One of my household jobs is giving the dog a bath.  Our beagle is not fond of baths, so I usually place her in the bathtub so she cannot escape.  Warm water and a hand-held sprayer help to keep the ordeal as pleasant as possible for the pooch.

After her bath, our dog shakes off excess water and proceeds to race back and forth through the house and bark and play.  It is clear she feels unmitigated exhilaration and happiness.

I cannot think of too many things that give me that same sense of thrill and exhilaration.    However, there is a lesson from our dog that we should celebrate and feel joy over the small things in our life as well as the bigger things.  Do not wait for big events, celebrate small accomplishments whenever you can.

I sat in the stylist chair for my regular haircut.  Several chairs over was a girl getting her hair dyed into a blond color.  The thing that made this scene unusual was the girl was about 7-years old!  Her blond-haired (dyed) mother stood with her. 

What in the world would possess a 7-year old girl to color her hair?  What mother would agree to, encourage, or allow a girl this young to dye her hair?  Not only does coloring include the use of dangerous chemicals, but also focusing on superficial appearance sends the wrong message to this young girl. 

Parents need to send the message to their daughters of unconditional love and help girls build confidence in themselves.  Images of glamour and lifestyle promoted by the media and societal expectations are just that – images – elusive and unreal.  Let girls be children first and love them as individuals. 

Christmas Eve is upon us.  It will be difficult for excited girls and boys to get into bed, let alone go to sleep.  And despite the late hour, they will manage to awake early in anticipation of opening gifts and finding surprises under the tree.  Their parents will get even less rest.  Christmas Eve can quickly become yet another hectic day – one simply to get through.

As we have done for several years, we plan to slow down this evening so we can keep the focus on the reason for the celebration – the birth of Christ Jesus.  We eat a simple dinner of homemade soup, bread, and salad.  Afterward, we attend a candlelight service at our church.  Upon return, our kids open their “eve” gift – new pajamas to set a quiet tone.  We sit as a family and read stories out loud – both from the Bible and other Christmas stories that speak of hope and promise.  My wish is for your family to find its own way to draw closer as a family this evening and to feel the love of Christ drawing near.

I mentioned emergency preparedness during my last comments and left open the question of a what might constitute a “3-days, 3-ways” kit intended to equip Christians for Christ’s coming, whenever that may be.  After reflection, I believe the key elements of a Christ Preparedness Kit would be the following: accepting Christ, the Bible, and prayer.

The central theme to our kit is our relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  It starts with the most difficult action – accepting Christ as our savior and seeking a personal relationship with God.  I say difficult because accepting Christ implies your willingness to relinquish control and trust God with your life and soul.  Many people fear because they view relinquishing control as a loss of freedom.  In fact, giving one’s life to God gives one greater freedom in much the same way roads provides for freedom of travel.  Without roads, we are limited by both path and distance.  While on roads, we honor the rules (stay on the pavement, observe the double-yellow line, etc.) and we gain the opportunity and freedom of navigating a better route and going a much greater distance.

The Bible is the second critical item in our Christ Preparedness Kit.  It still amazes me that the word of God, written by man at God’s direction, maintains its meaning and importance and relevance even after thousands of years.  I see the applicability to my day-to-day problems consistently found in Bible passages.  Reading the Bible regularly keeps your relationship with God close and gives guidance as you live your life.

Prayer is the final critical item in our Christ Preparedness Kit.  Remember salvation comes through his merciful forgiveness after we seek a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  All relationships require attention and work to strengthen – our relationship with God is no exception.  We connect most strongly and directly with God when we pray.  God hears our anguish, our worries, our gratitude, and our praise through prayer.  We draw closer to God when we pray.

Like any emergency preparedness kit, our Christ Preparedness Kit could and should contain numerous other items that would help us: church membership, small-group bible studies, mission efforts, giving, and more.  However, these three items: accepting Christ, the Bible, and prayer, are the minimum items that must be in our kits.  Look in your own Christ Preparedness Kit.  How prepared are you?

In the Seattle area the local radio stations are promoting a “3-Days, 3-Ways” campaign sponsored by the government’s emergency preparedness office.  The idea is that each family should have an emergency preparedness kit for their home and each of their automobiles.  Basic items should include food, water, a portable radio, and more.  The idea is that since we do not always have advanced warning of disaster, we should be prepared. 

Looking at our own household, we have many of the needed components, but not organized into something easily accessible and ready.  We lost electricity twice recently and the terrible ice storms in the Midwest caused me to realize we need to do more.  I plan to assign creation of the plans and kits to my son who can use the experience toward a Boy Scout merit badge.  He will learn a tremendous amount and our family will be better off. 

As Christian’s we await the return of Christ Jesus as described in the Bible.  Will he return today, tomorrow, years, or centuries from now?  We do not know.  Unfortunately the Bible does not include a forward-looking calendar with specific dates noted.  Instead, we trust in God to his own timing.  It does mean that each of us needs to be prepared for that day.  What could a “3-Days, 3-Ways” preparedness kit be for Christians.  I think I know intuitively but struggle to put the proper words around it.  Let me noodle on that and get back with you.