All posts by Teri Maxwell

Teri Maxwell is wife to Steve for over 40 years, mom to eight children (three married), and grandma to eight. She loves keeping her home running smoothly and sharing with women in the vein of Titus 2:4&5. Teri homeschooled for thirty years, and she's graduated all her children. In between her other responsibilities, she manages to squeeze in writing time. She is co-author of the popular Managers of Their Homes and Managers of Their Chores. In addition, Teri's written three books just for ladies Homeschooling with a Meek & Quiet Spirit, Sweet Journey, and Sweet Relationships. She has been writing monthly encouragement articles for homeschool moms for 25 years. Find more information on Teri Maxwell and her books.

Where Is Your Heart?

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Have you read Psalm 119 recently? It is rich in a multitude of ways, and I love reading it. Lately these verses have grabbed my heart and challenged me.“Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart” (Psalms 119:2). “With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments” (Psalms 119:10).

Whole

That word “whole” used twice in these few verses is there for a purpose. We are to understand from verse 2 that blessing comes when we seek the Lord with our whole heart. It doesn’t mean just part of our heart or even most of it, but the whole heart, all of it. In verse 10, because the Psalmist is seeking God with his whole heart, he is asking God to help him not wander from his commandments. 

Israel Seeking

Israel often didn’t seek God with all their heart until they had suffered the consequences of their sin and not seeking him. Deuteronomy 4:27-29 says, “And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you. And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.”

We see this played out in real time when God tells Israel through Jeremiah that after their 70 years of captivity, they will seek Him and find Him. “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13-14).

Things Above

We also see this in the New Testament as Paul encourages us in Col 3:1, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” It seems this even gives us a clue about seeking Him. It is setting our minds on Christ, His Word, His truth, His ways.

ALL My Heart

So I asked myself: Am I seeking the Lord with ALL my heart? What would that look like in my daily life that isn’t happening now because I am not seeking Him with ALL my heart. I felt like the Lord gave me some solid, practical areas that needed to change in my life. One was pretty simple – my bathroom time. During that time, I think about all kinds of things, but I am generally NOT seeking the Lord. What if I were to meditate on memorized Scripture or pray each time I am in there to brush my teeth, blow my hair dry, shower, or whatever. Then I would be seeking the Lord.

I also thought about my time in the kitchen and exercising. I usually listen to something with my AirPods. Often it is Scripture, a sermon, or a Christian audiobook, but I also regularly listen to health related information. Don’t I have enough of the health stuff already? Honestly, it is usually more confusing and conflicting than helpful. As I purpose to seek Him with all my heart, I plan to keep that time and my thoughts for listening to Scripture, sermons, Christian audio books, or prayer. 

Finally, it was my daily Bible time. Seek Him, really truly seek Him. Don’t read just to read and move through my Bible, but seek Him, as I read. Have that desire in my heart – seek Him with all of my heart. My Bible time is very habitual and has been a part of my life for many years. If I enter it each day with the mindset of seeking Christ with all my heart, it isn’t routine. It is exciting, joyous, teaching, and growing me.  

What about You?

How would you categorize seeking the Lord with your whole heart? Some of you are homeschooling moms with long, busy days of serving in your family. What might that look like for you? Is it what you are doing now? Is it something you have done in the past, but isn’t where you would say you are today? May I encourage you – seek the Lord with your WHOLE heart. 

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Contentious Spirit or Biblical Respect

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Being a godly wife who desires a thriving marriage requires intentionality, grace, and a willingness to surrender our natural impulses to the wisdom of Scripture. For a Christian wife, Scripture specifically gives us one of the most profound ways to express love for her husband–respect (Eph 5:33). We often equate respect with conditional agreement, but the Word of God anchors it in a wife’s disposition and heart attitude. True respect often manifests not in what a wife says, but in what she chooses to release, allowing her husband the room to lead, make decisions, and grow into and be the spiritual head of the home.

The Erosion of Critique

Scripture draws a stark contrast between a home built on peace and one fractured by contention. Proverbs warns against the devastating impact of a critical spirit, noting that, “A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.” (Proverbs 27:15). When a wife constantly questions decisions her husband makes, frequently offers a “better” idea, or regularly corrects him, she becomes that repetitive, wearing drip. This relentless erosion chips away at a man’s confidence and his desire to lead. The toll of this friction is so severe that Proverbs twice declares, “It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide  house.” (Proverbs 21:9, 25:24). We want our husbands to find the home we make for him to be a sanctuary from the battles of the world, not the place where he fights more battles.

The Power of a Meek and Quiet Spirit

To counter the temptation we wives have of criticism, God calls us to cultivate a meek and quiet spirit. Peter encourages women to focus on an internal beauty that holds eternal value: “Even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price” (1 Peter 3:4). A meek and quiet spirit is not weak. Rather, it is strength under control. It is a spirit anchored in trust—not trust in a husband’s perfection, but ultimate trust in God’s sovereignty. When a wife refrains from correcting her husband’s every word or redoing his chores because they were not done her way, she creates an atmosphere where grace can flourish. She signals that her relationship with her husband is more valuable than being right.

Cultivating Biblical Respect

This meek and quiet spirit directly fuels the biblical command for outward behavior. In Ephesians Paul instructs, “And the wife see that she reverence her husband” (Ephesians 5:33). To reverence or respect a husband means to notice him, regard him, and honor him as the leader God appointed. When a wife constantly intercepts his choices with her own alternatives, she inadvertently communicates that she does not trust his judgment. By stepping back and letting his decisions stand—even when they might lead to a mistake—she honors his position. Men learn to lead by leading, and a husband will step into his leadership more fully when he knows his wife is cheering him on rather than grading his performance.

Ultimately, a wife’s choosing not to criticize, correct, or question her husband’s every decision is an act of worship of the Lord. It reflects a humble heart that trusts God to guide her husband. When a wife trades a contentious, dripping spirit for a meek and quiet one, she transforms her home into a place of peace. Her respect becomes the fertile soil in which her husband can confidently grow into the man, provider, and spiritual leader God created him to be. May I encourage you to listen and watch yourself. What spirit do you have toward your husband? 

Patiently Waiting

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 This morning my sister ended her daily morning text with, “Anyway, one day at a time with patience.” That is also my story because I am nine weeks away from a surgery I would be happy if I could have tomorrow but I must wait on the surgeon’s schedule. I wonder how many of us and how often we find ourselves living “one day at a time with patience”? I want to teach and remind my heart some truths from the Word to help me do well with “one day at a time with patience.”

Job’s Patience

“. . . Ye have heard of the patience of Job . . .” (James 5:11). Job suffered much. It wasn’t from his wrong doing, but because God allowed Satan to bring immense sufferings to prove Job’s faithfulness. Job didn’t understand why it all happened, but this is what he did: “Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped . . . In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly” (Job 1:20, 22). James says Job had patience. He experienced horribly trying circumstances but worshipped God through it. What an example Job is for me.

God’s Sovereignty

Patience involves waiting for a different outcome than I’m currently experiencing. If I really  believe God is sovereign and that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28), then I can patiently wait for however long it takes for Him to bring about the outcome HE desires. His way is always best and His timing as well even when I don’t understand, like Job didn’t understand. 

God’s Patience

“But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth” (Psalms 86:15). Longsuffering means patient. Think about how patient God has been first through out history and now with you and with me personally. We experience His patience every single day. How trivial and easy my patience becomes when I compare it to the immensity of His. So when I find myself becoming impatient, I realize I’m wanting MY way more then waiting for His way. This should break my heart and bring me conviction and repentance, leading me right back to patience. 

Learning Patience

How do I actually learn patience? “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience” (James 1:2-3). Patience comes about when I choose to be joyful in the midst of trying circumstances (which are what temptations are in this verse). I choose to trust in the sovereign Almighty God, Who lovingly directs the lives of those who are His. This is the way patience is developed in my life? Yes! To get there, I am to be joyful when my situation is hard? Yes, that’s exactly what Scripture tells me. 

Practically speaking for me counting it all joy in this situation is to be thankful for modern medicine and the availability of surgery to help me. It is to be excited about the changes my body will experience when healed from the surgery. For the next nine weeks, my mind could gravitate to all the unpleasant parts of surgery and recovery and the “what ifs” of it. But that is a spirit of fear not joy. 

 Living It Out 

These are what I am taking as my truths to live one day at a time with patience. Are you in a place where you are waiting and need to live one day at a time with patience? Maybe my Scriptural focus these next 9 weeks could be helpful for you. Perhaps there are other Scriptures the Lord would put on your heart that would be what you relate to and need through your “one day at a time with patience.” Whatever the case may be, I encourage you that taking “one day at a time with patience” is a solid, living in faith, response to circumstances you would change now, if you could.

Faith or Anxiety

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“Where faith begins, anxiety ends. Where anxiety begins, faith ends.” What do you think of those words? Do they have merit? That quote comes from George Müller, a Christian evangelist in the 1800’s famous for establishing orphanages in Bristol, England. He did not ask for money or donations, relying solely on prayer to provide for the thousands of orphans in his care. In my opinion, that man knew the reality of faith and anxiety better than most ever will.

Last month we talked about letting go of control. Why do we want to control? Often we are worried, anxious, or fearful about something so we try to do what we can to achieve the outcome we think is best. Our theme in last month’s Corner for overcoming control was trusting and obeying. He gives us responsibility for doing what He has called us to do – obedience. However, He hasn’t given us responsibility for the outcomes. We trust Him for those. Trust,which is faith, has the power to push anxiety out like the quote we started with says. But if you still find yourself with the worry and fear, what do you do?

Consider starting here. “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). “Be careful for nothing” means don’t be anxious or worried. We are to make that choice not to be anxious. We can do that by purposely not thinking about the anxious situation because the thoughts make us anxious.

What do we do instead of thinking about it? We pray. These verses explain the content of the prayer. We are to express thanksgiving and bring our requests to God. Isn’t that what 1 Peter 5:7 is also telling us to do? “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” We cast our cares on Him Who is able to deal with them. If praying in your head isn’t working for you, what about getting down on your knees and praying out loud? I have often found that I have to pray out loud and speak right thoughts out loud for them to take over the anxious thoughts. 

Then there is something that is to happen. God’s peace, a peace that doesn’t make sense, keeps our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. If that peace isn’t there, it likely means we are still holding on to control. We haven’t really cast our cares on Him. We aren’t thinking with faith and living in the mode of trust. If we give God our requests, the God of the universe is more than capable of handling them.

Then we have this verse: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee” (Isaiah 26:3). Wow! This is powerful. God wants our mind on Him not on our worries. When our minds are focused on our God, He keeps our hearts in “perfect peace.” Not just peace but “perfect peace.” Again we see our theme word – trust. Does it seem too simple? Would you say it doesn’t work? If so, I would ask if you have really done it. Have you taken your mind off the things causing the fear and anxiety and put your mind fully on Christ – worshipping Him, praising Him, thanking Him, and going through Who He is as God? Those are just three verses, but they are direct and clear. They are also easy to memorize. Can’t memorize? That’s what a very dear friend said to me for the past five years, but do you know what? She has just finished memorizing Psalms 121 and several other individual verses. She is thrilled. Her “I can’t” turned into “I can” when she put a little time and effort into it. What would those verses do hidden in your heart? “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalms 119:11).

Memorize the verses that are God’s truth and His plan to battle your fear, anxiety, and worry. Then obey them – just do what they say – over and over, if necessary. You have allowed yourself years and years and years of habitual anxious thinking. It will be a process as you let your faith truly begin as George Mueller said.

Can You Let Go?

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I can’t help but wonder if one of the greatest hindrances to us having peaceful and joyful hearts is our feelings of need to control. We may be strong in our desire to follow Jesus and be obedient to Him. However, in that zeal, the emotions surrounding our actions say that ultimately we feel the need to control outcomes. We emotionally respond as if we own the responsibility for the outcomes rather than trusting them to our Lord. I don’t believe we would say that is what we do, but our thoughts and emotions prove otherwise. 

One way I propose for you to evaluate this is to see if your life is characterized by the fruit of the Spirit, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23a). Or are you more often experiencing feelings of fear, worry, anxiety, irritability, anger, impatience, frustration, and harshness? 

When we try to control our lives, our children’s lives, and our husband’s lives – for a good reason of course, godly outcomes for all, we take on responsibility that isn’t ours. The resulting pressure is simply not what the Lord intends for us. He gives us responsibility for doing what He has called us to do – obedience. However, He hasn’t given us responsibility for the outcomes. We trust Him for those. That reminds me of a song most of us probably know, “Trust and Obey.” That’s what faith is all about – obeying the Lord and trusting Him through it. That is where we are to be whether the outcomes are what we want them to be or not. When this is the case, we don’t have to be upset, frustrated, or angry. Did God not say?

The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will. Proverbs 21:1

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

When you have those negative emotions, consider their roots. Then think through if you truly trusted God in the situation, what would the emotions be that were associated with the situation. Would they be negative or positive? I can’t help but wonder if for most they would be positive – that fruit of the Spirit. 

So then, the antidote to an attitude of control is faith – one that not only acknowledges God’s sovereignty intellectually but lives that way. It is praying when something happens that isn’t the way we wanted it to be, rather than crying or yelling. It is speaking the truth in our hearts that our trust is in God, not ourselves. It is responding to a situation over and over in a godly way without falling apart when it isn’t changing. It is casting our cares on the Lord and letting go of the continual anxiety created by a burden to control. “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7).

I believe when we evaluate our feelings of needing to control things and people around us, we will find that the Lord desires our faith and trust in Him as we obey His Word. May I encourage you to be faithful in fulfilling the responsibilities the Lord has given you. But in that process, let go of trying to control outcomes. In faith, leave them to the Lord. 

When Homeschooling Ends

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Homeschooling took up 30 years of my life, and now I have navigated 11 years since my last child graduated from homeschool high school. With the amount of time homeschooling consumes during those years, when that comes to an end, moms often feel lost, unsure of what they are to do next in life. During homeschooling those days are dreamed of, but when they arrive, they can be clouded with more questions than enjoyment. After all homeschooling moms have learned to be productive and efficient with their time. Now what?

As I approached the end of homeschooling, I asked the Lord to show me what He wanted for me with that time that would be freed up. I was concerned with having too much time and not enough to do! He didn’t give me a particular thing, but brought things into my life/path, bit by bit, that I knew I was to do. That seems to be typical of older “retired” homeschool moms I communicate with who. You don’t know – until God opens doors and directs you.

For me, the very first thing retirement from homeschooling meant was the reality of a dream of more early morning time in the Word. I went from 30 minutes each morning at the peek of homeschooling, to 45 minutes as our children got older, and now I have 1.5 hours, sometimes 2 if the weather is bad and I can’t walk. 

With my age, I have more health maintenance than I did in my younger years. Steve and I have walked together each morning before breakfast for many years, but now we have more time for the walks, enjoying our conversation time and prayer together. I need to do resistance training for bone density since I have osteoporosis. I also have back pain to manage so use a foam roller, inversion table, and do some other things for my back daily.

Many of you will be like me and have end of life care for one or both parents. That is more manageable when you don’t have hours of homeschooling to accomplish each day.

At one point after homeschooling, I was playing the piano for a small church we were in. I am not a very good pianist so needed to practice an hour a day. That was a a big time commitment that I couldn’t have done when I was homeschooling. We aren’t at that church anymore, but I usually play the piano a 1/2 hour a day now – just because I enjoy it – and I have the time – and I didn’t have time during my homeschooling years for any piano at all!

I have playtime/reading time each week with my local younger grandchildren and the ones who live a distance I have a FaceTime for an hour divided up to talk with each of them. That is a reasonable amount of time for a conversation. My playtimes and FaceTimes are scheduled for the same day and time each week. 

The Lord continues to give me opportunities to encourage moms through Titus2 and our local church in ways I couldn’t do during my homeschooling years. Many of you longed for a Titus2 woman in your life when you were homeschooling, but couldn’t find her in your church. Now you are that woman. Be involved in your church with younger women and women’s ministries so that you are available to them. 

“The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed”(Titus 2:3-5).

There is nothing earth shattering about my life and how God has me using my time. But at 70, I enjoy a pace of life that isn’t as pushed at it was during those 30 years of homeschooling and yet feels obedient to the Lord and therefore useful, making it fulfilling to me. 

I also want to encourage the younger homeschool moms to be careful not to make homeschooling your identity. When you do that, you are lost without homeschooling. When our identity is Jesus Christ, (“For to me to live is Christ . . .” Philippians 1:21a), homeschooling is a step of obedience to Him. Then when homeschooling ends, there are other things He brings to our lives that once again call us to obedience. Remember always – to live IS Christ!

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May Not Be Popular

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In the first epistle to Timothy, Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote concerning the ways that women were foolishly wasting their time. Today, if he was writing, might he say that enemy was the smart phone, social media, the internet, and computers? “But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry; Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith. And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully” (1 Timothy 5:11-14). That was specifically addressed to young widows, but the actions Paul denounces would seem to be wrong for any woman of any age, in any tepoch of history. Plus Paul gives the better way for a woman to invest her time – bearing children and guiding the house. God has gifted women for this critical role of eternal consequence. 

May I ask: Does this describe you? Have you cast off your first priority? Do you find time for your phone, social media, You Tube videos (just for education, of course!) but are lacking in  personal Bible reading and prayer each day? This is easy to test. You know how much time you spend reading your Bible a day, and your devices track how much time you spend on them. How do they compare? Twice as much in the Word? Half as much? None? 

These young widows had another problem. They had learned to be idle because they had time to go to other people’s homes to sit around talking and gossiping. Today, we don’t have to leave our homes to do this. It is in the palm of our hands with our phones. But we can do the exact thing and often do. We justify it by saying: it won’t take long, we need to decompress and that helps us (where best should we turn for that?), we think about how we give and give and give and just need a bit of time for ourselves (how many times did you pick up your phone and hang out on it?).

The time on the phone/social media/internet often steals time that is needed to “guide the house.” Guiding the house would involve household duties like meal planning, prep and clean up, grocery shopping and errands, cleaning, laundry, and gardening. For homeschoolers, it would include homeschooling. Are you keeping up there or behind?

Have you been having a conversation with someone and hear a little noise on their phone or just see them glance down? What usually happens? Do they disengage from the conversation for a moment, acting as if they aren’t, but you can tell they aren’t with you as they look at their phone? How often do you do that to your children? They see it. Don’t you want to be fully present in their lives when they are communicating with you? What kind of example do you want to set for them?

Sisters, I plead with you: guard your first priority. Don’t spend time on your phone, if you aren’t spending time in the Word and in prayer! Your time and attention is also precious to your family. Don’t rob your family of your time and attention on them by what you do on your phone or by letting its notifications interrupt (silence them)! Don’t deprive your family of an organized home with healthy meals because you want to do what you want to do on your phone. That phone/social media/internet is not your first love. Jesus Christ is to have that place and behind Him comes your family. For you to keep that the reality of your life, you have to stand against the tide of life as it is happening in 2026, just like those young widows had to stand against the tide of their lives when I Timothy was written.

A Word Fitly Written 

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Do you write notes to your children – little notes hidden in a place for them to discover, like under a pillow or in a pocket – notes filled with love, encouragement, and gratitude? “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” (Proverbs 25:11). As a mother who wants her children to grow spiritually and who desires to keep her children’s hearts, I encourage you to see the value in writing notes to them. 

“The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning” (Proverbs 16:21). The sweetness of your lips can be transferred to the written page. In your notes, you have the ability to share with a child what you see the Lord doing in his life and how you are praying for that child. You can thank a child for a special kindness he has done. “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works” (Hebrews 10:24).

These notes do not have to be long or complicated to be beneficial. “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones” (Proverbs 16:24). Your words in a note will be written reminders to your children of your love for them and your gratitude to the Lord for them.

“A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!” (Proverbs 15:23). In this verse, I read what I discovered myself. When I wrote my children notes, they not only encouraged my child but brought joy to my heart.

“The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart: and a good report maketh the bones fat” (Proverbs 15:30). Written notes are an excellent way to give a child a good report. We can focus on the work the Lord is doing in the child’s life that has led to our words of praise for him. We can express gratitude for the child’s obedience to the Lord’s working and promptings in his life.

Spoken words vanish in a flash except for the memory of them. However, written words can be kept, read, and reread for days, months, and even years. I have notes that Steve wrote me through the years, along with ones the children wrote, plus ones from others. These words were blessings and encouragements to me when I first read them. In addition, I have read them at various times through the years. Truly, they are treasures to me.

My notes to my children had several goals. I wanted them to express my love for that child. A second goal was to communicate positive spiritual growth that I observed in their life. My final goal was to share Scripture I was praying for them. My notes did not always meet all three goals, and they certainly had additional topics in them, but those goals gave me direction for the notes.

May I encourage you to take a few minutes from your busy day on a regular basis to bless your children (or husband, or grandchildren, or friends) by writing them encouraging notes. Small steps toward a goal are better than no steps at all. If you begin now to write one note a week, it would only take five or ten minutes from each week. In the course of a year, you would write fifty-two notes. What are you willing to sacrifice of your personal time to bless your children by writing to them your thoughts, feelings, and spiritual encouragement? Will you put them ahead of other activities on which you spend you time? May you be a mother who choose to build your relationship with your children and to spur them on to love and good works through your written words to them.

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CHRISTMAS DECORATING

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“If someone walked into your home this Christmas season, would they know by your decorations that you were celebrating the birth of your Savior, Jesus Christ?” Many years ago, this was a question asked of the congregation by our pastor. Upon hearing this statement, our whole perspective on Christmas decorating changed. “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him” (Colossians 3:17).

Prior to this, our Christmas decorating reflected what we thought looked nice and Christmassy. No thought was given to the importance of visibly making Christ’s birth the central theme of our decorations. The nativity was a part of our Christmas decorating. However, our decorations were also menagerie of items that had been given to us through the years. Snowmen, reindeer, and stockings were sometimes themes of these decorations. “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:8). This verse was good encouragement for us in leaving behind the worldly trappings of Christmas decorating.

DECORATIONS THAT FOCUS ON JESUS

That question challenged us to reevaluate the Christmas decorations we put up. Was the birth of Jesus evident, even at a casual glance? Would someone else, who didn’t know us, be able to see that we worship Jesus Christ? Would they know He was preeminent in our hearts and home? We realized a guest would observe some evidence of Christ since we had a very nice nativity set. However, the whole feeling of our Christmas decorating was closer to what the world thinks of when they think of Christmas than it was a celebration of the birth of Christ. We began purging our decorations to eliminate the ones we did not feel fit with the emphasis we wanted to have—celebrating the birth of Jesus.

The weeding-out part was easy except when there was sentimental attachment to an item. At that point, I would think about what I wanted my children’s hearts endeared to through years of putting up Christmas decorations. Did I want them excited about pulling out the reindeer from the Christmas box or delighted about opening the little glass nativity that sits on a mirror? Where would their joy be—in the cute little snowman or the wall plaque that says, “Jesus is the Reason for the Season”? The items that had heart attachment but no longer fit with our new decorating scheme were easier to let go of as I focused my mind on Christ being the theme.

I have to admit that, even with thinking right thoughts about eliminating decorations we no longer wanted to use, there were a few things that stayed in the boxes rather than coming out for the first couple of years. I simply couldn’t get rid of them. Finally a year came when the heart attachments were truly broken. Those items were pitched in the trash. “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:1-2).

We also began to pray for the Lord to show us where to find decorations that would have Him be the focus. What exactly would those decorations look like? The acquiring of replacement decorations was actually hard since so many Christmas decorations had nothing to do with the story of the birth of Christ.

It was just a year or so later we found a fireplace mantle garland with a large ornament hanging from the middle of it that said, “Name Above All Names.” There were smaller, scroll-shaped ornaments hanging on the sides with words on them such as, “Truth,” “Bread of Life,” “Emmanuel.” It was perfect for our new Christmas decorating theme. This became the focal point of our Christmas decorating, with our nativity set sitting on the mantle right above the “Name Above All Names.” 

Each year we prayed and looked, the Lord provided two or three Christ-centered decorations. We rejoiced in God’s goodness to give us decorations that kept our minds on His birth during the Christmas season.

CHANGED MY OUTLOOK ON DECORATING

The change in our Christmas decorating filled my heart with joy. I loved the excitement in our children’s eyes as they pulled out their favorite decorations from the Christmas storage boxes each year. Every item put our thoughts on Jesus Christ in some way. There were no more mixed messages being sent to our children. When a guest entered our home at Christmas, he no longer wondered what Christmas meant to the Maxwell family. He saw Jesus Christ everywhere he looked.

With Christmas fast approaching, may Jesus be known to your children even by your decorations. May you use them to draw your children’s hearts into a deeper love for Jesus as they experience the excitement of getting out those Christmas decorations that remind them of His birth. May your decorations also bring joy to your heart because they encourage you, your family, and any guests in your home to reflect on the magnificent miracle of the birth of our Savior.

A Grateful or Murmuring Woman?

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I want to be more thankful. It is easy for my thoughts to be stuck on problems, difficulties, unhappiness, or inconveniences rather than turning those into opportunities for gratitude. When my back hurts, rather than feel sorry for myself, a thankful heart is grateful for all I can do despite chronic back pain. When the day seems extra busy, rather than stress about it, a thankful heart praises God for each thing He sets before me to do. When a family member disappoints me, a thankful heart praises God for that loved one rather than allowing bitterness to creep in.

A thankful heart focuses on the positive and all that God is, does, and gives in our lives while an ungrateful one complains, seeing the negative. A thankful heart puts our minds on things above while ingratitude keeps them on ourselves and often grumbles in the process. 

Consider the following two verses:

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. 1 Corinthians 10:10

What do you see in the verses? There appears to be a huge contrast between thanksgiving and being in the will of God versus murmuring, the opposite of thanksgiving, that leads to destruction. Who do you want to be? I sure know the one I choose. Don’t we as Christian women desire God’s will in our lives? He tells us to give thanks in every thing. On the other hand, we can be complainers, and those who chose that in the Old Testament account were destroyed. 

Then there is a convicting and concerning verse in Romans about being thankful. It goes like this: “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened” (Romans 1:21). 

Dear Sisters, I believe this is serious, very serious, and I rebuke myself with it as well. We know God, so we must glorify Him as God – continually – and be thankful. When we aren’t thankful, we are complaining against the God of the Universe, and the One Who allows us to call Him, Abba Father. It is pride that takes us down that bad murmuring path, and the outcome is disastrous.

We don’t think of it in those terms, though. We justify and excuse our ingratitude and complaints, if we even consider that we don’t have a thankful heart and should. Maybe we think the complaint is just expressing truth and the way things are. We might deceive ourselves by saying the complaint is not a big deal and doesn’t really matter after all. Or we could say we aren’t ungrateful or complaining, but we are just pointing out areas that need to change (and that could be true and needed sometimes).  

Not only does gratitude keep our thoughts in the right place, but it makes us more pleasant people to live with. You may not even be aware of how depressing negativism is, with lack of thankfulness, to those around it. Don’t you want to bring smiles to your family? 

As we enter a month where we have a national holiday dedicated to thanksgiving, may we as believers be reminded again of the importance of thanksgiving every moment of every day. Challenge yourself to have grateful thoughts in your mind and when ingratitude enters, ask the Lord to help you turn it around.

Here are just a few more verses to help us keep this in the forefront of our minds.

“Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” ( Ephesians 5:20).

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6).

“Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2).

Trusting Jesus,
Teri Maxwell