LakePastor.com

Not Too Little, Too Late.

As we are busily preparing for the holidays, getting ready for big family dinners, the traditional extended family tours, and the hectic gift giving calculations.  It arrives at the same time every year, and yet we continue to get confused, stressed, and frustrated over the potential holiday madness. Our holiday preparations can be less taxing for us if these 7 simple steps are followed. 

1.       BE PREPARED--Create a budget for your gift purchases, a list of who has been nice, and stick to it. Buying for families and trying to buy a gift for every cousin, friend, neighbor, or employee will have you filing for bankruptcy.  Some of you are generous and charitable, but need a line has to be drawn.  Create a gift list to fight the urge of seeing an item on clearance that you think would be perfect for someone not on your list.  Write down a few ideas for presents, based on the preferences of those on the list and hints they have given you throughout the year.

2.       SLOW DOWN--Use slow times to run your errands so that you won't burn out. Shop for groceries in early mornings or late evenings (not during lunch hour or after work), visit the malls during your lunch break while others are at work or in the classroom, and try to avoid standing in line if at all possible. Talk with siblings and friends on your shopping efforts.  Perhaps you can pick something up for them while you’re out and vice versa.

3.       LIMIT INTERRUPTIONS--Learn how to screen incoming interruptions to eliminate stress at work and at home. Use voicemail, caller ID., and email filters to avoid chaos creators.

4.       HELPING HANDS--Turn your big dinner feasts, shopping demands, and decoration duties into a family fun gathering.  Invite friends and young kids to help with babysitting, cooking foods, or decorating.  Holiday duties done with friends and family are fun.  Same goes with food preparations, shopping, gift wrapping, or watching over toddlers. 

5.       DELEGATE--Delegate simple decorating and gift-wrapping tasks to others or take advantage of charity wrap centers. Small children love to help by adding bows or gift tags to presents.  Organizations and Churches often try to raise funds by wrapping gifts for busy people or running basic errands.   Create a game plan for your holiday meal ahead of time.  List what items will be needed, who can help, the best time to prepare portions of the meal and gather all the wonderful recipes.

6.       TAKE INVENTORY--Take an inventory of the linen closet, kitchen serving ware, and other common items that may be needed over the holiday.  Visualize the entire event and figure out what you may possibly need.  This includes the medicine cabinet.  The less surprises the less stress.

7.       THE MAIN EVENT--Start the morning with easy preparations in the kitchen, leaving other items for the last minute. Chop vegetables, mix dips, then assemble snack trays for munching. Put the turkey in the oven, set the table, and bake pies. Leave candles, music, and last minute preparations for later. Leave the house to take a stroll around the block, enjoy a book, or listen to some relaxing music before your family or friends arrive. Enjoy yourself-- you've earned it!

And the day after Christmas, make next year's "to do" so that you won't have to work so hard again and all the great ideas are fresh in your mind.  Shop year round for gifts, decorations, and cards for those you love. Keep a running list of things you need, should not do again, and tips for making things easier on you and your household. Getting organized for the holidays is truly a process, not a product, but with some effective planning you can enjoy the journey.

Have a happy Christmas!

Seven Steps for Relationships

I believe that we have a relational God. We see in the beginning the relationship within the Trinity. He created Adam and Eve to have a relationship with Him and also with each other. There is relationship to Jesus and the church as well as the relationship of the church to each other as the body of Christ.

Here are seven steps to a better relationship:

1. We have to realize that relationships are twofold. (It takes two to tango) You cannot have a relationship by yourself...it takes at least one more person.
2. Do to others as you would have them do unto you (Practice the principle of reciprocity) If you love others, they will love you, care for others and they will care for you, and if you help others and they will help you when you are in need. "Build a fence around your heart, not a wall. Allow others to see but not readily touch. Let them approach and behold, to consider its beauty, and then decide if they can answer the invitation...Should they walk away, remember the value of the property has not decreased". Anonymous
3. Work on your God centered relationships above all others. Col.3:23 "23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism."
4. Nurture and feed your God centered relationships Take time to share your life with your family, in your work place and in this church. Take five seconds to look around the congregation and make a mental note of who is not here. Go out to lunch with a different family or individual one Sunday out of the month and spend time getting to know them. All of us have something that we can bring into the relationship that others don’t have. Affirmation is important in every God centered relationship.
5. Make God the center of all your relationships Realize that people will let you down but God never will. Use God’s word as a guide for your relationships
6. Love above everything else. Love never fails-1st John 4:19 "We love, because He first loved us.” As Christians, we love everyone because of the great love that God has for us. The statement has been made that says, "We can’t love until we’ve been loved, and we can only love to the degree to which we have been loved."
7. Be willing to forgive if need be and to say I’m sorry if you messed up. Love and forgiveness is the foundation to every God centered relationship.

Have a plan

It's fall. The church year gets going as families return from vacations. School gets going, too. Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner! As time gets busy at church, school, home, and life in general, it's easy for family life to get crazy-or worse, forgotten. Use these ideas to bring a little order to your family's days.

1.      Start each day with a regular morning routine ­breakfast together, hugs and I-love-you's as you head out the door, or a quiet breakfast with your spouse on the patio.

2.      Lay out a plan for the coming six months to a year-start by listing times you know you'll be busy; also look for times when everyone is "open" so you can sched­ule downtime as a family. Begin with an overall plan for the year and then break it down into months, weeks, and finally, a daily plan.

3.      Wait before committing yourself to new things-it's fine to say that you need to check your schedule or your budget first. It's even okay for pastors and their families to say no.

4.      Encourage family members-including you-to define what they'd like to accomplish in the next few months. Block out time for individuals to work toward these goals.

5.      Schedule fun into your family routine-a movie once a month, a trip, or just going out to eat once every week or two. Put these activities on your calendars, just like mandatory meetings.

6.      Choose a time-perhaps in the evening right before bedtime-for the family to help straighten up the house. Keeping a handle on chaos and clutter around the house can help you feel in control in other ways.

7.      Take a team approach-don't try to do it all yourself. Ask your kids to help with meals. Seek their advice on how to handle a problem (at age-appropriate levels, of course). As family members help tame the craziness of family life, they'll be more eager to participate.

Ready, set, go—but put family as a high priority.

Thank God for Grandparents

Colleen and I have to go out of town this weekend. We are going to Colleen's 20 year High School Reunion. I was wondering if I should register as some lost student from Normal Community High School. To me, this has the feel of a blind date. They know nothing about me, I know nothing about them. The only common denominator is Colleen, and thank God for her. Speaking of thanking God, a shout out to my mother-a-law is in order. She is flying in to watch the children while we are gone. I'm very thankful for her and her willingness to do this. Earlier this year I ran across some facts about grandparents preparing for grandparents day. So here are seven facts about grandparenting in the United States found on www.census.gov .

1. 5.7 million grandparents live with grandchildren under age 18; most (4.5 million) maintain their own household.
2. 2.4 million grandparents are responsible for most of the basic needs of one or more of their grandchildren.
3. 900,000 grandparents have been responsible for most of the basic needs of their grandchildren for at least five years.
4. 1.4 million grandparents are simultaneously in the labor force and responsible for most of the basis needs of their grandchildren.
5. 3.9 million multi-generational households exist in the U.S., where grandparents live under the same roof with two or more generations of descendants; this represents 4 percent of all households.
6. 2.6 million multi-generational households exist where the grandparent is the householder.
7. 5.6 million children live with a grandparent, comprising 8 percent of all children in the U.S.

What would we do it we didn't have grandparents? Thank God for Grandparents.