Now what?

Now what? Ever ask yourself that question? I've been asking myself that quite a bit since I've just about reached my weight loss goal, but at the same time I'm starting to see my momentum slipping. That's one reason I was so excited to get a chance to see the Biggest Loser Sisters, Olivia Ward and Hannah Curlee when they were in Mobile this weekend. I was hoping to get back my motivation for working out and eating right.

I wasn't sure what to expect but I was encouraged and surprised at how funny those two ladies truly are...and how beautiful. They had us laughing as they planted hope in our hearts. So many of the things they shared "hit home" with me, but somehow in the middle of it all, a Random Thought entered in. I started thinking about the wise men looking for Jesus.

Perhaps it started with a question I got to ask. I asked was there ever a point they looked down at the scale and saw a number or had something happen that made them think, "Oh no...this is how it started before!" Olivia related the story of going to her apartment after winning and looking around and thinking she didn't know what to do. She felt lost! Now what? She said she called Bob who told her she knew what to do. Go buy groceries and then workout; do what she knew to do. Simple, right? Simple, but not necessarily easy. But she did it and the panic started to ease. She could do this...and keep on doing this.

Now back to those wise men. After they had finally finished their "journey to Jesus", did they wonder what they would do next? They had searched for years...Now what were they supposed to do? The Bible says they went back to their home country via a different route (to avoid Herod) but that's about all it says. Personally, I think they probably told people what they had seen. They shared their journey and how they had found the Messiah. I mean, wouldn't you?

Here comes the Random thought that connects the two. The Biggest Losers that have "made it" and stayed successful - what was their secret? Really, no secret...they did what they knew to do and, this may be the most important part, they shared what they had found. That's what Olivia and Hannah were doing - sharing what they had discovered along the way. Continuing to do what they knew to do. The secret is to share what you have been given.

This is the Sunday of Advent that is most closely associated with joy...but a lot of people find they have lost that joy. They are like Olivia, wondering what do they do now? Maybe they met their goal of weight loss, or the right job, or marriage, or family, or maybe all of these and maybe none of these - yet they still feel lost. I'm not talking about people who don't know the Lord, I'm talking about Christians! Yes, it happens to Christians too. How do we keep our joy on this journey?

We share. We can share what God has done for us. We can remember all the times He has been there for us. We can help others find what we have found. Perhaps that's the key to keeping our motivation, our joy, our excitement - sharing it with others. In the process, we find that it comes back to us in a double supply.

So, the question remains...now what? The answer seems to be, share it if you want it to remain.

The following verse is usually associated with giving of money...but maybe it means a little more. Maybe it's sharing what you've learned on your own journey to Jesus...maybe it's about sharing the joy.

Luke 6:38

New International Version (NIV)

³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

2 Corinthians 1:3,4 ESV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction,.  

I thought he was with you...

It's something that happens to every parent at one time or another...they forget their child. I don't mean they forget they have a child...they just leave them somewhere. (At least I hope I'm not the only parent to ever do this!)

Mind you, I only did this once and it was YEARS ago. My husband and I had to be at the church at different times so we took two cars. After church, we didn't even touch base with each other...we were both so busy. It wasn't any big deal, we'd be home in a few minutes and catch up over lunch. I gathered up my materials from my class and headed home. I think I was there a couple of minutes before I asked, "Where's Levi?" That's when I heard those words every parent hates to hear..."I thought he was with you."

Needless to say I rushed back to the church where I was greeted by my son and a friend, who was laughing her head off at me, by the way. He was fine - I was a mess.

So why did I tell you this story on this Journey to Advent? Not sure, but for some reason today I thought about the story in Luke where Mary and Joseph we headed home and realized that Jesus wasn't with them.
Luke 2:41- 49

[41] Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. 

[42] When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. 

[43] After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 

[44] Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 

[45] When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 

[46] After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 

[47] Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 

[48] When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."

[49] "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" 

I can't imagine what it must have been like for Mary to get that far on their journey and then realize Jesus wasn't there. Like any mother, she probably grabbed Joseph and hurried back to the place she'd last seen her child. Imagine her relief when she found him, teaching in the temple.

I'm sure by now, you see where this random thought is going. I'm on a Journey to Advent and I'm wondering if I've forgotten Jesus. In the middle of all the preparations, the gift buying, the decorating, and the holiday cheer, have I forgotten why I'm supposed to be doing it all? Have I forgotten Jesus?

How far have I gotten down the road, and how could I have not realized He wasn't with me on the way? I need to go back to where I last saw Him, last sensed Him and His presence. If I follow the passage, I will find Him in the temple.

My first thought was, I need to go to church - but I'm already doing that. For some, that is where they are busiest! So I decided to look up what the temple was. According to one source, in classical Jewish belief, the Temple acted as the figurative "footstool" of God's presence. So that's it; I will find Jesus not necessarily when I go to church, but when I take the time to sit in God's presence. 

Christmas is less than three weeks away. The pace of life is moving faster and faster as we get closer to the December 25th...and to the end of another year on earth. Will I keep on moving, or will I realize in the midst of the crowds and the noise, I don't have Him. Will I turn around and take the time to sit at God's feet so that I can once again find Jesus?

Or will I continue on my way saying, "I thought He was with you..."?

Not sure I like being the oldest...

I am the youngest in my family. Well, actually, there were only two of us - but I am still the youngest. Being the youngest comes with certain, shall we say, privileges. We get to be the baby. We get to learn from our siblings mistakes. We get by on cuteness for at least the first 5 years of our life. We seem to get a "pass" on more of our behaviors - the older kids have just worn the parents down. We are usually the life of the party and entertainers at heart. I have to admit, I love being the youngest. Maybe that's why today's random thought is a bit tough for me to swallow.

Today I was talking to God about a situation I am dealing with. It's a tough one and I'd love to fall into my "youngest child" status and wait for it to go away, charm my way out of it, or simply be rescued...something! Instead, I hear in my heart - "It's time for you to be the oldest." What? I don't want to! I don't want to put on my big girl panties and face this giant of a situation. I didn't do anything wrong! And again I hear, "It's time for you to be the oldest."

Okay, I know what this means, but that doesn't mean I like it. It means I have to be the first to go forward and mend fences that are torn. It means I have to swallow my pride and do what I know it right even though I just want to run and hide. It means I have to act like the oldest...because I am.

It occurred to me this morning that those around me that I think are acting like "fools" are really my younger brothers and sisters in Christ....they are His kids too. I just happen to be older, and that means I should have probably learned a little more. I "know better".

I'd love to use the excuse that it's not my fault they act that way, but I feel that gentle nudge that reminds me it wasn't His fault that I acted that way - and yet He still sacrificed Himself for me. He still forgave me for all that I had done...for all that I was doing...for all I would probably do again. He forgave. My big brother, Jesus, forgave...and now it's my turn. It's my turn to forgive those who hurt me. It's my turn to reach out and guide by example. I'm not two anymore...I'm the oldest.

I know this isn't easy. I've had times when I reached out an olive branch only to have it sharpened into an arrow and flung back at me. That doesn't change the fact that I was supposed to do what is right...I'm the oldest.

This journey to Advent is taking me on some unfamiliar roads, I must admit. Some are kind of bumpy...doesn't look like a lot of people have traveled this way, but I know they have. I can look around me and see them. They are the ones who leave a legacy that changes the world. They are my older brothers and sisters in Christ. And now it's my turn....I'm the oldest.

Wonder what I'll discover next on this road to Advent?

Ephesians 5:2

New International Version (NIV)

² and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Romans 8:14-20

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. ¹⁵ The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.^[a] And by him we cry, “Abba,^[b] Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

1 Corinthians 14:20

New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.

Okay - this next one kind of gives me a kick in the pants!

Hebrews 5:11-15

The Message (MSG)

^11-14I have a lot more to say about this, but it is hard to get it across to you since you've picked up this bad habit of not listening. By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet here I find you need someone to sit down with you and go over the basics on God again, starting from square one—baby's milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago! Milk is for beginners, inexperienced in God's ways; solid food is for the mature, who have some practice in telling right from wrong.