Category: Personal Musings

2011 Recap

Well 2012 is here. This was my first year trying blogging and I think its gone pretty well. And WordPress (the site that hosts this blog) has given me some stats over the past few months of blogging.

  • Evidently I’ve blogged 38 different posts
  • The site has been visited about 2900 times. Which means that more than my mom is reading them.
  • That most people reading are from Canada, followed by the U.S., U.K, and Asia after that. I had no idea I could even find that out.
  • That my most popular posts have been about my son Hudson. For a 2-year-old he is pretty popular.
It has been really great blogging and I’m going to keep it up in this year. But if you have any suggestions or ideas of what you’d like to see blogged on, or explored comment or send me a message.
And in case you missed it last week here is my sermon from Christmas day entitled “Following Jesus”. It was a great day where we ate cake in church, sang carols, and talked about Jesus. So if you’d like to hear it I’d suggest eating cake while you listen.

So thanks for reading and being a part of what’s happening. Happy New Year!

by Andrew Mills

The Christmas Story

Merry Christmas!

Take a moment if you can and maybe read the story here. Read it to your family, friends, or on your own. But read it and be reminded of why we have Christmas:

Mary, a virgin, was living in Galilee of Nazareth and was engaged to be married to Joseph, a Jewish carpenter. An angel visited her and explained to her that she would conceive a son by the power of the Holy Spirit. She would carry and give birth to this child and she would name him Jesus.

At first Mary was afraid and troubled by the angel’s words. Being a virgin, Mary questioned the angel, “How will this be?” The angel explained that the child would be God’s own Son and, therefore, “nothing is impossible with God.” Humbled and in awe, Mary believed the angel of the Lord and rejoiced in God her Savior.

Mary must have reflected with awe on the words found in Isaiah 7:14 foretelling this event, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

While Mary was still engaged to Joseph, she miraculously became pregnant through the Holy Spirit, as foretold to her by the angel. When Mary told Joseph she was pregnant, he had every right to feel disgraced and ashamed. He knew that the child was not his own, and Mary’s apparent unfaithfulness  would shape his community’s opinion of him and her. So Joseph decided to quietly break off the engagement seeking to spare Mary as much shame as possible. Joseph was a righteous man and sought to act with grace even in difficulty.

But God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream to confirm Mary’s miraculous story and reassure him that his marriage to her was God’s will. The angel explained God’s amazing plan that the child within Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit. That the child was the Messiah, and was to be named Jesus meaning God with us. When Joseph woke from his dream, he willingly obeyed God and took Mary home to be his wife, in spite of the public humiliation he would face.

Joseph too must have wondered in awe as he remembered the words found in Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”

At that time, Caesar Augustus decreed that a census be taken, and every person in the entire Roman world had to go to his own town to register. Joseph, being of the line of David, was required to go to Bethlehem to register with Mary. While in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to Jesus. The Inn was full so she gave birth to Jesus in a manager, on their own, on the outskirts of town. She wrapped the baby in cloths and placed him in a manger.

Out in the fields, an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds who were tending their flocks of sheep by night. The angel announced that the Savior had been born in the town of David. Suddenly a great host of heavenly beings appeared with the angels and began singing praises to God. As the angelic beings departed, the shepherds decided to travel to Bethlehem and see the Christ-child.

There they found Mary, Joseph and the baby, in the stable. They praised God for the miracle of the birth of the Messiah. They went on their way still praising and glorifying God. But Mary kept quiet, treasuring their words and pondering them in her heart.

After Jesus’ birth, Herod was king of Judea. At this time wise men from the east saw a star, they came in search, knowing the star signified the birth of the king of the Jews. The wise men came to the Jewish rulers in Jerusalem and asked where the Christ was to be born. The rulers explained, “In Bethlehem in Judea,” referring to Micah 5:2. Herod secretly met with the Magi and asked them to report back after they had found the child. Herod told the Magi that he too wanted to go and worship the babe. But secretly Herod was plotting to kill the child.

So the wise men continued to follow the star in search of the new born king and found Jesus with his mother in Bethlehem. They bowed and worshipped him, offering treasures of gold, incense, and myrrh. When they left, they did not return to Herod. They had been warned in a dream of his plot to destroy the child.

This is the story of Christmas. Merry Christmas, enjoy the day, and Jesus’ presence!!

by Andrew Mills

Christmas Eve and Traditions…

There sometimes seems to be a negativity towards tradition. That tradition is old, irrelevant, and outdated. This is surely the case sometimes, but I don’t think it is the case during this time of Christmas.

Tonight I’ll be running my first Christmas Eve service at 7:00 at the church. And I am so looking forward to it. I love the carols, lighting the candles, hearing the story, and the tradition of it. The tradition surrounding the Christmas Eve service doesn’t make it feel old and irrelevant to me but deep and rooted. I feel a part of something centuries old and meaningful. And tonight is extra meaningful for me because of tradition.

For all my life I would go to a Christmas Eve service and hear my dad and mom lead it together. And they used the same structure for almost 25 years.There were always new pieces but there were familiar parts and traditions within it. And tonight I get to carry that tradition on. After my dad passing, this is what I missed around this season. But tonight Krista and I get to carry on the tradition leading our first Christmas Eve service, and even using his service.

Those are the best traditions. The ones that have deep meaning, that make you feel a part of something, that generate beautiful memories, and are things you look forward to. And isn’t that what Christmas is about? Having beautiful traditions that create memories, meaning, depth, and hope?

My challenge to you is this: start a tradition. Start something that will give meaning to this time of the year each year. Start something that will give depth and create great memories. Start something you can pass onto your kids, grandkids, or family. Maybe its going to a Christmas Eve service, sharing stories, creating something as a family, or any other number of things. But this is the year to start a good tradition.

But for me I won’t be starting a new tradition…but carrying on an old one.

Leading a Christmas Eve service just like my dad would…

by Andrew Mills

Monday Morning Pick Me Up

So today I came to work tired, and a bit drained. We had 3 Christmas dinners yesterday, and then we stayed up late talking and hanging out with my mom. All good things, but this morning I’m dragging a bit.

So Dave – the awesome youth pastor at our church- notices this and writes this blog post: http://gpacrew.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/why-i-love-working-for-my-boss/

It made me laugh out loud multiple times, and made my Monday morning a little bit brighter.

So if you have some time read his funny top ten list, and then why not do the same for someone else? Write about their quirks, who they are, and why they matter. Send it to them in a blog post, an email, or post it on their Facebook wall.

Why not brighten someone’s Monday during this Christmas season. Isn’t that what Christmas is about anyway – spreading love, joy, and happiness? While it might take a little time – trust me it’ll be worth the effort.

I know this because it changed my Monday.

So why not go and change someone else’s…

by Andrew Mills

A Little Joy on a Monday…

So on Sunday we talked about joy. And this video gives me a lot of joy so I thought I’d share it. It helps that I’m in it, but when kids laugh so hard they can’t stand how can you not have a little joy?

The thing that struck me is that so often joy isn’t dependent on what you are doing but who you are with. Here with Hudson what matters is that we’re playing together. The who matters more than the what.

So spend a moment and think about who gives you joy in your life. Is it a friend, family member, or even God himself? Then plan sometime to be with them this week. It probably doesn’t matter so much what you do, but that you do it together.

And if you don’t know what to do…may I suggest hitting a ball with your head?

by Andrew Mills

Failing Confidence…Finding God…

Yesterday when is spoke I didn’t feel confident. I didn’t feel I did well, that I let myself down. To be honest I don’t know why.  I prepared, prayed, and did my best. I know that others when they preach have sometimes a similar reaction afterwards. Knowing all of that should be enough. But it doesn’t feel like enough…

That’s the hard thing with confidence. Sometimes things don’t feel right. You don’t feel confident, you feel like someone else could have done better, or you feel just off.

But isn’t that the problem? Confidence shouldn’t be based on my feelings, my abilities, my perceptions, or me at all. It should be based on God. But what does that really mean?

Well maybe it’s this simple. That when God decides to use us, we simply trust in his decision. We may not feel like we did the best. We may feel like we could have done better. But I think our feelings lead us astray. Our feelings often focus us on ourselves, doubts, and self-perceptions. They focus us…on us…rather than on God who wants to use us.

So maybe being confident is actually very simple. Simply trusting in the God who wants to use you. The God who wants to use our imperfect, unsure, and limited but desiring selves.

God chooses to use you…as you are…knowing who you are.

So maybe then today just rest in that. That God, knowing your limitations, is still wanting and choosing you. He trusts you.  And if he trusts us, shouldn’t we trust ourselves? Shouldn’t we trust in his choice, and leave the rest up to him? That’s what I’m going to do on Sunday. Just trust in him, and leave it up to him.

Maybe take some time today and simply decide to trust in God, and see where that takes you.

My guess is that it will take you quite far…

by Andrew Mills