I can hardly believe it’s May since I last posted! I owe an apology to my two followers for leaving you hanging, haha! 😅 Things have been pretty normal in the Andrews household—just everyday life stuff. Like many families this time of year, we’re preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus. But, I’ll admit, "getting ready" for Christmas and "getting into the Christmas Spirit" has been a real struggle this year. It’s been tough because I’ve spent so much time focusing on trying to be successful and comparing myself to others. Matthew 6 keeps coming to mind as I write this, because I’ve been spending more time focusing on what’s wrong in my life and not nearly enough time being thankful for the blessings I do have. This pattern of focusing on myself didn’t happen overnight, though—it’s been a cycle repeating over and over for years.
Here’s what I mean: I start with good intentions, pumping myself up and convincing myself that I can do anything, that I’m an incredible person. This mindset lasts for a while—weeks, sometimes months. I encourage others, lift them up, and while that seems good, deep down it often wasn’t about them. It was about me. It was shallow. The issue isn’t that I encouraged others—encouragement is good—but it was the self-centered attitude that I had, the desire to promote myself. And during these periods of excitement and motivation, I lost my focus. Despite my good intentions, I was taking my eyes off Jesus and not lifting Him up.
For some of you, you might not see anything wrong with promoting yourself. After all, you might think, "If I don’t, who will?" But I would argue that if you focus all your energy on Christ, you won’t care about promoting yourself. You’ll naturally want to make Christ the center of everything in your life. If you're a follower of Jesus, you know that Satan is very good at what he does—he seeks to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). And as a disciple of Jesus, you understand that Satan is always working to make us ineffective witnesses to others. During my most motivated, encouraging phases, someone at work, church, or even within my own family would say or do something that would make me feel like I wasn’t the incredible person I’d built myself up to be. Suddenly, I’d feel like a failure—like I couldn’t do anything, that I wasn’t worthy of being used by God. It’s like a manic episode, and while you may be tempted to feel sorry for me or send words of encouragement, what I really need are your prayers. Please pray to God, Yahweh, on my behalf, that He continues to grant me grace and strength in my weakness. I appreciate the encouragement, but I don’t need pity. What I long for is contentment with where God has placed me. I want to be successful in reflecting the love and wisdom of Christ. I want to be a person of solid principles and standards, so that no one questions what I stand for or where my heart lies.
The point is this: as a Christian, a believer in the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus, I am called to give everything I have to Jesus. Everything I do should be done for Him, with all my heart and to the best of my ability. Jesus came to give us life—abundant life—and the only way to experience that life fully is to throw ourselves at His feet, with wild abandon. When we do this, the freedom and joy we experience in the glory of Christ are unlike anything this world can offer.
As we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus and gear up for a new year, I encourage you to focus on Jesus and let Him guide your steps. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
Anthony
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