i liked this devo from neal anderson

PRUNING THE BRANCHES
John 15:2
Every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit


Our goal is to abide in Christ, not to bear fruit. Jesus promised that if we abide in Him, we will bear much fruit (John1 5:5).

In order that we may bear more fruit, God the Father prunes us. Sometimes well-meaning Christians have cut too much too soon, hindering growth. A dear but sadly abused child of God pictured her experience in the following poem:

A friend of mine whose grapevines died was about to throw them away.

I said, "I'll take your vines and make something special of them today."

As I gently bent one vine, entwining round and round,

A rustic wreath began to form, potential did abound.

One vine would not go where it should, and anxious as I was,

I forced it so to change its shape, it broke--and what the cause?

If I had taken precious time to slowly change its form,

It would have made a lovely wreath, not a dead vine, broken, torn.

As I finished bending, adding blooms, applying trim,

I realized how that rustic wreath is like my life within.

You see, so many in my life have tried to make me change.

They've forced my spirit anxiously, I tried to rearrange.

But when the pain was far too great, they forced my fragile form;

I plunged far deeper in despair, my spirit broken, torn.

Then God allowed a gentle one who knew of dying vines,

To kindly, patiently allow the Lord to take His time.

And though the vine has not yet formed a decorative wreath,

I know that with God's servant's help one day when Christ I meet

He'll see a finished circle, a perfect gift to Him.

It will be a finished product, a wreath with all the trim.

So as you look upon this gift, the vine round and complete,

Remember God is using you to gently shape His wreath.

Prayer: Father God, thank You for Your unconditional love and acceptance.

can it be different?

i can tell that it is going to be a very different year for the christmas season. my family is steeped in many traditions as i was reminded about homemade crust on thanksgiving. i tried to get away with store bought and it didn't fly with my children. so this year for christmas dinner i would like to try a few changes. not necessarily the menu but the timing. we will see how well it goes over. the biggest change that will make this christmas different is the fact that we are still living in long beach and of course it will be difficult to decorate the house and tree like i normally do. we will probably only be home in hemet for a long weekend. i guess the bigggest dilemna that i am asking my self is: can this christmas still be a time where we celebrate the birth of our savior and keep it simple? as i ponder this and process the ultimate outcomes i will need to be very sensitive to the needs of my family's traditional roots and yet be practical in understanding the logistics of living in 2 different towns. most of all i want to be flexible and would like to keep it simple but in no way do i want to underemphacise the birth of our lord jesus. still seeking guidence.

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