An Intentional Christmas

Christmas is fast approaching and things are beginning to slow down a little bit. But only a little bit. As I’ve watched December speed by, I keep running across reminders of what this season is really all about. A sermon on Sunday, a gentle reminder from my mentor, a blog post. 

Christmas is all about Jesus.

I know, I know, you hear that all the time. But do you take it seriously? Do we really act like Christmas is all about Jesus? I definitely don’t. I put up the tree, the lights, and the decorations for tradition, or to make our house “feel Christmassy”. I buy presents because that’s what you do at Christmas time and people expect it. I make gingerbread men because those are the Christmas cookies and I love the way they make my house smell. None of these are bad things, but they are missing the point. What if instead, everything we did this season we did to celebrate Jesus?!

What if we bought presents and remembered how He has generously given to us. And then we gave presents with the hope and prayer that people's eyes would be turned to the Giver too?

What if we decorated our houses so that they are beautiful for Him? Just like I decorate the house for Sam’s birthday to recognize him and make him feel loved.

What if we took time to anticipate His coming and stopped doing things just for the sake of tradition and memories. What if we instead had Christmas traditions with the purpose of remembering His coming?.

What if we actually went to Christmas parties with the intention and purpose of celebrating who He is?! Instead of celebrating ugly Christmas sweaters and white elephant presents?

Because He is worth celebrating. In fact, He’s the only thing worth celebrating. His birth brought the greatest joy and the greatest hope! And celebrating anything else will ultimately leave us empty and disappointed on December 26^th.

“I bring you GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord.”

Luke 2:10-11

And then there’s that last line in verse 10…”for all the people”. The first challenge for me this Christmas has been to actually celebrate Jesus. And the second has been to tell others why I’m celebrating! Christmas presents us the best opportunity to speak about Christ because everybody is already thinking and talking about Him. But it is also the time of year that most of us are the most busy and most likely to pass up opportunities to share about the hope and joy we have found in Christ.

So this Christmas I’m striving to be intentional. I want to celebrate Jesus Christ’s birthday this year, recognizing that His birth brought the greatest hope and the greatest joy into the world. And I want to take opportunities to explain why I’m celebrating.

The funny thing is, a lot of my actions will look the same. We still have a Christmas tree, we’ve gone to 4 Christmas parties, and I’ve made 3 batches of gingerbread. But my heart is different. The tree and decorations are recognition that He deserves decorations and celebrations on His birthday. The parties were to celebrate who He was with people I love. And the gingerbread is a chance to deliver cookies and ask my neighbors how I can be praying for them this Christmas season. Continuing to pray for a focused, joyful heart, and eyes to see the opportunities He gives me.

A Season of Thankfulness

Ministry is hard! Why? Mostly because it involves a whole lot of broken, sinful people. As we navigate our first year of marriage and our first year of ministry, I have found myself putting my hope and identity in SO many things besides Jesus Christ. It’s easy for me to be driven only for numbers, and get discouraged when people don’t come. It’s easy for me to define how “good” my week has been by if Sam and I have fought that week. It’s easy for me to get frustrated at myself for all of this, and then determine to try harder the next day, only to fail again. And in all of these situations, I am forgetting the Gospel and I am taking my eyes off Jesus. I know this is a problem, and I know I need to get better, but what to do about it? What daily, simple choices can I make to make this better?

Maybe some of you reading this identify with me. You might not be in the same circumstances, but maybe you have a tendency to find your hope and happiness in a lot of things besides Jesus. Maybe you are easily frustrated when things don’t go according to your definition of “success”. Maybe you find your days ruined by small things that you didn’t realize mattered so much to you. If that’s you, I hope you’ll keep reading.

           

Thankfulness and remembrance. God has been teaching me a whole lot about these two words and principles the past few weeks. And it's fall, so what better time to learn the discipline and value of thankfulness!! I’ve been reading through the Old Testament for the past few months, and the Lord tells His people to remember what He’s done for them over and over again. I think that He reminds them to remember for a couple reasons. First of all, He knows that they will forget. We are a forgetful people. That hasn’t changed. Secondly, the Lord knows that remembering will create an attitude of hope and trust in His people’s hearts. We tend to look forward, and worry instead of first looking backward, remembering His faithfulness, and then walking forward with hope and trust into whatever the future holds.

“Be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

Deuteronomy 6:12

“But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.”

Deuteronomy 7:18

This past weekend, Sam and I were blessed with some much-needed time together. We got to spend the whole weekend together; it was very restful and an answer to prayer in a big way. On Saturday night over dinner, we decided to start listing the ways we had seen God be faithful to us over the past month and a half since school and ministry had started for us. We both knew when we started that it would be good to verbalize and talk through some of the ways He had been moving around and using us, but actually doing it affected both of us more than we had expected.

“….the fact that so many guys I met have stuck…we have an intramural football team together now and I spend most of my weeknights with them”

“….girls who have opened up to me, been honest, and who I’ve gotten to work through hard issues and questions with as they navigate freshmen year”

“…meeting Reed, a guy who knows Jesus and is passionate about following, learning, and serving others alongside me on TCU’s campus”

“…our community group that meets on Wednesday nights, how it has begun to feel like a family”

“…for Ernie and Laura (our college pastor and his wife) and the encouragement, wisdom, and love they have provided so generously”

The list went on and on. Just when we thought we had said everything, something else would come to mind. By the time we actually couldn’t think of anything else to say, we were completely overwhelmed with gratefulness and how GOOD our God is! 
Thankfulness and remembrance led us to worship.

“Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you have planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.”

Psalm 40:5

And I think that’s the whole point. In the tough seasons, when it seems like everyday reveals a new disappointment. When every week seems to shed light on a new idol in our hearts. When people fail and disappoint. It is in those moments that we need to remember and thank our Lord. Because remembrance and thankfulness lead us to worship. They lead us to the throne room and put us on our knees before an Almighty, Sovereign God. 

And that’s the entire point of life.

“Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.”

–Westminster Shorter Catechism

I’ve started writing 3 things I’m thankful for each day in the back of my journal. A simple act with profound implications in my attitude towards the day and my hope and trust in the Lord. And although it’s a choice I often find myself having to make multiple times throughout my day, I am choosing thankfulness and remembrance. For ALL the ways God is working in and around me. But most of all for the cross. Because even if nothing else was good, the cross is enough, and it merits all the thankfulness in the world! Run with me friends. And let us choose thankfulness in this season. 

“And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Hebrews 12:2-3

And so the school year begins...

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity for the Weitman family! From helping with freshmen move-in and welcome week, to starting classes ourselves and taking the GRE (helen), there has been no shortage of things on the to-do list. Stressful? Yes! Exciting? Yes! Amazing to see how the Lord is already moving and working at TCU this year? Heck YES!

           

I think the coolest thing for me has been watching Sam embrace what he loves. I remember one night before school even started, he came home from a long day of ministry and collapsed on the couch beside me with a huge grin on his face. “I love my job. I’m finally doing what I was made to do,” he told me. And as a brand new wife, I’m overwhelmed with the joy and privilege it is to get to support and love someone who is just doing something   that he loves!!  It reminds me of our mission to support and follow the Lord. If I can be this excited and supportive about something that my husband is doing, how much more of a privilege is it to be behind what the LORD is doing?! He is working constantly and faithfully all over the world! And it brings so much life to be just a small part of His plans!

We’re both still in school, so right now Sam’s life is both taking classes as well as doing ministry with guys. It’s a constant battle to get him to stop working and start studying, but I guess that’s a good battle to have to fight. Sam’s typical days involve classes, homework, and then reaching out to and spending time with guys on TCU’s campus in whatever ways possible. He gets lunch with students almost every day, plays sand volleyball at least three times a week, and is joining an intramural football team. Thank the Lord he can play sports!!

To all of you who have been praying for our interactions with new freshmen on campus, THANK YOU! It has been truly amazing the see the Lord provide opportunities and people for both Sam and I to begin building relationships with. And we have loved getting to do ministry alongside each other!! It’s such a cool thing to be excited about and praying for the same things, it brings about an incredible amount of unity! Before we got married, many people told us that when we were both running towards the Lord, we would also be running towards each other. And we have definitely seen how being focused on the Lord and His plans and purposes can bring a great deal of unity and purpose to marriage.

In regards to students, we had about 60 students come to our first Encounter service, after advertising all week for it all over campus! A church family also hosted us at their lake house for Labor Day, and we had 28 students come out for that. Thankful and excited to continue to pour into these students as we walk through the semester.

Finally, a fun part of our last few weeks was celebrating Sam’s 22^nd Birthday!! I surprised him with donuts and presents in the morning, and we went out to a nice dinner a few days later when we had some time off. I love to celebrate, so the cute wrapping paper and girly sign can be attributed to me. In fact, Sam informed me that I was enjoying his birthday celebrations more than he was! I won’t argue with that, I’ll take any opportunity to celebrate!!

All said and done, life has been a bit crazy since I last posted, but it’s been a really good crazy. Starting real life again together is taking some adjusting, but getting to do it married this time is the BEST! Even in the difficult days, it’s incredible to get to live out our covenant alongside each other; life together. Thank you for your love and your prayers! Please continue to lift us up to the Lord as we continue to meet students, build existing relationships, and kick off our fall Bible Study tomorrow night!!

A Summer of Support-Raising

This has been a busy summer for Sam and I. If you’re reading for the first time, I’ll do a quick recap for you…

May 30^th- we got married!

June 1-8^th- my little brother’s graduation/family events

June 9-16^th- HONEYMOON in Hawaii!

June 17-19^th- Moved everything we owned into our new, tiny little apartment. Completely furnished that little apartment through a million trips to thrift stores, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, and World Market.

June 20-now. Support Raising.

We’ve spent most of our time support raising in Fort Worth or Waco (where I grew up and have a strong church family). However, if you read my last post, you’ll see that we also spent the last week and a half of July traveling and meeting with friends and contacts in Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Our road trip was speedy, fun, eventful, stressful, exciting, new, and adventurous.

So, it’s been 55 days support raising, and we have communicated in some respect with over 60 people, the majority of those being face-to-face meetings. There’s a lot of emotions that come to mind as I think back over the past month and a half of support raising, but the best description I have for you is that I am GRATEFUL.

And here’s why.

1-I’m grateful for all of the incredible people that we have gotten to interact with. One of our missionary friends told us early on that we should view support raising as friendship building. That is probably the best perspective and the best description there is for it. I have loved getting to share meals with so many incredible followers of Christ. Sam and I get to share our story, our mission, and our vision, but we also get to hear about the people we’re talking with. We get to hear about their families, their jobs, their heart for and obedience to the Lord, their involvement in the local church, their stories. It’s made me realize that Christians come in all different shapes and sizes, with all different kinds of gifts and passions, and with all different kinds of callings. Over the past month and a half, Sam and I have had the privilege to interact with the body of Christ as never before.

2-I’m grateful for all the lessons the Lord has taught us. All you have to do is scroll through the previous entries on this blog to see that God has been teaching us a whole lot through this whole process. And let me tell you, it hasn’t always been comfortable. To be honest, support raising challenges me in all the things that I really suck at! Add on the fact that we just got married, and I don’t think I’ve ever been this aware of my sinfulness, selfishness, and pridefulness. But in my awareness of my sin and how short I fall, I have been overcome by grace and by the sovereignty and faithfulness of our God.

3- I’m grateful for the fact that God works in, through, and around me ALL the time. Despite my faithlessness, my selfishness, and my negative attitude on most days, God has used Sam and I and what we’re doing for His purposes countless times. Sometimes it’s directly through us raising support and our encounters with others through that process. But more often it’s other things. Like a woman from my church being encouraged and challenged by a blog post I didn’t even think was very good. Or a conversation with a very old church friend that deeply encouraged both of us. These random little encounters leave no doubt in our minds that the Lord’s hand has been and is over this entire process.

I want to say thank you. To the Lord for providing in huge and unexpected ways for us; He, as always, deserves all the glory. And to each and every one of you. The people that we met with, the people who are reading our blog and keeping up with us, and the people who are faithfully praying for us as we follow and serve the Lord. Thank you for taking the time to know us and to join us in how the Lord is using us for His Kingdom.
We couldn’t do it without the Lord or without you, and we are incredibly grateful for you.