Sacred Holidays - A Right Perspective of Holidays, Rituals and Traditions

Traditions, holidays and celebrations - Oh, how we love them! From landmark birthdays to Christmas, we find reasons to rejoice, sing, laugh and give gifts. God implemented times of feasting and partying in the Old Testament. It was His idea to set apart spaces of time for events such as these.

Holy days were times of remembrance and eating and great fellowship among God's people. They celebrated Passover, Esther's brave saving of the Jewish population and took days of rest. However, I wonder if our parties have changed into tradition and unspoken law that is more harmful to us than helpful these days.

For example, some birthday traditions are extreme where people spend extraordinary amounts of money all in celebration of themselves. In some celebrations, people become so drunk that they cannot even recall the event they attended. Some christians and churches demand tradition and it becomes legalistic instead of celebratory. This should not be.

Recently, I have read the book "Sacred Holidays: Less Chaos, More Jesus" by Becky Kiser. I was pleasantly reminded of how we miss the opportunities to rejoice in celebration as God intends. In the book, Becky explains that it is to be used as a reference for us to examine the reasons why we celebrate and to reframe our holidays in a God-honoring way.

Our traditions and rituals should never compete with the Word of God. It should be enhanced and compliment our walk with Christ.

Do not let your traditions be in vain. Do not make idols from your symbolic remembrances. As Christ followers, we do not push Christ aside or lay down our Holy Hats to have a girls trip. Real fun is knowing and living out righteousness in everywhere we go and in everything we do. We rejoice because of Jesus not in spite of Him!

God is > Our Hearts: How NOT to be emotionally driven

God is greater than our hearts. he should be at the center of all we do if we claim to belong to Him. I learned this the hard way.

When I first started dating, I was consistently led by my emotions. He was cute. I was cute. We would make a cute couple. We could get married, make cute babies, have lots of grandchildren, etc.. My heart would lead me down this whole trail of possibilities without caring about if it was the Lord's will for my life or not. Add hormones and you have a set-up for disaster!

During one relationship prior to marriage, I was so emotionally attached that I lost hours and hours of sleep waiting for this guy to call me. Then I would fall asleep on him because I was afraid that I would miss something he said. Everyday was spent obsessing over our next date, next phone call or text message. I couldn't concentrate. I didn't read my bible daily anymore and if I did, I would cut it short because my mind and my heart belonged to this guy who didn't even end up being "The One". He wanted me in bed in his mom's basement - seriously! I was so clueless, and heartbroken too. Smh...When I met Maurice, I was tempted to go down that same road, but I purposefully prayed throughout that relationship. It also helped that he was a praying man too and was looking for a wife, not a toy!

We may find ourselves wrapped up in something else emotionally too like in a tv show or a book. We may be spending too much of our energy becoming emotionally invested in shopping, activities or parties. When we start wishing that we could stop, we have probably gone too far from our center. Our emotions and desires can be deceptive and cause us to be led away from God's best for us. The enemy knows how to manipulate your desires in a way that is distorted and pulls us apart from the narrow road. So the closer we are to God, the better.

The solution is to stay close to God and to keep Him central to your whole life! We have all had that experience of feeling so close to God after a church service or worship experience, only to have that joy stolen the next day. Do not let the enemy make you feel guilty for needing God regularly. You may need to pray daily, hourly or moment-by-moment. That is why the bible says to "pray without ceasing". (1 Thessalonians 5:17, KJV)  We need to. We ought to.

Keeping God central is not just putting Him first then doing whatever we want. 

It is seeking Him first, next, during and after. If you cannot find a place for God in whatever activity that you find yourself doing, is it really worth it? He demands our whole lives, not just the parts that we are willing to hand over today. That is why God's relationship to us is compare to marriage. (Ephesians 5:25-27, KJV) You surrender your body to your spouse and they do the same. You are no longer two, but one.

It may look like asking God if it is His will for you to stay at your current job, then waiting for a response. Then the Lord may direct you to look around at other opportunities. Then you keep praying for clarification and clear discernment of His will. A certain position may seem great to you, but you do not move until you know for sure that the Lord has opened that door for you. You pray again. You ask for the job in faith, but you are willing to not pursue it if God says the same. Then you apply and get an offer. You pray again before saying yes. You wait in faith and then say yes!

You see the process? Your heart has desires, but it is deceitfully wicked. (Jeremiah 17:9, KJV) Without constant prayer we could be easily led astray, like a dumb sheep. Make God your GPS, not your emotions.

Let's not live our lives in regret. God is greater than our hearts. Do not be emotionally driven. Your heart is safe with Him!

How to Talk to Teens about Sex, Marriage and Relationships

We play a lot of games in our home. With two boys growing quickly into men, we find ourselves working hard to keep the lines of communication open. Games are a great way to do that for us. We have been surprised at how often they will ask the most amazing questions. We have come to realize that games provide a fantastic opportunity to impart wisdom and character into the lives of our children (while we still have the chance). 

There are two brands that we would like to recommend to your family. Harvest Time Partners (Harvesttimepartners.com) and Breakout Games (breakoutgames.com). They both offer various unique and fun games. They encourage group play, conversation and thinking skills that are crucial for young people to develop as they mature into adulthood. 

Video games, online games, board games and ANY game is a great way to spark conversation, but the other way is just as easy and it's FREE!

The second way to talk to your teens about marriage and other things is simply to talk to them!! Sure there are books, videos and games but here are three ways to talk to them - like with just you and nothing else.

1. Share your experiences. One of the best ways that we have reached our sons has been to simply tell the story of our sex journey, marriage, victories and defeats. NOTHING beats a real life example of following God through this part of life. Our kids need to know that we are not perfect. They also need to know that they can live holy despite what the world impresses on them.

2. Pray with them. Yup. Prayer is talking and you can communicate a lot through your prayers in their hearing. Let them hear your concern to God for them and their future. Ask for His forgiveness and let your children hear you quote the Word of God back to God Himself. Family prayer does not have to be long or elaborate. Talk to God about your real worries, fears and hopes. You will be teaching them as you do so. Lord willing, they will do the same with your future grandchildren.

3. Talk about media. While we scroll the internet, listen to radio in the car, watch tv or a movie, we discuss the implications of their behavior or the words to that song. Ask questions during commercials or in between songs like: Why is this a bad idea for someone who says they are a christian? Would you be able to tell that this person follows Jesus if this was their lifestyle? What consequences or rewards do you think that taking this action will have in the future? If you repeat these lyrics out loud would the Bible agree? Why or why not?

We hope this was helpful! What other ideas do YOU have for discussing these topics with your teens? We would love to hear your suggestions in the comments.