Christmas Musings

Here I sit, basking in the glow of the Christmas tree lights on a quiet early morning. The kiddos are still abed, the Hero has left for work, and a bird is singing outside the window. It is 4 days until Christmas and as I enjoy my coffee and breathe a sigh of relief at having finished the Christmas shopping, I begin to muse…

I have a confession to make. Although we have bought & decorated a tree, made & bought & wrapped gifts, sung carols, read the Christmas story and watched the Nutcracker ballet, I do not feel “Christmas-y.” Yes, here I sit on December 20th with everything except Christmas Spirit. I’ve tried manufacturing the peace & joy of the season by going through all the normal motions of preparation and tradition but I still don’t feel it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a Scrooge “bah humbugging” everything. I’m simply empty, hollow…perhaps even feeling dead inside. As though my heart needs a jolt from a Holy AED.

I don’t know that the feeling is altogether new or just related to Christmas, perhaps its been coming on for a while. Perhaps a dozen little factors have at last compiled and I’m feeling the effects. It hasn’t been a bad year…in fact, for the most part, its been great! Except for one thing. I’m soul-hungry. Somewhere in all that has gone on this year I stopped purposefully feeding my heart, nurturing the connection to the Life-giver and slowly my heart has slipped into unconsciousness, unresponsiveness.

In this (very) rare moment of quiet and solitude, I just want to sit and soak it in– the peace of this moment. I want it to permeate my soul, wash away all the shadows, turmoil, worries inside. But as a bubble bursts all too easily, I know– and perhaps even fear– that this feeling of peace will shatter as soon as small voices break the silence. The day will have to begin– meals & cleaning, conflict resolution & correction, Christmas preparations and everything else. (side note: my children are not the issue, they are merely the noise factor in this equation)

How does one hold to the peace of quiet, still solitude when surrounded by noise and activity…when unable to be physically still because the to-do list demands otherwise? How does one wake up a comatose heart and fill it with the wonder, joy, and peace of the celebration of Christmas– God’s gift of love beyond all we can imagine?

For me, today begins with a desperate 911 call to the Creator, Sustainor, Life-giver. The One who is Joy and Hope and Peace. The One who heals and revives hearts. The Babe in the manger, the Savior on the cross and the Father willing to sacrifice, to suffer so much out of love because He wants a relationship with us– with me.

In desperation to hear His voice, to feel revived, I begin to read…from scripture, from a devotional book. Suddenly, I am struck.

Revelation 3:1 I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive but you are dead.

“We live under Christ’s watchful eye. He isn’t looking to be sure we are busy, but to see that we are obedient to His Guiding Spirit. He watches not just to see what we are doing but looking at our hearts, also at why we are doing it” Henry & Richard Blackaby (emphasis mine)

1 Samuel 16:7 …for the Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks on the outward appearance but the Lord looks on the heart.

It is always about the heart, isn’t it? What you do and how you do it are less important than the why…the heart attitude and motivation behind it.

And the musings take a bit of a turn…

What does this have to do with Christmas?

Christmas in our house is a busy season. I love to fill the calendar with special events and activities for my kiddos. We bake treats and decorate gingerbread, play with fake snow, make gifts and set up our Christmas village.  While I will admit that some of our past projects have been a little too ambitious, not a single one has been bad or sinful. But what about the heart? Why do all the activities, the crafts…because that is how Christmas is “done”? To impress others with my planning, organization, craftiness, and talented children? To win the Pinterest-mother-of-the-year award? Hmm…

What if…what if we just got back to the heart?

I’m coming back to the heart of worship,

And its all about You, all about You, Jesus,

I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it,

When its all about You, its all about You, Jesus.

What if our focus changed.  Forget the trappings of Christmas and just worship. Worship with all of our hearts a Savior willing to sacrifice everything out of love for us. Could we maybe get less caught up in perfect decorations, stunning party food, and blow-their-socks-off presents and instead got caught up in the overwhelming realization of the depth of God’s love for us?

I can’t speak for anyone else but I know that this is a season that gets busy, overscheduled, stressful and tiring no matter how much I hope and plan to make it otherwise.  And it is so very easy to miss Christ in Christmas. No matter how many times we parrot “Jesus is the reason for the season!” The words become part of the routine, the habit, what we do not the why behind it.

Sometimes, just sometimes, I feel like we all are in preparation for the biggest party of the year. Months of preparation and planning. Countless hours on Pinterest choosing just the right DIY tablescape.  Multiple shopping trips looking for just. the. right. gift. Not to mention the menu planning.

At last, it is time for the party…the guests arrive and are suitably awed by our decorations. The food is delicious…everyone raves. Each gift is spot-on perfection. In fact, the party is so stunning, so grand that no one notices what is missing.

The guest of honor has been left outside.

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hear my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.

What good news! He doesn’t go home brokenhearted about being left out of His own party. He stands, waits, ready to come in. He even knocks, calling to us, wanting us to experience the fullness of the celebration– the joy only He brings.

Whatever you do the Christmas…tree or no tree…Griswold-style decorations or none at all…40 types of Christmas treats, or 1, or none…gifts, no gifts…keeping tradition, skipping them or making new ones…whatever floats your boat, whatever works for you. But do this one thing: OPEN THE DOOR.

Let Christ in to your Christmas. Let all your doing be motivated by a heart full of praise. Let this be a season of worship. After all, what are we celebrating but our great God and His great Gift of Love to us? The Babe in the manger who became the Savior on the cross and the Father willing to sacrifice, to suffer so much out of love because He wants a relationship with us. Because He wants to come in and dine (fellowship) with us. Sin closed the door, Jesus unlocked it but the last part is up to us.

Just open the door.

Hands & Feet

Today, this brother

Is flying to meet up with this girl (and some other people)

To serve these people

In this country

Together they are being the hands & feet of Christ. In Africa, they are serving…here at home, they are inspiring this kid

Who is attacking lessons in reading & writing so he can study scripture and will be prepared when his time comes to go tell and he is looking for opportunities to go tell right here at home…at 6 years old.

I am humbled and convicted. My eyes are blurred with tears.

The world is full of needs– from the homeless in your neighborhood to orphans in Guatemala to widows in Uganda and so many more! Do you care? Are you praying, giving, going? Are you being the hands & feet of Christ? Are you letting His light shine through your life…not just in big, get-everyone’s-attention kind of ways but in every little choice you make each day?

Are you living your life to make great the name of God or to make great your own name?

When I say “you” I hear the question pointed at myself. What about me…what am I doing? For today, I am praying…for the group in & headed to Uganda…for my son and his burning desire to go tell…for you, as you muse with me on how we can be hands & feet.

Rocking & Winning

– sisters rock. Especially mine. 2 have had babies in the past month and the other completed a 5k mud run. They are awesome friends and support and they tell it like it is. We can converse in movie quotes and disagree without having a falling out. I’m telling ya, they rock.

– my kiddos understand the meaning of the number 24601…that’s a win

– one of my kiddos dubbed a local pond “the lake of shining waters” – also a win!

– a group of men from our church took time out of their busy lives and drove to Georgia this weekend to attend Johnny Hunt’s men’s conference so they could grow and be challenged as men, husbands and fathers. That ROCKS.

– introduced my kids to this secret buddy idea (http://www.jessicalynette.com/12-habits/games-that-encourage-the-habit-of-noticing-others-needs/) and they took action on it, before I even assigned buddies! WIN

– texting and blogging is turning an acquaintanceship into a friendship…even though we live an ocean apart. (ok, technically, its a gulf but its still A LOT OF WATER!) That rocks!

– my baby brother taught my son to tie his shoes. That’s a win!

– my reluctant reader decided to teach a younger sibling to read…the lesson was successful. That’s a rockin’ win!

– long-overdue date with my Hero…great food and conversation. Win!

– and speaking of my Hero…he ROCKS. Just sayin’.

– Jesus has more grace for us than we can handle. That rocks.

– actually, He doesn’t just rock, He *is* the Rock and He has defeated the enemy eternally. That means, because of the ROCK, I WIN.

What’s rocking and winning in your neck of the woods?

Perspective

I’m typing this just before bed and I’m bone tired. Just been one of those weeks. One thing on top of another.

In the past few days, though, I’ve been hit with a fresh dose of perspective. You know, the kind that makes you feel like you got punched in the gut by a semi truck?

And it got me to musing…

– my washing machine broke, I cannot wash clothes…somewhere a mother has nothing to feed her children.

– my baby is not feeling well and is very clingy and fussy…somewhere a set of parents are clinging to each other mourning the loss of their child

– someone treated me rudely…somewhere a young girl has been torn from her family and shipped across the globe to be mistreated, used, and abused

– my husband failed to communicate…somewhere a widow is reeling in shock from her sudden loss

– my kiddos are playing too loud & rowdy and won’t settle down…somewhere a family sits around a hospital bed praying for the best, that their precious one will be well & rowdy again soon

– I’m tired of beginning again, of starting over tomorrow…somewhere, someone just found out that they are all out of “tomorrows”

Suddenly my lot isn’t so bad. My complaints are turned to praises. My discontent & ungratefulness melt away.

When in doubt, check your perspective.

Works for me: The Spouse 4 Gift Formula

Christmas is coming! Are you ready?

I don’t know about you but we try to keep the presents from holding center stage in our celebration.  They are, however, a part of it.

There are all sorts of suggestions on how to give gifts to your children– 3 gifts to represent the Magi’s gifts, 4 gifts (want, need, wear, read), no gifts and donating or giving to others instead– but what I want to know is: what does one give a spouse?!?!?!

I think there are a few people who do well at this, you know, the ones with giving gifts as a love language.

Then there is the rest of us. The ones who said “lets not do gifts” but then, suspicious that the other spouse did rushes to CVS on Christmas Eve to find something…anything.  Or the ones who bust the budget on a completely misguided attempt at what they wanted or needed.

Why is it that the ones we love most and know best are the hardest ones to choose a gift for? Argh!

This year, I am saying “no more!” to my gift giving frustration and I am offering my formula to you in hopes that your gift-giving and Christmas celebration will be more relaxed and enjoyable as a result.

**A few notes: Consider this formula fodder for brainstorming,a place to start.  Each gift can be adjusted to fit your budget (from on-the-cheap to extravagant) and personality (if he doesn’t like to read, ignore the book suggestions…unless he might like an audio version).  Also, as a wife, I wrote this thinking about my husband but I believe the formula would work just as well for husbands to choose gifts for their wives.**

The Spouse 4 Gift Formula –

1) A gift for him as a man. This could be something he needs or wants (like clothes, shoes, a book) or something for his favorite hobby (fishing rod, golf balls & tees, a specialty tool) or something you know he likes (gift card to his favorite restaurant or store) or an item for his collection. This is where you really consider his tastes and interests, things he has mentioned wanting, and how he likes to spend his time.  You could stretch this category to include something he may need for work.

2) A gift for him as a Christian.  It is important to encourage our spouses in their personal walk with Christ, so give a gift that does that. Print out & laminate verse cards for the passage he wants to memorize, a devotional or Bible study book, a new Bible…maybe even arrangements to attend a Men’s Conference.

3) A gift for him as a husband. Plan a special date night or a whole year of dates, find a book you can read & discuss together (so many options here! Could be about marriage or any topic you are both interested in or the latest fiction bestseller or a classic), create some “love coupons” or buy something for you to wear for him…not gonna go any further on this one, I think you get the idea.

4) A gift for him as a father. Plan a family fun day, a gift card or supplies for an activity he can do with the kiddos (model to build, puzzle, bowling, movie…) framed pictures for his desk at work, put together a Hero kit. This is a great time to have the kiddos make or choose a gift!

That’s it.  Now I haven’t told you exactly what to give but hopefully I’ve given you a starting place to think about your man and ways that you can bless him in each area of his life.  I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas! Don’t forget to came back after Dec 25th and let me know what you gave. 🙂

A Journey of Thankfulness – Day 9 & 10

I am thankful for blogs.

Seriously. I have been encouraged, challenged, taught, and inspired through blogs. In fact, it was this blog and this blog that gave me the final push to start my own blog.

As a married, stay-at-home, homeschooling, mother of four, life-long-learning, Christ follower, my life would not be the same without the blogs I follow.

As much as I love to read, in this season of my life, I don’t have much time to read (or when I do I fall asleep before I read more than a page or two) so the average blogpost is just the right length.

Related:

I am thankful for my iPhone.

The top two reasons I love my iPhone are:
1) I always have a camera so I am better able to capture life’s precious moments. (like this one)

2) I can catch up on my reading (you know, those blogs I mentioned!) any time and place.

I also have some fun educational apps that help to redeem an occasional lost school day. 🙂

I am so blessed.

A Journey of Thankfulness – Day 8

I am thankful for our home.

Although I take it for granted too often, I love our house. I fell in love with it first time I saw it. Since then it has become more than just a building, it is a home.

As the weather turns colder, I am reminded how grateful I ought to be for a cozy house that protects us from wind and rain and cold. Or in the summer for shelter from the blazing sun and, of course, air conditioning!

I could look around and list all the to-do, fix-it-up projects I would like to do but today I am simply grateful. Grateful for a nice house, warm beds and people I love to snuggle up with.

I am so blessed.

A Journey of Thankfulness – Day 7

I am thankful for hope…for peace…for salvation.

I am thankful that my hope and salvation is not tied to any earthly thing…not how much money we make, or how much we give, not acceptance from certain people and not even who is President. My peace is not a facade but a deep inner calm, a resting in the knowledge that the Creator of the universe still rules over the whole universe. All things are in His hands. All things happen on His timeline.

He created me and made a way, through Jesus, that I could know Him. Throughout my life He has worked in me and through me and for me. He hears me when I call and when I can’t even put my thoughts into words He hears my heart.

He sees the big picture– He created the big picture– and it is far bigger than I can fathom. There is peace in trusting the One who sees it all.

For Christ-followers, there ought to be precious little that upsets us, after all, this is only temporary. This life is short. This is just the dress rehearsal. No matter what happens here, no matter our situation or circumstances, we have the hope of eternity. We have hope. There are mountains of hopelessness in this world but Christ offers abundant hope. Those who know it and experience it should rest in it and share it.

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

I am so blessed.

Musing on life and death

My grandfather passed away on October 14. In a way, it was expected. We knew it was only a matter of time. But in the end, it seemed sudden.

Years of fading away due to dementia can’t prepare you for the phone call…”you’d better come now, it won’t be long.”

The family came from far and wide. There were flowers. There was a funeral. There were tears and some great memories shared. There were a lot of conversations with my kiddos about death & heaven.

My Papa was a precise man, into details. He kept the books for his church and could account for every single penny.

He never bought a new item to replace an old one if there was any chance at all that he could fix it. I think he loved the challenge of fixing things, solving the problem.

Perhaps my clearest memory of Papa Jack is his shirt pocket. It was always full. He had the necessities– pens & pencils, toothpicks & cough drops. But he also carried a yellow, laminated card with the “Romans Road” printed on it. Simple truth and always ready to share it.

All of this got me to musing…on death but also on life.

What is life but a vapor, a breath? A finite and temporary existence. Yet often we live like this is all we’ve got. We cling to our stuff and to our loved ones as if this is what it’s all about. We say we believe but we are unwilling to give up our comforts to share Truth, to give others a chance to know Christ too.

We value stuff and having more and convenience.

God’s economy doesn’t work that way. Jesus had IT ALL yet He inconvenienced Himself, gave up every comfort…gave His life. And for what? So we can live in comfort, knowing our “fire insurance” is in place? Hardly.

So what is it all about? Why are we here? It’s the question of the ages, isn’t it?

The answer, for me, is at once simple and impossibly complex.

Simply, we are here for His glory. We are here to worship Him.

Digging deeper, every facet of our lives– whether ‘good’ or ‘bad’– is connected to this purpose. The choices we make should reflect our relationship with Christ. We should be known at work, at school and among our friends and family as Christ followers. In our reactions, others should see the peace that passes understanding. We are to be like lighthouses…letting His light shine through us.

(More on lighthouses another time.)

There are many ways to worship God, to let His light shine through us: Prayer, singing praises, using the gifts that He has given you, expressing gratefulness, telling others about Jesus…to name a few.

That’s why Papa carried that yellow card, always ready to share about Jesus. He probably started by asking, “if you died today, are you 100% certain that you would go to heaven?”

Then the card would come out and he’d share the Romans Road…

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
We all have sin in our hearts. We all were born with sin.
We were born under the power of sin’s control.
– Admit that you are a sinner.

Romans 6:23a “…The wages of sin is death…”
Sin has an ending. It results in death. We all face physical death, which is a result of sin. But a worse death is spiritual death that alienates us from God, and will last for all eternity. The Bible teaches that there is a place called the Lake of Fire where lost people will be in torment forever. It is the place where people who are spiritually dead will remain.
– Understand that you deserve death for your sin.

Romans 6:23b “…But the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Salvation is a free gift from God to you! You can’t
earn this gift, but you must reach out and receive it.
– Ask God to forgive you and save you.

Romans 5:8, “God demonstrates His own love for us, in
that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us!”
When Jesus died on the cross He paid sin’s penalty. He paid the price for all sin, and when He took all the sins of the world on Himself on the cross, He bought us out of slavery to sin and death! The only condition is that we believe in Him and what He has done for us, understanding that we are now joined with Him, and that He is our life. He did all this because He loved us and gave Himself for us!
– Give your life to God… His love poured out in Jesus on the cross is your only hope to have forgiveness and change. His love bought you out of being a slave to sin. His love is what saves you — not religion, or church membership. God loves you!

Romans 10:13 “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved!”
– Call out to God in the name of Jesus!

Romans 10:9,10 “…If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, you shall be saved; for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
– If you know that God is knocking on your heart’s door,
ask Him to come into your heart.

Death often comes unexpectedly but even when someone lives to a ripe old age, death can come before we are ready. So I must ask you, are you ready? If you died today, where would you spend eternity? If your eternity is sealed by the blood of Christ, are you ready to share that hope with others?

God was glorified in both the life & death of my Papa. He was ready. Are you?