Day 3 of CHIRSTmas

So I need to be honest with you.  Today was a wild and stressful day.  Today I was not super mom.  Today I kept my kids alive…….and I feel okay with that.  If you are like me it is all too often that you read a mommy blogger and think, ” she is super mom”……. I am not that kind of blogger or mom!  Today was rough.  Today I needed God’s grace.  Nothing super bad happened it was just a chaotic day with fussy boys and a tired, impatient mommy.  There seemed to be a million things pulling at us and distracting us from our Christmas message.  That’s how the enemy works you know?  He is pretty good at sending us lots of “good” pressures and tasks in order to distract us from the “great” things God has in store for us to learn and experience.

               

Well I refused to let the enemy win today!  We did continue with our daily Christmas lesson.  Today we found Elfie in a big messy pile of wrapping paper, presents, and tied up in some ribbon.  He is such a mess maker!  In his little bag this morning he had materials to make a new ornament and the scripture from Matthew 2:1-12.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea. This happened while Herod was king of Judea. After Jesus’ birth, Wise Men from the east came to Jerusalem. ² They asked, “Where is the child who has been born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose. Now we have come to worship him.”

³ When King Herod heard about it, he was very upset. Everyone in Jerusalem was troubled too. ⁴ So Herod called together all the chief priests of the people. He also called the teachers of the law. He asked them where the Messiah was going to be born. ⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied. “This is what the prophet has written. He said,

⁶ “ ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are certainly not the least important among the towns of Judah.
A ruler will come out of you.
    He will rule my people Israel like a shepherd.’ ” (Micah 5:2)

⁷ Then Herod secretly called for the Wise Men. He found out from them exactly when the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem. He said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report it to me. Then I can go and worship him too.”

⁹ After the Wise Men had listened to the king, they went on their way. The star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them. It finally stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were filled with joy. ¹¹ The Wise Men went to the house. There they saw the child with his mother Mary. They bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures. They gave him gold, frankincense and myrrh. ¹² But God warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they returned to their country on a different road.

I was surprised how quickly the boys identified the “bad guy” in this story.  Children have a way of knowing those things don’t they?  We talked a lot about how the star and the shepherd that we had made in days 1 and 2, as well as the drawing Elfie brought us on the first day, tied into this story.  They were amazed to discover how connected the stories in the Bible were and how they are really all part of one big story.

The other thing we talked a lot about, which was so fitting for our crazy day, was how the wise men were probably very important and busy men. They were probably wealthy and had jobs, a family, and lots of things going on in their lives.  And yet, when they saw the star appear in the sky two things happened.  First, they instantly knew it was a God sign.  They knew without any doubt or hesitation that this star was a sign that their King had been born.  How did they know that?  How did they see it so quickly?  I believe it is because they were looking.  Even in the midst of their busy lives they made time each day to look for signs of Jesus.  How often do we get so busy that we forget to make time to look for Jesus in our lives?

The second thing the wise men did is that they went.  Once they saw the star they went to worship their king.  It was not a close or short trip.  It took them a long time.  Riding on camels…..at least that’s what the story bibles say.  Johnathan imagined that their butts must have gotten really sore and their backs would have been tired.  I think he is probably right.  It probably was not a convenient trip to make.  Where were their families?  What about their work and responsibilities at home?  They literally saw a star in the sky and just left.  Nothing in their important and busy lives was more important than them taking a gift to and going to   worship their newborn King!

We discussed how hard it is for us to just make an impromptu trip to the grocery store.  What if we were like the wise men?  Looking for signs of Christ in our everyday lives?  Ready to jump up and go where ever He leads us at the drop of a hat.  Of course this is a rather deep subject for a 2, 4 and 5 year old…..I think I was talking to myself more than anything else.  In the midst of my chaos am I looking for signs from Jesus?  Should my mayhem be an excuse to not seek Him and go when and where He leads?  The answer to that last question is no, but so often we use it as an excuse to not spend that extra time in prayer talking with Him.

My lesson learned from this crazy, wild day……..no excuses.   Especially in scary times like these we as Christians need to be on a constant look out for signs of our Jesus.  And when we see those signs, because if we are looking we will see them, we need to be prepared for the task He entrusts us with.  I believe that we are still here on this Earth, that He has not returned for us yet, because there is still work to do.  There is still another child that needs to be saved.  There is still another heart to be touched.  There is still work to do for His Kingdom.

Sweet Father, thank you for today.  Thank you for teaching me in the midst of my crazy to point my face to You.  Help me Jesus to look for you each and every day. I want to be an obedient child of yours, waiting and watching for you instruction and your blessings.  I pray that I might never hesitate to obey the callings you lay on my heart and in my path no matter how far away or difficult they may seem.  The wise men traveled a huge and inconvenient distance to worship you, the least I can do is be an available vessel for your work.  May my children see you through my obedience and may they come to have a God-seeking and obedient heart for You.  Amen

 

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