WHAT TO DO WHEN GOD SAYS NO

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©2008, Vicki Hinze

www.vickihinze.com

We’re busy making Christmas lists--both of things we want and things we want to give others.

We shop, often until we drop--multiple times--seeking the perfect gift for that someone special to us, often going to amazing lengths to make sure everything is just so, that the perfect gift is not only acquired but presented wrapped perfectly in the perfect paper and trimmed with the perfect bow.

We search our minds and hearts and speak blessings over our gifts, anticipating the reaction of that special someone when s/he sees it, opens it. We eagerly await the ooohs and ahhhs and the squeals of joy and pure, unabashed delight.

We take joy in giving. Heartfelt and sincere. Open and honest in child-like glee.

We relish the scents: fresh pine from our trees and wreaths, cookies baking, roast turkey filling the house. Cider and cinnamon and all the unique Christmas scents we reserve only for this special time of year.

We attend special programs, special parties and gatherings. We pluck strangers names and wishes off trees and make them come true. We feed and clothe others, buy gifts for children in foreign countries we will never see. We open our minds and hearts and, yes, our wallets, and we think of others. We do for others. We are aware of others.

These things are all a part of the spirit of Christmas.

God charged us to love one another. Christ reiterated it, delivering the message to us personally. Throughout the years, many have repeated it using the same and different words, like Mother Teresa, who suggested we do little things with great love.

Over and again we have been told and reminded, and been blessed with the refrain. And especially at Christmas time we hear and listen. Often at Christmas we focus outside ourselves and on the needs and wishes of others. We embrace the spirit of Christmas.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we took a lesson from Dickens’ Scrooge and embraced Christmas every day? Yes, perhaps that is idealistic and in the view of some unrealistic. But is it really?

Is it so difficult to embrace that child-like joy at giving and doing for others? Is it really impossible to keep our hearts and minds open? To think of others as well as ourselves?

For some it may be. But others will consider it a great liberation. A license to be joyful--guilt-free!

So many of us have been conditioned to believe that we must scramble and snatch to get what we want. The fear of less or none drives greed and corruption, and we all know those things are far too prevalent. It often takes a long time to realize that we don’t have to scramble and snatch. It’s a myth that just isn’t true. There’s more than enough. Ours is a God of more than enough who desires us to live life abundantly. And sooner or later we discover another truth: READ MORE

Tags: Love, Christmas spirit, Christmas season, affirmation, confirmation, inspiration, belief, BELIEVERS ACTIONS, vicki hinze, truth,

KNOW WHAT YOU BELIEVE

Warning: This is a no-edit zone...


The adrenaline is settling for many, and yet anxiety runs high because looking ahead so much is uncertain. Our own futures are, in part due to the economic crisis, a mystery to us. There are many other factors, including new leadership, but Americans are by nature ones to rally around their leaders until such time as they feel they no longer deserve our support. So the leadership issue isn’t driving our anxiety. The economic crisis and how it will develop and resolve is the root of an enormous amount of anxiety for most of us.


One of the major challenges for those trying to tamp that anxiety is doubt that those responsible--and there are many in all quarters--will be held accountable. We’ve been lax on responsibility and accountability for a while now, but this crisis has brought those things into sharp focus, and now we expect it. Many demand it.


Believers are far less anxious, which is to say, they’re not out on the ledge. Why is that?


The answer can be summed up in one word: Faith.


We know that regardless of accountability by man, every individual is held accountable for his or her actions and deeds by the ultimate authority. The scales will be balanced. We might not know the point and time. We might not see it. We might not feel the weight of the shift. But we know that accountability will be had because the Bible tells us it will, and we believe it.


We know that in that balance . . . READ MORE



Tags: belief, spirituality, faith, faith zone blog, vicki hinze, responsibility, accountability, fear and doubt, anxiety, personal growth, insight, understanding, trust

FRESH START

WARNING: This is a no-edit zone...

These are tumultuous times. Everything and everyone is in an uproar over something or many things. If it isn’t hurricanes on the coast, it’s hurricanes on Wall Street and in Washington.

We look at this, and too often see only the bad. There’s plenty of it and since bad news sells, that’s what we hear most, so this comes as little surprise. It is however an unbalanced view and one that, if we don’t guard our minds, can drive us into despair.

As believers, we know that regardless of worldly influences, God is in control. We know that there is purpose and reason and that evil done to cause harm, He can turn for good.

We also know that this conversion process is two-part. We do our part, God does His--and He is respectful of our free will.

This is the best reason to guard our minds. If we focus on doom and gloom, God will respect it as our wish. If we focus on solutions and finding value or good in the opportunities brought to light, then He’ll respect that.

So the question becomes, What do want respected?
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Tags: starting over, attitude, aptitude, purpose, crisis, focus, solution, appearances, spirituality, opportunities, value, morals, ethics, belief, choices, vicki hinze, faith zone, faith zone blog