From the Pastor
Pastor Mike Burns
Victory Church
903.567.2072 (Ext. 3002) ;){kind=small}
MBurns@wordofvictory.org
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
10:44 AM
The Lost Week
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
10:44 AM
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
10:44 AM
See that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. - Ephesians 5:15-16
The last week of each year tends to become the lost week.
Have you noticed? Once we turn the corner of Christmas, everything blurs. From December 26 to January 2, we slip into a state of "hyper-holiday suspended animation." As far as truly fruitful living is concerned, we might as well have spent the week on Mars.
A mentor in my life gave me some suggestions on how to make this “lost week” significant in preparation for the year and ending the existing year. I've prepared a list of suggested activities to allow you to keep enjoying the spirit of the holidays, while still making solid use of those transitional days. Lord willing, these suggestions will help keep the blur out and the focus in! This week - call it "Countdown Week" as we approach the New Year - you might give a day or a part of one to any or all of the following.
1. Summarize... organize.
Loose ends tend to fly in the breeze as year-end winds blow. Take a couple of hours, sit down with a notebook, and ask the Lord to help you think of things which need to be tabulated for future action. Pay special attention to those nagging, left-over, still-to-do things from last year's list. Who wants to drag a cloud of unease and uncertainty into the bright, fresh days of the New Year? Zeroing in on these long-neglected items can help blow the fog away as you step over the threshold of January 1. No, we will never get everything done. But somehow, just knowing what is left and listing it on paper gives a sense of completion and closure. It's an act that removes guilt and opens the way to positive action.
2. Read a large book in the Bible.
Get a running start on your goal of reading through the Word in the New Year. It takes about three to four minutes to thoroughly read an average page in the Bible. Take two to four hours and read a Bible book all the way through. Genesis covers sixty-three pages in my Bible (about three to four hours) and Revelation's twenty-one chapters (about an hour and a half). Pick your own size book, take an evening or afternoon, and feast there!
3. Undress the house
Many of us celebrate Christmas with festive decor and few (if any) surpass what Janet does at our place! Some years ago, we learned the wisdom (at least for us!) of getting the Christmas dressings "undressed" by New Year’s Day. It puts a fresh face on everything and emotionally gears you to walk into the year without feeling you're already behind still trying to finish off the old one.
4. Send thank-you notes and letters.
Don't be forgetful of a commonly neglected but much-appreciated practice. The briefest note of thanks or letter of warmth and love at this season speaks volumes! Take the time necessary. Let people know you appreciate them... and their gift too.
5. Set aside time for "fullness."
As appropriate as holiday celebration is, it's very natural to find yourself drained by all the action and activity. A dullness or listless apathy may besiege the soul at this time of year unless we seek the Lord for a refreshing and refilling of His Spirit.
Don't wander down from a bright Christmas mountaintop into a swamp of indecision, lethargy, and wasted opportunity. When that first Christmas was over, Joseph heard the words of the Lord's angel and took immediate action, saving the life of the Child.
That's what I want to do: Listen for His voice and then do what He says without doubt or procrastination. There's no telling how far you might go this year with that kind of head start!
Love you, Victory Family,
Pastor Mike
Published on Tuesday, December 27, 2016 @ 10:44 AM CDT
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