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I’m really not ignoring you! I just didn’t hear you!

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Do you ever feel like you speak and no one listens? Sometimes we feel that way with God. Sometimes our spouse. Sometimes our friends.

If you’ve recently tried to contact me through this website and I did not respond, it’s because I didn’t hear you! I just discovered this morning that the contact page on this site is not working and I don’t know how long it’s been down.

So, if you emailed me from this site and I did not respond, please accept my apologies. We are working to correct the problem. In the meantime, you can email me directly:

kathy@kathyhoward.org

And please… If you did try to contact me, please try again!

Fresh starts and second chances

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I have a love/hate relationship with January 1st. I love the New Year because it represents a time of fresh starts, new commitments, and second chances. I hate the New Year because it usually reminds me I need to be more disciplined, give up something in which I’ve overindulged (chocolate and ice cream for instance), and generally get back on track in several areas.

I’m going to make a few of confessions as a way to confirm my “fresh starts.” Please feel free to hold me accountable. Are you ready? Here we go:

  • I have not been eating well the last few months. It started during our move from Midland to Houston in July. I’ve been pretty much eating what I want, when I want it. It’s not healthy and my jeans definitely know what I’ve been doing.
  • I slacked off in memorizing Scripture during the latter half of the year. I started 2011 off pretty well, but I allowed our move and a big deadline to push it to the back burner.
  • I sometimes allow email to distract me from the most important communication of the day. A couple of years ago God showed me that I should make my time with Him first priority. Email, Facebook, and household chores can often become black holes for my time. What I think is a “quick minute” turns into much longer.

Now, that I’ve opened up and made myself a little vulnerable I will also share with you my commitments to fresh starts.

  • I commit to healthy eating in 2012. I will not be legalistic; I will occasionally enjoy treats. But I will regularly feed my body with the good foods God gave us to eat – fruits, vegetables, and lean meats. Oh yeah, and not to excess!
  • I renew my commitment to Scripture memory. This month I will begin memorizing new passages from the book of Ephesians. I will also get back on track with regular review of previously memorized passages. (If you are interested in Scripture memory, check out the resources available on the free resources page.)
  • I also renew my commitment to make time with God my very first priority each day.

I am so thankful that God gives us chances to begin again. When we fall down, He picks us up and sets our feet back on the right path! And He also gives us each other for encouragement and accountability. That’s exactly why I shared all this with you – encouragement and accountability.

Have you made any commitments to fresh starts for 2012? Feel free to share!

 

A Mighty Wind – #5 Post of 2011

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For the next five days I’d like to share with you the most read posts of 2011. The post below was originally published on February 8, 2011.

How does a mom keep going when she knows she could lose her son any moment? Wende’s answer comes without hesitation. “I couldn’t have done this for five minutes without God.”

Ethan was diagnosed with an extremely rare condition when he was just ten years old. Arteriovenous malformation (AVM), an abnormal formation of blood vessels in the brain, can cause seizures, hemorrhages, and strokes. Larger AVMs, like Ethan’s, result in progressive neurological deterioration. And a ruptured aneurysm is a daily possibility.

Wende smiles when she describes Ethan’s early childhood years. In the gifted program at school, he could beat his dad at chess, and loved to write and garden. Ethan was a beautiful and happy child with a contagious grin.

There was no hint of a problem until ten-year-old Ethan’s hands started shaking. It took eight months and several doctors before they received the AVM diagnosis. Shortly after that he suffered a stroke.

The stroke left Ethan with some physical challenges but it did not weaken his spirit or his faith in God. He never asked “Why me?” Instead Ethan firmly believed that God wanted to use his illness for a specific purpose.

Wende agrees completely. “I’ve seen God use Ethan to change people’s lives. They’ve caught his joy. He loved people just the way they are. The way he lived taught people not to get caught up in things that don’t really matter.”

But how did Ethan’s mom cope? Wende remembers a specific moment only days after the diagnosis. “I was washed by an overwhelming sense of God’s peace and I felt God whisper, ‘I’ve got this.’ And I believed Him.”

The Holy Spirit continued to pour peace into Wende’s life. “Those moments were a rest from all the things I had to deal with, so I could keep going.”

Wende experienced the Holy Spirit working in other ways as well. Joy when she was grieving. Strength when she felt weak. The constant awareness of God’s presence and love. And the physical support of God’s people.

After nine years of battling AVM, Ethan went home to heaven. Today—the day after Ethan’s memorial service—Wende is choosing to cling to the peace God continues to provide.

Note: This story is one of the “Faith Shakers” in Kathy’s newly released Bible study “Unshakeable Faith: 8 Traits for Rock-Solid Living.” This study explores the life and teachings of Peter to help you build a faith strong enough to withstand the harshest storms of life. Click here for more information about the book.

Don’t leave the baby in the manger – John 5:19-24

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Angels announce great joy to all people. Shepherds stand in awe at the baby in a manger. Christmas is a happy scene, a joyous event. A Savior is born!

Like me, yesterday you probably remembered the birth of Jesus. You may have sung about His coming. Perhaps you thanked God for sending His Son into the world. But what will you do with Jesus today?

Jesus is so much more than a wee babe in a manger. He is eternal God, only Savior, and King of Kings. In His Gospel, the Apostle John reminds us we have a life and death decision to make about Jesus.

19 So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. 20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished. 21 For just as the Father gives life to those he raises from the dead, so the Son gives life to anyone he wants. 22 In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge, 23so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Anyone who does not honor the Son is certainly not honoring the Father who sent him.

 24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.

What truths about Jesus are found in this passage?

Christmas is not simply about the coming of God’s Son; it’s about the coming of our Savior. Jesus offers eternal life to all those who believe in Him. Don’t just celebrate the babe of Christmas; give your life to the Savior.

Have you received life from the Life-Giver? What will you do with Jesus today?

 

 

How well do you know the Christmas story?

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I challenge you to take the following Christmas trivia test!  Many “facts” about Jesus’ birth that we take for granted are not really fact at all. Centuries of tradition and and even popular culture have affected the way we view the story of Jesus’ birth.

Can you separate biblical truth from pure fiction? Should you even care? Yes, Christians must handle God’s Word with care and diligence in every area. Let’s start by checking our facts on the Christmas story. Be honest, answer the multiple choice without looking ahead or using your Bibles or the internet.  I will give the answers and Scriptural support at the end.

1. How did Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem?

a. Camel
b. Donkey
c. Walked
d. Volkswagen
e. Joseph walked, Mary rode a donkey
f. Who knows?

2. What did the innkeeper tell Mary and Joseph?
a. There is no room in the inn.
b. I have a stable you can use.
c. Come back after the Christmas rush
d. Both a and b
e. None of the above

3. What is a manger?
a. Stable for domestic animals
b. Wooden hay storage bin
c. Feeding trough
d. Barn

4. According to the Bible, which animals were present at Jesus’ birth
a. Cows, sheep. goats
b. Cows, donkeys, sheep
c. Miscellaneous barnyard animals
d. Lions, tigers, and bears
e. We don’t know

5. What “sign” did the angels tell the shepherds to look for?
a. A star over Bethlehem
b. A baby that doesn’t cry
c. A baby in a stable
d. A baby lying in a manger
e. None of the above

6. Who saw the “star in the east?”
a. Shepherds
b. Mary and Joseph
c. Magi (aka Wise Men)
d. Both A and C
e. None of the above

7. What did the heavenly host of angels say?
a. Joy to the World
b. Alleluia
c. Unto us a child is born
d. Glory to God in the highest

8. Did the baby Jesus cry?
a. He never cried
b. He cried just like other babies
c. Only when the little drummer boy banged his drum

9. How many Magi came to see Jesus?
a. We aren’t sure, but probably less than 10
b. Three
c. We don’t know for sure, but there were probably dozens of people in their entourage

10. Where did the Magi find Jesus?
a. In the manger
b. In the stable
c. In an inn
d. In a house

Okay, here we go. Some answers and explanation!

1. The Bible does not say anything about a donkey. Luke 2:4 simply tells us that Joseph and Mary went from Nazareth to Galilee. Many biblical scholars do think that because of their economic status they probably both walked.

2. The Bible does not record any words spoken by the inn keeper. In fact, Luke does not even mention an inn keeper, merely an inn and the fact that there was no room. Luke 2:7. To get really specific, there is also no mention of a stable.

3. A manger is a feeding trough for animals.

4. Read Luke 2:1-20. There is no mention of animals of any kind around Jesus after His birth.

5. The star is only mentioned in conjunction with the Magi. They told Herod they had seen the star. See Matthew 2:2.

6. The sign the angels told the shepherds to look for was a baby lying in a manger. Luke 2:12.

7. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests” Luke 2:14.

8. Baby Jesus was fully human. He cried when He was hungry, tired, wet, and in pain just like any other baby.

9. The Bible does not tell us how many Magi visited Jesus. The tradition of “3″ probably developed because they presented 3 kinds of gifts. According to scholars the Magi’s journey probably lasted up to two years with an entourage of dozens or more people.

10. Sorry to wreck your nativity scenes but the Magi were not present the night Jesus was born. Scriptural evidence shows Jesus could have been as old as two by the time they arrived. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were staying in a house. See Matthew 2:11.

So, how did you do? Which ones do you think would trip up more Christians?

 

Did this little trivia quiz challenge you to more thoroughly study the Bible? If so, in what way?