A Plan
“Immanuel” (God card #6 – Christmas)
We continue this week with God card #6 – I believe God is Christmas. He is a generous giver of great gifts. We weren’t ready to move on, still so much to discuss. As I began the day at the kitchen table, I found my Bible already there waiting for some conversation. So, I just opened it and found myself at the end of Matthew. Strange, I said to Father. The last chapter of Matthew, the death, crucifixion, the resurrection and now the Great Commission. Is this what is on your mind? We are talking about Christmas, you know. Shouldn’t I be at the front end of this deal? But I read on. The Great Commission, some of the last red letters in the Bible. His...
Read MoreThe Story behind our Calendar!
When we talk about the Plan, we are talking about a spiritual formation strategy for the Hagan family. We like to frame this plan around the calendar. But in the midst of the calendar we use, there is another calendar based on the story of our beliefs called the liturgical church calendar. Here is some background on the two calendars. Whether you knew it or not, we follow a Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian calendar (aka Western or Christian calendar) is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on February 24, 1582. The reformed calendar was adopted later that year by a...
Read More“Press Play!” (sing)
Yesterday, Carson was working on an essay in the living room. We were all writing about the book we just finished – Pilgrim’s Progress. I had each of them take a theme from the book and create a paragraph explaining that theme and relating it to their world. We wrote the introduction together. Pilgrim’s Progress shows us through the characters of Christian and Christiana what to do in times of trouble. They are on a physical journey to Celestial City but teach us many things about our own spiritual journey. Through their experiences, they teach us to ‘remember, trust and pray’ when we have a problem. Maya had the great idea to include a...
Read More“My God card Prayer”
my prayer for today written in my journal: “I am grateful that you are my line leader, and I submit to your leadership. I am grateful that you are a creator, and I submit to your brush. I am grateful that you have eyes to see beyond my circumstances, and I submit to your vision. I am grateful that you weave and move and create opportunities that I would never envision, and I submit to your dreams. Father, help us move forward with The Peach. You desire to equip and encourage families and when we join you, we receive such joy.”
Read More“begin again . . . . ” (God card #6 – Christmas)
Father gave me this phrase in 2011. Not sure why or when. I just know that I began saying it over and over to myself in those moments that I needed it. “Begin again” is his whisper to me, his reminder of grace new every day, every hour, every minute. And so as I was thinking how to start this new year of study and exploration with my family, this phrase came to mind – “begin again.” We begin the next chapter of a new year in November with the beginning of Advent. Many people start thinking of the new year beginning in January with the turn of the year. But, the liturgical Christian calendar that has been kept for years and years begins with...
Read More“What Really Happened at the Hagan House!” (Me card #2)
I think it is important for you to understand the simplicity and freedom that I hope for your family when you work through the Me cards. The “Getting Started” section on the poster that came with your Me cards is short and simple; use it, but I also want you to use whatever is going on in your home that week to explain the Me card too. This will be different for every family. The different ages and issues will determine that. I also want you to see that even as the mom who wrote the material, I still had different things happen once I actually put it in motion. On these “What Really Happened” blogs, you are going to see it all. We have done the Me cards now 3...
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