Peace On Earth

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests. Luke 2:14

The other day while checking out at the post office, the woman helping told me that she’ll try to be efficient because “I don’t need any more stress in my life this time of year.”

Something doesn’t seem right. The season of year that should be the most joyous and peace-filled can often be the busiest and most stressful.

Imagine the scene…imagine the stress two thousand years ago. Augustus had issued a decree that everyone must travel to their hometown to register. The roads were crowded, the city was crowded, everyone was in a hurry. Who had time to pause and recognize the birth of a baby in a smelly stable?

God reveals himself to those who have the time to listen. Could it be, perhaps, that lowly shepherds were the few people who weren’t too busy to pause and notice?

God’s peace entered the busy, stress-filled town of Bethlehem. Holiness dwelt in the midst of the hectic.

But did they pause to notice and consider the amazing gift God had given them? Will we?

“Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11

The Purpose of Christmas

The Purpose of Christmas

This Sunday, we’re beginning our Christmas series, The Purpose of Christmas.

I love the Christmas season, yet it seems that there is a disconnect between the story of Christmas and the message of Christmas. The story is familiar and when stories become familiar, the original message can lose its power and potency.

When an angel of the Lord appeared before the shepherds the night Jesus was born, the Bible says they were terrified. I wondered why their first reaction was one of fear, yet then thought, would my response be any different? I used to dread getting in trouble at school. How about you? When your boss calls you into his office, is your natural response one of fear? 

Paralyzed by fear, the shepherds assumed God had bad news, but the news He had to share was magnificent. The message of Christmas is good news for all people! In spite of what you’ve done or haven’t done, God sent what you needed the most—a Savior. When you embrace the message of Christmas, God gets all the glory and you get peace. That’s good news!

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10-11

Christmas Services

This morning, our Grace Bible Honolulu 'ohana celebrated Christmas together. We had lots of music, lots of food and a great time. 


Gregg talked about The Gift of a Savior. Jesus is our savior! We can now approach God, not because of what we have or haven't done, but because of what God did for us through his Son, Jesus!


Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10,11)


I'm so thankful that I don't have to journey through life alone, but have others with whom to walk. I've linked the photos and hope you enjoy them. 


http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=131658&id=85054433235&ref=mf

Mele Kalikimaka!

The Meaning of Life According to Jojo

This morning, Gregg asked our 6-year-old, Jordan, what he thought was the meaning of life. Without hesitation, Jordan shot back, “To spend time with each other.”

Not bad for a 6-year-old. Something so simple, yet so easy to miss and overlook. Sometimes it takes children to remind us of the things that are truly important. We can invest so much time in the urgent needs, tasks and responsibilities that we push aside the things that should matter the most: our love for God and people.

Amidst the activity of this season, I hope you are able to pause and reflect on God’s amazing love for you revealed through the gift of his Son, Jesus. And as well, to make the time to enjoy those special people God has placed in your life.

Gotta go. Going to take the two little ones to ride the Christmas train at Ala Moana. 

Making Room for Christmas

Do you ever feel as if you have more things on your schedule than you have time to do them? Too often I succumb to the pressure to get the most out of my life by cramming my schedule with as much as possible and stretching myself to the limit. I say, yes, to the sporting activities for the children, then I say, yes, to volunteer at the school. And I say, yes, again to coffee dates, play dates, sleepovers, . . .. 

I add, add, add, 

plan, plan, plan, 

schedule, schedule, schedule; 

and then wonder why I’m not really able to enjoy anything. 

This Sunday, Gregg will be talking about creating margin in our lives. Something of which I continually need to be reminded to do because I thrive on being productive.

God created us with limits and when we approach these limits, we squeeze out the margin and run the risk of burning out ourselves and those around us.

God invites us to live differently–to live with margin. Margin is the leftover, the extra, unhurried, unscheduled space. It is in the margin of life, where we are able to experience and truly enjoy life and relationships.

As the Christmas season is upon us, I want resist the temptation to spend it running from activity to activity—rushing around, stressed out. I desire margin. Time to reflect, time to pause, time to value people, time to enjoy and appreciate life. 


Most importantly, to take the time to slow down and consider the precious gift of God’s Son, Jesus, who entered a little, stressed-out, margin-less city of Bethlehem that was just too busy to even notice.