Today

Someday, I’ll find the perfect marriage.

Someday, I’ll get my finances in order.

Someday, I’ll get that promotion.

Someday, I’ll pursue what God has called me to do.

This Sunday, guest speaker Dave Barringer introduced our congregation to the concept of “Someday Syndrome.” Whether it be an unswerving anticipation of the future, or a relentless desire to escape from the present, someday syndrome is an infection of the mind that hinders us from fully perceiving or acting on the present. As we become so consumed with what lies ahead, we fail to see God’s presence in what is happening right in front of us.

As a college student, my mind naturally drifts to “someday.” I spend a significant amount of time planning, thinking about, and dreaming of what my future may hold. After all, the time I spend studying and the majority of my money is, in fact, going towards my future. However, it is not healthy to limit my perspective solely to what tomorrow holds. While God’s plans for the future may be great, I must not lose sight of the fact that today is just as important. Just as I believe God has designed me for a specific career and specific purpose in the future, He has placed me specifically where I am at today, whether or not that seems ideal. In other words, God deeply desires to use what seems like an unimportant transitional phase in my life as a platform for both personal and spiritual growth.

Perhaps your “someday” looks a little bit different. Maybe you’re desperately waiting for your child to get potty-trained. Maybe you’re waiting to get out of debt. Maybe you’re waiting to retire! Whatever the case may be, we all have the potential to become so future-focused that we glaze over God’s presence in the mundane. The truth is, God wants to use us, shape us, and challenge us right where we are NOW. Sure, he might have plans for tomorrow. Sure, things in the past may have changed what today looks like. Nevertheless, God is ready to fill us, change us, and use us TODAY. The question is, are we going to let opportunities pass us by, or are we willing to take action and listen for God’s voice today?

This is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Written by: Tamara Sturdivant

Edited by: De Ann Sturdivant 

Always Winter, But Never Christmas

“I just need this week to be over.”

“I wish I could skip this part of life.”

“I don’t see this ever getting better.”

Sound familiar? Some seasons of life, it feels like this is my own personal mantra. While this particular season is meant for rejoicing with the Magi, the short, cold(ish) days and insanely busy crowds make it much easier to try and shut myself out of the holiday scene entirely and snuggle up like Herod did in a throne of self-deception.

Whether it be feeling the absence of a loved one, a battle with depression, tension between a family, or even simply the pressure to make the darkest, coldest, longest season of the year cheery and fun, it seems as though there are just as many reasons to be down as there are to celebrate. While the existence of our emotions is healthy and human, it is how we deal with them that affects us so deeply. When we choose to take our moments of hopelessness and weave them into a web we fool ourselves into thinking is impenetrable, we fall victim to the trap of self-deception. We allow seasons of frustration to fester in our hearts, and we become their slaves, unable or unwilling to break through the mold and try on a new perspective of hope.

See, though I identified earlier with Herod’s patterns of self-deception, the truth is that unlike Herod, I know a hope that cannot be counted out when I am emotionally disoriented. When I feel the world itself has stopped and I’m stuck at the bottom of a mountain, Matthew 2:20 reminds me of the promise and perseverance of God, even when I feel like I have nothing left in me.

“Get up, take the child and his mother to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” Matthew 2:20

Though I may only see winter at times, though I may miss “Christmas” at any time of the year even when its right in front of me, it does not mean it isn’t there. By acknowledging the freedom God can give my mind and wholeheartedly receiving it to be true, I am reminded that even in the bleak and trying days, Christmas is still here in His promise. Like Herod’s attempts to end Jesus’ life before it really began, the emotionally-driven distortions of my own life situations cannot eradicate the promises of God. Even on the most difficult of days, I can find freedom in the fact that out of Egypt, Christmas is coming.

Written by: Brianna Vanderveen

Edited by: Tamara Sturdivant

Family Christmas

Christmas Traditions: some are better than others.

My children and I bake cookies together in the days leading up to Christmas. We bake the same types each year and it’s an all-day event. Chocolate Mint. Magic Cookie Bars. Cinn-a-Spin. Of course we have to make sure they taste good enough to serve to our Christmas guests. This is a tradition they love.

Last year, I attempted to begin a new tradition with our family. I purchased a beautifully written and illustrated book by a fairly popular Christian author. The idea is that one is supposed to dedicate a particular tree and add specific ornaments that coincide with a devotional reading on each day leading up to Christmas. Each devotional reading is no less than 45 pages long. Well, maybe not that long, but it feels like it. The first day of reading was met by blank stares and a smirk (from one particular family member to remain unnamed.) The next day, the reading was met with groans and sighs. On the third day, the complaints were more vocal.  Then the particular “smirking” family member decided to make up a stupid song to go along with the long, dry reading. This resulted in a slight overreaction:  the slamming of the book, angry tears and declarations of “I just wanted to create a nice family tradition!”  I won’t tell you who said and did any of those things. I’ll let you figure it out. And needless to say, we scrapped that particular tradition. The book looks lovely as part of our coffee table Holiday décor, but remains unopened this year.

Again, some traditions are better than others.

For example, this past Sunday, we participated in one of my favorite Christmas traditions! We celebrated some very special people during our annual Family Christmas service. Each year, several individuals, couples or families are “surprised” as the church honors them for living daily lives exemplary of the Christmas Story.

What I love about those honored in these services is the way I see each and every one of them leap off of the pages of Scripture as I read the Bible.

 “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. “ Philippians 3:14

As we discuss the stories of individuals and begin making plans in the weeks and months leading up to Family Christmas each year, I am inspired by the way these people continually “press toward the goal.” In spite of often immeasurable odds, they are relentless in the pursuit of what God has called them to.

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of other to be seen by them…” Matthew 6:1a

When a name is called and the person sits momentarily frozen in his or her seat and then walks on stage in disbelief, it is never more obvious to me that their righteous acts were done all for the love of Jesus and not for their own glory.

“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” Romans 12:10-13

While I feel that the entire chapter of Romans 12 is a very succinct summary of what the Christian’s life should look like (or what we should be striving to look like), those three verses can be accurately used to describe the “spirit of those honored at Family Christmas.”

I continue to consider it a profound honor and privilege to serve and live my life among the most amazing people on Earth – the friends and family of Freedom Christian: “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy…” Philippians 1:3-4a.

Written by: Jaime Hlavin

Edited by: Tamara Sturdivant

Overcoming Fear

The last major recession probably created a lot of workaholics for those of us in the career world who survived it and also saw those around us who didn’t. Someone who walks away from a major car accident can still feel their muscles seize up at the sound of a car horn or squealing brakes for years after the fact. Bad relationships we thought we’d left behind can still make us avoid starting any new ones. Basically, fear is an easy takeaway from painful experiences -- and we can try to elevate our own chronic anxiety into wisdom, or even something spiritual, but it’s still just fear.

To call me a workaholic or an anxious person might be an understatement. There are many nights I don’t sleep, and I’ve had the kind of panic attacks that settle in your chest like a deep physical pain. When my wife worries for me and tells me I’m working myself into a heart attack or early death, I used to respond with “then it will be God’s will.” 

 That makes sense, right? I mean, the Lord holds death and life within His hands, and people have fatal heart attacks all the time (about 610,000 deaths per year are related to heart disease, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). So it makes sense that some heart attacks are part of his plan, and if He wanted to prevent that he could defuse the anger of others around me, or help me get home on time and see more of my family, or keep a diet and exercise regimen that doesn’t get so often derailed by work. But of course, this is only the fear talking—not the truth. Ultimately, in these instances I am asking God to improve my circumstances, not my character. And having Him pull your feet from the fire here and there doesn’t mean you overcame your fear of flames. Sooner or later, you have to work on you.

Anxiety, as we heard this week, can have three key fuels: imminent danger, the diet of social and media inputs that you receive, and damage from your interpersonal relationships. And to combat these, you should change how you think, how you talk, and how you work. I could especially appreciate the suggestion Sunday that working too hard can stem from the fear of not having enough, and that what you think is diligence is really just letting fear and anxiety have the upper hand in your life.

Reading the word is also a healthy practice in cutting down anxiety (another helpful suggestion from my wife), so I’m also planning to meditate again on Philippians 4:6-7. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” He is a God of peace, and I’ve been learning that again in prayer and Bible study time. It also wouldn’t hurt to put an emphasis on “every situation,” because just like arterial blockage, the worries you neglect to take to him will build up over time. And sometimes, bringing those situations to Him isn’t about changing them. It’s about changing us.

Written by: Chad Halcom

Edited by: Jenelle Kelly