Happy New Years Eve!

Today is the last day of 2009. I hope you all enjoy whatever plans you have for this evening whether it be going to bed early, staying in, or going out. For all of you who are going out - Be Careful! There will be a lot of "crazies" out tonight!

I will be going to my friend Jill's house after work (can't wait!!!) to hang out for a while and then I plan to swing by Missio Dei. If there are any of you who do not yet have plans but know that you don't want to stay home, I suggest you stop by. There will be food and games, nothing fancy but it will be fun and you are guaranteed some good fellowship.

I also plan to take note of the full moon we will have tonight. It is the second full moon this month. Apparently, it is pretty rare to have two full moons in one month (only happens about every two years.) It is even more rare to have this happen on new years eve (only happens every 19 years.) I don't know what use this fact is but I thought it was interesting so I decided to share it with you. :)

I've got nothing awesome to say. I sincerely hope you all have lovely evenings.

Lord Bless,

Nichole

Promise to Count On

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

Grandpa's Home

The kids were so happy! We are praising our gracious heavenly Father for His mercy and compassion.

Grandpa is weak and we have a long and expensive road ahead, but we know God's grace is sufficient.

Thoughts for a New Year

 

In a few days 2009 will be over and 2010 will begin.  I never know how to respond to this change of year.  In one way, I want to hold on to things from the old year but in another way, I want to look forward to what lies ahead. I usually don't make New Year's Resolutions either.  As I have learned over the past few years, one never knows what the future holds.  Will it be a good year?  Will it be a hard year?  But one thing that I do know is that God is on His throne!  I may not know what the future holds for me, but I can know for sure that God promises to take care of me.  I just need to put my trust in Him. There is a song that is popular on Christian radio right now by the Sidewalk Prophets.  The song's refrain has stuck in my mind and I plan to take their advice as I start a new year. Be strong in the Lord. And never give up hope.  You're gonna do great things. I already know God's got His hands on you, so don't live life in fear. Forgive and forget but don't forget why you're here.  Take your time and pray and thank God for each day. I hope you take these words to heart also.

Christmas Memories

Christmas is many things to many people. I think that a lot of our thoughts and feelings about Christmas are influenced by the traditions that we were submerged in throughout our lives. Whether we continue those traditions or whether we have decided to make new traditions, I think that what we have experienced really does leave it's mark upon our current lives.

As I think about my "Christmas' Past" a few things come to mind. Some of my favorites are spending Christmas Eve at my Grandma Jacobi's house drinking kiddie cocktails (Shirley Temples) in my Grandpa's basement bar and singing Christmas carols with the whole Jacobi clan while my Grandma played the organ. They kept their basement decorated year round for Christmas but it always seemed magical to be down there on Christmas Eve, eating treats and feeling loved by my Grandparents. Since getting married, we have the tradition of spending Christmas day at Ry's parent's house laughing with family and eating ham, potato salad, (watching others eat baked beans) and lots and lots of black olives. It's always so wonderful to be with our family on that special day. I remember the Christmas when I was pregnant with Aaron, when I had such a craving for oranges that I kept eating my mom-in-laws stash of oranges that she had set aside for putting in the toes of the stockings. I remember another one of our early years after we were married, listening to Ryan's dad read an Advent story each evening leading up to Christmas and feeling sad whenever we weren't there to hear it because it was so exciting. I also think of the first year when Ryan, I and the boys did our first Advent Calendar as a family. It was Noelle Piper's and after about the 6th day of repeating the story and adding a new element; the boys had it memorized and would repeat it together. They've gotten older now and we've passed that wonderful Advent Calendar on to a family with little ones to be blessed by it.

Traditions are not so traditional in our household. We are sporadic in our festivities. This year we don't have a tree or an Advent Calendar. In fact the only Christmas decoration that we have is a beautiful Willow Tree Nativity that my mom bought for me as a gift. We haven't baked cookies, done much Christmas shopping, gone caroling or drank any eggnog (thankfully). But we still have Jesus. We still sing Christmas songs with joyful celebration of the Humility of Christ in leaving the glories of Heaven to be born as a babe. We still praise God that Jesus is Immanuel: God with us. We still look with faith filled expectation to the future day when we will celebrate the day of Christ's birth in His presence. And so we rejoice. We don't need a tree or a fancy meal or even a wonderful family to gather together with. There are Christians locked in cold jail cells right now suffering for the love of Jesus, but they have just as much to celebrate and someday we'll celebrate together... and all to the praise of the glory of His grace. So it is Christmas because of Jesus... and because of Jesus we have much to celebrate. May this be our true Christmas celebration!

Happy Christmas Everyone.

Merry Christmas Eve

Like a drama unfolding, the curtain was opening
An audience of angels was holding its breath
A census, a manger, two travel worn strangers
The stage was finally set.

Galatians 4:4 "But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman."

Angels folded their wings at the throne, worshipping
As God whispered, “I love you, my Son.”
Jesus took off His crown and laying it down
Said, “Father, Thy will be done.”

Matthew 3:17 "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

The time had now come for God’s only Son
To be born as a light in a dark, lonely place.
So He stepped from Heaven’s hall to Bethlehem’s stall
Where a star lit His newborn face.

Matthew 2:9-10 "After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy."

Then God called to Gabriel with gladness and tears,
“Play the trumpet, the horns, and the strings.
Tell the shepherds, and the wise men and all who will hear.
Command all the angels to sing
Fill the sky with your voices and sing!

Luke 2:8-13 "In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.' And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.'"

Joy, joy to the world
Praise to the King
Oh, let it ring.
Joy, joy to the world
Worship and sing
Jesus has come to bring joy!

John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world that he sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him."

This the power of the cross
Christ became sin for us
Took the blame, bore the wrath
We stand forgiven at the cross

Hebrews 9:22 "And without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness."

This the power of the cross
Son of God slain for us
What a love What a cost
We stand forgiven at the cross

Luke 23:33,46 "And when they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified Him....And Jesus, crying out in a loud voice, said, 'FATHER! INTO YOUR HANDS, I COMMIT MY SPIRIT.' Having said this, He breathed His last."

Matthew 28:5-6 "The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said."

John 14:19 "After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also."

1st Corinthians 15:55-57 "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

It is good to celebrate Christmas! It is good to celebrate the birth of Jesus! If Jesus had not been born, He could could not have lived His life in complete righteousness and holiness. If Jesus had not come, He could not have given His life as the ultimate sacrifice for sin. If Jesus had not been born, He could not have risen again, forever conquering death and securing a place in Heaven with God for His people.

It is good to celebrate the birth of Jesus, for without His birth we would not have a Savior. Without His birth, we would have no way to be saved, no one to have faith in, no way to repent.

Let us thank Jesus for the immense sacrifice that He made for God's glory and our good when He humbled Himself to the point of being born as a baby, in a womb that He fashioned, in a stable whose atoms He held together. Let us thank Him for growing up in a sin-filled world, never once giving into temptation. Let us thank Him for willingly offering Himself up as the sacrifice for our sins so that we could spend eternity in Heaven with God.

Thank you, Lord. Come back soon! Amen

Jesus Tree

Noel Piper had an excellent idea (in my opinion) for a Christmas tradition over on the Desiring God blog a few days ago. I have no children - or even a house of my own! - so I am sharing the idea with you all.

She suggested having a small tree or branch set aside to be the 'Jesus Tree' during the Christmas season. Every ornament on this tree needed to relate to Jesus in someway - be it a little cow from the stable where he was born to a disco ball symbolizing the light that Jesus brought to the world and the multifaceted aspects to His person to a figure of the globe.

I thought it would be an excellent thing to do with younger children. You could have them be responsible for decorating the tree, but with the stipulation that they must explain to you how each decoration reminds them of Jesus first. Its a great way to have discussions with your kids and see where their minds are. What child is not interested in decorating a tree?

It is also another excellent way of keeping in strict focus the point of Christmas - not presents, not fun decorations, not cookies, not Christmas carols, not time off school - Jesus' birth.

Please take the time to read Noel's article that I linked to above. She includes a few more details than I have, including many creative suggestions of ornaments that can be included on the tree. Do you have some creative ideas of how you and your family keep Jesus at the center of Christmas? Please share in the comments.

Merry Christmas!

Haha! This was the best pictures we could get. We were trying to get a good picture to make Christmas cards with, which we didn't get too. lol I love Calvin's cheesy smile!

This Christmas season my family did all the things we usually do. We baked cookies, watched a few Christmas movies, like, The Nativity, and White Christmas. We have gone shopping for gifts, trimmed the tree, made gifts with the kids and have been listening to Christmas music since Thanksgiving Day! This can be a fun-filled, memory making time of year. But the last thing I want to do is make memories that are filled with fun and excitement for my children, and not help them and myself reflect on God coming down among us, to save His people from their sins.


Matthew 1:21"She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."


saiah 53 Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
²For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
³He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
⁴Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
⁵But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
⁶All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
⁷He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
⁸By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
⁹His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
¹⁰But the LORD was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
¹¹As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
¹²Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.


As we reflect on Jesus as a babe lying in a manger, we can reflect on the fact that our God is a promise keeping God. He is not slow to keep His promises; though at times I think he is. His coming the first time was for some, a sign of hope, but for others, judgment. And it is the same for when He comes back! He will not come back as a suffering servant, but rather; the conquering King! This is hope for His people who eagerly await for the fulfillment of this promise, but will mean judgment and great fear for those who have rejected Him. Each Christmas season, we try to take the time to not only reflect upon the birth of our Savior, but the fact that we are awaiting His return to bring us into glory with Him.

Titus 2:11-14 1For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,

¹²instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,

¹³looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus,

¹⁴who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

Lord, we eagerly await for your appearing! Come Lord Jesus!

Keep Christ in Christmas

 

Where has the time gone?  Its hard to believe that its already Christmastime! Christmas has always been a happy time of year for me.  I enjoy looking at Christmas lights and watching Christmas movies on TV and hearing Christmas carols.  Our family usually gets together and we have a fun day of games and special food. This year is going to be very different.  First, my son Daniel and his family will not be able to be here this year.  I believe that this Christmas is the first year that I will not spend with him since he was born in 1983.  Second, my Dad is spending Christmas with Jesus in Heaven this year.  I know he is completely happy, but I will really miss him. I have been thinking a lot this year about what will be missing but the Lord has shown me that I need to dwell on the real meaning of Christmas instead.  Christmas isn't about Santa, trees, lights and movies. Its not about presents.  It isn't really about families getting together and having fun and good food either.  Christmas is a day to remember that Jesus came to earth as a little, helpless baby.  He was born in a stable, not in a nice, clean hospital room with all of the modern conveniences.  His ultimate reason for coming was to die a horrible death on a wooden cross, to pay the penalty for our sins, so that we could have a relationship with Him.  That is real love. So, this Christmas I urge you to take some time to reflect on Jesus and how much He loves us.  That is what Christmas is all about.

Noelle's Testimony

Yesterday I posted Jackson's. Now, here is Noelle's :

My name is Noelle Aldrich. I grew up here at this church, so most of you know me. I was born a sinner who couldn't have a relationship with God, because I was His enemy.

My mom and dad taught me to trust and love Jesus Christ because God sent Jesus to die in my place so that I would no longer be His enemy. My grandparents, Aunts and Uncles also taught me that. I have been taught a lot about the gospel from my teachers, like Miss Kim, Aunt Kat, Miss Cindy, Aunt Leila, and my first teacher, Mrs. Cate. Just reading through the Bible has helped me to know the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I trust that Jesus died for me and God says in His word to "believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved". (acts 16:31) And I believe that God keeps His promises.

I want to be baptized because Gods' word says, "repent and be baptized", and I want to obey. I know baptism will not save me. But, I want to testify to you about what God has done for me. He sent His Son to die so that I will not die in my sins and be separated from God, but have eternal life with God.

Ephesians 2:4-7 says: But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

I want to spend my life trusting God's promises, obeying Him, and loving His people.

Jackson's Testimony

Hopefully I can post pics later, but I have no access to those now.

My heart sings praise to my Lord as I reread this testimony my son wrote. Baptizing Jackson and Noelle was not a decision we came to lightly. They have professed faith in Jesus for quite a while, and have asked to be baptized on several occasions, but we made much effort to talk to them and show them how to examine themselves and look for fruit in their young lives. All the time we were continually pointing them to Jesus, and time and time again they would tell us the gospel and declare their faith and love for Jesus. There came a point when they came saying: "The bible says, "repent and be baptized" we've repented, we want to be baptized so we can obey." It is really hard to argue with that.

As you read through this testimony you will see the part that our church has played in our children's lives. Missio Dei belongs to Jesus, He purchased this body, and we love all of you and are thankful for how God has used you in our family's lives. As each of my children wrote out their testimony, we were so excited to see how they view this body of believers. Thus far, you have been faithful to the promise you made when they were babies at their dedications: to help us raise Jackson and Noelle for God's glory. I ask you to continue to help them grow!

Thank you for faithfully laboring in the Lord with us. Here is Jackson's testimony. Tomorrow I'll post Noelle's.


My name is Jackson Aldrich. I have been at this Church my whole life.

I learned about God from my parents at home. My mom and dad read the Bible to us and we have a lot of discussions during family worship or when I have questions after I do my Bible reading. I ask my dad when I don't understand something I read in the Bible and he answers me. We talk about God and Jesus all the time. I have also learned the gospel from many people in this Church. Like, my Sunday School teachers. Nichole, who is very special to me and comes over a lot. Mrs. Cate, my first Sunday School teacher, who is very special to me too. Mr John Herrin who is my Sunday School teacher and is cool. Miss Sherri, she teaches good and is fun. My Aunt Betsy and aunt Leila were my teachers and good Aunts. Miss Kim has helped me as my teacher too and Miss Cindy! All my grandparents! Miss Debbie and Pastor Matt. Pretty much this whole Church--- too many to mention. I love all my teachers, they are so special.

I know I am nothing but a sinner without Jesus, and I deserve death and hell. I have a hard time not sinning. I loved my sin. Now I really hate my sin. I do not want to be God's enemy, I want to be with Him with all my heart.

I know I need to be forgiven for my sin and Jesus is the only way to be forgiven. I believe God sent His Son to die for me and HE rose again in three days. Now I belong to Jesus. I am no longer His enemy. I know HE is my savior because he is causing me to love him and want to obey Him. I feel bad for people who do not know Jesus because I do not want them to perish in their sins. I want them to be with God forever.

I am being baptized because I believe Jesus died for me and I want everyone to know that I truly believe in Him. I want to show that I belong to Him.

Romans 5:1 says: Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2 Corinthians 5:21 says: He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

I plan on continuing to trust Jesus and teach others about Him; and how through Him, they may be forgiven and loved by Him too.

Some Pictures for You

Good Morning Ladies! I believe later on today Jasmine is going to post her son Jackson's testimony for you all to read and tomorrow we will get to see Noelle's. While you wait, please check out the links below to one of my favorite blogs, the Big Picture. They recently did a three day series called '2009 in Photos'. It is crazy to think how much went on in our world this year! Enjoy!

(Just a note, for those of you with kids, I would recommend looking at the pictures before you let your children see them.)

Part 1

Part2

Part 3

Encourage So That None Shall Fall Away

I read an interesting post today at Julie Ganchow's blog about addiction. I was interested to hear what she thought about the subject because she is a biblical counselor and because I don't really believe in addictions for believers. However, as this was not what her post was about, we will leave that discussion for another time.

Julie makes the statement near the beginning of her post about groups such as the AA: "For the unbeliever, they are the best route to ceasing these behaviors. They provide both Believer and Unbeliever with fellowship, and like-mindedness. I think that each of these groups has pluses and minuses, and while they may be helpful in addressing the issues of the flesh they are sorely lacking in the vital areas of 'recovery.'" This was especially interesting to me, as I had just been reading in Hebrews 3 the night before.

Here is a (very) quick summary of verses 1-17 (keeping in mind that Hebrews was written to Jews):
1-6 Jesus is greater than Moses
7-11 Quoting from Psalm 95, written by David looking back on the generation that was made to wander for 40 years in the wilderness because they were not allowed to enter the Promised Land.
**cool note on verse 7, note that the author of Hebrews is quoting the Psalms and introduces by saying "as the Holy Spirit said" WOW! There is an awesome reference to the point of Scripture being God-breathed that I never noticed before!
12-19 Points out that the Israelites were not able to enter the Promised Land because of unbelief. Warns the readers of Hebrews that the only way to know for certain that one is a believer in Jesus Christ and His gospel is that they do NOT fall away in their lifetime.

Verse 13 is the one that I would like to focus on for this post "But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today" so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." The author of Hebrews is warning us that sin is deceitful. He is warning us that the Israelites, who had seen more miracles than any of us ever have, still managed to fall away into unbelief. He is reminding us that the validity of our belief is tested by our perseverance in our belief. Notice the first line "Encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called 'Today.'" There are several applications that we can take from this statement.

First, we need to be in a position to encourage one another. We need to have deep enough relationships that we can take part in mutual encouragement. "Hey, look out for sin; it's bad," does not count as encouragement. More of a "Hey no kidding, thanks for nothing!" statement! We need to be aware of what is going on in each other's lives. We need to be aware of what is going on in each other's minds and hearts and emotions. We need to be aware of each other's struggles and trials. If these things are not happening, then we are simply not in a position to encourage.

Second, we need to be in a position to encourage one another daily. Saying a vauge "hello" to a couple of people on your way in and out of church on Sunday morning does not count. We need to be in relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ to the point where we have the opportunity to encourage day to day.

So where am I going with all of this? People go to AA meetings every day. If they truly want to stop being an alcoholic, they work as hard as they can to get accountability and support from those who are going through the same things they are. They stand up in front of large groups of people and declare, "I am an alcoholic." They encourage successes and, when failure occurs, work to get the one that fell back on his or her feet.

This is all well and good for unbelievers. But as Christians, we have something far greater. We do not need to go to groups such as AA to help us recover from sin. Why? Because we have the church. We have a group of brothers and sisters who are all going through the same things that we are. We have people who are always there to hold us accountable and offer us support. We should be cheering the growth we see in each other's lives and encouraging more. We should not be afraid to share our sin with others, knowing that we will not be judged, but exhorted to repent and offered assistance in doing so.

And why should all this be happening? Because sin is deceitful. And there is always the possibility of falling away. We do not know each other's hearts and so we accept that if someone say that they are a believer then they are. But we know that many have fallen away so we encourage each other in the faith every day.

Sisters, may I encourage you to find someone today, a sister in Christ that you do not know well, and seek to develop a relationship with her? May I encourage you to take a more active role in all of your relationships with believers?

When life gets in the way

 

Have you ever let "life" get in the way with your relationship with God?  Do you ever cut down on your Bible reading and study because you have to be somewhere at a specific time?  Have you ever been so busy that you did not take time to pray? Recently, God showed me that I gave into the world and left Him "on the shelf".  I was so busy that I cut my Bible reading down because I needed to be somewhere on time. I was not spending time in prayer, just a "help me Lord" every once and awhile.  I started to feel really down, as if I lost my best friend. Sometimes I think that since God is not here with me right now, in the flesh, that He will not mind if I "just take care of this" and then get back to Him when I have time.  This is wrong, of course.  He is actually to take first place in our lives. I thought about how I would have no life if God had not created me.  I thought about how He sent Jesus to die in my place so I could have a relationship with Him.  It made me sad to think about how I basically told God that He was not worth my time.  That must have hurt Him too.  I think that we need to give God our prime time, not our leftover time.  There is nothing more important than our relationship with Him.  One day our life will end, and things will not matter any more.  All that really matters in the long run is whether you have a saving relationship with God. I heard a saying once that said: 'I have so much to do today that I don't have time to pray. But, then I realized that I have so much to do today I need to pray.' I think we should make it a point to give God your best