My mom always hosts Thanksgiving for our family, and she does an awesome job. Everything is beautiful, festive, and most importantly delicious! My husband and I typically arrive earlier than requested and get in her way, attempting to “help” as we fill up on all the tempting appetizers on display before us. My dad runs around trying to take pictures of us when we’re feeling the least photogenic and also captures the details of all the finely crafted foods. Later my husband’s parents arrive and more chaos ensues until we’re finally ready to sit down to eat way more food than any human should. That’s Thanksgiving #1. My mom prefers to buy her own turkey, but I also receive a turkey from my employer every year. Since I have no room to store such a large bird until the next holiday, I have no choice but to cook it the Saturday following Thanksgiving. Twenty pounds of turkey (yes, my employer gives us a huge turkey!) is a bit much for two people to eat alone, so we started a tradition several years back that we call “Second Thanksgiving.” On 2nd Thanksgiving, my hubby and I cook our turkey, heat up all the leftover side dishes from 1st Thanksgiving and invite our family to feast all over again on Saturday! Even then we still have tons of leftovers. God has richly blessed us! Our turkey turned out so good this year on 2nd Thanksgiving that I wanted to share our method for anyone who struggles to cook a turkey. It takes a long time, but it’s super easy. Cooking a Perfect TurkeyI’ve found that the “low and slow” method produces awesome results every time, not just with turkey, but with any meat. I didn’t follow any particular recipe this year, as I was tired and just wanted to throw it in the oven, but it sure turned out great! Here are the steps I took that yielded such perfect results:
So why is this recipe on a Jesus blog? Oftentimes following Jesus is less about learning and knowing theology and more about living it. It's about people and daily life, serving others, being hospitable, and sharing what you have. It’s about doing your daily tasks with excellence. During the holidays, it’s easy to get behind on Bible reading because you’re busy doing things for other people and living out what Jesus has been teaching you, and I think that’s OK. While reading the Bible is important (and I highly recommend doing so regularly), Jesus certainly didn’t spend his life with His nose in a book, but everything He did stemmed from being connected to His Father.
Through your busy days, be full of Jesus. Let your actions and your service be an overflow of what He has done in your life. Reflect His goodness through your cooking, your giving, your housecleaning, and all that you do. You don’t have to be the best cook or have the tidiest home, but let your actions be seasoned with the love of God and a love for others. When you work to honor God, you will have a greater joy in what you do, and others will be blessed by the love that goes into it. May you have a blessed holiday season! Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! P.S. I didn’t anticipate writing this when we were preparing our turkey, or I would have taken more pictures of the process! All I have is a photo of the final product. Next time I cook a turkey, probably next year, I’ll try and take more pictures and edit them in to this post.
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“Think positive!” “I am strong!” “Believe in yourself!” Ever heard these? I’ve been reflecting on the idea of positive thinking and self-affirmation. While there is some real value in having a positive mindset, many of the quotes and statements that I come across just don’t sit well with me. The Bible gives us clear guidelines on how we should think: “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” (Philippians 4:8) Sometimes statements of “positive thinking," particularly statements of self-affirmation, just flat out aren’t true. Why should I fill my mind with lies, even if they’re positive? To counter this, I set out on a quest to find some statements of truth based upon Scripture on which to reflect and mediate. As I poured over Scripture passages looking for true statements that proclaim our worth, importance, purpose, and anything else we might want to tell ourselves to increase our confidence and self-esteem, something quickly became very clear to me: According to God, it’s not about me. It’s all about Him. Let me explain. The Bible certainly teaches that we are valued and have worth in the eyes of God, but our worth, beauty, and importance are not the focus of Scripture; if we try and make it all about us, we will quickly become powerless in that line of thinking. The reason we have our worth, beauty, and importance is completely based on Christ and what He has done for us. The focus of Scripture is on Jesus, His beauty, His power, His widsom, His love, etc. The Bible strongly discourages us from propping ourselves up in our own mind. Biblical thinking is actually quite counter-intuitive and often goes against what society tells us to think and believe. The world tells us to believe in ourselves, be strong, take pride in ourselves, etc. But consider the following:
With statements like these, the Bible teaches that God doesn't ignore those who are weak and humble. In fact, He often favors those qualities, and He uses those people for His own purpose and glory. Worldly Positive Thinking in Light of ScriptureThe worldly idea of positive thinking generally focuses on self and is very egocentric. This flies in the face of what the Bible teaches. The Bible instructs us to think less of ourselves and more of others. We are to have a humble mindset. We are to die to self. We must become less and God must become greater in our lives. Paul writes in Romans 12:3, “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.” Be in the practice of testing everything against Scripture, and "taking every thought captive," (2 Corinthians 10:5). This way, if you're thinking positive thoughts, you can be confident that you're thinking positive thoughts of truth. The same applies to negative thoughts: if you are plagued with negative thoughts, test those against Scripture, because often times those thoughts are also lies. There is freedom in knowing the truth. (see John 8:32). Let’s put that into practice and examine a few statements found on positive thinking website: Worldly Statement: I make the right choices every time. In Light of Scripture: You know darn well you don’t always make the right choices. The Bible calls many of our bad choices sin, and the the only remedy for sin is to be honest about it with God and ask for His forgiveness. If our bad choices are not blatant sin, then they probably fall into the category of foolishness. Through the filling of God’s Holy Spirit, He will give us the strength, power, and wisdom to make the right choices every time. (Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:9, Galatians 5:16-25) Worldly Statement: I trust myself. I trust my inner wisdom and intuition. In Light of Scripture: According to the Bible, trusting in yourself can be a dangerous thing. Jeremiah 17:9 says the heart is deceitful. Proverbs 3:5 says to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” We are to trust in God alone and seek Him for our guidance. Trusting in yourself instead of in the God who made you, is like making an idol out of yourself, and is not much different than trusting in a golden figure formed by the hands of man. Anything good about us comes from God: He made us, He saved us, He gifted us, He leads us, He empowers us. Our trust should be in Him, not in ourselves. (Also see Proverbs 28:26) Worldly Statement: I draw from my inner strength and light. In Light of Scripture: This is very similar to the above statement. Apart from Christ, we have no inner strength and light. Ephesians 3:14-21 talks about God’s Spirit strengthening us in our “inner man” and giving us the power and understanding that we need. Without Him, our flesh is weak. It's when we acknowledge that weakness and turn to Jesus that we find true strength and light. (Romans 8:26, 2 Corinthians 12:9, John 8:12) Worldly Statement: Money comes to me easily and effortlessly. In Light of Scripture: If only it were as easy as speaking those words! God never promises us material riches, but He does promise to supply all our needs. The Bible tells us that hard work leads to increased wealth, and it also says that when we give a portion of what we have back to God, we will receive blessing in return (not necessarily material, but it could be). Some are blessed with great wealth for God’s glory, and others are blessed with simple means, also for God’s glory. We are to be content with what God has supplied. (Proverbs 3:9-10, Proverbs 10:4, Proverbs 30:7-9, Proverbs 24:30-34, Malachi 3:10, 2 Corinthians 9:6, Hebrews 13:5) Worldly Statement: I am smart. In Light of Scripture: For some this may be true, but for others, saying the words just doesn’t make it so. (Sorry if I burst anyone's bubble there!) We all have unique strengths and abilities, but for some, being smart just isn’t one of them. If you’re one of those people who are lacking in the area of intellect, and you lie to yourself about it, you’re only shorting yourself the opportunity to grow and seek out others in your life who are smart to help you with your shortcomings. While we’re not all blessed with great intellect, (and even if we are), the Bible tells us that any of us can (and should) seek out God’s wisdom. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” James 1:5 says, “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” Positive Thinking From the Bible Now that we’ve looked at some worldly statements, let’s look at some trustworthy statements from God’s Word that speak to our worth and value. These statements are focused on Christ and what He has done, not on ourselves, and they are words of truth, rather than lies. These are not words to psyche ourselves into being better, but are words that are already true, that focus our attention on the One from who we can draw our strength and wisdom. We can cling to these words without hesitation. Look up these scriptures and meditate on those if you need to fill your mind with positive thoughts! (The statements with the “*” asterisks apply specifically to Christians, who have trusted Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins.) The "Scripture Support" references open up a link to the full Bible verse in a new window. Biblical Statement: I am wonderfully made. Scripture Support: Psalm 139:13-14 We were no accident. God made us with His own hands. Biblical Statement: I am loved. Scripture Support: John 3:16, Romans 8:38-39 God said He loved us, and proved it by sending Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins. Biblical Statement: I am valuable. Scripture Support: Matthew 6:25-27 God cares about us more than anything else in His creation. Biblical Statement: I am forgiven.* Scripture Support: Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:9 While it is true that we are all sinners, God promises to forgive us when we ask Him. Biblical Statement: I am complete.* Scripture Support: Colossians 2:10 Jesus makes us whole. Biblical Statement: I am alive.* Scripture Support: Ephesians 2:4-6 We were once dead in our sins, but Jesus makes us alive with Him through His death and resurrection. Biblical Statement: I am a new creation.* Scripture Support: 2 Corinthians 5:17 When we give our lives to Jesus, our old self passes away, and He makes us new. Biblical Statement: I can do all things (through Christ).* Scripture Support: Philippians 4:13 Jesus gives us the strength we need to do life. Biblical Statement: I am a child of God.* Scripture Support: John 1:12 God gave this right to those who believe in Jesus. A Better WayWorldly thinking is self-centered and prone to lies. Biblical thinking is Christ-centered (or others-centered) and rich in truth. When you remove the focus from yourself and start focusing on who God is and what He’s done, and when you start focusing on how you can bless others, you will naturally become a better person because of what He does in your life. Consider the attitude of Jesus, written about in Philippians 2:3-11: Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Instead of telling yourself how great you are and how much you can do, focus your thoughts on Jesus and how great He is and what He's done. Strive to be like Him. Embrace what He has already given you and walk according to His Spirit.
It's fall! That means it's almost Thanksgiving, which means it's practically Christmas. I'm not trying to jump the gun, but I do want to get this out there so you all have plenty of time to think and plan for this Jesus-celebrating Christmas activity if it's up your alley! Seven years ago when my husband and I got married, one of the things we had to talk through was how we were going to handle holidays. Family, food, gifts, and all that fun stuff. As a couple, we decided not to do Christmas gifts for each other or for our family and friends. Gasp! What? No presents on Christmas? Nope, no presents. Here was our thinking: 1. Our family consists of grown adults who really don't need (or want) anything. 2. We don't like giving out of a sense of obligation. 3. Christmas gifts tend to end up in give-away piles. 4. It's expensive. 5. It's stressful. 6. Christmas is supposed to be about Jesus, not presents. While I was completely on board with the decision, I really kind of missed the gift aspect of Christmas. Not the giving and getting of stuff - I didn't really care so much about that, but I missed wrapping things up in pretty paper and ribbons (it's an art project to me!) and I missed the hustle and bustle of the mall with all the decorations and the hunt for the perfect gifts. But I also really wanted to come up with a Christmas activity that we could work into our family tradition that actually celebrates the birth of Jesus . That's what it's all about, right? I present to you, "Christmas Story by Gifts"! We've been doing this in our family for a few years now, and everyone seems to enjoy it. We even had a non-Christian friend join us for Christmas one year, and he participated with us and really liked it as well. It was a fun and non-threatening way for him to learn about the true Christmas Story! Christmas Story by Gifts gets everyone focused on the real meaning of Christmas (the birth of Jesus Christ) and promotes selflessness and sharing rather than greed and "me, me, me" that so frequently overtakes people at Christmas time. Here's how it works: (Examples and Photos to follow) 1. The Christmas story from the Bible is divided up into 8 sections of Scripture (could be more or less, depending on your family/group size). We have 7 people in our family, but I leave it at 8 sections in case we have anyone join us unexpectedly. 2. Come up with a gift that symbolically represents each section of Scripture. The gifts shouldn't be for any particular person, but rather all the gifts are to be shared and enjoyed by the entire group. Also, they don't need to be anything big or expensive. Things like candy, games, or small toys work well. It's just supposed to be symbolic of the Bible story and get people thinking about it. For example, in the verses that talk about the wise men bringing Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, a good (and easy!) gift option would be chocolate gold coins. Look for things that can easily be shared by a group and would likely be enjoyed by most members. (It's OK if not every person likes every gift.) If your family or group does not all live together, find things that can be split up by households or individuals to take home. 3. Wrap each gift and add a gift tag with the Scripture reference and the number of the order it in which it should be opened (going in order of the Bible story). 4. On Christmas morning (or on Christmas Eve, depending on your family's preference), each member of the group draws a number out of a hat that corresponds with one of the gifts. 5. The person who drew #1 finds the gift with the tag marked #1. Before opening it, they read aloud the Bible passage that is written on the gift tag. They can either find this in the Bible and read from there, or you can pre-print the passages on paper to hand out to each member. 6. After reading his or her assigned Bible passage, Person #1 opens the gift. This gift is not "for" them, but is meant to be shared and enjoyed by all. 7. Person #2 then finds gift #2, reads the Scripture, and opens the gift. 8. Each remaining person will go in order of their number until all gifts have been opened. 9. After all gifts have been opened, you can divide the various gifts into goodie bags for each person if it makes sense to do so. So that's the overview. Every year I start fresh and head to the store with Bible verses in hand and hunt out gifts that seem to fit the various parts of the Christmas story, so it's always a little different from year to year. Now here are some photos and examples from what I put together last year. Some of the gifts require more explanation than others, but hopefully you'll get the idea! (I've included links for the Bible verses instead of typing them all out.) #1 Luke 1: 26-35 (Angel announces to Mary that she will bear a child.) This passage talks about how Jesus is the descendant of King David, so therefore He is of the seed of David. The gift? David brand sunflower seeds! #2 Matthew 1:18-25 (Angel tells Joseph that Mary will bear a child.) In this passage, the angel tells Joseph how Jesus will save the people from their sins. I clustered a few small things I found together in one package to show how our sin is dark like coal, but Jesus is our "Life Saver" and makes us clean and shiny like diamonds. The box with the diamond on it in the photo below is a little $5 toy I found where you can chisel away at a real rock and see if there is a real diamond inside. Supposedly some of the boxes contained real diamonds, but sadly I didn't pick out a winner on that one! It was fun watching four grown men try and chisel the rock away with a mini chisel to find out though! #3 Luke 2:1-7 (Joseph and Mary have baby Jesus in Bethlehem.) Ok, I'll admit it. This one was a bit of a fail last year. My family didn't really get it, but here was my thinking behind it. Mary and Joseph had baby Jesus in a stable where the animals hang out, and they laid him in a manger. This reminded me of the song, "Away in a Manger" and the lyrics, "The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes..." I saw beef jerky on the store shelf, and thought, "cattle." Maybe Mary and Joseph needed a snack for their trip back home from Bethlehem, since they were just there for the census, so they made beef jerky? Ya, I know, it's a stretch! I'll do better this year. #4 Luke 2:8-14 (Angel appears to the shepherds and tells them about the birth of Jesus.) This one is fairly self explanatory. Chocolate angel candies! #5 Luke 2:15-20 (Shepherds visit Jesus in the manger.) #6 Matthew 2:1-6 (Wise men search for Jesus.) The wise men knew to search for Jesus because they were knowledgeable about the prophecies about His birth made in the Old Testament. For this gift, I found this little pamphlet that charts out fulfilled prophecies throughout the Bible. Since our family lives in three different households, I bought three of them, so we could each take one home. #7 Matthew 2:7-10 (Wise men follow the star to Jesus.) This little star-shaped Jesus tin contained individually wrapped peppermint candies. #8 Matthew 2:11-12 (Wise men bring Jesus gifts.) One of the gifts they brought Him was gold, so chocolate gold coins are an easy choice for this one! Here are all the gifts wrapped and tagged with their corresponding Scripture printouts: A close-up of the tag: Those were the gifts I chose for our family last year! I stuck mostly to food items to keep the cost down and to make things easily shareable, but in the past I did a couple larger things like puzzles and games that everyone could play together. It's really up to you, and you can be totally creative. One year I even "wrapped up" a song that reminded me of one of the Bible passages and we popped the CD into the player and listened to the song as a family. That one didn't cost a dime, since I already had the CD.
I hope this gives you some inspiration to celebrate Jesus this Christmas! Christmas Story by Gifts is something that you could do in addition to regular gift giving if that suits your family, or it could take its place entirely. Consider doing this in place of stocking stuffers and celebrate the story of Jesus, rather than the story of Santa Claus! To organize this, you could have one person put together the entire project, or you could assign each person in your group one of the Scripture sections to shop for and wrap. It could be a fun activity for a Bible study group to do at Christmastime that really brings everyone's focus back to the reason we celebrate. Have fun with this, and may your Christmas season be full of Jesus this year!
Most of us want to go to Heaven. I have to think that even people who don’t believe there is a Heaven and Hell must at times wonder in the back of their minds if they might be wrong and hope they’ll make the cut.
Fortunately, God doesn’t want us to have to wonder and worry about whether we’ll make it. He lays it out pretty clearly for us in the Bible! You can know your eternal destiny. Below is a list of truths you can examine within your heart in light of God’s Word to be confident that you belong to Him and will spend eternity with Him in Heaven. 1. Understand that you don't deserve to go to Heaven. You can't BE good enough or DO good enough. God demands perfection, and no one meets that requirement. You can try really hard, but ultimately, you will fall short. God doesn’t grade on a curve, nor does He weigh your good deeds against your bad deeds. "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) Perfection. Perfect actions. Perfect thoughts. Perfect attitudes. Perfect motives. God also says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 3:23 and 6:23) All of humanity has failed to meet God’s requirements to go to Heaven and deserves death. This all sounds really depressing, and it is. But this understanding is crucial to having a right relationship with God. God wants you to come to Him with an attitude of humility; He is the Creator and you are His creation. He is perfect; you are not. “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” (James 4:10) 2. Understand that God loves you and wants a relationship with you. Even though you have fallen short of the perfection He demands, God still loves you anyway and wants you to go to Heaven. He loves you not because of anything good you’ve done, but because you are His creation. He came to earth as a man to pay the penalty of death He requires for our sin. He did that for you. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) 3. Understand that Jesus is enough and did enough. God’s love for you was demonstrated through His Son Jesus, who took the sins of the world, including yours, upon Himself and died the death that you deserved. Going to heaven is not a result of who you are and what you can do, but rather who Jesus is and what Jesus did. As Jesus died, He announced, “It is finished.” He paid the debt that you and I owed, and made it possible to have a restored relationship with God. Jesus rose from the grave after three days, proving His power over death and the ability to grant new life to those to put their faith in Him. 5. Understand that Jesus is the only Way. All roads do not lead to the same place. All religions do not lead to God. Regular church attendance does not even guarantee that you will go to Heaven. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6) If there were any other way, why would Jesus have laid down His life? God wants a personal relationship with each of us through Jesus Christ. 5. Understand that Salvation from Hell is a free gift. While there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation, God does want to give it to us! He offers it to us freely. We simply accept His gift of forgiveness, accept His grace, accept His mercy. That’s it. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) “For by grace you have been saved by faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 If you acknowledge your sins and inadequacy to God, believe that Jesus died in your place and rose again, and believe His promise for eternal life, you will go to Heaven. 5. Understand that when you belong to Jesus, He'll never let you go. You are secure with Him. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” (John 10:27-28) Paul also wrote in Romans, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (8:38-39) Since there is nothing you can do to earn your salvation, there is also nothing you can do to lose your salvation. It’s not dependant on what you do, good or bad. Once you have eternal life, it’s just that: eternal life. Forever. Anything short of this diminishes what Jesus did for us on the cross. What is Eternal Life? Contrary to what some people may think, the point of Heaven is not to satisfy all our wants and pleasures. Neither is Heaven about sitting on a cloud strumming a harp for all eternity. Yes, there is a heaven, and yes, it’s a great place, and yes, it’s forever. But all that isn’t the point. Jesus said, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (John 17:3) Eternal life is about knowing God in a personal way. Heaven is about being with God. It’s about going home to our Savior Jesus and spending eternity with Him in a place free from the pains and consequences of evil on this earth. It’s about being with the One we love, and living among others who share a love of Jesus and our Heavenly Father. That being said, if you don’t love Jesus and and don’t care about being with Him, God won’t force you into His home and into a place where you don’t want to be. You’re invited, but you have to come on God’s terms. Jesus tells us, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) What if I’m Not Sure I Believe These Things? If you are concerned about going to heaven, God is likely already at work in your heart. We don’t have to understand everything about Him, and it’s normal to have questions and doubts. Below are some steps you can take to increase your understanding of God and how to go to Heaven.
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AuthorFull time office worker, full time wife, and full time lover of Jesus. I'm kind of a Bible nerd, and I have a passion for finding ways to introduce Jesus in a practical way to everyday people doing everyday things. Archives
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