Came as a Baby

"So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interest of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above everyone name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus  Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:1-11

As I approach my first Christmas as a mom I have been reflecting on Philippians 2 and what it meant for Jesus to come as a baby. I've read this passage over and over and have even memorized it a time or two, but this year the truths in it have sunk in like no other year. At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus-we all know the story. Jesus was born to Mary in a lowly manger because there was no room for him at the inn. Take some time for this to sink in, Jesus came as a baby. When I look at Roman and really think about what it means to be a baby, I can't imagine anyone choosing that. Babies are essentially helpless. They depend on their parents for everything; to move, to eat, for entertainment, and if you are Roman you even need parents to help you sleep;) When I think of the Christmas story I really see the humility Jesus portrayed. Jesus is God, perfect, needing nothing, ruler of the universe BUT He gave all that up (temporarily) and came as a helpless, humble baby. What a lesson in humility we can learn from Jesus. It makes me ask the question do I really give up my comfort, security, possessions, time, etc to put others before myself. Many times I do not. But there is hope according to this passage if we belong to Christ this mind is ours in Christ Jesus. We can have this humility but only through trusting Jesus as our Savior and allowing him to move and work in our lives. Praise God that he is the one who gives us strength to put on humility. "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience." Colossians 3:12

Casual Christian?

In my quiet times over this past week and throughout our whole series in Acts that we just finished, I have been continually challenged on this idea of "casual Christianity." More and more I am realizing that this "category" shouldn't be a category at all. I am realizing that there actually isn't such a thing! If I have truly experienced God then I should automatically display an outpouring of God's mercy which He has so graciously given me. I have the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead inside me! In Act's we see Paul with a singular focus of preaching Christ crucified with boldness! Oh that I would be bold for the Gospel and imitate Paul as He imitated Christ. There was nothing casual about the Christianity that Paul was displaying throughout Act's and there is nothing casual about all of the Christians that are, as I am typing this, being persecuted all over the world.

Don't settle for how the world has polluted the Christian faith, rather look to the Scriptures and see how it was meant to be lived out and pursue that with reckless abandon. We can't afford to do or be anything else. We don't need to look at Jesus as the top of our priorities, rather we need to see Him as directing and informing every situation and decision! 

Is there evidence in our lives that we have been changed:



YOU ARE LOVED

Turkey & Humble Pie

Last week was Thanksgiving and since they don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Scotland we decided to host a Thanksgiving meal with a few of our friends here in Glasgow to show them our appreciation for their friendship and to give them a taste of a real American Thanksgiving. I thought I had everything figured out and it wasn't going to be stressful (making a whole Thanksgiving meal by myself with a baby) haha boy was I wrong. Two days before Thanksgiving our oven decided to stop working and we weren't able to get it fixed until after Thanksgiving. My no pressure Thanksgiving meal just got a whole lot harder. Thursday night we went over to a friends to make the brine for the turkey, bake the pumpkin pie,  and bake some bread. That night I proceeded to spill almost half of the brine on the floor, then realized we had nothing big enough for the turkey to brine in overnight, so I put it in a garbage bag:) Friday afternoon we packed up all the food and Roman and went to a friends to cook the rest of the meal. It didn't help that Roman was sick that day and decided to scream during most of the cooking process.

Needless to say the meal could have been a disaster. I found myself quite frustrated at the fact that I couldn't make this meal on my own. I needed to ask for help (something I'm realizing I don't like to do and need to do more often). Thankfully we have some great friends here who opened up their flat so we could cook, helped us cook, and even ran out last minute to buy us a meat thermometer. I also have a great husband who will rock a screaming baby for hours without getting frustrated.

Before the meal

The meal ended up turning out just fine and we had a great night with friends. This Thanksgiving I am thankful for help; for friends, a husband, and a God who do not give up on me and are willing to pick me up when I fall, give me strength when I'm weak, and sacrifice their own comfort for my good. I am learning to swallow my pride and ask for help when I need it because I can't do it on my own and I'm not meant to walk through this life alone. I am finding this so true especially with Roman. The past 3 weeks we have not gotten more than 2 hours a sleep in a row and last night Roman did not sleep for more than an hour at a time. We are exhausted, but I am thankful to have people who will give us a break if we just ask…so I'm going to work on that.

The finished turkey!

So thankful for this smiley boy!