The Gift of LEARNING

Please enjoy this Christmas gift from me to you of my heart’s expression below. Merry Christmas, dear friends and loved ones!

I would like to pose a question: If you were given 5 hours on any given day to do ANYTHING you wanted with no distractions or people around, what would you choose? Take a moment and really think and decide! I know if I’m honest part of that time I would most likely spend cleaning unless I completely abandoned my house and went somewhere else! However, my hope would be that the majority of the time would be spent in deep concentration reading a very good book! This Christmas I am thankful for many things. Let me share one of those with you.

One huge misstep our culture makes is to carelessly and rapidly assume after little investigation that we have enough information on a particular topic. We hear one side of the story and are easily swayed partly by conscience and partly by laziness to accept it as fact and truth. The causes people rally around can shape and define their lives and impact countless other onlookers around them. We should never stop learning about the reasons behind and the historical birth and validity of all “movements” and beliefs.

This Christmas I am thankful for the gift of LEARNING. As I homeschool my children, I love delving into topics that I am unaware of. Though it is initially uncomfortable, together we become research partners to take on the great unknown!

One unexpected blessing this month was reading the book Son of Hamas by Mosab Hassan Yousef. I saw him interviewed on conservative and liberal news outlets and became intrigued. His story is nothing short of remarkable and truly God’s hand and provision in a man’s life that was on the pathway to a lifestyle of terrorism. Without giving away the details in case any of you are interested in reading the book (I highly recommend you do), I have a few takeaways:

1. His credibility growing up in Palestine and experiencing the horrors of war is greater than the onlookers who make assumptions.
2. True freedom cannot be fought for in a physical war; it is found only in knowing the Truth, Jesus Christ.
3. God can reach ANYONE with the truth of His gospel, no matter their language, cultural background, religion or prejudices.
4. Love draws people to Christ and hatred keeps them away from Him.
5. If this man is exceedingly thankful to know the Truth, I in turn desire to be forever grateful for knowing and receiving it as well.

This book took me to another world, a completely foreign ideology and reality. The only reason I didn’t finish it in a day was because my children needed to eat! It is a book you don’t want to put down. I felt as if I was there with Mosab, learning alongside him the mysteries of life as a Palestinian. I marveled at how God intervened in subtle yet direct ways to open his eyes and heart to what he previously hated most. It was impossible…BUT GOD. HE ALONE can take away the blinders from our eyes, the scales like Paul (from the Bible) had that caused his anger and hatred to burn and snuff out any love for human life.

We should not forget that GOD CAN, HAS and WILL bring the most unrepentant sinners to repentance.

Here is an informative passage from the book Mother Culture by Karen Andreola: “In today’s American government schools, the high ideals of moral and religious motivation, and the brilliance of the Christian contribution to history, are lost. This knowledge is intentionally hidden, buried deep. In its place is an atheist’s warped opinion of right and wrong. The great literature, read for decades in Western civilization, influenced by Christianity, has been swept into the dustbin. The loss of history and literature is hardly noticed by young parents. To gray-haired persons like myself, it is a tragic loss. Yet what is lost can be found. What is buried can be dug up.” She includes a quote from Ronald Reagan when he states, “If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God then we will be a nation gone under.” Oh how true this is.

Just yesterday, on Christmas Eve, my oldest son said, “Mom, look, they banned Christmas in that strict country.” Yes, Kim Jong Un, since 2017, has banned the holiday and not allowed any Christmas displays or acknowledgment of the season in North Korea. In response this year, a bunch of Christians including some escapees from North Korea, have literally “rained down” love this Christmas. The New York Post reported the following on December 24, 2023:

“The North Korean dictator’s brutal restrictions on religion, however, haven’t stopped some activists from trying to spread the holiday spirit — by tossing presents into the Yellow Sea hoping they will wash up on the hermit kingdom’s shores. Activists with the human rights group North Korea Freedom Coalition recently threw bottles filled with rice, a $1 US bill and a flash drive with Bible verses each, hoping to bring Christmas cheer to Pyongyang’s impoverished citizens.” The flash drive contains statements from multiple members of Congress, and part of its message states, “Christmas, which is celebrated all over the world on December 25th, marks the day when Jesus was born. Many of your ancestors also believed in Jesus. In fact, in 1907, in Pyongyang, there were so many Christians who believed in Jesus that Pyongyang became known as a Holy City. But when Kim II Sung came to power, he wanted North Koreans to worship him as a god, and not the one true God. So, he killed many Christian leaders, sent others to political prison camps, or banished them. He did all he could to kill the followers of Jesus Christ.”

Lastly, the article points out that of the estimated 26 million people in North Korea, there are an estimated 400,000 Christians, 17% of which are believed to be imprisoned. We truly have NO IDEA how free we are. While we still have the chance, may we spread HIM to this lost world! Let us open up the gift of LEARNING, not just stopping at the headlines but digging into the hidden truth beneath.

Oh Jesus, thank you that your power is REAL and ALIVE today! The truth in Your Word still convicts and can bring others to their knees, just as it did US! May we be EXPECTANT and THANKFUL for YOUR WORK in and AROUND US. I want to join you in reaching those who know “of You” but are so far from You.

Thank you, Oh Father, for making me so complex, and giving me a mind to receive new information. I’m so thankful for the gift of a lifetime of learning and following hard after YOU in and through that. It’s how I found you, My Savior!

Merry Christmas, dear ones!