December 2009 CWM Pearls of
Encouragement
Welcome
CWM Coaching Tips
Blog/Online Bible Study
Article – Sharing Your Faith at Christmas
Final Thoughts
Welcome
May I be one of the first people
to wish you a Merry Christmas. May you and
your family strive to keep the focus on Christ
and the celebration of his birth. I have written
several articles in the past about how to
survive Christmas especially if you have a
difficult family situation. To look at past
articles you can go to: http://www.kimberlychastain.com/newsletters/archives.htm.
Treat yourself to a gift this Christmas. You
can buy The Voices of Christian Working Moms
and be encouraged in your role as a CWM. You
also may want to buy one for a friend as well.
To find out more click on the banner below:
CWM Coaching Tips
Are you even thinking about
New Year’s resolutions, yet? Maybe one
of those will be spending more time in God’s
Word and memorizing scripture. If that is
true for you then check out CWM Coaching Tips.
You will have a devotion emailed to you daily
and you will have one verse of scripture to
memorize a week. To find out more go to: http://www.kimberlychastain.com/cwmtips.htm.
Blog/Online Bible Study
You can find the CWM Blog at
http://christianworkingmoms.blogspot.com.
Come join the discussion about Christmas.
The CWM Bible Study can be found at http://www.cwmbiblestudy.blogspot.com.
I will definitely try to post more Bible studies
in the New Year.
Article – Sharing your
Faith at Christmas
Christmas is a wonderful time
to introduce friends and family to Christ
if they are not believers. Most people have
a general idea of what Christmas is about
and it is not Santa Claus. For the most part
people are in a festive mood if they are not
fighting in the malls for the last special
toy of the year.
Many of you have shared with
me that your work place is a mission field and
I totally agree with you. So, Christmas is a
great time to talk with co-workers about your
faith. Here are some non-threatening ways to
begin the conversation with co-workers, friends,
family, and neighbors:
1. If you are having a Christmas musical
at your church invite your co-workers to
come. People who would never step in a church
any other time of the year are open to coming
to hear some Christmas music.
2. Along those same lines have your children
invite their friends if your church is having
a Christmas musical. Children will like
having their friends see them dressed up
as Mary, Joseph, etc. Sometimes cookies
and candy are given out at the event. It
is very hard for a child to turn down free
cookies and candy.
3. Ask co-workers what Christmas traditions
they have now and as a child. Then, you
can share how going to a Christmas Eve service
at church is an important tradition for
your family or the religious tradition you
have.
4. You may want to purchase the Case
for Christmas by Lee Strobel and give
to friends and family. Lee Strobel is a
journalist who use to be an atheist. He
set out to prove there is no Christ and
ended up becoming a believer.
5. Take time to pray for people around you
that are not believers and that God would
give you the opportunity to talk with them
and what to say.
6. As a family you may want to bake cookies
for a neighbor who lives alone or doesn’t
have family nearby. You can give them the
cookies and share with them about Christ.
7. Do you have any people who sing well
at your place of work? How about being in
charge of caroling at the office? Wouldn’t
that be a surprise for everyone.
8. Be a good witness to the tired, stressed
out sales clerks at department stores. Look
them in the eye and wish them Merry Christmas.
Be gracious to them. So, many people are
less than gracious.
9. If your children are in school or daycare
do something special for the teachers. You
may even give them a book about Christ or
a book for the classroom.
10. Jesus always met people where they were.
He listened to them and ministered to them.
Look for ways to minister to people this
Christmas season.
Let me end by saying Christmas
and Easter are holidays that are truly Christian.
Both have been secularized to where it is
even against the law at times to have a nativity
scene. Yet, people still want to hear the
story of the babe in the manager that was
born over 2,000 years ago and is alive today.
Ask God to open your eyes and your families’
eyes this Christmas to share your faith with
those around you. What better gift could there
be than the gift of salvation. An eternal
gift that never stops giving.
Final Thoughts
I know the Christmas season
can get very harried with school programs,
church programs, shopping, and the list never
ends. Take time to meditate on the best Christmas
gift you have ever received. Thank God for
his precious son and for your salvation.
Till next time,
Kimberly M. Chastain
Kimberly M. Chastain, MS, LMFT
is the Christian Working Mom Coach and a Licensed
Marriage and Family Therapist. She is the
author of The Voices of Christian Working
Moms, 2 ebooks and an online Bible study.
To find out how to receive coaching tips by
email daily, go to http://www.kimberlychastain.com/cwmtips.htm.
To find out more about her books go to www.christianworkingmom.com.
For a free, initial coaching session send
an email to free@kimberlychastain.com.
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