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Don’t worry, this is not a post about those terrible menaces to our beloved doggy pets! Those are something all pet owners work hard to prevent. The heart worms I am talking about are quite welcome in my life.

I have eight biological children ranging in age from twenty-two to eight. We figured that some day most, if not all, of them would bring home spouses that we would also love and cherish. I didn’t realize that along the way, other children would find their way into our family.

We have not officially adopted any children, but somehow, to date, I have a total of sixteen children! There are eight other children that have wormed their way into my heart and have become my “kids.” They are all amazing young people from all different kinds of backgrounds, but they all have a need for love and a big capacity for love.

When my biological children were still all mostly small, people would say I had my hands full. Now, I realize that at times I may have had my hands full, but my heart wasn’t too full. My heart has been able to expand with each child that has “wormed” its way into it. God has expanded my capacity to love each one.

I am so glad that our Heavenly Father’s heart is the same way. He has the biggest heart of all. He is just waiting to adopt us into his family through what his Son did for us. Just like my house at dinner time, God always has room for one more at his table!

I love what the book of Romans chapter 8 has to say about this, “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.” It goes on to say, “the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.'” We can even have assurance of our adoption into God’s family, “The Spirit himself testifies that we are God’s children.” (These verses are from Romans 8:14-16.)

This is good news for all of us, no matter what our past or current family may be like. We can be a part of God’s family by accepting what Jesus did for us in his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension!

“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.'” Galatians 4:4-6

It is no secret that we live in a consumer society. Our national motto could be, “More is always more!” Because of this, we encounter admonitions to be content with what we have and ways to save money in places from Facebook to the self-help section of Barnes and Noble. (Yes, there are still brick-and-mortar bookstores these days!) We will also be encouraged to practice gratitude through sermons and through other Bible teachers. With all of that, it may come as a surprise that I am going to encourage you to pursue more.

Don’t misunderstand though, I am not saying you should go out and buy the latest, greatest that the marketers are pushing on you. What I am advocating more of is something quite different. Which one of us wouldn’t want more time, more peace, more security, more rest, more comfort?

Going back to the self-help shelf, there are many, many books that promise to deliver a method or formula to find these things. Some of these are helpful, but only as far as we can do them in our own strength. However, there is a way that we can pursue that does deliver all of those things and even more!

The early pursuers of more identified themselves simply as “The Way.” They knew they were on a journey towards not an ideal, but a person. Jesus was the one who had told them that He Himself was this way, and the truth, and the life. These sold-out followers believed Him and set out after more–more life, more truth.

This Christmas season, I encourage you to also pursue more of Jesus. As you do, let the “more” that He gives you spill over into the other people in your life. I pray that together you can enjoy the peace, love, and joy of Christmas.

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

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7

Almost every summer for the past eighteen years, my family has descended on the berry bushes that grow abundantly in our area to gather the delicious fruit they offer. From the time they have been old enough, my children learn to help pick blackberries.

Usually, when they first begin, they eat more than they put in their baskets, their little faces showing the telltale purple streaks. As they get older though, they begin to realize that the more berries they bring home, the more jars of delicious blackberry jam end up in the cupboard to be enjoyed throughout the year. They also know they will be tasting the fruits of their labors in Thanksgiving pies and in cobblers.

I have realized that there are other benefits to this activity than just yummy berries. If you have ever tried to pick blackberries growing wild, you will know it is not easy. They tend to ripen in the hottest part of summer. This means that unless you want to pick in the heat, you have to get up early. Not only do the bushes have thorns, but they grow long “guard branches” over the main part of the bush which produces the berries. You have to either stomp this down, or cut it back. No matter how cautious you try to be while picking, inevitably a thorn will prick your hand. The benefits from all these hardships come in the form of learned tenacity.

Jesus never promised us an easy life, in fact, He promised us that we would have troubles. In the Bible, Paul even described his trouble as a “thorn in his side.” When my kids learn how to overcome the discomfort of blackberry picking, it can empower them to overcome the other “thorns” they encounter in life.

Picking berries also teaches persistence. Like most things in life that happen a step at a time, we fill our baskets one berry at a time. There is simply no way to grab handfuls of berries, no short cuts. This helps them learn skills that translate into areas such as learning to save money a little at a time or how to keep at a large task until it is completed.

The children also learned how to motivate themselves each year by setting goals of how many baskets they want to pick. My family is extremely competitive so goals are a huge motivator for us. I have watched my children use this skill of goal-setting in so many other areas of life.

I am so thankful that God has allowed these plants to grow and provide my children with not only delicious fruit, but fruit of character which will last far longer than the jars of jam on our shelves!

“Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

Generations of us are now acquainted with James Bond’s familiar quote about wanting his martini “shaken, not stirred.” I am sure those more knowledgeable in the art of martini-making have argued the finer points of his request since he first uttered it. I find that in life, I would prefer to be the opposite, I want to be stirred, but not shaken.

There are many things, good and bad, that come into our lives that can stir us. These things can stir us emotionally, bringing feelings to the surface. They can stir us to action, whether that action is based on love or maybe something else. The ESV Bible says we should, ” consider how to stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24). Stirring can be a good thing, it can get us moving and energize us for work in God’s kingdom.

On the other hand, being shaken is not always a good thing. We sometimes use the phrase, “my faith was shaken.” What we are really saying is that our belief in a good God was shaken. This can be a difficult thing to go through. The reality is that we live in a fallen world where sometimes, in fact oftentimes, bad things happen to good people.

It is during these “shaking” times that it is so important to stay connected with other followers. This is when we can comfort one another and just be there for each other. When the time is right, we can encourage each other with truth from God’s word. This truth is that God knows all the terrible things that shake us, it is not His ideal for us, but there is an end in sight when once again all will be put right and we will no longer be shaken in that way.

If we follow Jesus’ teaching about building our lives on the firm foundation of His word, we can be more prepared for when the shaking times come. Just as the wise man who built his house upon the rock withstood the storm when it came, we will be more able to withstand the events of this world when they come against us with earthquake-like force.

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.” Matthew 7:24-25a

In a way, it is somewhat surprising that it has taken this long before I wrote about my beloved spider plants. Even though I do NOT love the arachnids from whence they derive their names, spider plants are by far my choice of plants to grow.

I have joked in the past that my love of these plants comes from their similarity to myself: they are extremely resilient; they are not high maintenance; and they have lots of babies! The real reason I love these plants though, is that they survive the harshest extremes my area’s climate can dish out. I have always longed to have a “green thumb” like my mother and grandmother had. My grandma could grow anything from just a twig and my mother successfully grew some of the more delicate species of plants. It seemed to take a long time for my “black thumb” to change to green, but it finally did, thanks in large part to the tenacious spider plant.

I cannot remember where I acquired my first spider plant. It was before we moved to our house more than seventeen years ago. We moved in in February, and I inadvertently left this plant outside unattended. My children were ecstatic when we experienced a snowfall shortly afterwards. When the snow melted, I found that my poor plant had frozen to what I thought was an untimely death. As busy as I was, I left the pot to sit outside until I could repurpose it in the spring. Much to my surprise, however, when spring arrived, there were some new, green, spiky leaves poking up in the pot! By summer, the plant had fully regrown and had even multiplied with spider plant “babies” hanging over the sides of the pot. I snipped off the babies, rooted them in water, and planted them in pots of their own. These plants have continued to do well, making it through our hot, hot summers and our cold, sometimes snowy winters.

It actually took me a couple of years to discover the secret of the spider plant’s strength. The time had come to repot one of the plants. When I shook the dirt off the roots, I found not the spindly little roots that I was used to in other plants, but thick, tuber-like roots capable of storing water and nutrients. No wonder my plant had survived the harsh winter that first year! Even though there was nothing showing on the surface, my plant had stored what it needed to make it through and flourish in the next season.

Maybe you have already guessed where I am heading with this story. In the Bible, we are taught several times to be “rooted” in Jesus. Most of the time when I read that, I had pictured a tree standing tall with a root system to match what I could see above ground. I think the real picture of this rooting, at least during the more difficult or harsh times in our lives, is much more like my spider plants. We may have absolutely nothing left to give in an especially hard season, but if we are deeply rooted in Jesus, we have everything we need to flourish again. Like the spider plant, we can have a deep reserve hidden underneath. For us, this reserve comes in the form of God’s word hidden in our hearts and from the comfort of the Holy Spirit within us.

The other way we as followers are like my spider plants is in our multiplication. It is a strange phenomenon, but throughout history and around the world, whenever Christians are persecuted, the Church grows exponentially. Most of my friends, if they are plant people, have received a spider plant baby from me. Just like the Church, it almost seems that the years my plants go through the harshest weather are the years they produce the most offspring. Again, God gives us deep resilience when we rely on Him. The important thing is to soak up His word during our good times just as my plants soak up nutrients for difficult times.

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” Colossians 2:6-7

I learned something interesting about guinea pigs recently…when they are happy they jump! This behavior of theirs is called “popcorning.” I can just imagine a group of happy guinea pigs jumping around like little popcorn kernels.

I found this especially funny because two of my children do something similar when they are happy. My twelve-year-old has always been our “sugar monster.” Despite my best efforts at nutrition, the thing that makes her bounce up and down with sheer delight is anything sweet. This can be a dessert like cake or ice cream, but the treat that really gets her on her toes is jelly beans. If you want to see a twelve-year-old “popcorn” like a happy guinea pig just bring my daughter jelly beans!

With my other daughter, music is the source of her bounces and wiggles. For her whole eight years of life, whenever she hears music, she immediately starts moving. If she has the space, she breaks out in full on dancing! It is so joyful and full of life, that most of the time she gets those of us around her to join in.

It seems that children–and evidently guinea pigs–have joy built into them by God. For whatever reason (maybe a lot of reasons in some of our lives) our joy seems to grow less and less as we get older. We lose that spontaneous ability to laugh, jump, spin or “popcorn” our happy moments. It is partly the cares of this world and partly our ideas of how “grown-ups” should act. Even as followers of Jesus, we can have incorrect ideas about how we should experience joy or happiness.

For a long time, I had been taught that happiness was not something followers of Jesus should pursue. Rather, we should rely on an underlying joy to get us through tough circumstances. Oddly, this led to a lot of guilt on my part whenever I would experience happiness. I also tried to keep myself strictly contained, not “looking forward” to things or pursuing things that would give me what I was taught was “frivolous” happiness. I am blessed to have a mentor who has shown me that this type of thinking is not only incorrect, but that the Bible talks about joy over and over. Many of these verses are about the joy we have in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

God created all of our emotions, happiness and joy included. I now believe that He does want us to experience these feelings, especially when we think about Him. In fact, sometimes I feel so happy about my relationship with Him that I might do a little “popcorning” of my own. If this has been an area where you have held yourself back too, I would encourage you to do a search of all the verses that talk about happiness and joy in the Scripture, and then maybe join my daughter in a happy dance!

“Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones; and shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart.” Psalm 32:11