Devotional THought of the Day:

 ⁶  A child is born to us! A son is given to us! And he will be our ruler. He will be called, “Wonderful Counselor,” “Mighty God,” “Eternal Father,” “Prince of Peace.” ⁷  His royal power will continue to grow; his kingdom will always be at peace. He will rule as King David’s successor, basing his power on right and justice, from now until the end of time. The LORD Almighty is determined to do all this. Isaiah 9:6-7 (TEV)

Breathe, Shift, Accept…. ( a tool a counselor taught my son, which I need to remember as well!)

Things are beginning to get hectic around here.  Three services, plus meals, plus people coming over to our place in between services, plus last minute edits and finalizing sermons.

I am beginning to feel like I am losing it, and expect readers that know me would pipe in with “beginning?”.  Seriously – there has not been enugh time this month, because there have been people who needed to know God’s grace in the moments they face.  That’s cook – I understand it,and that is why I am here.  Even so, I am beginning to feel a lot of pressure.  It’s Christmas, and everything has to be perfect.

My son has asberger’s.  To be honest, as I’ve learned about it, I’ve wondered about myself.  When we went to a child psychologist to find out how to help him with his schooling, Dr. Dudley taught us a lot, but he specifically gave William a tool – to help him avoid a meltdown, or if in the midst of one, to find the peace to come out of it. Three simple steps.  And it works, even for us older folk.

Breathe – deep slow breaths, with lots of focus on the breathing.

Shift – take the time to move into the mode you have to – this comes only after breathing, to slow everything down – and to get needed oxygen to our muscles.

Accept. – this is it… this is the reality I have to work in..

For me, I add a few words to the accept.

“It is all about Jesus”. Because that is where i have to focus.  It is the point of all this we go through in ministry.  We may strive for perfection in our ministries, in our worship services, especially these days when we know people are here.. that desperately need to hear of God’s love. This can all add more pressure, more stress as we try to know the place for everything, and put everything in its place.

Breath my brothers and sisters….
Shift you thinking to the babe in the manger, the one in the shadow of the cross, which is in the shadow of our being welcomed into the very glory of God’s presence.
And accept that this is all about Him… and point to Him, the lamb of God, who has come…

And rejoice, for our King is with us now, even as we prepare to lead others in rejoicing that He has come!

THe one who will care for us, our benevolently providing Lord,
Our  Wonderful Counselor,
Our Mighty God,
Our Eternal Father,
The One who brings us into His peace..>

Breath, Shift, Accept and REJOICE!

King David in Prayer (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). Furrow (Kindle Locations 3653-3657). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.

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