Daily Challenge #6

Merry Christmas to you.

 

Hope you're filled with the spirit of generosity, patience, and self-control.

As Christmas quickly approaches, the challenge for this day is to put down all your electronic throughout the Christmas break. Get away from all the gadgets, so that you can spend time with your family and friends. Pull out a board game and play it with someone. Refrain from playing all those Facebook games during this extended break. Turn off the TV and computer. Make time to accomplish tasks around your house which you have been avoiding. Make a cup of tea, then sit and enjoy it in quiet. Find ways to relax – without filling your mind with mindless activities all by yourself. Get others involved.

 

Don't let this Christmas season slip by without giving 'Thanks' to the One who is the giver of all good gifts. (Matthew 7:11) Spend some quiet moments enjoy the presence of your Father in Heaven. Get away from all the distraction so that He can speak to you. Listen for His voice. You may be blow away at what He says to you.

 

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Luke 2:10

Daily Challenge #5

Good morning,

Are you ready for another Daily Challenge?

As Christmas approaches, our church always focuses outside of our church walls to see where there is need in the world. And since my passions involves world missions, I wanted you to join me a little challenge to make a difference in the lives of those outside of America.

I'm inviting for you to adopt a country for a week.  I want for you to investigate the needs of whatever country you choose. Google the country to see what news has happened there recently. Look up what the houses look like in this country. Find pictures of the people of this country - get to know them. Find out where the kids go to school.  Look up who a missionary is in this country. Email the missionary - send them a word of encouragement.

 

This is the real challenge: to pray. Pray for the country's leaders. Pray for the Spirit of the Lord to release His liberty and salvation over this country. Pray for the Christians in this country to stand up for Christ. Pray for the missionaries to be guarded against the devil's schemes. Pray for the children to be protected from sexual explotation.

 

Here's a great resource to help with this:

Operation World 

This link is a website which allows people to pray each day for a different country around the world. It offers information about each country and various needs of Christians in those countries.

 

I'm choosing the country of Azerbaijan, which sits in between Russia and Iran. When I was in high school, I was signed up to go on a mission trip to Azerbaijan, but it was canceled due to the political unrest in the country. I still would love to visit there, to see what the people in the capitol of Baku eat, what their homes look like, where the kids go to school, how they respond to wealth or poverty, etc.

 

I would love to hear which country you have chosen to adopt for the week.

 

-tanya

 

 

Daily Challenge #4

Daily Challenge #4

Clutter: (verb) to run in disorder, (noun) to fill or scatter with disordered things that impede movement or reduce effectiveness

My house is the epitome of this description. With 5 people living in a smaller house, we tend to spill over into every area of our living space. Here's an example: the Christmas tree takes up ¼ of our dining room. We also have a desk in the dining room for homework. I have a rather large plant stand in the dining room, because that room gets the most light. We have a round 4-person table with spinning chairs in the dining room. Carson usually likes to drive his cars in the dining room, because it has wood floors. Our shoes tend to end up in the dining room, because the front door opens into it. We usually eat dinner in the dining room together as a family. Oh, there is also a small book shelf to stash pencils and paper and a dictionary and cards. That's just one room. There's just STUFF all over.

So today's challenge is to find an area in your house which needs sorting. Perhaps it's the fridge or a closet. Perhaps every room in house needs a little sorting (like mine). Whatever the case, try a little de-cluttering.

When our house gets out of control, it feels like our moods seem to follow. Troy and I do best when things are set in a specific place. Troy is good at making sure things stay tidy; it's me who tends to create piles and stacks. Our bedroom is the perfect example. I have my clothes laying folding in piles on the floor, and he's really great about putting all his clothes away in drawers or on hangers.

It's good for the soul to do some cleaning.

Remember: Give, Keep, Toss – the 3 keys words to sorting anything.

Tanya