Thursday, December 28, 2006
Some Thoughts for the Holiday Season
Peace and blessings,
I must say that things have been going pretty well since i've been home visiting family during this past week and a half. I can honestly say that I do not remember when was the last time I totally did not do anything for this many days consecutatively. Although i've enjoyed doing nothing during these last 10 days, this time off as also allowed me to think about how truly blessed I am. Not just for my health, family and free food (although these things are great, lol), but for the fact that this time of year marks the celebration of when God, through Jesus Christ (JC), established a new covenant with His children. This new covenant is demonstrated by JC's birth, life, death, and resurrection.
I think the movie "the Nativity Story" does a good job of capturing the essence of what kind of conditions (e.g. economic, political, social, moral, cultural) surrounded JC's birth. In additon to the divine occurances during these times (e.g. angel appearing to Mary and Joseph, Mary's immaculate conception, the pregnancy of Elizabeth, and the birth of John the Baptist), what fascinates me about JC's birth is how Mary and Joseph chose to react to God's workings. They both trusted God and allowed God to use them to bring about change in their generation and for generations to come (because we all know JC was on some major "revolutionary" steez). I've been thinking a lot about how God will often use one person to reveal himself to another. One common example is when I'm talking to something, and they tell me something that confirms that I felt God has been saying to me. I also think that God uses one's prayers to reveal Himself to another as well. Therefore, I urge us take time during this season (and always) to think about the role(s) we each can play in representing and/or revealing God to others. A link to an article about JC's relationship to us, and what that means for our relationships with each other, is provided below. In addition, here are some things that we can pray for. Take care and as always, speekonit...
Pray for familes who have lost loved ones during this time of the year
Pray for those who are still experiencing the aftermath of past recent catastrophies, and are in the process of rebiulding their lives (e.g. Tsunami, Katrina, Plane crashes, 9-11, gang violence)
Pray for the lives on both sides of the Iraq war
Pray for the country and world "leaders"
Pray for the AIDS epidemic in Africa
Pray for the negative effect music has on youth and adults alike
Artlicle Link--http://www.urbana.org/wtoday.ephesians.cfm?article=89
I must say that things have been going pretty well since i've been home visiting family during this past week and a half. I can honestly say that I do not remember when was the last time I totally did not do anything for this many days consecutatively. Although i've enjoyed doing nothing during these last 10 days, this time off as also allowed me to think about how truly blessed I am. Not just for my health, family and free food (although these things are great, lol), but for the fact that this time of year marks the celebration of when God, through Jesus Christ (JC), established a new covenant with His children. This new covenant is demonstrated by JC's birth, life, death, and resurrection.
I think the movie "the Nativity Story" does a good job of capturing the essence of what kind of conditions (e.g. economic, political, social, moral, cultural) surrounded JC's birth. In additon to the divine occurances during these times (e.g. angel appearing to Mary and Joseph, Mary's immaculate conception, the pregnancy of Elizabeth, and the birth of John the Baptist), what fascinates me about JC's birth is how Mary and Joseph chose to react to God's workings. They both trusted God and allowed God to use them to bring about change in their generation and for generations to come (because we all know JC was on some major "revolutionary" steez). I've been thinking a lot about how God will often use one person to reveal himself to another. One common example is when I'm talking to something, and they tell me something that confirms that I felt God has been saying to me. I also think that God uses one's prayers to reveal Himself to another as well. Therefore, I urge us take time during this season (and always) to think about the role(s) we each can play in representing and/or revealing God to others. A link to an article about JC's relationship to us, and what that means for our relationships with each other, is provided below. In addition, here are some things that we can pray for. Take care and as always, speekonit...
Pray for familes who have lost loved ones during this time of the year
Pray for those who are still experiencing the aftermath of past recent catastrophies, and are in the process of rebiulding their lives (e.g. Tsunami, Katrina, Plane crashes, 9-11, gang violence)
Pray for the lives on both sides of the Iraq war
Pray for the country and world "leaders"
Pray for the AIDS epidemic in Africa
Pray for the negative effect music has on youth and adults alike
Artlicle Link--http://www.urbana.org/wtoday.ephesians.cfm?article=89
Labels: God, holiday season, Jesus Christ, Joseph, Mary, Nativity Story, prayer, relationships
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Movie Preview
Peace and blessings,
I pray all is well. Below is the trailer for the movie "The Nativity Story," which is basically the prequel to the life of Jesus. It chronicles the lives of Mary and Joseph, and the social, political, and spiritual climate of the times leading up to the birth of Jesus. It looks promising. I think it comes out December 1st. Check it out and let me know what you think. Speekonit...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Wrs3KJMZ34
I pray all is well. Below is the trailer for the movie "The Nativity Story," which is basically the prequel to the life of Jesus. It chronicles the lives of Mary and Joseph, and the social, political, and spiritual climate of the times leading up to the birth of Jesus. It looks promising. I think it comes out December 1st. Check it out and let me know what you think. Speekonit...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Wrs3KJMZ34
Labels: Jesus Christ, Joseph, Mary, movie, Nativity Story, political, social, spiritual
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