Fully, Less, More and All

This weekend, I got to worship at Stephanie’s church. I always gain something special when listening to the sermons of her pastors. These short suggestions for this Advent season need to be repeated.

First of all, everything fits under the title of Advent Conspiracy.  That title was discussed in prior sermons, but I think you will get the main idea if I keep on going.

We all need to WORSHIP FULLY. It’s easy to forget the real reason of Advent and get caught up in To Do Lists and a bursting calendar of engagements. Instead, we should WORSHIP FULLY in order to put Christ back in Christmas. I think we are all guilty of spending more time planning for fun events than actually remembering why we have Christmas.

Next, we should SPEND LESS. Its nuts to just exchange gift cards for restaurants. We buy toys for kids that will be lost in their jungle of fun within one week. Our charge cards assume ridiculous heights in the vain efforts to buy the perfect presents for other people in our lives. By buying or giving a mountain of presents, we spend time that could otherwise be devoted to God.

It seems impossible, but the next one is GIVE MORE. We should prioritize our time better. There are multiple options from wonderful organizations that could use our donations. There are food, clothing and toy drives throughout any city. Multiple non-profit organizations would be extremely grateful of even small monetary donations.

The final suggestion is to LOVE ALL. That’s a gift that would please our Lord and Savior. That simple commandment pretty much explains all the others from the Top Ten list. Eliminate those harsh words that somehow pop out of your mouth when the holiday tension attacks. Patience is worn thinner when our minds are focused on the mall instead of the Lord.

So, complete the remainder of the Advent season with these guides: Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More and Love All. There are 18 more days until the big birthday. Let these words help you focus on a simpler and more bountiful route.

God Uses Chronic Pain to Prove Life is Good:

     -  My pain has me off work since I am on disability. That allows me to travel during times that schools are working. Then I have time to go to Stephanie’s church and hear great inspiration.