Adore HIM MAGAZINE LET US ADVICE FOR THE JOB SEEKER IS ANY JOB BETTER THAN NO JOB? THE MOM BOX: Winter Issue 37

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1 Lıght Winter Issue 37 radiant living for daughters of God MAGAZINE CHRISTMAS FEATURE LET US Adore HIM THE MOM BOX: A JOURNEY OF SURRENDER, SINGLENESS, & JOY ADVICE FOR THE JOB SEEKER IS ANY JOB BETTER THAN NO JOB?

2 Editor's notes How easy it is to let the days, months, seasons, and years slip by without making the most of the moments. Christmas is right around the corner. For weeks already, stores have been unpacking snowflake wrapping paper, shiny tree ornaments, and stocking stuffers. Starbucks hands out red cups, and Kroger offers sales on twenty-pound holiday hams. Before we know it, Christmas and then New Year's will be here and gone, and 2017 will arrive. With each day we grow older, hopefully growing up also. New choices open up to us. Often they open so slowly that we don't recognize the new opportunities. But life consistently draws us ever closer to making big decisions, and as it moves us on, time lays before us a myriad of choices every day. As we work on homework and anticipate plans, we can choose to be intentional. In this issue of LM, we ask you to join us in considering carefully the choices and opportunities that lie in front of you, whether they lie in today, next year, or some unknown time down the road of life. Tabitha opens her heart to you about embracing singleness while Jasmine invites you into a true celebration of Christ this Christmas season. Claudia encourages you to choose employment wisely while the other Claudia reminds you to engage in your classroom. In these pages we hope you'll find encouragement to not just let days pass, but to face each one with the whole-hearted purpose to honor God and bring Him glory. Heather Copyright 2016 by Light Magazine. Permission is granted to reproduce portions of this magazine to share on a personal basis. Reproduction for mass distribution (in print or online) of any part or whole is prohibited without written permission. Cover Photo: Katrina Yoder

3 8 inside this issue Light Magazine Winter Issue No FEATURES Let Us Adore Him by Jasmine Martin FICTION Driving Regret by Michelle Kennell REAL LIFE For the Job Seeker by Claudia Martin Good News Record Learning for Life: Foreign Language by Claudia Esh Giving Up the Mom Box by Tabitha Driver VOICES The Gift by Susanna Yoder INSPIRATION The Greatest Commandment by Meghan Jantzi How to Heal a Broken Heart by Christina Laws SPREAD JOY Warmth for Your Winter

4 the Greatest Commandment by Meghan Jantzi + photography by Katrina Yoder Tired. That s how he felt. A heavy exhaustion had settled in the deepest essence of his being. He was tired of arguing and arguing but never finding answers, tired of doing all the right things and following all the right laws but always feeling empty inside, and tired of wondering if he was doing something wrong. But then, he heard Jesus speak. This teacher of the law had heard his fellow Pharisees say a lot about Jesus. Some thought He was a heretic, others were intrigued by Him, and still others desired nothing but to see Him killed. Personally, he didn t know what to think. But one day, when he heard Jesus debating the Pharisees with undeniable wisdom, he stepped into the conversation. Mark 12:28-31 tells the story this way: One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, Of all the commandments, which is the most important? The most important one, answered Jesus, is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. (NIV) Each of the men present knew those words by heart. They were part of a prayer called the shema, which was an integral part of the Jewish belief system. Faithful Jews would recite the shema every morning when they woke up and every night before they went to bed. It was also a part of their prayer services, daily blessings, and ceremonial festivals. The Israelites would stand while reciting it to indicate the shema s importance. 1 These words mean a lot less to us than they did to the Jews of Jesus time. But they shouldn t. Every Christ-seeker wants to follow His commandments. Therefore, when He says something is the most important, we should take notice. Love God with your heart, soul, mind, and strength. That, more than anything else, is what God wants you to do. Heart The first part of the commandment makes sense to us, because we naturally connect love with the heart. But living that out, day by day, is another matter. Do we love God with our whole 4 Light Magazine

5 THIS IS A PREVIEW ONLY. Subscribe to receieve the whole issue! Loving God with ALL -- y o u r -- $heart$ soul mind -- & -- Strength hearts? Do we love Him more than anyone or anything else? Do we love Him so much that nothing else even comes close to being as important as He is? Loving God with your whole heart is a process that won t end until the day you die. In order to grow in your love for Him, it is helpful to attempt to grasp the kind of love He has for you. His love for you is like this: Sacrificial - John 3:16 Calming - Zeph. 3:17 Steadfast and faithful - Psalm 86:15 Fulfilling - Prov. 8:17 Everlasting - Psalm136, Jer. 31:3 Unfailing - Psalm 6:4, 13:5 Protecting - Isa. 43:1-4 Light Magazine 5