• Home
    • Resources
    • The Gospel
    • Statement of Faith
    • Church Finder
    • Homemaking Courses
    • Privacy Policy
  • About
    • About Me
    • My Church Home
    • The Bar Podcast Network
  • Start Here
  • Free Library
    • Sign Up for Access
    • Enter Library (password required)
    • Meal Planning PDF
  • Shop
    • Homemaking Courses
    • TH Gear
    • Bookstore
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

Thankful Homemaker

Gospel-Driven Encouragement for Homemakers

  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Homemaking
    • Menu Planning Made Easy Course
  • Marriage
    • Marriage Series
  • Motherhood
  • Christian Living
    • Spiritual Disciplines Series
    • Sermon on the Mount
  • Homemaking Courses
  •  

Christmas Love – 1 Corinthians 13 Style

by Marci Ferrell
Encouragement Holidays Marriage Motherhood

213shares
  • Facebook 100
  • Twitter

I’d love to help you simplify your meal planning. Check out my new menu planning course here.

 
Love, 1 Corinthians 13 Style @mferrell
 

Christmas Love, 1 Corinthians 13 Style

“If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights, and shiny glass balls but do not show love to my family, I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing meals, and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime but do not show love to my family.  I'm just another cook.

If I work in the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home, and give all that I have to charity but do not show love to my family, it profits me nothing.

If I trim up the spruce with shimmering angels and crochet snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties, and sing in the choir's cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops cooking to hug the child.

Love steps aside the decorating to kiss the husband.

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table lines.

Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way.

Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return but rejoices in giving to those who can't.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.  Video games all break, pearl necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust.  But giving the gift of love will endure.”

~ Poem by Sharon Jaynes – taken from Celebrating a Christ-Centered Christmas 

 

The good news is that the one and only God, who is holy, made us in his image to know him. But we sinned and cut ourselves off from him. In his great love, God became a man in Jesus, lived a perfect life, and died on the cross, thus fulfilling the law himself and taking on himself the punishment for the sins of all those who would ever turn and trust in him. He rose again from the dead, showing that God accepted Christ’s sacrifice and that God’s wrath against us had been exhausted. He now calls us to repent of our sins and to trust in Christ alone for our forgiveness. If we repent of our sins and trust in Christ, we are born again into a new life, an eternal life with God.

 

This Christmas season may you come to know Jesus the perfect Lamb of God sacrificed for us that we may be filled with Christ’s true peace and joy. The ultimate gift!

You Might Also Like:
EP 100: Showing True Biblical Love to Our Husband
Bible Study Helps for Busy Moms
My Top 50 Cleaning Shortcuts

Jesus Answered. “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ~John 14:6

 

 

SaveSave

SaveSave

Related posts:

  1. Simple Ways to Keep Christ the Focus this Christmas Season
  2. EP 9: Christ-Focused Christmas Celebration Ideas
  3. Our Simple Family Christmas Traditions
  4. Thoughts to Ponder as You Celebrate Christmas


Free Resource Library

Get more posts like this in your inbox!

And while you’re at it, you’ll receive access to our FREE library of resources to help you in your homemaking!.

(I will not spam you. Read my privacy policy.)

« EP 11: Serving with a Mary Heart in a Martha Season
Podcast Episode 12: Simple Menu Planning Tips »

Comments

  1. Linda says

    at

    Thank you so much. I needed this.

  2. michelle cefalu says

    at

    Your a blessing! Have a very Merry Christmas!

    In His Love,

    Michellle

  3. Samantha Moore says

    at

    Beautiful and spot on! Thanks for sharing 🙂

  4. BuzzbeeCaroline says

    at

    This is such a wonderful poem! I think it really grasps the soul of the season. It is so easy sometimes to get distracted with all the business of life, when we really need to just pay attention to our blessings. Love this!

    Emily
    wildonlife.com

WEEKLY HOME CLEANING SCHEDULE SIDEBAR AD

Welcome to Thankful Homemaker

So thankful you’ve stopped by for a visit. Please grab a cup of coffee or tea and sit a bit. I hope to remind you that contentment in our role as homemakers begins with finding our satisfaction in Christ.

read more…

MENU PLANNING MADE EASY SIDEBAR AD

Categories

  • Bible Study
  • Christian Living
  • Holidays
  • Homemaking
  • Marriage
  • Menu Planning
  • Motherhood
  • Podcast
  • Time Management

thankfulhomemaker

Marci Ferrell
I know we can all relate to self-pity as women, wi I know we can all relate to self-pity as women, wives, and mothers.  How many times do we focus on our needs that aren’t met?  Unfair situations or circumstances?  Self-pity is a selfish tendency that takes our eyes off Christ and puts them on ourselves.  We forget that “God works all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” Are we able to give God “thanks in all things”?⁣
⁣
Come take a listen to EP 105: Practical Steps to Overcome Self-Pity at the link in my profile (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image).
"Your household is the most important schoolroom y "Your household is the most important schoolroom your children will ever know. And the lessons they learn don't begin and end when you crack open the family Bible. They are always watching and learning from your example—often without even realizing it. That's a tremendous responsibility and opportunity for Christian parents—one that we must make the most of, for God's glory and our children's good."⁣
 ~ John MacArthur⁣
⁣
Come listen to EP 20: The Blessings of Loving Our Children at the link in my profile @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image).
"The visible church is where you will find Christ' "The visible church is where you will find Christ's kingdom on earth, and to disregard the kingdom is to disregard its King."⁣
~ Michael Horton⁣
⁣
Read - Building Loving Relationships In Your Church Family at the link in my bio @thankfuhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image).
Isaiah 48:10:Behold, I have refined you, but not a Isaiah 48:10:Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;  I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.⁣
⁣
Israel is being refined for the honor and glory of the Lord. I need the reminder that everything the Lord allows in my life is for my good and His glory. All that He does and allows is to further His eternal purposes. ⁣
⁣
He continues to remove the dross from my life in the furnace of affliction, and through each trial and circumstance of my life, the hope is I'm becoming more and more molded and shaped into the image of Christ. ⁣
⁣
Susan Huntington shared on this passage:⁣
"...if our blessed God sees that the disciple, like his Master, must be made perfect through sufferings, ought we not to welcome every means which will conduce to this blessed end? Can we desire to be babes in Christ all our days? If it is a proof of sonship to be chastised, may it not prove a special favor to be greatly chastised? ⁣
⁣
If we were asked what the greatest good is, should we not answer that it is conformity to God? If we were asked what the best circumstances are for the Christian to be placed in, should we not answer that they are those that will, most constantly and most effectually, promote his conformity to God? Shall we then pray for afflictions? By no means. We are weak, and are crushed before the moth. We should not pray for what we do not know that we could bear. ⁣
⁣
We should habitually pray for conformity to God, and quietly leave it to Him to determine by what means He will effect this blessed end."⁣
⁣
-Excerpt taken from my favorite devotional - Seasons of the Heart: A Year of Devotions from One Generation of Women to Another by Donna Kelderman (link to the book is in my profile @thankfulhomemaker - click on the link under the blue arrows, and then this image).
Preaching the gospel to yourself. It's a phrase we Preaching the gospel to yourself. It's a phrase we've all heard, and we all agree with, but deep down, we're like, okay, what does that look like? Or how do I make that practical in my day-to-day life when my marriage is hard? Or the kids are out of control? Or there's an illness in my family, or I'm just stuck in a sinful pattern? Or the house is in chaos, and I don't know where to begin? ⁣
⁣
The reality is we're always saying something to ourselves in our minds, especially in those moments of chaos or difficulty. ⁣
Is what we're speaking to ourselves centered on the truths of God's Word, or are we buying into the lies of the world? ⁣
We need to be talking to ourselves and not just listening to ourselves. But what do we need to be talking to ourselves about? ⁣
⁣
This is what we're going to work through together in EP 69: Preaching the Gospel to Yourself - link in my bio @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image).
"Your worst days are never so bad that you are bey "Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God's grace."⁣
~ Jerry Bridges⁣
⁣
Read more at God's Blessing Does Not Depend On Our Performance at the link in my bio @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image).
How many times at church do you find yourself disc How many times at church do you find yourself discussing non-spiritual things? As believers, our relationships with others in the body of Christ are unlike anything non-believers will ever experience. It is such a joy when you come across another Christian that you haven't met before, and because of the common bond of Christ, it is as if you have known them forever.⁣
⁣
I have a favorite book that gets used quite often by Donald S. Whitney called Simplify Your Spiritual Life. In the section, Simplifying our Spiritual Life with Others, he guides us to drive the conversations into the spiritual. Wouldn't we all as believers like our conversations with other believers to be directed towards things related to knowing God, Bible reading and application, theology, evangelism, and prayer, to name a few.⁣
⁣
Mr. Whitney shares some questions that are a natural help in directing your conversations with your brothers and sisters in the faith to the spiritual.  This is a handy list to keep in your Bible, planner, or purse.⁣
⁣
The link to the questions is in my bio @thankfulhomemaker (click on the link under the blue arrows and then this image).
"If there is one maverick molecule in all the univ "If there is one maverick molecule in all the universe, then God is not sovereign. And if God is not sovereign, He is not God."⁣
~R. C. Sproul
Thoughts to ponder on the resurrection from John M Thoughts to ponder on the resurrection from John MacArthur:⁣
The basic truth of the resurrection undergirds a number of other truths.⁣
⁣
1. It gives evidence that the Word of God is totally true and reliable. Jesus arose precisely when and in the way He had predicted (see Mt. 12:40; 16:21; 17:9, 23).⁣
⁣
2. The resurrection means that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, as He claimed to be, and that He has power over life and death.⁣
⁣
3. The resurrection proves that salvation is complete, that on the cross Christ conquered sin, death, and hell and rose victorious.⁣
⁣
4. The resurrection proves that the church has been established. Jesus had declared, “I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it” (Mt. 16:8)… His resurrection proved that death itself could not prevent Christ from establishing His church.⁣
⁣
5. The resurrection proves that judgment is coming. Jesus declared that the heavenly Father “has given all judgment to the Son” (Jn. 5:22), and since the Son is now risen and alive, His judgment is certain.⁣
⁣
6. The resurrection of Jesus Christ proves that heaven is waiting. Jesus promised, “In My house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you” (Jn. 14:2). Because Christ is alive by the resurrection, believers have the assurance that He is now preparing a heavenly dwelling for them.⁣
⁣
~Above via John MacArthur - Matthew Commentary 24-28, Moody, 1989, p. 314-315.
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Access the FREE Library!

Copyright © 2021 Thankful Homemaker · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy & Disclosure

Copyright © 2021 · Divine Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Email