Christmas Wonderings

As I was decorating my house this year for Christmas, I had the pleasure of setting up my Nativity sets.  I have several and I was struck by how clean, well kept, and peaceful each and every Mary and Joseph were depicted as.  How far from the the truth of that night must it be!

Mary, a teen girl newly married having her first baby without the wisdom or support of her mother.  Joseph, a newly married boy having just painstakingly traveled for three days setting up home in a barn finds himself the unlikely midwife.  I can only imagine after the harrowing journey to Bethlehem and the harrowing task of birthing a child both Mary and Joseph were sweaty, dirty, tired and nearly passed out from exhaustion.  But Peace in that moment, I can believe for the Prince of Peace was just born.  

I would imagine as a special gift to Mary and Joseph and sleeping baby Jesus that God the Father blessed them with supernatural peace.  At least for that moment until the shepherds reminded them of what was to come.  Then the real work begun.  Raising God's Son.  Providing for a young family.  Journeying to the cross.  

He took with him Mary, his fiancee, who was now obviously pregnant.  And while they were there, the time came for the baby to be born.  She gave birth to her first child, a son.  She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

Luke 2:5-7 NLT

Eleanor Roosevelt once wrote, "Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure."  I wonder if Mary and Joseph had that mindset on their journey to Bethlehem.  They lived one of the greatest adventure stories ever told, terrible at times but great none the less.  At what point if ever I wonder did Mary and Joseph ever think of their lives as an adventure?  Or perhaps we can only say that now looking back 2,000 years to their arduous journey to Bethlehem to birth the Son of God, to the mysterious visit by magicians from the east that bore fantastical gifts, to their middle of the night flight to Egypt to escape a deranged king, and to the miracles upon miracles that started with gallons of the best wine every produced.  All for the purpose of and that lead to the cross.  The redemption of mankind.

How often do you think of yourself in that adventure?  We may not be bumping along on a donkey 9 months pregnant with the Son of God in our bellies, but we are part of the greatest adventure ever.  The heroes of God fighting evil in this present age toward the end of this harrowing tale.  We are a part of the denouement.  The final part of the story in which strands of the plot are tied together and matters are resolved.  Some call it the falling action but I can not in good conscience assign that title to what we are living.  Because in our great adventure matters are resolved for all eternity by and through the Creator of the Universe.  All the intricate workings of God's Will play out exactly as He ordained them to.  The Great Author tying up loose ends.  And for what?  So that He, the very Creator of our story, could bring us to Himself, approved and blameless.  

What will your role be?

Stripping the Old Thing

When Jason and I were newly married we supped at a farmhouse dinning room table, an acquisition of mine from a garage sale instigated by the need for cheap items while furnishing an apartment during college years earlier.  We both liked the table except for it's awful red hued finish, so we set about stripping the old thing.  The old varnish did not relinquish it's right to color the wood easily.  After a week of working on the table nightly dutifully applying the chemical stripper and scraping off the bubbled gunk, we could see the glimmer of beauty beneath.  Another week's hard labor was spent sanding the said table by hand first with gritty rough paper that gave way to finer and finer grade.  Close to finished the table was more beautiful than it had ever been but the wood grain, it's natural form with nothing to intensify the beauty of delicate lines swirling onto knots intricately numbering the years given to the tree it was milled from, was almost unremarkable.  The first drop of linseed oil brought all that veiled beauty into focus.  Gently we rubbed oil into each board.  The created thing intensified and made clear.  Detail upon hidden detail unclouded, luminous.

I have been that table, though in which phase of the stripping I am slightly unsure.  Whether God is still using strong chemicals to strip painfully away the gunk that has accumulated over time or if He, in His great wisdom, has already donned glove and sanding block I can not quite tell.  A thing worked on rarely has the insight to rightly discern it's own progress.  Scraping and sanding feel very similar to the soul until it is complete and memory recalls the slight change in shape of the stripping away, a hard steel edge versus the many faceted grit of sand.  If I were to hazard a guess however,  I think God has pulled out his stock of sanding supplies to use on me, not the fine grit mind you but past the smelly chemicals except perhaps in corners where old things hold deeper on.  In those places God takes extra time being absolutely sure the old varnish doesn't cling to the cracks;  those places hurt most intensely but are made the more beautiful for it.  

God has spiritually been stripping the old things from me over the recent years.  The transition from hard steel to grit of sand, I believe, has been marked by several things the most visible being the physical stripping of old things.  There is change with the prospect of tremendous growth when one can do nothing but lay about.  Bitterness and frustration threaten but I know what the unveiled beauty of that common farmhouse table looked like.  How much more so a prized and favored creation thought of and beloved from before time itself?

And I know when the rough stripping is finished the finer work begins.  The sanding process requires patience and an eye for perfection.  Timing is tantamount.  Linseed applied too soon and some beauty is left unseen, uncovered, veiled and hidden from view.  I have patience yet for this fine work when it begins if it hasn't already started.  And what will be my linseed?  What will God add to bring out the beauty He created in me?  A Divine Rag soaked in His great grace lovingly, gently applied till all comes to Light. 

Distracted

Apparently God isn't done teaching me things yet while I slowly recover.  I suppose that should not come as a shock to me or anyone but I thought I had learned enough from this whole ordeal; God has other plans.

I picked up a book a few days ago that I had been reading over the last few months; it is a fabulous book called Twelve Extraordinary Women by John MacArthur.  MacArthur delves into the lives and the impact 12 different women of the Bible had in their time and in ours.  The chapter I read the other day was about Martha and Mary and a specific visit Jesus made to their home found in Luke 10.  Four simple words have been bouncing around in my head ever since.

"distracted with much serving"

I have read this story so many times.  Mostly I have found this story used as a call to be still, to be a mindful worshiper.  MacArthur does touch on that truth, however, he seeks to find the jewel in Martha's service by comparing her to another of Jesus' hosts found in Luke 7.   "Martha, to her great credit, was at the opposite end of the hospitality spectrum from Simon the Pharisee.  She fussed over her hostessing duties.  She wanted everything to be just right.  She was a conscientious and considerate hostess, and these were admirable traits.  Much in her behavior was commendable."  Martha's practicality and desire to give her Lord her best are things I can relate to easily.

Being a word junkie I started to dig.  The word perispao that in NIV translates as "distracted" is translated in KJV as "was cumbered."  Mr. Webster defines the verb "distracted" as such, "to take (attention) away from someone or something", "to draw or direct (as one's attention) to a different object or in different directions at the same time", and "to stir up or confuse with conflicting emotions or motives."   The verb "cumbered" is defined as such, "to hinder by being in the way, to clutter up."

One more word study and I will get to the meat of the lesson God is teaching me.  The word translated as "serving" is dikonia.  This word is the same word that is translated in many places in the Bible as "to minister."  Mr Webster defines "serving" as such, "to be of use", "to be worthy of reliance or trust", and "to give the service and respect due to a superior." Webster also defines "serving" as "to set out portions of food or drink."  Although that is the physical situation Martha was in during this glimpse into her home, I have a feeling her spiritual and emotional desires run more along the lines of the first three definitions.

   

I'd like to think the best of Martha, perhaps because she is much like myself.  Martha was drawn in many directions that day and the house guests, Jesus in particular, resulted in conflicting emotions.  She desired to lavish Jesus with the service He deserved.  She was upset that others, her sister in particular, were not on the same page.  I defend her actions because I am wired similarly. Hopefully I would not judge my sister based on how she lavished her dikonia on our house guests.  I would be in the kitchen even if no one else was.  

But now that I cannot be of physical service I am forced to sit at His feet.  Between you and me, I think He has been trying to get me to this place for quite some time.  It is not just serving God that has become more practical busy-ness than relational.  It is the same with family and friends.  "Serving in the kitchen" and neglecting to purposefully "share a meal."  Doing for them instead of being with them.  The Bible calls us to both types of service.

MacArthur ends the chapter with this,

"Martha was a noble and godly woman with a servant's heart and a rare capacity for work.  Mary was nobler still, with an unusual predisposition for worship and wisdom.  Both were remarkable in their own ways.  If we weigh their gifts and their instincts together, they give us a wonderful example to follow.  May we diligently cultivate the best instincts of both of these extraordinary women."

A Slow Train Coming

It has been so long since I have written anything.  But I do have a solid excuse!  Summer has come and gone in a whirlwind.  I have enjoyed almost every moment of it with my kids and hubby.  The enjoyment came to an abrupt end when the migraine began in early August.


The last three weeks of August has gone by in a blur with only a few specific moments standing out.  A lot has happened but for me it has all be dulled and sloshed together by pain or pain killers and countless hours lying down.  Now, 4 weeks later, I am still walking like a 90 year old - a slow train coming down the tracks with intent and purpose but very little fire. 

I am struggling to find the purpose of the last 4 weeks of my life.  I have asked God many times what I am to learn from this, why is it happening.  He has been fairly quiet; I think God wants me to figure this one out on my own…maybe that should be a type of compliment or perhaps a last ditch effort to get me to pay attention to previous lessons.  Three things have occurred to me in the past few days and I am sure the Holy Spirit has something to do with them.

1.  It is not all about me.  How many times does God have to teach me that one until I finally get it all the way to my core?  This time of hurt and healing is as much about those around me as it has to do with me.  Growing others by having them step up to serve, having them close the gap to make things happen, maturing my children in ways that couldn't happen otherwise, and forcing me to step out of the way so that others can find their potential.  Hello, my name is Koren, and I am addicted to doing. And sometimes my doing gets in God's way.

2.  Patience is a virtue I haven't yet mastered. Have any of you?  I would love your cheat sheet – there I go again not being patient.  Patience with others is so much easier than patience with self.  

3.  King David had it right.  I need to call on God in times of personal trial, especially in times of personal trial.  Who else am I going to go to?  

I confess all this to you as a means of encouragement.  We all have been through impossible situations that seem like they are going to swallow us whole.  But with God all things are possible.  And He uses everything in our lives to draw us closer to Him, grow us to be more like Him, and show Christ to those around us.  All we have to do is believe, trust, obey, and walk the road we are on in full confidence, not in ourselves, but in Him who made us.

Rahab

I have been reading a book about women of the Bible. The last chapter I read was about Rahab. I have a lot in common with her, not her line of work of course but with her need for extraordinary grace. The author says, "Rahab was redeemed not because of any meritorious works she did. She did not earn God's favor by any good deeds. Remember, even what she did do right – harboring the spies – was morally tainted because of the way she handled it. She lied. But she is not given to us as an example of the power of human works. She is not a lesson in how to better ourselves through self-improvement. She is a reminder that God by His grace can redeem even the most horrible life."

No matter what amount of "self-improvement" I can muster the sins that I struggle with persist. Why? Because only God's amazing grace can redeem the sin nature in me. I have a new Bible hero – Rahab. Some theologians attempt to sterilize her background with creative interpretations of the original wording in the Bible. She was a prostitute.  There is no way around it - distasteful as it may be.  God purposely choose her, I believe because of her great sin.  Her story is not her own.  It is God's.  If you "remove the stigma of sin" you also "remove the need for grace. Rahab is extraordinary precisely because she received extraordinary grace. There's no need to reinvent her past to try to make her seem less of a sinner. The disturbing fact about what she once was simply magnifies the glory of divine grace, which is what made her the extraordinary woman she became. That, after all, is the whole lesson of her life."

I admit my affinity to Rahab.  God has not allowed me to forget how closely I am related to her in my frustrating ability to sin and my need for His love and grace.  Recently a friend shared a link to another blog, parts of which resonated with me just as deeply as Rahab's life story perhaps because it is so much a part of Rahab's story.  

"…start imagining what it would feel like to throw away our internal lists of all the expectations that we put on ourselves, and others.  That's a scary kind of freedom that is offered to us.  Grace can be dangerous like that.

Though it's tough to take the time to examine our hearts at a deeper level, and expose our fears and our self righteous judgements…we can know that when we do that, God's incredible love and acceptance is just waiting to swallow us up!

As we press on in learning to rest in that kind of grace, we can thank God for the cross.  The one place we can run to for refuge.

Thank the Lord there is an endless supply of His grace awaiting there for all of us…every single day."

Ever feel like sin begins to define who we are?  Like it is going to swallow you up and never spit you back out again.  That like Paul you can honestly say, "The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.  I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it.  Instead, I do what I hate."  Romans 7:14-15  (At least I am in good company.)  Sin can become so much a part of our lives that it begins to be who we view ourselves as, who others view us as.  How hard must it have been for Rahab to allow God to redefine who she was in His light and truth?  She had been a prostitute and, although the town she lived in was destroyed and every person put to death except for Rahab and her closest family members; she had herself to contend with.  Ourselves and our families are often the hardest to convince of change perhaps because they generally know us the best.

God as our Heavenly Father doesn't have that problem.  He created us perfectly in His image.  He sees what we do not, the creation before sin.  He knows what we could be and desires above all else to reveal His nature in us.

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1  Nothing in this verse says it will be easy.  True freedom rarely is.  But the verse says that true freedom is possible – that is the hope of Christ.  "But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good.  So I am not the one doing wrong; it is the sin in me that does it."  Romans 7:16-17 When we allow Christ full access to our hearts and are willing to dive into the deep with Him by our side, His light will illuminate even our darkest most entrenched corners of self expectation and definition.  His light will strengthen the truth found there and eliminate the lies replacing them with nothing less than Himself.  Glory!

The Curator Part 2

I have been thinking a lot this morning about how God is a curator, my curator.  A curator is defined as a person in charge of a museum selecting and managing its contents.  They choose the masterpieces to put on display and see the counterfeits for what they are – a cheap replica that has no real value. Legally, a curator is a guardian of a minor, lunatic, or other incompetent.  Some days that may fit the description of God's job in my life a bit better than taking care of priceless art.  But what really caught my attention this morning is the origin of the word.  It comes from a 14th century Latin word cura which means to care for, attend to and is the same root that gave us the word "cure".

I think that God has His job cut out for Him in selecting and managing those things in me He wants to care for and attend to with the purpose of healing them and making them whole.  The problem is that sometimes the painting He wants to attend to, a counterfeit that needs to burn or a masterpiece that needs some cleaning,  refuses to leave its place on the wall.  It seems as though I have inadvertently been too liberal with the super glue of entrenched ideas and sin.  What a privilege it would be to be fully restored.  To walk down the hall of my life and see masterpiece after masterpiece lined up and beautiful giving glory to God.  Oh Lord help me stop getting in Your way.  And thank You that You are stronger than super glue!

Beauty

Much as Eve was the crown of creation, dance is the quintessential art form.  And classical ballet, in my humble opinion, would be the art form's crown.  Maybe that is why I love it so much.  It is the perfect marriage of form, beauty, artistry, music, power, and determination.  Indeed, Albert Einstein once said, "Dancers are the athletes of God."

My Epitaph

In some leisure reading this week I came across a comical expression, "unsuccessful attire".  It was in George Eliot's Scenes of Clerical Life and described a woman in a certain parish.  I chuckled to myself when that description of the ladies clothing choice was offered.  My first thought, I must confess , was "I certainly hope none can say that about my attire."  My second thought came quickly after, "There are much worse things than unsuccessful attire."

For instance, to be remembered for "unsuccessful parenting" or "unsuccessful maturing in the Lord" or "unsuccessful homemaking".  The list could be virtually endless.  This thought chain lead me to thinking about what I would want written about me, which then lead me to an obscure book I bought years ago at a Christian conference.  It is one of a very few books on my shelf that I haven't finished, the writing is unremarkable.  Why buy it?  It was the dedication to the author's mother (who happens to have a fabulous name).

To ALBY KIPHUTH-

Or as I know her,

Mom.

You have always been a great adventurer, a passionate lover of life, a free spirit with a questioning mind, an insatiable curiosity, an extraordinary resilience, and an indomitable spirit.

You are proof of the beauty of the human spirit.

So much better than "unsuccessful attire", no?  It is almost exactly what I want as my epitaph.  The only addition needed is how none of it would be possible without the inexpressible grace and mercy of my Lord and Savior, Jesus who loves me despite myself.  

How would you want your epitaph to read?

Easter!

You all know how I love quotes so I thought I would put a bit of a collection together for you today.  Think on these as you prepare your heart for Easter.

The joyful news that He is risen does not change the contemporary world.  Still before us lie work, discipline, sacrifice.  But the fact of Easter gives us the spiritual power to do the work, accept the discipline, and make the sacrifice.  ~Henry Knox Sherril

Let every man and woman count himself immortal.  Let him catch the revelation of Jesus in his resurrection.  Let him say not merely, "Christ is risen," but "I shall rise."  ~Phillips Brooks

Easter is not a time for groping through dusty, musty tomes or tombs…  It is a day to fan the ashes of dead hope, a day to banish doubts and seek the slopes where the sun is rising, to revel in the faith which transports us out of ourselves and the dead past into the vast and inviting unknown.  ~Author unknown, as quoted in the Lewiston Tribune

He takes men out of time and makes them feel eternity.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

See the land, her Easter keeping,
Rises as her Maker rose.
Seeds, so long in darkness sleeping,
Burst at last from winter snows.
Earth with heaven above rejoices...  ~Charles Kingsley

To a Christian, Easter Sunday means everything, when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. ~Bernhard Langer

May you live your life with the power of Christ's resurrection which gives the sure hope of your own salvation reveling in the faith that allows us to know Eternity.  See around you nature's evidence and find in Easter everything.

Trail Blaze

 We all journey through life, sometimes on the road easily walking along and sometimes hoofing it through scrub.  I have found that through life, even in the thickest part of the forest, God gives me road markers to point the way, to teach me something of myself, and to reveal a bit more of who God is.  They are like blazes on trails, keeping me going in the right direction toward my final destination.

I have found my next road marker. It is this,

"So be careful how you live.  Don't live like fools, but like those who are wise.  Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.  Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the LORD wants you to do.  Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life.  Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves and making music to the LORD in your hearts.  And give thanks for everything to GOD the FATHER."  Ephesians 5:15-20

The last road marker God had me camped out at for quite some time.  I am not sure what His plan is at this one but I have already learned a great deal.  Like giving of my time to those around me.  Or putting extra thought into my words and actions.  

I am far from seeking the next one on the horizon although I yearn for it.  For that is when I know I have accomplished what God has planned.  

The Great Commodity: Self

I have several books on my "now-reading" list that are collecting dust.  I brushed one off last night and read a few chapters.  The Warmth of Other Suns is about the great migration of African Americans that occurred in the United States between the Civil War, World War II and into the 1970's.  I am toward the end.  Many of the participants in the book are reminiscing about how their migration from the south has affected their lives. 

In an interview one of the gentleman says, "So we are of a particular time" speaking of the historical events that he and those like him had lived through.  Freedom from slavery.  Jim Crow Laws.  Extreme racism.  Flight to the north or the west.  The generation that witnessed first hand many of these atrocities are now out of place, relics of an earlier time, seeking an outlet to teach the wisdom they gained finding the audience less than eager to listen.  

It got me thinking that we are all of a "particular time".  The events that surround us and, most importantly,  our reactions to them define us in some ways.  Like Pastor Shawn's message a few weeks ago about Philip and the Ethiopian or Queen Esther or any of us, we are all "of a particular time."  How we use that time we are in shapes us and becomes a part of our story.  It gives us specific wisdom if we are humble enough to be taught by it.  Wisdom to share if we are courageous enough to let God use it.

During Pastor Shawn's message God challenged me to spend myself for Him.  I have been talking with Him about what He meant exactly and have found that the situations I find myself in and events that unfold around me greatly determine how I spend myself for God, how I use this "particular time" for Him.  Most days I feel I have nothing left to spend but I have found the most amazing truth.  If God asks me to spend myself for Him in a certain situation He also gives me the means with which to pay.  St. Augustine once wrote, "Although He is our native country, He made Himself also the Way to that country."  God is my goal, and He is also the means with which to get to that goal.  How crazy cool is that!!!

We are all of a particular time.  I challenge you to spend your greatest commodity, yourself, for God within your particular time and trust that He will give you the currency you need for each specific situation.

He is a Great God and He will do it!

The Curator

To Curate
verb
select, organize, and look after the items in

It think that is what God is doing in me,  In each of us really.  

Footprints

God is gracious and has allowed me to measure my life with road markers from His Word.  As I stand looking back over the roadway of my life this morning I can see several stone markers in relief against the horizon.  There are smaller markers as well but over the last 15 or so years there have been several Scriptures that stand out marking great growth in my relationship with God.  I thought I would share them with you today.  The first listed below I came across pre-marriage but didn’t really allow to sink in until I was well into my first year.

“Listen to me, O royal daughter, take to heart what I say.  

Forget your people and your father’s house.

For the King is enthralled by your beauty;

Honor Him, for He is your Lord.”

Psalm 45:10-11

Living to please only God and to trust that He made me beautiful was a hard long uphill climb but the view was worth it.  Lots of unnecessary baggage was left by the roadside as I gained that marker on my journey.  

One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 32.  At one time a verse from this Psalm was one God made me memorize because it described me to a tee.  

“The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life, I will advise you and watch over you.  

Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”  

Psalm 32:8-9

On a quick side note, the word translated as “mule” in this version is translated frequently into another word for a horse-like creature.  I felt like one a lot while God was teaching me the lessons I needed to learn during this time in my life.  The bit and bridle kept me on the roadway when I wanted to wander.  I can say that I need the bit and bridle much less these days, however, this side of heaven I think I will never fully quit them.  

“But now, O Jacob, listen to the LORD who created you.

O Israel, the one who formed you says.

“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.

I have called you by name; you are mine.”

Isaiah 43:1

Did you know that God has pet-names for us?  He does.  Ask Him and He will tell you yours.  It’s pretty cool to hear the Lord and Maker of the Universe call you by your heavenly given nickname.  Empowering and humbling all at the same time.  

So here I am.  Walking along the road looking to the horizon for my next marker, you see, those I have already passed were put in place long ago.  They have been frequented by others; they were established before the creation of the world.  I know I am not alone in this journey even if the markers I pass seem just for me.  The Words in Scripture were written for others just as much as they were written for me; and I seek my next wayside to learn more about myself and, more importantly, to learn more about God.

“They are not monuments, but footprints.  A monument says, ‘At least I got this far,’ while a footprint says, ‘This is where I was when I moved again.’”

William Faulkner

Her First Ball

So part of the crazy speed of things in my life happens to be my daughter's first ball.  She was asked, Jane Austen style, by her cousin to accompany her to the Winter Ball at her church and serve as charming conversationalist and dance partner should the need arise.  However, very un-Austenesque, she did wear her hair up (although she is not of age).  She is beautiful and growing up so fast.  The above picture I caught between dances.

A second ticket was procured so that I could chaperone and act as partner to my sister.  We had a wonderful time.  My sister and I danced most dances together trading off who was to be the boy or danced with our daughters.  The Fairfield Fancy was my favorite even though I sat out.  I developed a cold half way through the ball and if I were a Bennett would have gone home early much to the chagrin of my sister.  I toughed it out knowing that my friend Acetaminophen was waiting at home for me.

The whole evening was fabulous.  I think that there is nothing so magical as a true Ball filled with beautiful dresses, chivalrous men, great conversation, laughter, music, and traditional dances (as a nod to this side of the Atlantic we did dance the Virginian Reel.)  It has got me thinking of putting on my own Spring Ball, hence life at the speed of cheetah!!!!

cheetahs, childhood, and other things that move way to fast!

With my younger dancers I play game of Fast/Slow to teach them how to listen to music, recognize different tempos, and practice gross motor skills.   We skip and gallop to the fast music and tiptoe to the slow music.  It is lots of fun and always results in lots of giggles.  Unfortunately my life seems to be stuck on the fast music with no slow down in sight.  And, unlike the 3 year olds, I am no longer giggling at the chance to gallop full speed.  I am winded and my legs are beginning to ache.

I want to slow down but the music isn't cooperating.  Life seems to be moving at the speed of cheetah and I am doing all I can to keep up.  The first month of 2014 has flown by at record speed which leaves me wondering what the rest of this year will look like if in fact I can slow down enough to see more than a blur.  It also leaves me wondering if God even wants me to slow down at this particular time or if this crazy pace is part of His plan for me...

The un-resolution Resolution

I am not into New Year’s Resolutions but God has been showing me something (and you all know that I am a slow learner) that I need to put into practice this coming year.  In the past I haven’t called it judging but really labeling people is a nasty way to rename and justify judging others in a socially acceptable way.  Labeling (judging) others is harmful to adults and detrimental to children.  For example, a child hears they are a trouble maker as a child enough times that they soon to believe that a trouble maker is what they truly are.  But God doesn’t see them as such.  He sees His own wonderful creation struggling under guilt and shame or anger and hatred and His heart breaks for them knowing that is not what He had planned for them.  

I think if we all dig a bit we can find something similar in our own pasts.  I know I have struggled to break the lies of Satan that I swallowed as a child so that I could be free in Christ.  Not all but many of them were begun or reinforced by words of others.  Arrows used by Satan to sting that stuck in my little heart.  God has removed them gently one by one healing the hurt places, allowing the garden to grow.  Can you imagine what this next generation could do if they grew up knowing the truth of who God made them?  If they grew up without the twisted lies of the evil one tainting their self image?  

“Important in any community of faith is an ever-renewed sense of expectation in what God is doing with our brothers and sisters in the faith.  We refuse to label the others as one thing or another.  We refuse to predict our brother’s behavior, our sister’s growth.  Each person in the community is unique, each is specially loved and particularly led but the Spirit of God.  How can I presume to make conclusions about anyone?  How can I pretend to know your worth or your place?”  Eugene Peterson

So this year I am going to strive to bring to fruition this truth and look with God’s eyes on everyone I meet.  For children especially, to look for what God has placed in them that is special and tell them about it so that they will hear the marvelous plan of God for their lives at least in part.  What an amazing generation of children we have growing up before us!  Let’s help to make them realize the truth about who they are in Christ.

“No recorded cultural system has ever had enough different expectations to match all the children who were born within it.”  Margaret Mead

Advent Series 301: Christmas Morning

Christmas Morning is finally here!!!!  All the expectation and preparation has come to an end.  The gifts all wrapped, the cookies all baked, And we light the center white candle.  

Everyone has their own Christmas Morning Traditions.  This is how we start our Christmas Morning.  Unfortunately it starts with a rule...the kids aren't allowed out of their rooms until we tell them it is time.  So that Daddy and I can get up and make a fabulous breakfast and set the table and have a cup of coffee before the craziness begins.  (It's funny but that rule has not once been broken.  Maybe they fear loss of presents?  No stipulation has ever been made but stay in their rooms they do, although we hear the impatience of childhood down the hall.)

Once allowed out of their rooms we have a feast of a breakfast which always includes some sort of eggs, bacon, Monkey Bread, and fruit salad along with a cookie tray of whatever is left.  During breakfast we read the Christmas Story out of Luke 2 and, generally read some devotional type reflection. Lighting the candles is exciting because the kids get to recite what each represents and then we light the center candle.  I use a three-wick candle to represent the Trinity and we talk about how God sent His Son and then later the Holy Spirit came for all believers.  This year we finished out with Christ in Christmas:  A Family Advent Celebration.

After a leisurely breakfast we move to the living room.  The leisure part of breakfast was the hardest to enforce when the kids were young.  But they both realized that 1. Mom and Dad aren't giving in, 2.  The gifts aren't going anywhere, and 3. Time with family is a better gift.  

First on our agenda this year was sponsoring a child through Compassion International.  As a family we decided to forgo some of our gifts so that we could use that money to sponsor a child.  We picked Christon from the Philippines.  He had been waiting for a sponsor for over a year.  His birthday is in March. The kids were excited that they get to send him cards in a bit!!!!  

Then we open our gifts one at a time.  We don't tear into them but open each one and enjoy the time and effort it took to pick it out.  The kids open toys if they were given any and play.  Then we remember there are more and open another one.  It is such a fun time to take our time.  My kids amaze me each and every year.  Even this year with fewer and smaller gifts they are always amazing grateful.  I think because the gifts are a byproduct of Christmas not the real thing and we have always made an effort to enforce that truth.  

We give gifts because God gave the best gift to us - His Son.  The real gifts of Christmas for my family are the special time we get to spend together, the slowly built traditions of years past that help us focus on God and on family.  The wrapped stuff under the tree is like the sprinkles on a sugar cookie.

Christmas Night we pull out The Advent Book and read it all the way through.  We talk about our day before we fall into bed, happy and exhausted!