Sunday, December 24, 2017
Friday, December 22, 2017
step dad
Step dads don't get a lot of great
press. Generally speaking, they weren't chosen by the child.
Frequently, they act in the place of a dearly loved "real" dad, with
all the resentment that carries. They don't have all the clout or
authority they would with a biological child. It's a tough job, but as
they say, someone has to do it...
Jesus was raised by a step dad -
Joseph. As if Joseph didn't have it bad enough, Jesus real father
actually IS perfect!! He is quite the investor, too - designing the
entire universe along with His son's assistance. Though apparently, Joe
didn't have to discipline the eldest child in the household. I wonder if
he felt like a third wheel at times.
But that step dad stepped up when
the going was tough. He married a disgraced fiancé, and took some of the
disgrace upon himself, though it wasn't deserved. He ended up running for
his life to a foreign country with his bride and step son, again, through no
fault of his own. Joe falls off the Biblical pages long before his son
was kindergarten age. Maybe he was around for Jesus' teenage years and
young adulthood. We don't know. But we know it certainly would have
been a very different Christmas story with that man.
Labels:
Advent 2017
Thursday, December 21, 2017
Joy
I've heard it said,
"happiness is a temporary condition
and joy is a choice."
How often do we miss a chance to choose joy?
How easy is it to miss joy
amidst all the crazy that is
Advent?
I think God gives us experiences and feelings
to help us better understand the
relationship He wants to have with us.
Tangible.
Seeing my baby holding her baby
made my heart explode.
(Mary's Child by Mark Missman)
I love my husband and children beyond measure.
I also think I need to be deliberate in
finding the snips of joy in the mundane.
Sorry, just couldn't make this one B&W
What's bringing you joy?
I think God gives us experiences and feelings
to help us better understand the
relationship He wants to have with us.
Tangible.
Seeing my baby holding her baby
made my heart explode.
(Mary's Child by Mark Missman)
I love my husband and children beyond measure.
I also think I need to be deliberate in
finding the snips of joy in the mundane.
Sorry, just couldn't make this one B&W
What's bringing you joy?
Labels:
Advent 2017,
Faith
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
future plans
Certainly, because I am a mom, I am
drawn to Mary at Christmas time. The miracle of birth is overwhelming all
by itself. I remember when each of my sons were born, gazing on their
perfectly formed bodies - the impossibly tiny features (which years later twin
grandgirlies demonstrated were not that tiny). The
miracle of life! The wonder of possibility!
Labels:
Advent 2017
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
Lent in Advent?
I was talking with a friend today about
being deliberate about my
Christmas focus this year.
It struck me that I
actually get more emotionally invested in
Easter.
Easter is the culmination, proof, if you will,
of what the angels told us on the night Christ was born.
Christ came to save us.
The baby in the manger is a promise,
a hope, of things to come.
So, I'm left to ponder that
Christmas is a season of
trust,
faith,
hope,
belief.
Labels:
Advent 2017,
Faith
Monday, December 18, 2017
Star light, Star bright...
What would it have been like that night? What would have disturbed the shepherds' slumber? What would have enthralled the wise men to saddled camel and leave home? What would have frightened Herod to the point of deception and murder? A star? A baby? A new future? The promise/threat of power realized?
What is it I seek? The innocence of a child? The hope for peace? A place to dry my tears? The comfort and familiarity of home? The reason for life? A new beginning?
Whatever the answers, if indeed answers are possible, the answer must be "yes!" and "no..." The realization of dreams is the realization that our dreams are puny. When God breaks in, it is in ways that defy prediction and imagination, and even possibility.
Christ's birth is what miracles are made of. And miracles are what God specializes in.
May our fondest wishes for the miraculous prove inadequate for the reality of God's love. Merry Christmas miracles to us all.
Labels:
Advent 2017
Friday, December 15, 2017
Immanuel
God with us.
Lory and I write these independently
and every once in a while we hit on a
similar thought.
I like where Lory went with this Tuesday.
I had been mulling over
God With Us
as well, but I went a little different track.
I do want to spend time at the manger.
It seems this year, though, as I approach
the manger my view gets wider.
Big Mary's breath prayer is
Jesus hold my hand.
God sent Jesus to be with us,
at the manger
and well beyond.
and every once in a while we hit on a
similar thought.
I like where Lory went with this Tuesday.
I had been mulling over
God With Us
as well, but I went a little different track.
I do want to spend time at the manger.
It seems this year, though, as I approach
the manger my view gets wider.
Big Mary's breath prayer is
Jesus hold my hand.
God sent Jesus to be with us,
at the manger
and well beyond.
Labels:
Advent 2017,
Faith
Thursday, December 14, 2017
Jewish roots
This Menorah was a wedding gift to my grandparents from my Grandfather's Jewish secretary - just shy of 90 years ago! I love it that my totally Protestant grandparents kept and displayed it for all those years until the end, when it came to my house.
Being of the totally Protestant persuasion myself, I assumed this Menorah was to be used during Chanukah - so for the first time ever, I bought Chanukah candles intending to light them this year. I have only a shadow knowledge of Chanukah, so I took to Google for more information.
My number one question: why does my Menorah only have 7 candles, not 9? Here is my Protestant answer to that Jewish question: my Menorah is a symbol of Jewish faith, not the one used during Chanukah which celebrates the festival of light with its nine candles. Now what to do with the Chanukah candles I bought before counting the arms...
Regardless, I treasure this artifact from my history, in large part because of my love for my grandparents. But also because the One whose lent His name to this sacred time of year was/is Jewish. Let's get real. That Baby was not blonde and blue eyed, but olive skinned, dark haired and eyed. The One who saved the world did not sing God Bless America or even speak English. It's good to revive perspective every once in awhile!
Merry Christmas, everyone! L'chaim!
Labels:
Advent 2017
Wednesday, December 13, 2017
Prepare
Advent is a time of preparation.
Getting ready to celebrate what God has done for us.
But beyond Christmas, can I constantly be preparing
to see what God has ahead for me?
And how do I prepare to recognize what He is doing?
Labels:
Advent 2017,
Faith
Tuesday, December 12, 2017
With
Is there any greater
gift than the gift of time and presence - of spending time with someone
else? In this frantically hurried world, time is a commodity more
precious than gold - more coveted than latest and greatest anything that
money can buy. Especially in this season, we dole out our time in
precious allotments, hoping to stretch it just far enough, and knowing we are
destined to fail in the endeavor. "Time with" is
impossible to wrap, but so precious to slowly, carefully, jointly peal back the
layers with another.
Amid
the hustle and bustle of the season, it's so easy to forget that God has given
us that most precious of gifts. Emmanuel, God with us.
His son, sent to live among us, with us,
giving us the gift of Himself. May we all spend some time unwrapping that
gift, savoring the Savior - accepting His gift by spending our time with the child
in the manger.
Labels:
Advent 2017
Monday, December 11, 2017
Santa Claus, Frosty and Baby Jesus Are Coming To Town
Talk about covering all your bases.
Just sayin.....
Adds another perspective to Lory's thoughts on
those who seek the Christ child.
Adds another perspective to Lory's thoughts on
those who seek the Christ child.
Labels:
Advent 2017,
Faith,
Musings
Friday, December 8, 2017
A Crowd of One
This is the first sign of
Christmas in my house, and the last to come down. In fact, the Holy
Family and a rotating guest or two stays out all year for good measure.
There is such a crowd here, seeking a glimpse of the child in the manger.
Alongside the many animals who
gathered (which includes a German Shepard and a couple of pigs - how odd), are
several who didn't make the Biblical recitation of the event. There are
the well-dressed and the beggars, the young and the old, the worshipful and the
awestruck. They are all hurrying to see the Earth's Savior.
The same still happens this time of
year: at Christmas concerts and tree lightings and shopping malls.
Hurrying throngs, awestruck and hopefully worshipful. But even as we all
rush in the same direction; the truth is we rush on individually.
Yes, Christ came to save the world, but He does it on a one-on-one basis.
It is the individual heart that must come to him: young or old,
well-dressed or ragged - even well-dressed and ragged. Regardless
of the crowd that presses in upon us, the journey is made in solitude -
one Savior, one saved at a time.
Take a break from the crowd this
season - just come!
Labels:
Advent 2017
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Wait!
Is there ever a minute longer than the one
you wait for with a microwave?
But imagine the Israelites and 40 years!!!
Or
Waiting for the messiah to come!!
Or
Waiting for the messiah to return.
They tell me it's called perspective.
Labels:
Advent 2017,
Faith,
Musings
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Angel Songs
"She sings like an angel." Well, no, no one has ever said that to me - something about a tune and a bucket, maybe, but never an angelic comparison. I'm not offended.
I wonder, though, what would an angel's song actually sound like? Beautiful, to be sure! But maybe too beautiful for mere human ears to take in. I mean, when the shepherds heard just one angel, that angel had to calm them. "Fear not," he (she?) assured them. And let's assume that had a profound effect on the watchers of sheep and they let their fear melt away. And then an unimaginable number MORE angels made a sudden appearance. I might be tempted to think the first angel had been speaking sarcastically!
All those singing heavenly voices belting out their best "Glory to God in the highest!" Imagine the loudest concert you have ever attended, in the smallest room possible, with an enthusiastic crowd singing along, and King Kong on drums, and the biggest and best amplification. Then raise it to the multitude! It had to sound like thunder - the kind that booms suddenly and immediately overhead! The kind that reverberates in your bones!
Imagine Heaven, who had been anxiously waiting for Earth's salvation, bursting into song. Now THAT is an angel song - one that cannot be even closely approximated by mere human. But that won't stop me from trying!
Labels:
Advent 2017
Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Faith
Christmas is Faith.
Sometimes I feel like I have faith like a mustard seed.
And that's good.
It's not my amazing faith at work but rather
Jesus' amazing work through
that little tiny mustard seed I provide.
Matthew 17:20
Labels:
Advent 2017,
Faith
Monday, December 4, 2017
dread and anticipation
It starts on the day after Thanksgiving, in the crawl space - that deep, dark, dreaded place where things go to die. Well, if not to die, at least to ferment. Nothing that goes in there comes out quickly - except maybe the grandloves. They are small enough to fit, yet wise enough to avoid that space. While I, too, come out as quickly as possible, it is never quickly enough. But since that is where Christmas slumbers from mid-January to November, that is where I must go.
I dread the trip into the crawl to revive Christmas. I dread hauling the boxes upstairs. I don't even enjoy the decorating as much as I should - not Grinch-like, but not nearly Elf-excitement, either.
Are two trips into that dreaded abyss within 6 weeks really worth it? Why even bother? Well, dread is subservient to anticipation: the anticipation of family and friends, gatherings and joyous refrains, and perhaps a glimmer of the love that brought Jesus to earth so many years ago. Happy anticipation trumps all - even a trip into the crawl space.
It makes me wonder about Mary, though - a teenaged girl, newly engaged, and mysteriously pregnant. Dread had to be at the top of her list. What will the neighbors think? What will Joseph do? How is this even happening!? And yet, the miracle of a child growing within - and more so, the promise of a Savior! How does a heart hold that kind of anticipation without bursting?
In this Christmas season, may all our anticipations come true, but may we lean into the dread, as well. We live between the famous duo, as one sharpens the other. Dread loses its dreary edge in the light of anticipation, even as anticipation's crisp brightness revives us from that memory of where life has taken us against our will.
Wishing you the Merriest of Christmases, even with, especially with, a side of dread.
Labels:
Advent 2017
Friday, December 1, 2017
25 Days
Wonder if we have it in us.
Facebook has a fun challenge
going around at the moment.
7 days of black and white pictures
that describe your life.
No people.
No pets.
No caption.
We both took that challenge
and actually really enjoyed it.
and actually really enjoyed it.
Lory and I took a break from our annual
Advent Blogs last year because,well,
life.
life.
My Christmas did not go well.
Now, I won't blame the lack of blogs
but I might attribute the lack
of deliberate focus
on the
Reason For The Season
for playing a part in my downfall.
Not this year.
We are challenging ourselves to
25 Days Of Photos.
Black and white.
Subject: What is Christmas.
Words, optional.
If you want to play along, post your photos
in the comment section
on Facebook.
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