Articles for tag: Becky Ahlberg

December 20, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Joy: December 20

By Becky Ahlberg For many, especially church leaders, Christmas is more chaos than celebration. Besides the extra programs and parties, family responsibilities and expectations also expand. These short meditations (which started December 6 and will continue with a new, early morning post each day through January 1) are designed with leaders in mind. Take a few minutes each day to ponder these thoughts designed to help you find the wonder of the incarnation in the midst of your responsibilities. Advent is simply a time to prepare for the celebration of Christ”s birth. In liturgical settings, Advent begins four Sundays before

December 19, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Peace: December 19

By Becky Ahlberg Saturday, December 19 One of my favorite carols is “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He wrote it on December 25, 1864, while in despair at the horrible cost of the Civil War. He had recently lost his wife and as he nursed his severely injured soldier son, Christmas brought a unique kind of misery that year. He did not know that Gen. Robert E. Lee”s surrender at Appomattox Court House was just a few months away. The despair of war was rife across the country. These are three of the poignant

December 18, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Peace: December 18

By Becky Ahlberg Friday, December 18 Read John 14:27.  Jesus would be in a tomb less than 24 hours after he spoke these words. It”s a stark reminder that a steadfast mind is able to focus with an unwavering, unfaltering, resolute, committed, dedicated, unswerving resolve to be used of God for his purposes, and therein to find peace that the world does not, cannot give. Do you equate peace only with tranquility, calm, serenity, and the absence of conflict? That may be why it eludes you today. Just “getting away from it all” may certainly be necessary in our lives.

December 17, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Peace: December 17

By Becky Ahlberg Thursday, December 17 Read and memorize Isaiah 26:3.  A steadfast mind is a key ingredient of peace. Here are a few synonyms for steadfast: unwavering, unfaltering, resolute, committed, dedicated, unswerving. So, if I read this right, finding peace is up to you and me! At Christmas, maybe more than at any other time, distractions abound. It”s easy to think running away or just canceling Christmas would eliminate the chaos of the season. But is all the busyness the problem, or is it a state of mind? What are you thinking about? What is capturing your attention these

December 16, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Peace: December 16

By Becky Ahlberg Wednesday, December 16 Read Ephesians 2:14-22.  Jesus is our peace. It was one of his purposes in coming. He was the only one who could destroy “the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (v. 14). He knew our nature and how easily we fall into conflict. He knew we would need help. He knew he couldn”t build the church he wanted without bringing people together and making them see each other as family, not enemies. He knew the walls would have to come down. Are there walls in your life that need to come down? Making peace

December 15, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Peace: December 15

By Becky Ahlberg Tuesday, December 15 Read Matthew 1:18-25.  Joseph is almost a mystery player in the Christmas story. We barely get to know him, and yet he may be the best example we have of someone who put his trust fully in the Lord. He would have had to. In the midst of the shame culture of that day, the events that unfolded with his betrothed Mary would have been excruciating. Another angel said, “Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife” (v. 20). In the movie The Nativity Story, there is a poignant scene in

December 14, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Peace: December 14

By Becky Ahlberg Monday, December 14 My first child was born on January 6. He wasn”t due until January 20, so I had insisted I could keep my music ministry running through the Christmas season. A full choral program, children”s program, soloist work in a local performance of Bach”s “Magnificat,” a Christmas Eve service, and all the family stuff of Christmas a week later, and well, let”s just say I overdid it a bit. A daunting 26 hours of labor later, I held my baby boy in my arms and the agony quickly became ecstasy. He was perfect. I just

December 13, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Peace: December 13

By Becky Ahlberg For many, especially church leaders, Christmas is more chaos than celebration. Besides the extra programs and parties, family responsibilities and expectations also expand. These short meditations (which started December 6 and will continue with a new, early morning post each day through January 1) are designed with leaders in mind. Take a few minutes each day to ponder these thoughts designed to help you find the wonder of the incarnation in the midst of your responsibilities. Advent is simply a time to prepare for the celebration of Christ”s birth. In liturgical settings, Advent begins four Sundays before

December 12, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Hope: December 12

By Becky Ahlberg Saturday, December 12 An interesting juxtaposition today: Read Philippians 2:3-11 through the lens of Christmas. The phrase he “emptied Himself” (v. 7, New American Standard Bible) describes Jesus” perfect Christmas gift to us. Then read (or better yet, sing!) the words to “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” and imagine yourself in the midst of that unheralded event. His ways are not our ways. O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie! Above thy deep and dreamless sleep, The silent stars go by. Yet in the dark street Shinto The everlasting Light; The hopes and

December 11, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Hope: December 11

By Becky Ahlberg Friday, December 11 Read 1 Timothy 4.  In this well-known passage, the apostle Paul shares his wisdom with young Timothy and reminds him his behavior is critical to his credibility as a leader. It”s always good for leaders to remind themselves of these important truths. And right in the middle of it is this nugget, “That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God” (v. 10). Ours is not hope built on quaint stories or wishful thinking. The incarnation wasn”t magic. It was the purposeful, powerful behavior of the

December 10, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Hope: December 10

By Becky Ahlberg Thursday, December 10 Today brings another atypical Christmas passage, 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, 16-18. This “jars of clay” passage is one of my favorites for lots of reasons, but maybe never more so than today as I ponder a new thought: Jesus chose to become a jar of clay himself! Fully man, fully God. Now that is a treasure in a jar of clay! What could illustrate the fragility of the life Jesus embarked upon more poignantly than a newborn baby? What life on earth ever embodied the images in this passage more than Jesus? “Pressed . .

December 9, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Hope: December 9

By Becky Ahlberg Wednesday, December 9 Start your thoughts this morning reading Romans 5:1-5. Perseverance and character“”these are two strong words, but we usually don”t think of them as the stuff of Christmas. And yet, they are at the heart of it. When you come right down to it, Christmas is a pretty rough story. Think of the cast in this play, and how those two words made Christmas possible: Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, Anna, Simeon, and Christ. For all of them, there could easily be a focus on shame and suffering, and yet each of them experienced and understood

December 8, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Hope: December 8

By Becky Ahlberg Tuesday, December 8 Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? Have you even started? How many parties and gatherings do you have on your calendar? How many Christmas programs or Christmas Eve services have you scheduled this year? Sometimes just thinking about these things can make a person weary! Now add to this list the hurting members of your congregation who find the holidays depressing or wounding, and who need your wise counsel and pastoral touch. Maybe you find Christmas depressing and wounding, and it becomes a weary ordeal as you try to find the Christmas spirit

December 7, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Hope: December 7

By Becky Ahlberg Monday, December 7 It”s Pearl Harbor Day”””A date which will live in infamy,” as Franklin Roosevelt so memorably said. On December 7, 1941, America”s naval fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was attacked by the Imperial Japanese Navy. When the smoke cleared, 2,403 Americans had been killed and 1,178 were injured. Christmas 1941 came barely two weeks after that attack. Families tried to go about their celebrations in the usual ways, but the worry over war and the unsettled affairs all over the world clouded the usual lighthearted and warm celebrations. American families were already mourning the loss

December 6, 2015

Christian Standard

Meditating on Hope: December 6

By Becky Ahlberg For many, especially church leaders, Christmas is more chaos than celebration. Besides the extra programs and parties, family responsibilities and expectations also expand. These short meditations (starting today and continuing with a new, early morning post each day through January 1) are designed with leaders in mind. Take a few minutes each day to ponder these thoughts designed to help you find the wonder of the incarnation in the midst of your responsibilities. Advent is simply a time to prepare for the celebration of Christ”s birth. In liturgical settings, Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas and centers

November 1, 2015

Christian Standard

New Baby, New Life, New Year (27 Daily Devotions)

For many, especially church leaders, Christmas is more chaos than celebration. We need to refocus on what is important, and these 27 short meditations are written to help us do that. Take a few minutes each day to ponder these thoughts designed to help you find the wonder of the incarnation in the midst of your responsibilities. These daily meditations, written by Becky Ahlberg of Anaheim, California, begin on Sunday, December 6, and conclude on January 1, 2016. The four weekly themes center around the concepts of hope, peace, joy, and love. May your holidays be blessed as you celebrate

September 8, 2015

Mark A. Taylor

Parenting Predictable, Not Perfect

By Mark A. Taylor Which of these videos reminds you of an awkward moment at your house? Did you ever lose a hamster? Did you ever make yourself sick making your kids happy? Did parenting ever take you out of your comfort zone? Well, take heart. “You don”t have to be perfect to be a perfect parent.” It”s a message as encouraging for biological parents as it is for those who would adopt. And it”s exactly what Jack Holland told us in our August 20 episode of Beyond the Standard. In fact, he says professional literature on successful families uses

August 8, 2015

Christian Standard

What”s the Big Deal about Dad?

Psychologists, sociologists, and experts on the family weigh-in on the damage caused by absent fathers. Compiled by Becky Ahlberg   “NEIGHBORHOOD STANDARD may be set by mothers but they are enforced by fathers, or at least by adult males. Neighborhoods without fathers are neighborhoods without men able and willing to confront errant youth, chase threatening gangs, and reproach delinquent fathers. The absence of fathers deprives the community of those little platoons that informally but effectively control the boys on the street.” “”James Q. Wilson, “The Family Values Debate,” posted at www.commentarymagazine.com/article/the-family-values-debate/   “THE INEQUALITIES that stem from the workplace are

July 30, 2015

Christian Standard

Becky Ahlberg’s Thought Leaders

We asked 35 Christian leaders, “Who is the influencer with the biggest impact on your life and ministry?” Most of these leaders listed several influential thinkers, writers, innovators, and leaders more of us should get to know. This response is from Becky Ahlberg, executive director of My Safe Harbor, Anaheim, California. ________ This was a difficult assignment. When you”ve been in the ministry for 45 years, you”ve had to do A LOT of thinking! The question also comes at an interesting time in my life when so many of the thought leaders that shaped me and my choices are either gone

June 25, 2015

Christian Standard

‘Jeopardy’ Brings Generations Together

By Becky Ahlberg Back in 1995, Anaheim (California) First Christian Church made the choice to be a multigenerational congregation. That goal has been manifested in a variety of ways, including keeping our families together in worship, having a midweek family night, and seeking out multigenerational experiences. One of our most enjoyable (and rewarding) activities has been our seniors banquet. It was birthed back in 2001 when our youth sponsors were blown away by the generosity of our seniors in helping provide camp scholarships. Our seniors have always been willing givers for our children; student ministries and camps, both winter and

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