Click here to take the quiz, then please take a moment to post your results in a comment (below)!

Here are my results:

- Jon Williams

Jon Williams

Have a great Christmas season, and God bless you!

Christine Carver

WOMEN OF FAITH

THE BELL
I KNOW WHO I AM
I am God’s child (John 1:12)
I am Christ’s friend (John 15:15)
I am united with the Lord(1 Cor. 6:17)
I am bought with a price(1 Cor. 6:19-20)
I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)
I am a personal witness of Christ (Acts 1:8)
I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt.5:13-14)
I am a member of the body of Christ(1 Cor 12:27)
I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom.8: 1-2)
I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil.3:20)
I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31-34)
I am a minister of reconciliation for God(2 Cor.5:17-21)
I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)
I cannot be separated from the love of God(Rom.8:35-39)
I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor.1:21-22)
I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8: 28)
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16)
I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12)
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)
I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)
I am God’s temple (1 Cor. 3: 16). I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). I have been justified (Romans 5:1)
I am God’s co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1). I am God’s workmanship(Eph. 2:10)
I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected (Phil. 1: 5)
I have been redeemed and forgiven (Col. 1:14). I have been adopted as God’s child(Eph 1:5)
I belong to God
Do you know
who you are!?



‘The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make His face shine up on you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn His face toward you
and give you peace.’

Numbers 6:24-26

Christmas Trivia

Congratulations to all our Christmas Trivia winners! Valerie Rose, Jennifer Parra, Rachel Reyna and Deborah Reed each won a Discover God Study Bible or a $10 Walmart gift card.

The trivia questions were:

1. What three reindeer have names that start with the letter “D”? Dasher, Donner, Dancer

2. What is the name of the most famous Christmas ballet? Nutcracker

3. In “Winter Wonderland” the lovestruck couple pretends a snowman is who? Parson Brown

4. What did the Little Drummer boy give to the Christ Child? A song on his drum.

Too Much Tradition?

Sandy Coughlin

Crosswalk.com Contributer

I’ve been reading articles and stories about how other women minimize the stress of the holidays. Even television shows hit on this, sharing simple timesaving tips and ideas. Wrapped up in all of the hub-bub of the holidays, yet trying to keep things simple, I’ve find one hitch as to why we women get hung up: Too much tradition.

Tradition is a beautiful thing if it doesn’t overwhelm you. But with traditions come a lot of expectations. And with failed expectations come a lot of stress and guilt. In the Bible we see two ways traditions can play into our lives – they can be beneficial (2 Th 3:6), but sometimes they lose their original purpose and only serve to distract from what is most important (Col 2:8).

Whenever you feel the “We have to do it this way because we always have” syndrome, stop and re-evaluate and ask yourself this question: “When is it okay for me to change the course of this tradition, or even stop it?”

Knowing that I no longer want to be rigid and make my family suffer during the holidays for traditions that are only important to me but not really valued by them, I’ve come up with these simple guidelines that work for our family:

Think of a new “twist” that you can put on your tradition. If the old way is not working, but it’s important to you to not lose it, be open to change! Be flexible and even ask your family for their ideas. As your kids grow and change, so will the needs of the family. When I found a great deal on a “fake” Christmas tree, I made sure the whole family was okay with the notion of giving up our traditional “going to the lot in the rain” experience, and dragging a soggy tree into the house. We all agreed it was a “go” as long as the tree looked real!

How does the tradition affect my whole family? I’ve always loved to Christmas carol, but with the ages of my kids right now, they do not value it as I do. We’ve always tried to cram it in, a few days before Christmas, when everyone is stressed and tired. It seemed to be a “flop” the last few years, so I’ve given up on that tradition, at least for now. We can always resume in the future if we want to.

“We have to do it because it’s what I did as a kid!” I’ve told my kids that over and over when it comes to making rolled-out frosted cookies. But come to find out, those sugary cookies make my family feel sick! The last 2 years I did very little holiday baking. It was good to let the “idea” of “having to do it” go, and actually live a little healthier! We did make our yummy Toffee Candy though.

How can you simplify the tradition? From the beginning of our marriage, one of our Coughlin traditions has been my husband’s “famous Christmas letter.” Paul’s gift of sarcasm, along with his sense of humor, has had people waiting all year long for this letter. Last year after the whole family worked together to get almost 300 letters/photos in the mail – we were pooped! This year we plan to simplify the process by sending it out through the cyber-world. We’re a little behind times with this idea, but at least we’ve come up with a new plan that will be easier on the family.

Be open to changing your tradition of giving at Christmas time. We all know that giving is more important than receiving. Getting our minds off of ourselves is the key. Every year is different with our finances and what we can give, but our family still talks about the one year we decided to anonymously bless a needy family instead of giving to an organization. The father of this family was blind, so that was very impacting to our children at the time. The gift of time is also precious! One year we delivered gifts to “Project Angel Tree” families. We have to be open to where the Spirit leads us and open to new ideas.

What tradition is honing in on your life, weighing you down, and stealing your joy?

Should traditions be a burden or a pure joy? Is it something we have to do, or want to do? Is it something that adds to our faith and family life or destracts from it? Maybe it’s time to re-evaluate.

I’m open to change this year. How about you?

Please pray for John and Sandi Hagen, the missionaries of the week. They work at New Tribes Language Institute in Missouri, where students are trained to be overseas missionaries. Click here to visit their website and read all about their ministry and their recent trip to the Philippines to visit their son Steve, his wife Jennifer, and their three children. Steve and his family are missionaries with the International Mission Board. By the way, John and Sandi are my parents, and Steve is my “little” brother!

Kick off the Christmas season with a fantastic Christmas concert…

Avalon and Michael English are coming to Central Texas this Friday, December 7th! The concert will begin at 7:30 pm at the Midway Performing Arts Center on the Midway Middle School campus in Waco.

Tickets available at KSUR by calling toll-free 866-228-1900 or at Mardel’s Christian Store in Waco.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and are enjoying preparations for Christmas!

Take a little time to listen to our Sharathon Wednesday through Friday this week and call in whatever amount the Lord prompts you to give.

The toll-free number is 866-228-1900.

Thank you for listening throughout the year. We always love to hear from you!