Each Christmas season, my sisters and I try and think of a new way to draw our children’s attention away from “getting” and towards “giving.” This year Mike and I decided to have Caly begin sponsoring a child with Covenant Mercies.
For those of you who aren’t aware, Covenant Mercies is a “gospel-centered non-profit organization” dedicated to “serving the poor, the orphan, and the widow.” This ministry is an auxiliary of Covenant Fellowship Church—the Sovereign Grace Church located in Philadelphia, PA. We girltalkers are privileged to know the Covenant Mercies director, Doug Hayes, and I am so excited for our family to be able to participate with this ministry in the great work they are doing around the world.
This morning Caly and I sat down together and had a talk about Christmas and this new opportunity. I was able to remind her again about how blessed she is and how there are many children who don’t even have enough food to eat or warm clothes to wear—forget about Christmas presents. And through an organization like Covenant Mercies we can play our small part in caring for one of these children. So we turned on the computer and I helped her sign up to become an official sponsor.
Such a small thing, but I’m praying that the Lord would use it to help Caly grow in love this Christmas, and give a child she may never meet a glimpse of the Savior’s love.
One reason we shouldn’t listen to our fears is because they lie. Fear not only fails to accurately predict the future, it also tells lies about the Word and the character of God.
Fear says: God won’t come through for you and your children. God doesn’t care about the nitty-gritty problems of your relationship. You’ve messed things up too badly this time. Your child’s problem is too big. They are too far gone. There is no hope.
Fear dares to suggest a future without God. Fear challenges the sovereignty of God, questions His wisdom, doubts His love and mercy, defies His Word.
“But my fears feel so real.” I once complained to a wise pastor’s wife. “I know” she replied, “They wouldn’t be good lies if they didn’t feel true.”
Which is why we must never rely on our feelings as a litmus test for truth. “I am determined” said Mr. Spurgeon, “that if all my senses contradict God, I would rather deny every one of them than believe that God could lie.”
Every time we are tempted to fear, we have a choice. We must choose between believing our own fickle, sinful, “sense” or God’s faithful, righteous Word. If we trust our fears, we are calling God a liar.
That’s one very good reason to stop listening to ourselves.
Happy Monday, everyone! Let me quickly draw your attention to a wonderful audio companion to Nicole’s post from last Thursday. If you find yourself in need of applying Dr. Lloyd Jones’ counsel to start “talking to yourself” then you may be served by a message my dad gave at Next 2008 entitled “The Troubled Soul: God’s Word and Our Feelings.” He elaborates on that comment by Dr. Lloyd Jones, and teaches us from Scripture what we should be talking to ourselves about. This message is one of my “regulars”—I’ve lost count of how many times I have listened to it. Perfect background for tackling that Christmas baking and wrapping!
“Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?” Martyn Lloyd-Jones
This is revolutionary, biblical, fear-fighting counsel for mothers. And it comes in two parts:
1. Stop listening to yourself 2. Start speaking to yourself
First, we must stop listening to our fears. We must not give them any “air time.”
The critical moment is when a fearful thought first strikes our soul: “What if _________happens to my child?” or “What if my child never___________?”
If we listen—even for a moment, if we give this fear any attention, consider its potential, wonder at its source, soon we begin to believe it might be true. The more we ponder this possibility, the more believable the fear becomes. Soon it is joined by other, more fearsome, thoughts; and before we know it, we’re overwhelmed by hopelessness and dread.
A wise pastor once gave me this advice: “If any thought robs you of peace, it is an enemy of your soul; give it no recognition.”
Give it no recognition. Ignore it. Disregard it. Close your ears to it. Pay it no mind.
We must not yield the floor to fear. We must filibuster our fears by speaking truth to our souls.
It’s the first day of December and the Christmas rush is upon us. But we don’t have to get caught up in Christmas craziness. We can choose, instead, to make it our first duty of each day to seek God through His Word and prayer. Last year we ran a series, “Sitting Out the Holidays”, and I’ve reposted the links below (or you can download and print this pdf file). We hope these articles encourage you to make your Christmas season full of sweet communion with the Savior.
For those of you who aren’t aware, 
Sitting Out the Holidays
