{"id":6011,"date":"2014-12-03T05:00:55","date_gmt":"2014-12-03T11:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/?p=6011"},"modified":"2014-12-03T05:00:55","modified_gmt":"2014-12-03T11:00:55","slug":"the-preparation-of-a-holiday-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/the-preparation-of-a-holiday-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"The Preparation of a Holiday Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"frosted\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She was coming.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yes, I\u2019d invited her, but I really hoped she’d be unable to come.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After all, she intimidated me. Her clothes were better. Her house was bigger. Her lifestyle was best. And yet, it was Christmas. I was supposed to have peace and good will toward all – even her.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So, as I had always done, I began to dread the holiday. I moped as I put up the tree, sulked as I wrapped and brooded over my hot spiced punch. Even Bing Crosby\u2019s \u201cRound and Round the Christmas Tree\u201d didn\u2019t have its usual appeal.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Then one morning, without much ado, the Lord spoke to me afresh in His Word. It was a verse I\u2019d memorized as a college student and had highlighted in every Bible I owned. Yet, today the verse spoke directly to me: \u201cDo not regard equality a thing to be grasped, Kandy\u201d<\/em> (Philippians 2:6).<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I knew that Jesus hadn\u2019t grappled about His rights with God, but somehow, I\u2019d never thought about this particular verse applying to my life as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This was\u00a0my problem though.\u00a0I wanted her to view\u00a0me just as brilliant, just as well dressed, and just as well liked as she was.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But here He pierced my heart and opened\u00a0my eyes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cEquality isn\u2019t your goal,\u201d<\/em> He revealed anew.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSo, what is?\u201d<\/em> I countered. \u201cJust how am I to pass those days with her here in my midst?\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And then, as He so often does, He answered in His still small voice with\u00a0the next verse: \u201cEmpty yourself. Take the form of a servant\u201d<\/em> (Philippians 2:7).<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Although written in black and white, my heart pulsed, knowing that the Word was speaking directly at\u00a0my festering attitude.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As I received these words, others flooded immediately to mind:<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThat you be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the Truth\u201d<\/em> (Ephesians 4:23-24).<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLet no unwholesome Word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification, according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear\u201d<\/em> (Ephesians 4:29).<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Before I could talk myself out of it, I grabbed a little notebook and jotted down these words. I knew my weakness toward forgetfulness and tucked the truths in the shelf above the toilet in my bathroom. I would refer to them often during that holiday weekend, especially when the tempter whispered \u201cequality\u201d into my ear.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure what kind of holiday she had. But I found that I had the best time with her I ever had – allowing her to be herself and following my divine instructions to make sure the needs of my guests were met.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Who are you dreading seeing this holiday? Could it be that you have been seeking the foreground, when the Father is calling you into\u00a0the background? Let\u2019s pray for one another in this area\u2026okay?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Holiday<\/a><\/p>\n

.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  She was coming.   Yes, I\u2019d invited her, but I really hoped she’d be unable to come.   After all, she intimidated me. Her clothes were better. Her house was bigger. Her lifestyle was best. And yet, it was Christmas. I was supposed to have peace and good will toward all – even her.   So, as I had … <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[761,542,565,169,511,569,112,883,435,11],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6011"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6011\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hungryformore.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}