“A soul without a center lacks patience.”

A thought by John Ortberg (2014-04-22) from his book, Soul Keeping: Caring For the Most Important Part of You (p. 101). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

We are one month away from Christmas. Talk about a time that we need to keep our soul centered on God. This is not usually a time that we are patient but a time that we can be in a total rush. And that is so true in the church.

I used to be a Youth and Music Pastor. I usually during this season would be working toward a major Christmas concert in my music area and working toward a major activity for Christmas Eve in my youth area. What that meant was I got sick between Christmas and New Year’s.

So I also think it is important for us to put Christ into our Christmas as Christians.

We had a fun time Thanksgiving night last year. We went shopping. It was a mess but it was a great time to get deals and we did. But it was total chaos.

But I think if we really put Christ into our own Christmas, we may slow down a little bit and be a little more patient. I think our activities have a way of taking Christ outside of our Christmas.

You see Christ came as a gift and if we center our soul about Him then we will first of all give thanks and then give love. It is not a time to get but a time to give. And then let’s see how really patient we are.

So what are you thankful for this week?

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