Together

In Nehemiah 4:6 it says, “So built we the wall, and all the wall was joined together for the people had a mind to work.” KJV

This is my favorite verse.  It shows how it doesn’t take one person to create anything, it takes ‘people’ more than one person.  Same as becoming a Christian; it is your choice, but it takes other people surrounding you, talking with you, listening to you and friending you to help you in your new walk.  It was never meant to be a single person endeavor.  If you do not have people around you, email me, find a church to attend online or in person, I have some awesome friends that can help you. 

Becoming a New Creation

I speak with God like I speak with a friend.  I do not believe we are to talk to God like we would a royal patron or someone as such.  God wants to be our friend, not our boss, not our slave owner.  When you pray speak to Him as your friend, someone you in-trust your inner thoughts too.  

I have found that once I became a Christian my life was different, but He didn’t demand anything from me, but that I love Him and trusted Him with my life.  I find that so many people think once they become Christians that meas they must give up things they love, things they enjoy and even people.  God will work with you if that is what He convicts you to do away with.  Some friends have moved away from Disney because they felt that God convicted them, but He has not asked this of me.  God has convicted me of drinking often.  However; I was an addict, it was hurting me and He wanted me to live free from it.  I do not condemn drinking and yes, I do have a drink once in a while.  Some people told me several different things now that I was a Christian, but, I learned that life would be boring if I listened to everyone and I only give things up if God tells me to, not everyone else.  They aren’t the ones that constitutes the way I live my life, God is and at this point, He is the only one that matters for me.

12 Days of Christmas Part 2

Teacher Blog

6th day of Christmas is 6 geese a laying.  This is where we learn that the egg came first.  It symbolizes the 6 days that God created the world then He rested on the 7th day.  It allows us to realize that God is all-powerful among other things and that in this, He was able to create our lives, world, past and future from absolutely nothing.  

 

7th day of Christmas is seven swans a swimming.  Beautiful white swans that appear to be perfect in every way has the meaning of the 7 gifts of the Holy Spirit: teaching, encouraging, prophecy, service, giving, leadership, and compassion (Romans 12).  In Medieval times, pure white swans were symbols of nobility.  Children were often to be told they need these in their lives so they can appear to be a pure follower of Christ

 

8th day of Christmas is the eight maids of milking.  They symbolized the 8 beatitudes.  One thing to notice about them is that Christ isn’t always talking about religious people, He was telling the religious people they should look at the common folk and the way they live, instead.

 

9th day of Christmas was nine ladies dancing.  Again we speak about the Holy Spirit.  This is in regard to the 9 fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.  These are the attributes we need to live our lives like Christ.

 

10th day of Christmas was 10 lords a leaping. When we see people leaping, it is usually behind the idea that they are excited and have a wonderful experience.  This verse symbolizes the 10 commandments and being excited to follow the 10 rules set by God.

 

11th day of Christmas  we find eleven pipers piping.  Luke 6:14-16 tells us about these 11 pipers and how they stayed with Jesus after his death and resurrection and continued to preach about His love and grace until they were each killed.  If you know anything about pipes they are referring to high pitched instruments that almost resemble a piccolo that contains the highest pitch of music.  Played with drums in secession, they make a beautiful melodicas sound that can be heard for many miles around.  

 

12th day of Christmas are the 12 drummers drumming.  They are playing a stance for the birthday of the King of all, Christ.  It is meant to open up the day after, Epiphany again, where we find the kings that went to Jesus when he was approximately 2 years old.  In some churches this is also a symbol for the 12 points of the Apostle’s Creed.  

Next time you look at this song, don’t just think of it as a silly tune, but make a statement on your heart to follow and to understand to whom you are singing it for.

12 Days of Christmas

Think what you want about the song, 12 Days of Christmas, but as for my husband and I we celebrate them with a passion.

To begin you and I will need to think about what days each activity is leading up to.  The original words were thought to be earlier than 1700s and it isn’t clear if it was for mischievous children, or for children to learn the catechism in the Catholic Church.  The 2nd is how we celebrate it.  Next, we know that the 12th day is celebrated as the day before the Epiphany (All Kings Day).  This was the suggested time that the kings visited Jesus.  Back then, there were only 10 months but January 6 was around the time that the Kings did indeed visit the Christ child when He was 2 years old.  I often hear people disregard Christmas as a pagan holiday stating that the Christians chose to celebrate Christ at this time, where it was actually celebrated just in a different way than it is now.

On the 1st Day of Christmas my true love gave to me the Partridge in a pear tree.  Obviously it is the birth of Jesus which actually would have happened in about mid-April.  The reasons for the partridge is that it is an unlikely (does not fly) bird to be in any tree, especially a pear tree (this is a royal tree, most poor people would not have had one).

2nd day of Christmas is two turtle doves.  As some see these as love  birds they also have the symbol of friends.  The movie, Home Alone 2, shows the symbol of the friendship of these two birds when he gives his new friend (the homeless women) a dove and he took the other.  

3rd day of Christmas was 3 french hens: love, hope, and joy.  (some people say peace rather than joy).  1 Corinthians 13:13 states, ‘now these three remain, faith, hope and love; but the greatest of these is love.’  The faith of God leads to joy in our spirits as we know that because of His grace, we can live with Him even after our earthly death.

4th day of Christmas is the 4 Colley Birds.  Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  God allowed the 4 of them taken from 4 different sights (tax collector, evangelist, doctor and fisherman) to experience the birth, life and resurrection of His son.  In these chapters we see how the Son of Man was born, how he lived, how he died and how he came back to life.

5th day of Christmas celebrates the Torah (the 1st 5 books of the Bible).  It shows us that because of these 5 books, the premises of God’s son was able to happen.