Hello friend
Are you feeling stressed this Christmas season? Are you hustling and bustling and giving good cheer to all you encounter? Maybe you are hoping that this month will go by fast so that things can get back to normal. — (whatever normal is).
Too often the month of December becomes the busiest time of the year. We are going to work functions, school functions, family functions and church functions. There are cookies to me made, a tree to put up and presents to purchase (and wrap). It seems like everyone wants a piece of us and at the end of the day we are worn out, tired and our pieces are scattered around us.
Sadly when we get busy “doing” it gets our focus off of the reason we are even celebrating Christmas – “The Birth of Christ”. It reminds me of the sisters Mary and Martha.
At the Home of Martha and Mary
”As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” ~ Luke 10:38-42 NIV
When I get busy and caught up in the hustle and bustle with everyone wanting a piece of me, my focus changes. I become overwhelmed and focus on the tasks that are in front of me. Even if the tasks are 1. Not needed to be done. 2. Have no real benefit to me or to those I care about. 3. Are things that I think I am supposed to do because I have always done it or was taught to always do it. Can you relate?
We can become like Martha, so focused on “doing” that we miss out on just “being” with those that we care about. Like Martha we miss out on time that we could be spending with the One that we are celebrating in the first place — Jesus.
Make A Change This Christmas Season
Don’t allow another Christmas season to hold you hostage to your “to do” list. You don’t have to bake a vast amount of goodies or purchase a vast amount of gifts. The trappings of the Christmas season can literally trap you in what “the world” says that Christmas is all about. Let us start to focus more on the birth of Christ than the commercialization that hovers around us. May we hear Jesus say to us, “You have chosen what is better and it will not be taken from you.
You Are Invited to “Sit with Jesus”
I want to extend an invitation to you to participate with me in this months Scripture Writing Plan – “The Birth of Christ”. This month I have gathered Scriptures that will show us all about the birth of the Man that in time gave us our true “life”.
I invite you to focus a bit of time everyday on why you are celebrating Christmas to begin with. Let us spend some time getting to know the story of Jesus’ birth. Grab a cup of coffee, tea or hot chocolate and grab your pen and notebook. Be encouraged as you explore the story of the birth of Christ and write out the scriptures for yourself.
Draw Close
My hope is that God will use this month’s scriptures to draw you close to Him and encourage you in wherever you are in your life’s journey. May you find some peace from all the hustle and bustle around you as you spend a few minutes exploring the scriptures and reflecting on Christ’s birth everyday.
I pray that you will be able to see the great love that Your Father has for you. May you see His hand in every aspect of your life and may it cause your heart to fill with gratitude. May the gratitude be so full that it pours out of you. I pray that you will walk in His love, safety, peace and protection.
What Is A Scripture Writing Plan
A scripture writing plan is basically spending 10-15 minutes everyday writing out a passage of scripture. It’s a plan that I have created that you can follow everyday to glean more from the Word of God. It is a simple and effective tool that can help you enrich and grow your relationship with God. In addition, it will help you to learn and apply more of God’s Word in your daily lives. This month we will be writing scriptures mainly out of the New Testament but I have thrown in a few from the Old Testament.
Directions
Each day read and write out the corresponding scripture with the day of the month. Keep the following questions in mind as you write the scripture down.
What is the Word saying?
What does this mean to me personally?
How can I take action on it?
How does this enhance my view of God?
You can use any bible translation that you like. I prefer using the Amplified, NIV, or NLT. Two fabulous websites that has numerous translations to choose from are Biblegateway.com and biblehub.com (click on the links). I enjoy reading from the various different translations as it gives me a deeper perspective and a greater understanding.
If you are needing some further instruction on scripture writing plans and how to follow them please read the post in the link – Scripture Writing – What is it and How to implement it.
Prayer
I encourage you to end your daily scripture writing sessions with a prayer. If you like you can pray the following:
Father God, Thank You for the gift of Your Son and the magnitude of Your love for me. I am so grateful for Your Word and the wisdom that it contains. May You put Your Word deep within my heart. I ask that Your Word will grow and flourish as I walk in the guidance that it gives me. Thank you Lord, for all the blessings that You have gifted me with this day (you can spend a few moments and list them).
Lord, I pray that You will help me this Christmas season to remember exactly why I am celebrating it in the first place. Thank You for enlightening me about the birth of Christ and how it has impacted my own life. I am so very grateful for the peace, joy and love that a You are gifting me with. Please forgive me for the times that I neglected You and allowed the busyness of my life to sidetrack me. Help me Lord to be more like Mary and simply – sit at Your feet.
Lord, thank you for blessing me today and help me to be a blessing to others. In Jesus’ Name ~ ~ Amen
Additional Scripture Writing Plans
In addition to the “The Birth of Christ” scripture writing plan I have included several links to additional scripture writing plans that I have written.
What Does the Resurrection Mean to Us
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Are you doing this months writing plan on “the birth of Christ”? Let me know how your thoughts about it. I would love to hear from you as well as pray for you.
Be Blessed 💞💞💞
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