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Christian Calendar

Broken for You

March 23, 2016

This is the last post of Lent 2016. This project has been such a pleasure! I hope you will join us next year and each year after, as we meet in the middle here, during Lent.

His Body was Broken for You

This is Holy Week — the time when Christians commemorate the week leading up to the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ — when He was broken for you and for me. Here at the Meet Me in the Middle Project we have been thinking of how the in-between times, the times of waiting, point to this important event.

Life is full of waiting. The Bible is full of waiting too. The people of Israel were waiting for a Messiah. Jesus was waiting to fulfill the prophecies.  His disciples were waiting for His Kingdom to come in power and glory. The Pharisees and religious leaders were waiting for a chance to discredit Him and, finally, to kill Him. After His body was placed in the tomb, the women were waiting to anoint His dead body properly. And God was waiting for just the right time to demonstrate His love and power by creating the most unlikely solution to the problem of sin and death.

So often, we want to rush ahead of the waiting. We often hate “the middle.” I know I do. Right now, our family is at a crossroads. My husband will soon leave military life and enter the civilian world. In a few months, we will be leaving the home we have known for the last four years and settling in a new place. Our hearts are feeling restless to move on, but our bodies are still here. Some days, this in-between time feels excruciating.

Maybe someone you love has a difficult diagnosis? This is painful too. We don’t like having that “stuck” feeling because we want everything healed, fixed, and resolved, especially for the people we love. And when the diagnosis won’t come, or the healing is slow, or the illness isn’t ever going to resolve, we feel so helpless.

Some of you might be at home with little ones, wishing you could get past diapers and sleep schedules. Some of you might be aching just to hold your own little one, but your body won’t obey your orders or respect your wishes. Some of you might be looking for a special someone to share your life with, but you keep coming up empty. Often, where we find ourselves waiting is the last place we want to be.

How can we hold on to hope when the waiting goes long?

I know the answer and yet, at the same time, I don’t. I know the Truth, but I haven’t yet figured out how to stay there, peacefully. The Truth is a great encouragement nonetheless: all the threads of waiting are tied together, in Jesus.

Broken for You - Pinterest

The Arrival of Jesus is Always on Time

If we are packing the groceries in the car, the last thing we want to do is break an egg. Yet, as they say, we can’t have an omelette without breaking a few eggs.

There are times when brokenness is ordained.

Jesus was called to be broken for us. We are called to be broken for Him. And living in a fallen world means that brokenness here on earth is inevitable. In fact, God does His best work among the broken — that’s where He can just. plain. show. off. Because nothing is broken by chance. Nothing is broken without purpose. God is always working to fulfill His great and wonderful plan, on our behalf.

Easter reminds us that God is constantly ready to surprise us with His plans and His abilities to fulfill them.  Are you feeling broken? Don’t worry, that means that you are poised and prepared to become what He intends for you to be.

Broken for You - Instagram

Meet Me Signature

I’m sharing this post at Kristin’s Three Word Wednesday:

152 Insights to My Soul

 

Filed Under: Lenten Curation 2016 Tagged With: Before & After, Christian Calendar, Curate Lent, Faith, God's Plan, God's plans, God's Wisdom, Lent, Sovereignty, Trust

Taught by God

February 16, 2016

All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
and great shall be the peace of your children (Isaiah 54:13, ESV).

Before & After Sweeties InstagramMy husband was deployed when my youngest was born. Then, during the next year, we had so many difficulties: we were displaced by Hurricane Katrina, he deployed again, I sold our house, and I moved to a strange city, alone, with the kids. When he returned from overseas, the adjustment was hard. Since then we’ve endured chronic illnesses, separation from family, marriage troubles and more…and I’ve been grieved that, for so long, we’ve been stretched so thin.

It has grieved me that we haven’t always shown our children
a clear picture of their Heavenly Father.

Parents are supposed to demonstrate the Father’s character, in part so their children will know what He is like. We tried. We gave them God’s Word and told them about the sacrifice of Jesus and the love of God. But, as for showing them God’s Word by living a life of sacrifice and love, we have fallen short.  Here’s what I wish we could imitate better:

The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

The Lord is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
For he knows how weak we are;
he remembers we are only dust.

Psalm 103:8, 11, 13-14, NLT

Before & After Sweeties PinterestI know about sowing and reaping. We should reap a harvest that matches what we have sown. We want to sow seeds of love, but too often, we have planted selfishness, fear, unforgiveness, unkindness.  Yet, our children are pretty happy, mostly polite, genuinely kind, very forgiving, and they really love the Lord. Huh? I am so thankful for God’s grace—that we don’t always get what we deserve. Thank you Lord, for instructing their hearts, where we have failed. 

When I think of all the years and all the difficulties between these two pictures, I am astonished. This is truly the work of the Holy Spirit. Because of the work of Jesus, our Great High Priest, this is true:

I will put my laws in their minds,
and I will write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
And they will not need to teach their neighbors,
nor will they need to teach their relatives,
saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’
For everyone, from the least to the greatest,
will know me already.
And I will forgive their wickedness,
and I will never again remember their sins.

(Hebrews 8:10-12, NLT).

It is good to remember that “successful parenting” is done best by Our Heavenly Father. Isn’t is wonderful that Jesus bridges our shortcomings and meets us in the middle?

Meet Me Signature

 

Filed Under: Lenten Curation 2016 Tagged With: Christian Calendar, Curate Lent, Family, Lent, Parenting

Easter Sunrise

December 29, 2015

God shows He is at work in the Easter Sunrise. He meets us in the middle..These pictures and this post first appeared on brittalafont.com

My sweet friend Mindy Hopman took these pictures for the Before & After Project in 2015 on brittalafont.com. Easter sunrise demonstrates how God is always at work in the Process.  Thank you Mindy! 🙂

Sample Pinterest Pin Description:

Watching a sunrise is like seeing God at work in our own hearts. We start out in the dark.  As time moves on and we come to know the Lord better, His Light shines brighter in our lives.  We grow in righteousness.  We see increase in our faith and in our love for Him and others.  We become a display of His splendor, not our own (Isaiah 61:3).

 

For Instagram

EasterSunrise IG

Sample Instagram Post:

Easter is the biggest #BeforeandAfter

God gives us Befores & Afters to give us hope during dark times and remind us He is always at work to accomplish His purpose in and through us. #MeetMeintheMiddleProj #LentenCuration #ObserveLent #Lent #ChurchYear #Easter #HeisRisen

“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor 15:55-57, ESV).

Filed Under: Sample Posts for Curators Tagged With: Before & After, Christian Calendar, Curate Lent, Sunrise, Ways to Observe Lent

The Hidden Reward of Income Tax Prep

December 29, 2015

Even in the mundane details of our life, we see that God is not a God of disorder but of peace...(1 Cor 14:33a). Jesus came to rescue us from chaos and bring peace—when we bring order we are walking in a way that demonstrates His Way..

A participant in a Bible study I was teaching gave me this Before & After—what a relief she must have felt to have her Income Tax forms completed and organized! So often I get discouraged by this kind of messy project.

Sample Pinterest Pin Description:

Though I know I function much better when I get right to a task, the thought of starting can leave me feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes this leads me to procrastinate. It is good for me to remember that:

God is not a God of disorder but of peace…(1 Cor. 14:33a, NLT)

Another possibility: The death and resurrection of Jesus brought peace where chaos reigned. When we bring order to our jumbled lives in any way, we are walking in a manner that demonstrates His Way.

For Instagram

Instagram Before & after taxes

Sample Instagram Post:

Even in the mundane details of our life, we see that God is not a God of disorder but of peace…(1 Cor 14:33a). Jesus came to rescue us from chaos and bring peace—when we bring order we are walking in a way that demonstrates His Way.

#MeetMeintheMiddleProj #LentenCuration #ObserveLent #Lent #ChurchYear #orderoutofchaos

Filed Under: More Sample Posts Tagged With: Before & After, Christian Calendar, Curate Lent, Taxes, Ways to Observe Lent

When “After” Means Repurpose

December 29, 2015

This project reminds me that God sent His Son, to redeem and repurpose us, and to make all things new. Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing...

My friend Heather has a super smart job as some sort of special analyst for a credit card company…but decorating/renovating homes and furniture is her passion. And cooking like a chef. And being an amazing mom…yeah, this girl is really busy!

She found this cabinet and wanted to give it a well-loved feel as she brightened up the color. Wayyyy back in 2011, this was her very first chalk paint project. Like I said, she is amazing.

Sample Pinterest Pin Description:

This DIY project reminds me that God sent His Son, to redeem and repurpose us, and to make all things new.

Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert (Isaiah 43:8-19, ESV).

For Instagram

This project reminds me that God sent His Son, to redeem and repurpose us, and to make all things new. Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing...

Sample Instagram Post:

Through faith in Jesus, God is able to refine and repurpose us. #RefinersFire #ObserveLent #Lent #ChurchCalendar #SeeGodatWork #MeetMeintheMiddleProj #ANewCreation

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (2 Cor 5:17, ESV).

Filed Under: Sample Posts for Curators Tagged With: Before & After, Christian Calendar, Curate Lent, renew, Ways to Observe Lent

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Hi, I'm Britta! I love a good "Before & After." But trying to skip the middle to get to a happy ending leaves me feeling impatient and discouraged. Let's learn to find hope in the messy middle places of life by remembering God promises to complete the work He has begun in us. Let's curate hope, together! Learn more...

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