A fresh perspective on Christmas

I got a fresh perspective on Christmas the Tuesday before Christmas. Stick with me through this story, its a little long, but the payoff is worth it, trust me! It was my first day of Christmas vacation and we had a great day. The day started (as usual) with me rising before any sane person would get out of bed (a little before 5am). I worked a little from home, answering emails and taking advantage of the time overlap with the workday of the people I work with in India. After this I came downstairs and took a shower, followed by the sweet pitter patter of 3 year old (well almost 4 that's the response you'll get anytime you call him a three year old) feet. Jeremy climbed up in my lap and we watched a little early morning TV as we sat on the couch. Mom doesn't usually let the kids watch TV first thing, but what can I say, I'm a big softee. After a little TV, we did what we always do when I'm at home... we made breakfast together. Jeremy's such a good helper! He carried his "timeout" chair into the kitchen, climbed up on top and peered over the counter top to help me make pancakes on the griddle. His favorite parts are telling me weather to make big or small pancakes and putting the "eyes" (chocolate chips) on the pancakes. After we finished breakfast, Mommy and later Daniel woke up. We got the boys dressed and I had expressed to Laurina my desire to get the house clean, so we could enjoy the rest of our vacation. So Laurina and I worked very hard on the kitchen, living room, the boys' room, and our room. Once we finished the boys and I did the male version of Sigmon dancing which includes lots of loud music, running, jumping, hopping and throwing of small children. After that it was lunch time, so we threw together a homemade pizza, which was delicious. After lunch Daniel went down for a nap and Jeremy asked me if he could put on a magic show. Of course I said yes and he proceeded to "magically" stick straws together and use them as a magic wand to turn his parents into monsters. Next he and I laid down for a "nap" together and commenced to get zero sleep. After nap time we made and decorated christmas cookies together, which of course caused the perfectionist in me to come out which is bad since I have zero artistic abilities. Laurina packed up Jeremy and headed to the grocery store, meaning Daniel and I got some alone time to hang out. Much like my oldest son, my youngest is simply awesome, I couldn't love those boys more than I do. When mommy and Jeremy returned home we cooked dinner, ate, and watched a movie (the Santa Clause 3). As the movie went off, I was reflecting on the day I got to spend with my family. My two boys flailed wildly as they tried to dance to the music in background while the credits rolled. I sat in our recliner and was overcome with how much I love them, how much I wanted to protect them, how much I wanted to provide for them. I am a man who has been accused (jokingly I think) of having no emotions, but after spending a day with my wonderful family, I was moved emotionally just by thinking about how lucky I am. I was looking at my wonderful wife, pregnant with our first daughter. I was watching my two fantastic sons run around and seeing pure joy on their face. I thought about the innocence of the moment and how it cannot possibly get any better than this. As we got them ready for bed, I was walking out of the boys' room, I said to Laurina, "Best day ever", and it definitely was.

On my way to our bedroom I started to think about Christmas. The reason that I have vacation and take it this time of year. I was reminded that God looks at us in the same way. How we are made in God's image (Gen 1:26) and how after he created the heavens and the earth, the beasts and the birds, He said they were good, but after he created man he saw everything He had made and said it was VERY GOOD (Gen 1:31). I believe that God created each and every one of us with great plans. He stands back as he sees us grow and swells with pride at the fine workmanship of His hands. How He is probably emotionally moved by us especially in our youthful innocence. Then tonight I thought about His one and only Son. How God probably stood back and smiled as Jesus learned to walk and talk. How He saw him grow and mature, and marveled at the life Jesus lived. How He was probably moved in much the same way as I was that night as He looked down and saw the joy and innocence on Jesus' face as a child. But also I thought about how God sent Him to earth for all of us. That God had experienced this emotion of unbridled love millions of times over as he created humanity and yet He still sent Jesus to earth knowing the final outcome. He sent his Son to live the only perfect sinless life ever lived on earth, only to watch His most prized creation (man) torture and crucify His only Son. God is perfect and sin cannot stand in his presence, so He did the only thing He could, the unthinkable to me, He sent the perfect sacrifice so that you and I could dwell in His presence. I love a lot of people in this world, but there are none that I would sacrifice my children for, yet God did. God gave everything so that eternal salvation would cost us nothing. As is true throughout the Bible, on Christmas all those years ago, God reached out to us. He reached out to all mankind throughout all recorded history. He reached out with His only son, Jesus, the Savior of the world.

How fitting that Jeremy and I recently memorized our first bible verse together:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16

What are you asking for?

In 1 Samuel chapter 8, the people of Israel are in the promised land and they are being led by the prophet Samuel. However, Israel yearns to be like other nations and asks for a king in 1 Samuel 8:19-22:

19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."

21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king." Then Samuel said to the men of Israel, "Everyone go back to his town."

In this section of scripture, God reveals that the Israelites have rejected Him as their king. God decides in this instance to give the people exactly what they ask for. Saul is chosen as king. Tall and handsome, Saul is a man who met all of man's requirements for kingship. God has already warned the Israelites about how much worse it will get for them with a king, but Israel asked for what they wanted and did not seek what God wanted for their lives and future. In the next several chapters, Saul and his kingship fall apart. So here's the question, what are you asking God for? What you want, or are you seeking His plans and will for your life? Be sure because you may get exactly what you ask for.

Measuring your steps

When I was kid (and even now as an adult) one of the simple things my dad did that amazed me was "stepping off" distances. While spending countless hours with me honing my skills in certain sports, particularly baseball, we would need a distance measured (e.g. pitcher's mound to home plate, between bases, etc). Dad would just start walking and counting. How did he do that? He had measured many distances whether it be sports distances for his kids, distances from his location to his target area during hunting, or any other number of instances when an outdoorsman such as himself may need to estimate a distance. The fact that he made many judgements isn't what made him accurate however, its that he compared his estimations to the standard time and again. After he had checked himself enough times to measure with confidence he was freed to make those determinations quickly. So here's my question for you and me, how often do you compare your decisions to the standard? Do you review the interactions in your life and compare them to biblical principles? Is the Word of God the instruction book you use for your life? The Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:16, "16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness," in Proverbs 16:20, "20 Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD." in Proverbs 4:13, "13 Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life.", in Thessalonians 4:8, "8 Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit."

The Bible is our instruction manual. When you buy a complicated item that needs assembly, its much easier and more likely to be right if you assemble it by the instruction manual, and our life is no different. Read the manual and assemble your life carefully.

Generosity...

The holiday season is in full swing. In America that means black Friday shopping, traveling, Santa Clause, and of course my favorite holiday pastime overeating! It means spending money you don't have to impress people you don't really like anyway. It means consuming large amounts of stuff (food or merchandise) only to spend the next several months trying to work off the debt you incurred (financially or physically with excess poundage). In our "me" centered society of go more, spend more, do more, get more, how do we focus on what God would have us do? The holiday season is also the time when we feel compelled to be generous. It's the one time a year when soup kitchens and shelters can actually get provisions and volunteers to serve those they are intended to serve. So what I'd like to do is take a look at generosity, not only in the holiday season but every season. I have been struggling some lately with where to draw the line between providing for our family and being generous with our money. Here are some questions I've asked myself with the Bible in mind to gage my generosity. Try to answer them quickly, if you have to think a long time, you may need some work in that area.

1. When is the last time you gave freely to someone who can't offer you anything in return?

Check out the instances of Jesus or the apostles performing miracles. They gave their time, energy, and spiritual power so that people could be restored. If you don't think performing miracles was taxing on Jesus or the apostles, check out Jesus saying that power went out from him when the woman reached out and touched his garment (Mark 5:30, Luke 8:46). In every case, something so great was given that the recipient could never dream of repaying those who blessed them. It doesn't count if you blessed your children or someone else whom you have a vested interest in.

2. When you see a need, is your first inclination to meet it or to think of what it would cost you?

This one is a little tricky for me personally. This particular question can be summed up in the story of the rich young ruler (Matt 19:16, Mark 10:17, Luke 18:18). He wanted to gain eternal life and was willing to follow Jesus until he realized what it would cost him personally; namely all his earthly possessions. This does not mean you need to meet every need you see regardless of the cost, but that your should first reaction should be to help those who need it, not count the cost of what Jesus asks you to give up.

3. Do you give more emotionally to your relationships than you take?

How does your attitude and interaction with other people affect them? Does it build them up or tear them down? Emotional generosity is just as important as financial generosity. Are you constantly asking people to help carry your burdens by complaining or are you building up people by calling out their potential and encouraging them (Philippians 2:14, I Thessalonians 5:11, Hebrews 3:13, Hebrews 10:25)?

These are a few questions I have asked myself lately about generosity. I hope you find them helpful and I hope they challenge you. Remember that Jesus came to save the lost, regardless of their station in life. Sometimes their physical and emotional needs have to met before they are able to receive the only one who can meet their most pressing need... Jesus.

Laptop induced blog break

Knocked our MacBookPro off the bar yesterday and now the hard drive won't boot (aren't those stinking computers supposed to have a motion sensor that shuts down the hard drive when dropped?). Anyway, with no laptop, the blog will be taking a break until we can figure out our computer situation....

Family Friday (On Saturday)

One day late on my Family Friday, but don't worry there's some good video of Daniel marching and dancing around. I'm sure most anyone who reads this knows that Saturday mornings at the Sigmon household are "Rock N Roll Breakfast" time. That includes pancakes cooked by Chef Daddy and his Sous Chef Jeremy, loud music, and much dancing and "tossing" of all male children onto the couch during the bunny hop song. Anyway, here's the promised video... I'm a lucky Dad!

B90X Post 5: Externalizing God's Commands

Last time we attacked verse 6 in Deuteronomy 6 and now we'll continue on with verses 7-9. As a refresher, here they are again:

6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

I love verses 7-9. I think every Christian parent's dream is to impress God's command on their children. The next verses I think give us a blueprint of how to do just that. Talk about them wherever you are. Make them part of your daily life. Let them be the first thing you speak of in the morning and last thing to leave you lips at night. Why is this important? We call our oldest son Jeremy (who is 3) our little parrot. He mimics everything we say and do. If we raise our voice when we don't get our way, he'll raise his voice when he doesn't get his way. If we are polite to one another and compliment each other on things like cooking dinner, then he does the same thing. One example of this is how loud he is. His volume control is always stuck on maximum. He simply does not have an "inside" voice. If you have been around our family for any period of time you know exactly where he got this from... me! Another example is how he absolutely must pray before a meal. He is so used to me blessing a meal then him blessing it that it is a must every time we eat. If you want to impress the commands of God, you must everyday externalize the beliefs that you have. Verses 8 and 9 speak to raising the banner of Jesus high in public places. This means praying over meals unashamedly in public. It means not shying away from conversations that are begging to have Jesus inserted into them. None of this is to say that we should try to appear more spiritual than we are, but we must be willing to share what Jesus has done with us. A quick litmus test, when is the last time you shared with anyone (especially a non-Christian) something specific God has done for you in your life and gave God all the credit for it?

One final thought, there are good and sometimes bad byproducts of broadcasting your faith publicly. The good is that as you go forth with the message of Jesus and his salvation, you are obeying his last commandment (Matt 28:19-20). You will influence those around you (spouse, children, co-workers, etc). The bad is that you will be attacked by the enemy. If you never make your faith public, never make a bold stand for Jesus, why would Satan waste his time on you? However, if you are making bold claims for Christ, odds are you will be attacked with criticism and judgement from those around you. I heard it put best this way, "If you haven't run into the devil lately, you and him are probably walking in the same direction".

B90X Post 4: Internalizing God's Commands

Having two small children and one on the way, I'm always very interested in what the bible has to say about parenting. Deuteronomy 6 was presented to Laurina and I a couple of weekends ago as a chapter to look to for parenting instruction. I think this scripture is applicable to everyone not only parents, however. Beginning in verse 6, it talks about what Israel should do with the law and specifically the command to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." Here's what is commanded:

6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

What does God mean when he says that these commandments are to be upon your heart? The commands of God are to be so important that you internalize them. Memorize and study them until they are second nature and they are what emanates from you. What does that look like practically? It means that you value God's word. Not only do you receive a word from your pastor on Sunday morning, but that you take ownership of your own spiritual development. Why is this important? Because Jesus said that what comes from the mouth comes from the heart (Matt 15:18). What flows forth from you to everyone around you is what is on your heart. Does what flows from your heart make you different, a shining light in the world? The most influential person in my coming to Jesus is a guy I met while in college. He had Jesus bursting forth in his life. He knew how to care about and love people. How many college aged guys do you know that are able to do that? That impacted me and drew me to Christ's love and forgiveness. So what about you? Does your life scream Christ, His love, and His forgiveness? Want to make a difference in the circles of influence God has put you in? Let his commandments be upon your heart. We'll attack the other statements in these verses in future blogs...

Family Friday

Daniel does something now that I think is super cute.  He has certain sounds that mean certain things now, but he still doesn't have many full words.  However, when I whisper to him, he whispers back and I just can't get enough of it.  He doesn't really say anything, but anytime he and I are together without Jeremy or Laurina, I whisper to him just to see if I can get him to do it back.... That story was probably only cute to me, but its so much fun to see kid's unique personalities, you know those things that make them unique are what will help them change the world (no pressure Sigmon kids!)

B90X Post 3: When God says "Go!"

Deuteronomy in the original language means "second law".  It records the teaching of the law of the generation that has risen during the Israelites time in the desert.  God considered many of the principles in this book important enough that they are recorded twice in the first five books of the bible.  One of these principles that hit home with me is the "Go" principle.  In Deuteronomy 1:19-46, Moses recounts what happened when God said Go! and Israel said No!  God told Israel it was time to enter the promised land and an expedition was sent ahead to spy out the land.  They all reported that the land was great, indeed a land flowing with milk and honey.  However, they reported that the inhabitants were too big and the cities too fortified to overtake.  Two men from the entire spying expedition were faithful and reported the contents of the land and noted the strength of the inhabitants, but said, "We should go up and take the land, for we can certainly do it" (Numbers 13:30).  The Israelites were afraid because of the conflicting reports and did not want to fight for the land.  God had already promised to give them this land, but they did not trust in the promise he had made them.  If God has promised you something and requires your action, do not hesitate!  When God tells you Go!, you either grasp hold of the purpose and life God has for you, or you risk forfeiting the plans God has in store in for you.  After the Israelites disobeyed, God told them that none of them (except for the two who remained true to God's promise Joshua and Caleb) would be allowed to live long enough to enter the promised land.  Instead God ordered them to "turn around and set out toward the desert" (Deuteronomy 1:40).  That is the decision we face when God tell us Go!  Will we trust and be led into the promised land of God, or we will hesitate and be pointed toward the desert of our own making?


On a side note, Stuart asked a question to God's Plan, God's Time and I shared my thoughts in the comment section of that post.

Things I learned today

• When you are three and your 16 month-old brother hurts himself, then he needs a flute (I have no idea where that comes from)
• When you are 16 months old, picking up a inflatable bouncy ball and dropping it backwards over your head is HI-LAR-I-OUS
• When you have those two boys in the bathtub and one hands you something and says what's this, you shouldn't just grab it without looking (just ask Laurina, it could be poop!)
• That my wife makes a pretty mean baked whole chicken with rice
• Playing tag with a three year-old while mowing the grass is (a) quite a workout and (b) leaves streaks of unmowed grass in your yard
• And yep you guessed, I learned I can love my family even more each day!

B90X Post 2: God's order

In Genesis 17:1 God communicates to Abraham and says, "walk before me and be blameless."  Keep in mind this is after Abraham and Sarah had tried to take a shortcut to God's blessing with Sarah's maidservant Hagar.  God had delivered them from that situation and now God renews his covenant with Abraham.  If you want to hear from God and realize his plan for your life, God has a simple command.  No matter the baggage in your past, through Christ, you have been delivered and freed from those situations.  Now walk before God and be blameless.  That can only be done in Christ.  The bible says, "He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" -1 Corinthians 1:8

B90X Post 1: God's plan God's time

I'm having some issues uploading a video, so this is in place of my "family friday" post.  Our small group has decided to read through the bible in 90 days together.  I'm going to be posting some of my thoughts as we read through the bible.  Here we go...

In Genesis 15:4 God promises Abraham a son.  In Genesis 16, Abraham and his wife Sarah decide to expedite God's plan by using Sarah's maidservant Hagar.  Hagar became pregnant with Abraham's son.  God would later give Abraham a son (Issac) through Sarah.  However, by trying to speed up God's plan discord spread rampantly within their household.  Sarah became very jealous of Hagar and her son Ishmael.  In Genesis 21, Sarah urges Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away, distressing Abraham greatly, as he had to send away his own son.

When God makes us a promise, we must continue to live with integrity and patience.  If we try to alter God's timing especially by taking actions outside of his boundaries, destruction will soon follow.  Though Sarah and Abraham agreed that it was a good idea for him to sleep with Hagar to give them an heir, that action was outside of God's good and perfect plan.  Abraham's family was torn apart and he had to exile his own son.  God will fulfill his promises, but we must be obedient to Him.  God is smarter than us and sometimes we need a reminder.  God is never early, God is never late, God is always right on time.

Misunderstood

You know the saying, "he/she is just misunderstood"?  It is intended to say that someone is not what they appear to be.  There are verses in the bible that are not what they seem at first glance as well.  One verse that has really been on my mind lately is Proverbs 22:6 "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it".  I hear this verse used time and again as to why parents "force" their children to go to church.  I do have a firm belief that while your child is under your authority (i.e. they live under your roof, eat your food, spend your money, etc) they should abide by your rules and if one of those is going to church, great!  However, I feel they are missing the essence of this verse.  This verse means that you should train your child up in the way THEY should go.  That means identify and call out the natural gifts God has given that child.  This means NOT trying to fulfill your childhood dreams vicariously through your child, NOT trying to fulfill your financial security through your child, NOT letting the culture, society, or anyone else decide what is best for your child.  It means you help them develop their unique identity and set them up to succeed in their unique gifting.  In the mean time if you have to drag them church, then by all means, drag them to church, but help them become who they were created to be.  Then when God calls their name and Christ reigns as their savior, you will have raised a well shaped and fully developed tool that God can use for his glory.  You should help them define who they are, not confine them to who you think they should be.

Family Fridays

I think on Fridays, I will try to share my favorite family story of the week.  So here we go, the story for this week.  Jeremy (our oldest son) is a very social 3 year old.  He loves his "neighbors", "small group", and his "friends".  The kid genuinely bubbles over with excitement when people come over to our house.  We host small group here on Thursday nights.  Luckily enough for us, there is another couple who has a child in our group that plays with Jeremy.  He is significantly older, he's almost eight, but he does a good job of playing with Jeremy and Jeremy just LOVES him.  So last week, that family couldn't make it to small group, so Jeremy had to play upstairs by himself while small group was going on.  Laurina put on a dvd and there are a TON of toys upstairs.  He comes down just before group is over and I didn't go check out upstairs until the next day and this is what I found....

Needless to say the child is bored when he doesn't have friends to play with.  He is a great kid, but apparently cannot be left to his own devices!

Personal Perception Vs Divine Destiny

We often see ourselves as much less than what God has planned for us.  Our personal perception can stunt our development and distort our destiny.  When God looks at you, He sees the powerful world changer He created you to be.  Unfortunately, so many times we do not believe everything that God says through his Word even though we try.  We don't fully believe that we are forgiven of all our sins.  So much so that if we have accepted Christ and asked forgiveness, they have been cast as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:11-12).  God has great plans for you, look at Jesus' interaction with Peter and the difference between what Peter sees in himself and what Jesus sees in him.  When Peter realizes that he is in the presence of Jesus, the Son of God, in Luke chapter 5 (8-11), he tell Jesus, "Go away from me, for I am a sinful man!"  But Jesus does not see only a sinful man in Peter.  He sees the man who has enough faith to be the disciple that claims Jesus is the Christ (Matthew 16:13-16), to be the man who walks on water to meet him (Matthew 14:30), to be the man who will lead the disciples after his death and resurrection and preach so powerfully at Pentecost that 3000 men will follow Jesus that day alone (Acts 2:40-41).  Jesus doesn't see a sinful fisherman, he sees the man who will be the foundation for the church's early movement.  If Jesus saw all this in a common fisherman, what does he see in you?  What great heights will he have you climb?  Here's the catch (ha, get it, catch... he was a fishermen... oh, never mind), to find out you have to let go of everything you hold sacred and cling to everything HE holds sacred.  The encounter with Jesus ends like this: "So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything they had and followed him."

Flying Solo

For the past three years I have blogged rather sporadically on my wife's blog.  We mostly blog about family, kids, and everyday adventures.  This will be my first attempt at maintaining my own blog.  I don't yet know what the format will look like or if there will be recurring themes.  I will share my thoughts and hopefully you can take some encouragement out of the things I share.  There will be some family stuff added in of course.  My original intentions are to have about two updates a week, so we'll see how it all pans out.  Here we go....