"May It Be to Me As You Have Said"

image courtesy of ColinBroug via sxc.hu

Itʼs dark outside at dinner time these days. The leaves are finally all down now at our house and the air has taken on a constant chill. The sounds of children in the backyard have moved into the playroom, and the world seems to be quieting itself for another winter. As Christmas draws near, I am beginning to feel that familiar anticipation I often experience during this time.

Itʼs a strange blend of emotions. Feelings of excitement and hope mixed with a heaviness of heart that comes with everything our world has tainted. I love Christmas, and I love to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior over and over again each year. But what if another year passes and all Iʼve really done is worried about buying the right gifts and spending money we donʼt have on things we donʼt need? I love the privilege of celebrating with an abundance of food and lots of time relaxing with my family. But I am more aware than ever of how few people on our planet get to experience such joy and such an overflow of blessing. God knows our hearts and He delights to draw us to Himself, whatever it takes. Thatʼs what I want this Christmas to be about for my family, and thatʼs what I want every day to be about for our families at Grace Church.  God drawing us away from ourselves and into a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him. 

Mary, Jesusʼ mom, said something of profound importance as she prepared to experience the first Christmas ever. “I am the Lordʼs servant. May it be to me as you have said.” Mary, like me, must have had a plan for her life that seemed like it should work just fine. Her plan, as we read it, included marriage to Joseph, and she was in the middle of planning a wedding and preparing for her new life with him when the angel Gabriel stopped in for a visit. In one moment, news came that would shatter her dreams, bring untold pain and confusion into her heart, and change the entire course of her life...not to mention the entire course of human history. 

We are told in Luke 1:29 that Mary was “greatly troubled” by these words. You think? Any other immediate reaction would be implausible to me. But her second response is the one that gives me hope this year. In the face of life taking an unexpected, unbelievable, and unprecedented turn, Mary humbles herself before the Lord and says, “May it be to me as you have said.” Essentially, she says to God...you know whatʼs best for me and my life, so I will trust you. This is really all we can say when our lives are altered from their intended course. Any other response leaves us hopeless, terrified, and in deep despair. As followers of Jesus Christ, we have a hope that transcends all that life can throw at us. We can experience a “peace that passes understanding” and an “inexpressible and glorious joy” in the midst of our questions or suffering. Mary understood this, accepted Godʼs Lordship over her life, and made the choice to move forward trusting in His ultimate goodness.

I want to be like Mary. I want to look around me and say that God is good, regardless of what I see. I want to say, like Job in the midst of his suffering, that “God might kill me but I have no other hope” (Job 13:15 NLT). As you anticipate his coming again this year, I pray that, regardless of what circumstances you find yourself in today, you will choose to fall at His feet and say, “May it be to me as you have said.”

-- Ed Sweeny

Are You Santa's Helper?

Here's an article from Jay Younts, writing on the Shepherd Press Blog:

Are You Santa's Helper?

Little children are dependent upon their parents for everything. This includes more than food, clothing and shelter. Children are dependent upon you, parent, for how they view the world around them. The way you live in front of them is the most powerful teaching tool that God gives you. This is teaching in the milieu. God designed families to demonstrate what it means to have a relationship with Him. If you love God, if you sincerely attempt to live your life by His Word, if you recognize that every moment is given to you so that you will glorify and honor God, then you will teach your children these same truths without even thinking about it. Your children observe you, everything about you. They see when you are sleeping, they know when you have been good or bad, they know when you pout and when you shout. In the midst of the turmoil of life your children know whom you delight in. Your kids know this without your ever having to say a word. When you stumble and ask God for help -- they learn. When you stumble and snap or make excuses -- they learn from that, too. If you value your relationship with God above all else, your children will know this, even when you fall short of your calling as a Christian parent.
 

What does this have to do with being Santa's helper? Just this: in Psalm 72:18 we read that "God alone does marvelous things." However, at Christmas time, for little children someone else is portrayed as doing the most marvelous things. Santa brings the toys! Not just any toys, but toys that come in brightly wrapped boxes under a colorful, sparkling tree. These toys have been longed for, prayed for, craved for, hoped for and wished for. This longing has gone on for months if not years. The goodness of Santa is confirmed by the tag on the present: From Santa. Amid the pile of wrappings, bows and empty boxes, happy children know they have been adorned. When I was a child we always left milk and cookies for Santa each Christmas Eve before we went to bed. And sure enough, when my brothers and I bolted out of bed to head for the tree, the milk and cookies were gone. But in their place were presents and full stockings. Santa was for real! 
  
So there is no question that children who experience this visit from Santa feel adorned. Yet this adornment is clearly of the material sort. The children don't really know "Santa." But they may actually know his helpers, as I did as a child. His helpers? Why Mom and Dad of course! When Mom and Dad help Santa, good things happen. Toys pour down from the chimney and appear under the tree. 
  
However, if Mom and Dad are Christians, they often may say they are somebody else's helper. That's right, parents are also God's helpers. This brings a question: whom would your children rather you help? Do your children feel the same sense of adornment when you are God's helper as they do when you are Santa's helper? Proverbs 1:8-9 implies that children should be adorned (and feel adorned) everyday. Even discipline and correction should feel like adornment to your children. Sadly, most children are anything but adorned by their parents' discipline and instruction. 
 
Proverbs teaches that these opportunities for discipline and teaching are to be times of "adorning your children" as with the finest jewelry, just like Christmas time. God is often appealed to as the reason for the spanking or scolding. So, being God's helper can mean spanking, harsh words, cold, silent treatment, banishment to rooms, broken relationships. On the other hand, Santa's helper brings longed for treasures. The contrast is not lost on a young child. Don't misunderstand; I am not saying, "Don't discipline." But the Bible teaches that you can discipline in such a way as to adorn your children. Try the special combination of Proverbs - the rod and pleasant words mixed together (Pro. 16:20-24). This is a powerful combination. Verse 24 says pleasant words promote instruction. This is not easy, but with Christ's Word and the power of the Holy Spirit you can be a different parent -- one who adorns at times other than Christmas.
 
Teach your children that One more wonderful than Santa loves them and has given them parents to teach them about Christ and true riches. Don't confuse your children by helping a mythical visitor. Tell them that you love them because Christ has loved you. Tell them that your God has given you a rich blessing - your children. Let them know that the gifts they receive are expressions of your love to them. Adorn your children at Christmas. Adorn your children on August 3rd as well, and every other day. Let them know that you are God's helper to bring them into relationship with Him. Let your children know that you are Christ's helper. Tell your children what true riches are. In addition to the gifts that you wrap, adorn your children with gifts that are more valuable than silver and gold. Show them the excellence of being Christ's helper.
 
This Christmas, whose helper will you be -- Santa's or Christ's? Blessings to you this Christmas Season!

Adopt-A-Child Reminder

So far, in our goal of raising $1200 for our Adopt-a-Child initiative, we have raised $741.91.  This coming weekend will be our last weekend to collect money.  If your Camp Grace (1st - 4th grade) child has not yet brought in $2 to contribute, and your preschooler (2's to Kindergarten) has not brought in $1, please make sure to have them bring it.  Remember, if we all do a little, we can have a big impact.

Tips for Dads at Christmas

Here's a great blog from last year, giving encouragement and suggestions for Dads to lead their families this year during the Christmas season. We need to "intentionally plan out the upcoming holiday season" so we don't "miss the sacred moments God opens up for us to connect with and bless our families."

Why is X Used to Replace Christ in Christmas?

To many, "XMas" is quicker to write than "Christmas."   RC Sproul gives a more full answer on how this abbreviation came about, and even adds an explanation of how "ichthus" (fish) came to be a symbol for Jesus Christ.

When do you write "XMas," and when do you write "Christmas"?

What is Advent?

From Noel Piper (2009):

"Advent is what we call the season leading up to Christmas. It begins four Sundays before December 25. . . . For four weeks, it’s as if we’re re-enacting, remembering the thousands of years God’s people were anticipating and longing for the coming of God’s salvation, for Jesus. That’s what advent means—coming. Even God’s men who foretold the grace that was to come didn’t know 'what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating.' They were waiting, but they didn’t know what God’s salvation would look like."

Read the full article.

Jesus Tree

From the Desiring God blog, some creative ideas about ornaments for your Christmas tree.

"Are They Pilgrims?"

See this post for a funny Thanksgiving memory and some other thoughts about what it means to be a "Pilgrim."

Have a blessed Thanksgiving Day!

Adopt-A-Child

As we did last year, we are going to "adopt" some children this Christmas season, but helping to provide them with gifts.  Grace Church is working with local schools, and we (as the Children's Ministry) plan to take 15 of those children.  We are going to have volunteers shop for the gifts, and we'll use the money we collect from the children in our programming to cover the costs.

We are asking each Camp Grace (1st - 4th grade) child to bring in $2, and each preschool-age child to bring in $1 sometime over the next few weeks.  The money will be collected during the Big Group portion of our programming, and our goal is to raise up at least $1200, all of which will be donated to this cause.  If everyone does a little, we can have a big impact.  We want this opportunity to be an opportunity to worship God more, as we seek to bless others in a reflection of the grace our Lord has shown us.

Watch this video from last year, to hear how an initiative like this can touch someone's life:

(You can also watch this video on our YouTube channel.)

Halloween

For some Christians, Halloween is a time for kids to have fun, and probably the only day each year when dozens, if not hundreds, of your neighbors knock at your door.  For others, the holiday's roots in the occult leads them to not participate in trick-or-treating and decorating.

What's your take?  What will your family be doing on the weekend of October 30-31?

For more thoughts, you can read last year's blog post on this topic and a post from Growing Kids Ministry.

Yom Kippur

This article from Justin Holcomb helps explain the relevance of Yom Kippur (which begins this evening) to the Christian faith. 

 “Yom Kippur is also known as the Day of Atonement, which is the climax of the Old Testament sacrificial system and is the most solemn day on the Jewish Calendar. . . .  The Day of Atonement was a foreshadowing of Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and our great High Priest who is able to sympathize with us in our weakness. These great images of the priest, slaughter, and scapegoat are all given by God to helps us more fully comprehend Jesus’ bloody sacrifice for us on the cross.”

You can also read our post from last year.  Yes, we know that both of these articles are from last year.  But do you think that a 3500 year old holiday has changed much in the past 12 months?

Happy Mother's Day

With over 800 kids (4th grade and under) each weekend at Grace Church, we know we have lots of moms.  We're thankful that God has allowed you to be a mother.  This post reminds us that Mother's Day is about giving honor, not receiving it, and has links to some John Piper sermons.  Here's another blog illustrating the dedication and passion of mothers. 

Have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Passover Seder - Part 2

We hope you all had a worshipful Easter.  Here are some more links, as a follow up from last weekend's Camp Grace Passover Seder.

1. Here are some pictures of the Seder from one of our services. 
2. If your child was out of town, he can get the Smore Card and ROAD bookmark from our website, so it can be completed and returned to his class this coming weekend. We will resume with our normal programming this week.
3. I've had two different people make me aware of these, so I feel that I have to let you know. You can buy Passover Plagues Finger Puppets (if not from this site, then just google it). This would go well with my reenactment (for my own kids, not in Camp Grace) of the slaying of the Passover lamb and putting blood on the doorway; I used a stuffed animal sheep, a toy sword, and a red bandana. It was great.

 --  Joey Espinosa

Camp Grace Passover Seder

This past weekend, we had our 5^th annual Camp Grace Passover Seder (pronounced “say’ der”) presentation. This event has been a highlight for children, volunteers, and staff alike. For campers who have done this before, it becomes something to look forward to – when else do they get a chance to eat things like horseradish, parsley, or matzah? When else do they get their hands washed by their classmates, and in return wash another’s hands? A couple of years ago, we had a parent tell us that they were planning to miss service, because they were worn out with so many things going on, but that their 3^rd grader insisted they go so she wouldn’t miss the Seder. And every year, we have more and more children and leaders who are participating in this event for the first time. There are elements in the presentation that incorporate all five senses, so that we can learn to worship our Lord more fully. Truly, we can “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8).

Not only is this a fun, hands-on presentation, but our leaders have the opportunity to clearly communicate the gospel message. Most of the time, we’ve done our Seder on the weekend of Palm Sunday, as a prelude to Easter. Did you know that what we call the Last Supper (the last meal that Jesus shared with His disciples before He was crucified) was a Passover Seder? Christ was very intentional in this, to point out that He is the fulfillment of the Jewish feast of Passover, which commemorated God’s redemption of Israel from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12). In our presentation, we specifically highlight how Jesus was the Lamb that was to be sacrificed. For example, compare the Old Testament description of the Passover lamb, with how Jesus met those qualifications:

• Passover lamb was chosen on the 10^th day of the month. It was on the 10^th day of the month that Jesus entered Jerusalem (Palm Sunday).
• Passover lamb had to be perfect. Jesus is the unblemished Lamb (I Peter 1:19), who never sinned.
• Passover lamb had to be killed and the blood applied to the doorframe of the house, in order to protect from the angel of death. We need to “apply” Jesus blood to our lives by faith in His life, death, and resurrection.
• At judgment time, God only looked for the blood of the Passover lamb; whoever obeyed in faith would not be judged. When I stand before God at judgment day, He will look for faith in me, and will only see Jesus’ blood, and not my sins.

Jesus is our Lamb who was slain (Revelation 5:12) so that we can have eternal life through faith in Him. If you or your child has any questions about the Passover presentation, please leave a comment or email us at children@gracechurchsc.org.

Have a great week and a worshipful Easter! We hope to see you at our Good Friday service (which will include Communion), on April 2, with services at 5 and 7 PM on our Pelham Road campus.  If you haven’t read it yet, you should read our previous post that helps answer the question, “Can my child take Communion?”  Also, we look forward to having over 30 people being baptized during our weekend services, including Saturday night and across all three campuses.

Seeking God with $10 - Final Tally

Last month, I gave my older kids each $10, with the instructions for them to ask God about what they should do with it. (Read about it here.) Here's what they each did:

Hannah:

• $5 for Adopt-A-Child
  
• $5 to buy a Christmas gift for her friend that lives across the street (a Littlest Pet Shop monkey, since her friend "really, really likes monkeys")
  

Elijah:

• $1 for a general tithe to our church
• $6 for Adopt-A-Child (He explained, "If I didn't get anything for Christmas, I would be sad.")
  
• $1 to his piggy bank
• $2 for Osborn Mission (As part of their school curriculum, the kids have been learning about how so much of the world doesn't have access to a Bible in their native language. Our friends Philly & Elizabeth Osborn feel called by God to plant a church to a people group who have never heard the Gospel. You should check out their website.)
  

-- Joey Espinosa

More Christmas Traditions

Earlier this week, I shared some of our family's Christmas traditions. Here are some from Tyler Stanton's childhood.

-- Joey Espinosa

Merry Christmas - Part 2

Compare this article to yesterday's post. It's another viewpoint on the phrase "Merry Christmas." As someone who did not believe in Christ for most of my life, I can resonate with much of what Jon Acuff says. As an agnostic, I was never offended by people who said "Merry Christmas," but I always thought it was ridiculous for people to insist that their "Christian" ideas HAD to be the norm.

-- Joey Espinosa

Saying "Thank You"

One of the best instructions that we've received is that a key to parenting is being proactive. As much as possible, parents need to anticipate situations and give guidance and direction, before the children encounter those moments, as opposed to constantly living in a state of reaction. In that line, here is some parenting advice from the National Center for Biblical parenting:

"Begin now [before gifts are exchanged] to prepare your children for receiving gifts. Talk about the importance of the giver, not just the gift. . . . Play a "what if" game with children to help them anticipate how they might say thank you. . . ."

We recently got the opportunity to do this with Elijah's 6th birthday. Knowing he would receive gifts from friends and relatives, my wife played this "what if" game with him several times -- instructing him to look the giver in the eye, say "thank you," and then say something positive about the gift. And for good measure, we practiced the night before his party. For example, we asked him what he would say if he got a green Match Box car; he replied, "I really like cars and the color green." Later, as a joke, I asked him what he would say if someone gave him a baby doll. He hesitated, so I suggested he say something like, "Thank you for the doll. I'll really enjoy sharing this with my sister." He laughed at that idea.

The next day at the party, things seemed to be working well. He opened one gift and said, "Thank you. I saw this toy at the store and I really wanted it." After receiving a Sea Monkeys kit, he said, "Thank you. I never had a pet and I've always wanted one."

Much to my and my wife's amusement, he opened an apparently-not-as-desirable gift, and politely said, "Thank you. I'll really enjoy sharing this with my sister." And he did.

-- Joey Espinosa

Merry Christmas

"[We must] remember that the reason for the Christmas celebration is rooted in the gospel message. Why should Christmas be merry? Why should the world be joyful? Because Christ has come to earth to save his people from their sins. Talk to your children about this, about the real reason Christmas is merry."

Read the rest of the article on Shepherd Press Blog.

We hope your family has a wonderful and very merry Christmas!

Camp Grace Christmas Play

This past weekend, we had our 2nd Annual Camp Grace Christmas play. We love giving kids the opportunity to participate in the telling of the Christmas story. None of the 4 "performances" were anywhere close to Broadway quality, but the kids seemed to really enjoy it. Plus, we think it's great that we don't take a month of practice and dress rehearsals to put this program on. We definitely do not want to add one more thing to busy calendars at this time of the year.

Thanks for the volunteers who wrote this program last year, and for everyone who took part this year!

Did you have a child participate? What did he or she think?