THE PRACTICE OF CELEBRATION (10 OF 11)
by Joe Alain
Scripture: Nehemiah 12:27-47
This content is part of a series.
The Practice of Celebration (10 of 11)
Series: Nehemiah
Joe Alain
Nehemiah 12:27-47
Much of my thinking here on the practice of celebration is inspired from John Ortberg's wonderful book, The Life You've Always Wanted.
John Ortberg tells the story of how his daughter Mallory taught him a valuable lesson on seeing joy and celebrating in the everyday stuff of life. Young Mallory had gotten her bath and was running around doing what became known among them as her ''Dee Dah Day'' dance. But on this occasion, he was irritated and was in a hurry and he got onto her to stop so he could dry her off. Then she asked a profound question, ''Why?'' He didn't have a good answer. He thought, ''I was just so used to hurrying, so preoccupied with my own little agenda, so trapped in this rut of moving from one task to another, that here was life, here was joy, here was an invitation to the dance right in front of me - and I was missing it.''
Most of our lives can be divided up into two categories: Living and waiting to live. And most of our time we get stuck in transit trying to get somewhere, waiting to begin, driving someplace, waiting in line, trying to get some task accomplished. And in these moments were less likely to be fully present. Ortberg said, ''Ironically, often the thing that keeps me from experiencing joy is my preoccupation with self. The very selfishness that keeps me from pouring myself out for the joy of others also keeps me from noticing and delighting in the many small gifts God offers each day.'' Life is really a series of dee dah celebration moments. If we will recognize them.
In Nehemiah chapter 12, God's people are having a dee dah day! Chapter 11 is filled with a listing of the families and individuals who settled in Jerusalem. And chapter 12:1-26 continues with a listing of the priests and Levites. But in Nehemiah 12:27-47 we find the great dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. It was an epic time of celebration - a time of joy! Central to ...
Series: Nehemiah
Joe Alain
Nehemiah 12:27-47
Much of my thinking here on the practice of celebration is inspired from John Ortberg's wonderful book, The Life You've Always Wanted.
John Ortberg tells the story of how his daughter Mallory taught him a valuable lesson on seeing joy and celebrating in the everyday stuff of life. Young Mallory had gotten her bath and was running around doing what became known among them as her ''Dee Dah Day'' dance. But on this occasion, he was irritated and was in a hurry and he got onto her to stop so he could dry her off. Then she asked a profound question, ''Why?'' He didn't have a good answer. He thought, ''I was just so used to hurrying, so preoccupied with my own little agenda, so trapped in this rut of moving from one task to another, that here was life, here was joy, here was an invitation to the dance right in front of me - and I was missing it.''
Most of our lives can be divided up into two categories: Living and waiting to live. And most of our time we get stuck in transit trying to get somewhere, waiting to begin, driving someplace, waiting in line, trying to get some task accomplished. And in these moments were less likely to be fully present. Ortberg said, ''Ironically, often the thing that keeps me from experiencing joy is my preoccupation with self. The very selfishness that keeps me from pouring myself out for the joy of others also keeps me from noticing and delighting in the many small gifts God offers each day.'' Life is really a series of dee dah celebration moments. If we will recognize them.
In Nehemiah chapter 12, God's people are having a dee dah day! Chapter 11 is filled with a listing of the families and individuals who settled in Jerusalem. And chapter 12:1-26 continues with a listing of the priests and Levites. But in Nehemiah 12:27-47 we find the great dedication of the wall of Jerusalem. It was an epic time of celebration - a time of joy! Central to ...
There are 11659 characters in the full content. This excerpt only shows a 2000 character sample of the full content.
Price: $5.99 or 1 credit
