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.24‘For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.’”

I despise the thought of journaling.  I just can’t do it.  It just sounds daunting.  What a commitment. 

I have been praying for the past 2 years about starting a blog.  I thought, I want to document a period in my life.  Not only for myself, but to share with others.

I’ve told myself for the past two years that I will start this blog when my life gets more exciting. 

My husband David and I are committed to sharing Christ.  It is as simple as that.  We love the Lord, we live in His peace, and we want to tell everyone about Him.  The Holy Spirit has been doing His work in us.  Joy at times, and others are brutally painful.

In Luke, Jesus tells of the parable of those who are invited to a banquet.  All of the invited guests make excuses as to why they can’t come to the banquet.  One bought a new field, one has animals to tend to, the other is just married.  The invited guests turn down the offer, but at what cost?  They all turned their blessings into excuses not to attend.  He says, those who were invited and refuse the invitation will not taste of the dinner.  I don't know about you, but I certainly only want what God has prepared for me.  Forget my plans.

What excuses are you making for not attending the banquet?  What are you holding on to that keeps you from handing your life over to His service?

My excuses: my money, my life, my goals. 

Excuse #1- My husband and I fought for too long holding on to our money as our own.

I told the Lord many times; I can’t spend tens of thousands of dollars to commit to His service.  It’s my money!  Surely you can’t be asking me to spend it on this degree.  How will we pay for this? And even as I type it, it sounds silly.

Of course, my unbelief of God’s providence beyond my own comprehension has caused too much pain to even admit. God’s revelation to us of this unbelief was striking.  He has blessed us beyond our imagination.  Those very blessings we turned into excuses. 

Where sin runs deep, Your grace is more.

 Excuse #2-  I have dreams Lord, I want to own my own house.  Better yet, I want to build my own house.  I want a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house on an acre of land where my husband can hunt in the woods.  Surely, this dream isn’t displeasing to God.  Surely, he wants me to have my own house. 

Where sin runs deep, Your grace is more.

Excuse #3- I have goals Lord.  I want to be successful.  I want respect from people.  I want to be seen as successful.

Where sin runs deep, Your grace is more.

What very blessings have you turned into excuses?  The Lord continuously blesses us beyond our imaginations.  Have you turned any of them into excuses?

Where sin runs deep, Your grace is more.

I must share my story.  I don’t need to wait until the next stage to share my story. 

I must share my testimony.

Unbelief.  How common of a sin.  Are you struggling from unbelief?  Do you believe that God is who He says He is?

There are too many people struggling with unbelief.  If I can minister and speak to one person, I have achieved my ultimate goal- sharing Christ.

Where sin runs deep, Your grace is more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_q1cXSM_6o