Join in the Celebration

NOTE: Please fill out the class survey by next week.

Celebration can be a shame killer. Celebrating and inviting someone into celebration opens them up to receive the truth that they are valuable. When honor displaces dishonor, shame loses it foothold. We need to join in the celebration (notes attached).

Shame-based families do not celebrate. They have a hard time giving value to thing for what they are. Children of these families then have a hard time entering into the celebration themselves. Birthdays, songs, and even just sending time with kids are great ways to celebrate them for who they are. As we discussed last fall, the more time in with our kids we have the less time out they will need.

image courtesy of Bent Objects

This may come as a surprise to you: Christianity is not an invitation to become a moral person. It is not a program for getting us in line or for reforming society. It has a powerful effect upon our lives, but when transformation comes, it is always the aftereffect of something else, something at the level of our hearts. And so at its core, Christianity begins with an invitation to desire.

John Eldredge - Desire, page 35