The set-apart women I admire most all had one very important thing in common; they were passionately, ardently, fervently in love with Jesus Christ.  They put Jesus Christ above pleasure, riches, comforts, family, friends, and worldly applause.  And they put Jesus Christ far above their own agenda.

Amy Carmichael sacrificed her right to be married and chose instead to spend her life rescuing 1,000 children from being sold into temple prostitution in India.  Her romance with Jesus Christ far exceeded the most beautiful fairy tale ever written.

Sabina Wurmbrandt sacrificed her right to live “happily ever after” with the love of her life, Richard, when it came down to a choice between saving her husband and standing up for her first Love, Jesus Christ.  She inspired her husband to stand against those who were blaspheming Christ’s name, and as a result she and Richard were separated for ten long years.

Gladys Alyward spent all of her youth and beauty in a war-torn Chinese village – rather than pining after men – choosing service for the Kingdom of God over marriage, family and the comforts of this world.  And as a result, a hundred violent prisoners were subdued into quiet obedience, two hundred orphan’s lives were saved and thousands were pulled out of darkness into God’s marvelous light.

Catherine Booth laid down her right to a comfortable marriage and family life – not only allowing her husband to pour out his life for the destitute and dying, but serving right by his side as he did so.  She chose all-night prayer gatherings, long days trudging through slums, and attack from the modern church over a stable existence in a cute home with a white picket fence.

When I study these women’s lives, I am astounded and inspired by their level of commitment to Jesus Christ.  They didn’t just say He was their first love; they lived it.  Whether they gave up their right to be married in order to serve Christ, or gave up the “happily ever after” lifestyle they’d always dreamed of, nothing was more important than protecting the honor of their Lord and King.

So it must be with us.

The more I study the lives of great Christian women, the more I recognize that our American culture (even the Christian culture) so often convinces us that this life is all about us rather than being all about Jesus Christ.  It is my desire, by God’s grace, to make all of my decisions, choices and attitudes based on the question, “How can I honor and glorify my King in this moment?” It’s a deliberate choosing to ignore what my flesh (and this culture) constantly encourages me to do, which is to ask, “What is best for me right now?” or “What do I feel like doing?”

Being a mother of three has offered boundless opportunities to lay down my own agenda and serve others for the glory of God.  Tending to a crying newborn several times a night, and spending my best energies during the changing diapers, pouring juice, and kissing “owies” (instead of taking a nap or relaxing on the couch with a books) are a few small ways I am learning to die to self’s agenda and live a poured-out life for the glory of God.  However, I am convinced that these small victories are preparing for much greater opportunities to take up my cross and follow Him.  After all Christ said, “He who is faithful in little will also be faithful in much.”

I would encourage you to look at the challenging areas of your life.  Are there areas, even small areas, in which God wants to teach you how to lay down your own agenda, die to self, take up your cross and follow Him?  It may not seem like an exciting path at first, but it is the doorway into the fullness of all He has for you.  The heroic women of history past all had to begin living a poured-out life the small areas of their daily existence.  And because they were faithful in little, God entrusted with much.  Are we willing to follow in their footsteps?

© Leslie Ludy
www.setapartgirl.com

The title is “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go,” written in 1882 by George Matheson. Matheson said about this hymn:

My hymn was com­posed in the manse of In­ne­lan [Ar­gyle­shire, Scot­land] on the ev­en­ing of the 6th of June, 1882, when I was 40 years of age. I was alone in the manse at that time. It was the night of my sister’s mar­ri­age, and the rest of the fam­i­ly were stay­ing over­night in Glas­gow. Some­thing hap­pened to me, which was known only to my­self, and which caused me the most se­vere men­tal suf­fer­ing. The hymn was the fruit of that suf­fer­ing. It was the quick­est bit of work I ever did in my life. I had the im­press­ion of hav­ing it dic­tat­ed to me by some in­ward voice ra­ther than of work­ing it out my­self. I am quite sure that the whole work was com­plet­ed in five min­utes, and equal­ly sure that it ne­ver re­ceived at my hands any re­touch­ing or cor­rect­ion. I have no na­tur­al gift of rhy­thm. All the other vers­es I have ever writ­ten are man­u­fact­ured ar­ti­cles; this came like a day­spring from on high.

Here are the lyrics that poured out from Matheson’s encounter with God that night. They are deep. They are rich. Print them out and meditate on them. Be gripped – overwhelmed- as I was, by the Great Love that will not let us go…

1. O Love that wilt not let me go,
   I rest my weary soul in thee;
   I give thee back the life I owe,
   That in thine ocean depths its flow
   May richer, fuller be.
2. O light that foll’west all my way,
   I yield my flick’ring torch to thee;
   My heart restores its borrowed ray,
   That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
   May brighter, fairer be.
3. O Joy that seekest me through pain,
   I cannot close my heart to thee;
   I trace the rainbow through the rain,
   And feel the promise is not vain,
   That morn shall tearless be.
4. O Cross that liftest up my head,
   I dare not ask to fly from thee;
   I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
   And from the ground there blossoms red
   Life that shall endless be.

It’s all part of the eco-crazed, cappuccino-slurping, carbon-footprint-reducing, navel-gazing, photo-radar-loving milieu of the suburban municipality I live in. Last year, they instituted a new garbage collection program. A Christmas visitor, trying to throw out his trash, made the mistake of commenting on how complex the system is. I went on a 20 minute rant. Sorting, cleaning, and managing garbage has become one of my pet peeves.  (It’s right up there with removing price tag sticky gum residue from purchases – or opening clam shell wrappers) I figure that my municipality’s new eco-friendly garbage system has added 8 minutes to my workload each day (that’s  almost 50 hours a year!)

Christmas garbage management this past holiday was particularly unwieldy and frustrating. Our house was a hub of Christmas celebration activity. Not only did I have to un-stick the tape and bows from all the paper, separate the clamshell plastic from the cardboard, collapse and slice down all the boxes, separate paper plates from plastic cups, dissect and extract the embedded tin foil from the carcass of the turkey,… I also had to find somewhere to stack and store all the mess. Instead of collecting it on schedule, the municipality decreed that we would reduce our collective carbon foot print by having no collection over the Christmas break. By the time the last guest said goodbye, I was overwhelmed by the accumulated pile of trash. My bins were full to overflowing, and bags were blocking the path.

It’s an odd feeling to long for garbage collection day.

I can hardly express what a relief it was to roll the green and black carts out, and to pile all those blue bags and blue boxes on top of the snow bank next to the curb. I felt so glad to be rid of the oppressive accumulation of trash. I literally felt as though a burden had been lifted.

As I walked back to the house, I thought about how grateful I am that the Lord has such an uncomplicated, effective system for us to get rid of the garbage in  our lives.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.”

I also thought about the joy of having a heart that is clean, rather than messed up with the oppressive clutter of sin. Having the Lord forgive my sin means that my heart is a place of peace and order –it’s like a pristine new” Home Makeover” house, rather than one that looks like the “Hoarders” or one that needs those two British ladies with the purple fur-trimmed rubber gloves to intervene.

With the Lord’s system, we can get rid of our garbage every day. It’s not complex.  It doesn’t take a lot of work or time. All we need to do is confess our sins, and the garbage is gone.  Gifts with no garbage – that’s the amazing offer of Jesus.

© Mary A. Kassian

Have you ever noticed that it’s the simplest, most unassuming things that often have the most worth and value?  It’s the things that seem on the surface, so very ordinary, that are often the most profound.  And it’s those who take the time to see and ponder the rich underlying message of seemingly simple things, who derive the most benefit and joy from them.

“Paper Star” is a term that’s really a paradox. “Paper” is a simple, inexpensive common product that we can touch and feel and crumple up and discard.  But a “star” isn’t.  Stars are bright, massive, fiery hot, powerful cosmic wonders whose twinkle can barely be perceived by the human eye, and which certainly can’t be held or contained in a human hand. Paper. Star. It seems like these two extremes could not coexist.  How can the common, ordinary, simple and fragile possibly be extraordinary, packed full of power, spectacular and beyond reach – all at the same time?

I believe that this paradoxical wonder is exemplified in the Christmas Season – for the babe in the manger is like that. Like paper – ordinary, common, touchable, earthly – Manger, hay, donkeys, blood-soaked birthing blanket, strips of swaddling cloth.  Yet there’s much more to this child than meets the eye.  He’s a star – extraordinary, uncommon, beyond our reach, supernatural/unfathomable – This Christmas babe is Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace… the Desire of all Nations… the ONE who set history in motion and whom around which history centers and revolves and will one day resolve. Paper Star. The wonder of Christmas…

Many of you have contacted me to find out how to make your own paper stars.  I wasn’t able to find instructions anywhere, so I asked my Dad to help me put some together for you.  I hope you enjoy joining my family in this Advent tradition…. and in reflecting on the wonder of the paradox of the Christ-Child – the true “Paper Star” of Christmas.

Paper Star Directions

But wouldn’t you know it. On my photo shoot day the temperature dropped to -2 Celsius (23 F). And the wind was freezing and blustery. Yikes! Not the best day for pictures, but my back was up against a deadline, so we had to go ahead.  Notice the snow…. yes, SNOW in the picture we took on the top of the parkade- the one with the skyscraper in the background. I had major chills by the time we were done. Anyhow, Julie did a great job, and we got some good shots. I thought you might like to take a peek…