Getting a New Covenant Perspective
February 24, 2024Nuevo Testamento, una nueva perspectiva
February 29, 2024It was almost Christmastime. I felt the pinch of running out of time to get everything ready; you know the feeling. As I went through my mental checklist, presents still needed to be wrapped; it seemed like a hundred things still needed to be completed to prepare for this special time. What did I need to get from my shopping list? Did I get just the right stocking stuffers for each family member for that special effect that makes Christmas fun? At least, I’d hoped so. My thoughts were…well, not frantic, but somewhat pressured.
I so enjoy Christmas and the spirit of joy in giving as we celebrate what our Father God did for us in sending His Son. Amidst all the hustle and bustle, there seems to be a sacred peace as we take time to pause and reflect. Even the Christmas music seems to change the very atmosphere to one of caring and sharing, in spite of commercialism.
My inherited three-foot-tall nutcracker kept guard between the kitchen and the hallway as I vacuumed the house and began singing Christmas songs to turn my thoughts. I anticipated the joy on the faces of my family. Just to keep us guessing, we would tell each other, “I know something you don’t know,” a little tradition my mother started years ago.
Behind me, the vacuum cord (yes, I still have one of that kind) had wrapped around my little guard’s feet while I was focused on “get ‘er done.” Not only did he fall, but to my surprise, he lost his head! I burst out laughing as anxious thoughts just melted away.
Isaiah 26:3 NKJV, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
Colossians 3:15 NIV, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
P.S. My little guard wasn’t too badly damaged in this ordeal. His head sits atop a little spindle of wood, easily reconnected and now tucked away for next Christmas.
Terri Branham is a wife and mother of two grown children. She lives in California’s Central Valley and enjoys e-bike riding. She attended Rhema Bible Training Center in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, in 1977-78. She is a Prayer Leader on the ZTeam.