Purely Personal #2

This is a recap of our Christmas this year which was wonderful since our sons flew in from Ft. Worth and Indie. Adding to the joy was the fact that Dean was able to celebrate Christmas with us and actually felt like celebrating. Wow!

Christmas decorations started going up at our house the first week of December. We were able to buy a tree the day before the cold weather hit and the month just  kept getting better. Here’s our tree and most of the nativity sets that we have collected over the years.  

The boys came in on the 23^rd and were able to attend the Christmas Eve service at church with us and since they didn’t leave until today (the 30^th) they went to church with us yesterday also. Brian gave us a special blessing/surprise when he sang a song during the first service accompanying himself on the guitar. Here he is in our living room doing one of his favorite activities. 

Jeff’s creative ability showed itself ranging from funky gift wrapping to culinary ventures to miniature  furniture building. I had asked him to make some dollhouse furniture replacements which have gone missing over the years. He brought his book about Arts and Crafts furniture and using the pictures, scaled his creations to fit the rooms in the dollhouse (see below.

 We did plenty of eating over Christmas week. Here’s a picture of three of my favorite men grouped at the end of the table for our Christmas Day meal. Dean got in on the cooking by making his “pizzantes” a trademark edible he first created when he had a take-n-bake pizza shop in Laramie.

The stockings were hung by the chimney

And a wonderful time was had by all.

Life goes on in the grand scheme of things and we waved goodbye to our boys this morning We were grateful to see them leave in sunny skies and on clear roadways, but the leave-taking is always bittersweet. 

I have to bring this around full circle and say, “Thank You, Lord, for making this all possible by giving us the gift of family, but most importantly, by giving us the gift of Yourself, that Christmas Day 2000 plus years ago.

Not a Cradle?

This week I’m borrowing a fitting story shared by some friends who minister with Wycliffe Bible Translators.

An Mbe translation team in Nigeria was working on the translation of Luke 2:7 which deals with Mary placing baby Jesus in a manger.  When the Wycliffe consultant asked the team to draw a picture of the word they were using for the word, manger, they drew a picture of a cradle hung by ropes so a newborn baby could be laid in it and lulled to sleep.

The team was referred to a reference book which showed that a manger was actually an animal feeding trough. The team felt that was an objectionable translation until the consultant reminded them that translation should be as close to the original language as possible. He told them, “The word, ‘manger’ tells us something profound about God. When He came to live among us and bring salvation to us, He came in the lowliest way possible.” The team was urged to find the best possible word in the Mbe language.

When the translators fully realized where Baby Jesus was laid, they used the word that means an old, worn-out basket useable only to feed animals. When the Mbe people listened to this scripture passage, they were emotionally moved by what Jesus was willing to do to reach them—beginning with being born to a young peasant woman under questionable circumstances and being laid in an animal feeding trough for His first bed.

Should not we ALL be moved as we meditate on the fact that Jesus left the glory of heaven to come to earth and ultimately be our salvation? “The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.”  Thank You, Lord Jesus for all that that means.

Party Hearty

I generally think of an inebriated group  of merrymakers or even a drunken brawl when I hear the phrase, party hearty. It’s not necessarily true, however, if you look at all the possibilities. In essence , I think “party hearty” means to enjoy yourself wholeheartedly. I can remember family get-togethers when the funny stories flowed freely and we laughed until the tears rolled--and the strongest stimulant was iced tea. (Part of the tears may have come from the pain of having eaten too much and the extreme pressure of laughter on the expanded waistline.) But those were “party hearty” times.

The Christmas season seems to be an appropriate time to think of partying heartily because of the unique happening that occurred 2000 some odd years ago—and made all the difference in the world. The baby conceived and born in such a wondrous fashion came to bring joy and peace to the world. In fact, He created joy—check out Galatians 5:22 and we see that joy is one of the fruits (characteristics) of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus must have given his mother and Joseph many moments of joy and His joyful personality probably led to His enjoyment of parties. Look at the wedding party at Cana. In fact, I would say Jesus has a tender heart toward weddings judging by scripture ranging from Genesis 2 and ending with the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in Revelation 19. And the awesome thing about that Revelation “party” is that we believers are an integral part of that wedding party that will outdo all parties.

The great thing about parties or celebrations centering around Christ is that we can have all this fun and not have to deal with a hangover the next day or a guilty conscience afterwards. To quote Beth Moore, “…celebrations around Christ’s presence are so wonderful because they are intended to be sparkling refreshment to a world-worn soul.”

In the Old Testament God commanded His people to celebrate His goodness and providence during festivals several times a year. Unless we’re Jewish, we don’t follow those same commands today, but His wishes for His adopted children are no less. “Celebrate My goodness. Have a party(and remember Who makes it possible)!” 

Our life situations  may not make us feel like celebrating for all sorts of reasons, but we really DO have a reason to party hearty –and His name is Jesus.

A Week Full of Thanksgiving

The Thanksgiving item that ranks first in my mind this year is the fact that Dean has survived his cancer diagnosis to enjoy this Thanksgiving . And, praise God, Dean is not only just surviving but enjoying life. He says he’s claiming Psalm 39:13—the enjoying life part. 

Fortunately, Dean counts driving as a joy in his life and he has done a lot of it during the past six weeks including a trip to Las Vegas the day after Thanksgiving. I had scheduled a book signing for THE WOMEN WHO KNEW HIM at Heaven Sent Christian Books and Gifts last Saturday. Thanks go to Wayne and Cindee Whiteman, owners of the store, for allowing me time and space in their store. 

Also, many thanks to our friends, Nancy and Steve for giving us a place to bunk as well as feeding us some outstanding chow.

Continuing the week of thanksgiving was the reminder of good health when it wasn’t apparent. Thursday was migraine headache time for me. There’s nothing like feeling awful to magnify thankfulness when you are once again feeling good.

Friday evening brought a great time of delicious food and great visits with friends prior to the Women of Faith  Christmas simulcast. The opportunities for thankfulness continued because I was allowed to sell and autograph copies of THE WOMEN WHO KNEW HIM during intermission. Thanks to all the ladies who purchased copies for themselves and for Christmas gifts.

 

My week full of Thanksgiving wrapped up at the Sierra Java Coffeehouse today where Shad Hutnyak permitted me to set up a table to sell and autograph copIes of THE WOMEN WHO KNEW HIM. Thanks for the opportunity, Shad. 

And, once again, I was delighted to make some new friends (which is always a plus during a book-signing event).

Thus ended this particular week full of Thanksgiving, but obviously, as long as the Lord gives us breath here on planet Earth, we can have a week of thanksgiving—week just being an arbitrary measure of time. This just reminds me of all the things I can be thankful for every single day. Which of course, does not limit Thanksgiving to the 4^th Thursday of November.