Category: Christmas

PUTTING AWAY CHRISTMAS

The older I get, the more difficult it becomes to decorate the house for Christmas.  It requires boxes of decorations being brought down from the attic, rearranging my furniture; ladders, and boxes and boxes of ornaments, greenery, and other assorted decorations to be put out; and at least two days of physical work that leave Jerry and I with backaches and stiff muscles.   We like to put everything up early so we have a long time to enjoy our tree and everything that goes with it. 

Of course, what goes up must come down.  That requires two more days of hard work and many trips up and down the stairs. After all the garlands and lights and ornaments are put away, I feel a mixture of emotions. I’m glad to get my house back in order, but I miss the lights of the Christmas tree in the mornings when I get up and make my coffee.  And I miss the anticipation of Christmas.    

I love everything about Christmas: the lights, the music, the smells, the foods, and the relationships.  I was in a reflective mood this Christmas. The grandchildren are all grown now…only one left in high school. They are all busy and don’t have as much time for us as when they were little, but I treasure what time I can get with them. This has been a year of letting go. Letting go of expectations as we have learned to be flexible about family events. Whosoever will may come! And we have had to let go of dear friends who have passed on to heaven. And maybe that is what makes Christmas so special.  It is the knowledge that time is running out that makes me treasure each Christmas.  I used to tease my grandmother for saying, “I wonder how many more Christmases we will have to all be together.”  Now I get it.  After everyone left on Christmas evening, Jerry and i hugged and said, “We got to have another one.”

I guess relationships are the most important part of Christmas.  After all, relationship is the reason we have Christmas in the first place.  God desired a relationship with man, so he came to earth to dwell among us and provide a way for us to be in relationship with Him.  

As I pack away Christmas, I want to keep part of it all year long.  My greatest gifts are my relationships.  My relationship with Jesus is primary.  But my family is my treasure.  I’m so blessed to have my husband and our children and grandchildren.  We are so blessed to be a part of a large and loving family.  We are a part of a vibrant and loving church family.  We are blessed with enduring friendships, and newer ones as well.  

Thank you, Lord for Christmas.  Help me to celebrate all year long! 

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.  Psalm 90:12 (NIV).  

LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered–how fleeting my life is.  Psalm 39:4 (NLT).

Embracing God’s Peace Amid Life’s Chaos

Today’s post was written by a guest writer…my 26-year old granddaughter, Hannah Herrold. Her church in Colorado compiled an Advent study written by different writers from all over the country, and one even from Africa. They are all different ages and at different stages in life. Hannah was asked to contribute and to say I am proud would be an understatement. Proud is probably the wrong word. I am awed by what God is doing in her life. I hope she continues to develop here gift for writing, and I hope you will enjoy what she has to say about peace.

Philippians 4:67 –

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Reflection:

We all have moments in our lives when it feels like peace is just out of reach. Whether you’re juggling school, starting a new job, or managing family life, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the demands placed upon us. The pressures of relationships, finances, and daily stress can leave us feeling anxious and exhausted as if we’re caught in a whirlwind with no clear path to calm. In these times, it’s crucial to remember that true peace is not found in the absence of chaos but in the presence of something greater—a quiet trust in God’s unwavering support and guidance.

Philippians 4:6-7 offers a powerful reminder: peace isn’t just about having everything together – it’s a gift from God. Paul encourages us to bring our worries to God in prayer, emphasizing that this act goes beyond merely listing our problems; it’s about establishing a deep, intimate connection with the One who truly understands what we’re going through. In this sacred dialogue, we can exchange our anxieties for His tranquility, allowing His presence to envelop us and fill our hearts with a peace that surpasses all understanding.

When we pray, we shift our focus from our stress to God, who holds everything in His hands. This change in perspective can be life-changing. Our worries may feel heavy, but God’s peace is constant and available, even in the chaos. It protects our hearts and minds, giving us a safe space to breathe.

When peace feels impossible, remember that God is with you, no matter what you’re facing. His peace is not based on the circumstance but rather on His love. As you seek Him, you might find what seems impossible becomes possible. He’s the ultimate source of peace we all need.

Optional Reflection Questions:

1) What specific worries or anxieties are currently occupying your mind? How do they impact your sense of peace?

2) In what ways have you experienced God’s peace in the past? How can you recall these moments to encourage yourself now?

3) How might bringing your concerns to God in prayer change your perspecave on them?

4) Are there specific practices or habits that help you cultivate a sense of peace that you could incorporate into your daily/weekly/monthly routine?

PUTTING AWAY CHRISTMAS

The older I get, the more difficult it becomes to decorate the house for Christmas.  It requires boxes of decorations being brought down from the attic, rearranging my furniture; ladders, and boxes and boxes of ornaments, greenery, and other assorted decorations to be put out; and at least two days of physical work that leave Jerry and I with backaches and stiff muscles.   We like to put everything up early so we have a long time to enjoy our tree and everything that goes with it. 

Of course, what goes up must come down.  That requires two more days of hard work and many trips up and down the stairs. After all the garlands and lights and ornaments are put away, I feel a mixture of emotions. I know I will be glad to get my house back in order, but I will miss the lights of the Christmas tree in the mornings when I get up and drink my coffee from a favorite Christmas mug.  And I miss the anticipation of Christmas.    

I love everything about Christmas: the lights, the music, the smells, the foods, and most of all, the relationships. I love carving out special times for special people…friends and family.  Our family keeps growing and changing, and with that needs change. We are going to need to alter our Christmas traditions next year. We now have married grandchildren, so in addition to the families of our sons-in-law, we have to schedule around another layer of in-laws who also want time. We have college grandchildren who return home at various times and a working granddaughter who lives out of state and can only be home for a few days. Even our grands that live here have work schedules and constant activities we must work around. Twenty-four people with twenty-four different needs. 

As I put away Christmas this year, I have no idea what it will look like next year. For this mother hen who loves all her chicks close to the nest, it is hard to be flexible, but that is what I must be. As for Jerry and I, we are acutely aware that this is another bonus Christmas after his close brush with death a few years ago. We now have more widowed friends, and the number grows every year. Maybe it is the knowledge that time is running out that makes me treasure each Christmas. I used to tease my grandmother for saying, “I wonder how many more Christmases we will have to all be together.”  Now I get it. 

I guess relationships are the most important part of Christmas.  After all, relationship is the reason we have Christmas in the first place.  God desired a relationship with man, so he came to earth to dwell among us and provide a way for us to be in relationship with Him.  

As I pack away Christmas, I want to keep part of it all year long.  My greatest gifts are my relationships.  My relationship with Jesus is primary.  But my family is my treasure.  I’m so blessed to have my husband and our children, grandchildren, and now four little greats!  We are so blessed to be a part of a large and loving family.  We are a part of a vibrant and loving church family.  We are blessed with many friends and acquaintances we enjoy.  

Thank you, Lord for Christmas.  Help me to celebrate all year long! 

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.  Psalm 90:12 (NIV).  

LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered–how fleeting my life is.  Psalm 39:4 (NLT).

The older I get, the more difficult it becomes to decorate the house for Christmas.  It requires boxes of decorations being brought down from the attic, rearranging my furniture; ladders, and boxes and boxes of ornaments, greenery, and other assorted decorations to be put out; and at least two days of physical work that leave Jerry and I with backaches and stiff muscles.   We like to put everything up early so we have a long time to enjoy our tree and everything that goes with it. 

Of course, what goes up must come down.  That requires two more days of hard work and many trips up and down the stairs. After all the garlands and lights and ornaments are put away, I feel a mixture of emotions. I know I will be glad to get my house back in order, but I will miss the lights of the Christmas tree in the mornings when I get up and drink my coffee from a favorite Christmas mug.  And I miss the anticipation of Christmas.    

I love everything about Christmas: the lights, the music, the smells, the foods, and most of all, the relationships. I love carving out special times for special people…friends and family.  Our family keeps growing and changing, and with that needs change. We are going to need to alter our Christmas traditions next year. We now have married grandchildren, so in addition to the families of our sons-in-law, we have to schedule around another layer of in-laws who also want time. We have college grandchildren who return home at various times and a working granddaughter who lives out of state and can only be home for a few days. Even our grands that live here have work schedules and constant activities we must work around. Twenty-four people with twenty-four different needs. 

As I put away Christmas this year, I have no idea what it will look like next year. For this mother hen who loves all her chicks close to the nest, it is hard to be flexible, but that is what I must be. As for Jerry and I, we are acutely aware that this is another bonus Christmas after his close brush with death a few years ago. We now have more widowed friends, and the number grows every year. Maybe it is the knowledge that time is running out that makes me treasure each Christmas. I used to tease my grandmother for saying, “I wonder how many more Christmases we will have to all be together.”  Now I get it. 

I guess relationships are the most important part of Christmas.  After all, relationship is the reason we have Christmas in the first place.  God desired a relationship with man, so he came to earth to dwell among us and provide a way for us to be in relationship with Him.  

As I pack away Christmas, I want to keep part of it all year long.  My greatest gifts are my relationships.  My relationship with Jesus is primary.  But my family is my treasure.  I’m so blessed to have my husband and our children, grandchildren, and now four little greats!  We are so blessed to be a part of a large and loving family.  We are a part of a vibrant and loving church family.  We are blessed with many friends and acquaintances we enjoy.  

Thank you, Lord for Christmas.  Help me to celebrate all year long! 

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.  Psalm 90:12 (NIV).  

LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered–how fleeting my life is.  Psalm 39:4 (NLT).

LET THERE BE LIGHT

The light in our closet went out Saturday night, right as we were getting ready for bed. It is a florescent light and we were out of florescent tubes. I don’t know why but burned out lights really bother me. I used to have nightmares about all the lights in the house going out and being out of light bulbs. Saturday had been a busy day, so we decided to pick up some tubes after church the next day.  That meant on Sunday morning we would be picking out clothes by the light of our cell phones.

         Jerry: “Does this sweater go with these pants?” 

         Me: “Umm, no.  Try again.”

I was still thinking about light (and darkness) when we went to our small group. Our lesson was on the first chapter of Genesis and I was reminded again about the importance of light. Evidently I am not the only one who thinks light is essential, because God created it on the very first day. God, in His orderly fashion of creation knew that light is vital to sustain the earth. Light from the sun warms the earth, and provides energy for plants to grow. Without light, the earth would be an uninhabitable ball of ice. 

One of the main reasons humans need light is to see.  Without light we would be stumbling around in the darkness, trying to avoid obstacles. We would get lost. We could not survive. Sean Dietrich is a writer that I follow and you should too. He is a gifted storyteller and a keen observe of the world. Sean likes to write about a blind dog named Marigold that he rescued. Marigold needs Sean to be her eyes, her light. In fact, experts say Marigold would not have survived without Sean. You can read Marigold’s sad backstory on Sean’s website.  

As we move into the Christmas season, think about God sending His Son to be the Light of the World. God knew that we need light for our physical lives as well as our spiritual lives. Without Jesus we are spiritually blind and dead. When Jesus enters your life you can see! You can see your spiritual condition, how lost you are. When you invite him into your life, He becomes your vision!  You see things in a different way.  And you are no longer dead. The minute you say, “yes” to Christ, you begin your eternal life.

Just as Marigold cannot survive without Sean, we cannot survive without Jesus. Oh we may think we can. In fact, we may think we are doing pretty well without Him.  But our story is not over yet. We can’t see our true condition because we are spiritually blind.

Jerry and I have been moved to pray for our world, for another Great Awakening that we believe is coming. So many are stumbling around in darkness. They are trying to live a life blindly. The Gospel of John declares Jesus as “the true light which gives light to everyone.”  Jesus spoke of Himself as the Light of the world, “whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

With the coming of Christmas there are so many items on our “to do” lists.  Shopping, wrapping, cleaning, cooking, and entertaining. With that much to do it will be easy to miss the light. If you are reading these words, this is my prayer for you: If you have never received this light named Jesus, I would urge you to take a moment, bow your head and confess your need for Him. Invite Him into your life to light your way. If you would like to know more about the Light, read the first chapter of John. For those of you who already believe, I pray that you slow down and take some time each day to talk with Jesus and thank Him for entering our dark world and changing it forever.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that light was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:1-5 NIV

A BABY CHANGES EVERYTHING

A few years ago there was a commercial for some baby product…I can’t remember which… that ended with the statement, “A baby changes everything.” There is a giant truth wrapped in those four words. Almost from the moment of conception, things change and they never go back to the way they were. Our family has had four new babies in four years and these four little ones have rocked our world. We have seen our daughter and her husband become grandparents, which means that Jerry and I have become great-grandparents!  That feels like a seismic change. It also means that we are old, but that is a different post for another day.

If you have any expectant parents in your life you know that they take baby preparations very seriously. Everything from pacifiers to pediatrician is carefully researched, compared, and discussed.  And so much baby equipment! What kind of crib? Which type of diapers? And there are so many options for strollers I don’t know how you ever decide. There is even a swaddling bassinet that rocks and soothes baby back to sleep as soon as baby stirs. When I think about my own babies I wonder how they ever survived to adulthood. I remember bringing my newborns home from the hospital in my arms.  In the front seat!

Not everyone is thrilled when they get the news that a baby is coming.  Some may feel that they are not ready to be parents, that the timing is wrong, that they have a different plan for their lives. Others are just plain terrified. I think that is part of the reason God gives us nine months of pregnancy. It takes that long to prepare, to get mentally, physically, and emotionally ready for the new life that will change your life. And even for those who have planned and longed for the birth of their baby, it takes time to move from wanting a sweet little baby to being prepared to parent a demanding, crying infant who entirely depends on you.

For the last several days I have been thinking about getting ready for Christmas and Advent. In fact our pastor began to preach on the birth of Jesus and he talked about Mary, about the unexpected interruption into her life.  I wonder what it was like to get such an incredible announcement. The news the angel delivered was impossible, and yet, nothing is impossible with God. She had a choice to make, and in that moment Mary moved from someone who believed in God to one who believed God.  There is a difference. Even though Mary immediately said yes to God, I can imagine that she needed time to prepare her own heart to become the mother of the Messiah.  A huge task for a young girl, but not too huge for a great God. Mary’s baby would change everything! 

Every year Christmas comes with hustle and bustle. And so many preparations! We get physically ready. We decorate, we shop, we wrap, and we bake. We make lists and we strategize. Just as Mary brought Christ into the world, by and large it is women who bring Christmas into the home. We may need to get emotionally ready to deal with difficult family members or we may be grieving the loss of a loved one.

We make all these preparations, but do we spiritually prepare? This year I want to do more Advent devotionals, and pray more. I want to prepare my heart for more than a sweet baby in a manger. I want to be ready for the King of Kings, the cosmic Christ whose birth changed the world forever. Like Mary, we have been called to bear Christ to the world and I too want to say yes to God.  As my pastor said, God’s interruption in my life is better than any plans I might have. I want to open the door to my heart and say, “Come, Lord Jesus,” and I want to mean those words in all their fullness.

Have you ever said yes to Jesus?

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.’ Rev. 3:20 NIV

FREEZE THE FRAME

Christmas 2022 is in the books.  The presents have all been unwrapped and the decorations put away until next year, although as I type these words I see a Christmas pillow that needs go in the attic.  We were talking with our girls about Christmas when I made the comment that this has been my best Christmas ever.  Our daughter Kristie thoughtfully asked, “Mom, what do you think made it your favorite?”  

It is hard to put into words, this overflowing heart feeling.  I am so grateful that once again we got to have our entire immediate family together on Christmas morning.  The past two years have been rough, with deaths of extended family members, Covid, and two sons-in-law who have battled cancer.  So it was a blessing that we could all be together and healthy.  Thank you, Lord.

The photo that you see is a picture of Jerry and I with all our grands and greats.  I wish our daughters and their husbands could have been in the picture too, but I’m not sure how we could have accommodated 24 of us on the stairs and in one snapshot.  As I look at this picture my heart is full, but at the same time there is a feeling of sadness.  I know it won’t always be this way.  We have a lot of moving parts, and now, even our parts have parts.  Two of our grands are now married and have in-laws.  I can remember having to make the rounds with children at Christmas…three turkey dinners in 24 hours!  We finally got to the point where we wanted to have a less hectic Christmas in our own home.  And so will our grandchildren.  It is a natural, expected part of life.  

The problem with “lasts” is that you often don’t recognize it’s a last until it is gone.  I am remembering Christmases with all my siblings at our grandparent’s house.  When was the last time?  I can’t even remember.  But oh how I wish for five more minutes, like in the Hallmark movies.  But then we would have to part all over again and I don’t think I could bear it.  

Why was this my best Christmas?  This photo that you see?  I want to freeze it and make time stand still, put my arms around all my babies and hold them close.  I think Michael W. Smith says it so much better than I can in his song, “Freeze the Frame.”  I dare you to read the lyrics and watch the video with dry eyes. 

All my favorite people
Gathered in one place
This cold December evening
My eyes go face to face

Drinking in the joy I feel
For all the love we share
There’s no song as sweet as family
Voices in the air

Can we freeze the frame

And stop the hands of time?
Make the moon stand still in the sky?


My only wish this Christmas Eve
Is that we could all remain 

Forever here


Can we freeze the frame?

Hard to make it happen
But everybody’s home
And the ones who once were children
Now have children of their own

Time around the table
And time around the tree
These moments in these rooms tonight
Are everything I dream

Can we freeze the frame
And stop the hands of time?
Make the moon stand still in the sky?


My only wish this Christmas Eve
Is that we could all remain 

Forever here


Can we freeze the frame?

It’s something close to sacred
I’m on the edge of tears
We don’t need the presents
It’s just the presence
Of the people gathered here

Oh, can we freeze the frame
And stop the hands of time?
Make the moon stand still in the sky?


My only wish this Christmas Eve
Is that we could all remain 

Forever here


Can we freeze the frame? (Ooh…)

Forever here
Can we freeze the frame?

Ooo-ooh-ooh…

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Michael Whitaker Smith / Tony Webster Wood

PUTTING AWAY CHRISTMAS

Today I will begin the job of taking down all the Christmas decorations and getting the house back into its usual order.  This is a chore I always dread, and I have written about it before in my book Seasons.  I love Christmas and everything that goes with it: the lights, the presents, the music, the food… all of it.  I begin Christmas early, and this year I started earlier than I usually do.  I couldn’t wait to get the tree and all the lights up.  So what goes up must come down, and it is a backbreaking chore.  

I dread all the work that goes into putting away the decorations, but this year I dread it for a different reason.  More than ever before, Christmas has been a respite from the darkness of our world in 2020.  We have left our lights on all the time except for when we go to bed.  I have turned off the news and that has made me much more peaceful.  It’s been Christmas music and Hallmark movies, and thanks to YouTube, some wonderful messages from pastors I have discovered this year.  So putting away the decorations (and I sigh as I even write these words) seems to be a signal to return to what passes for normal this year.  An end to joy and a return to reality.

But every ending is also a beginning.  There is something energizing about getting the house all clean and free of the Christmas clutter.  It is a signal that a new year is just days away, and new years bring new opportunities.  Besides, returning to reality doesn’t automatically preclude joy.  That is a choice, and I choose joy!

I have been thinking a good deal about Mary and Joseph and all the characters in the Christmas story.  I have been especially thinking about the time they lived in.  That was a dark period for Israel as they were under Roman rule.  The government issued orders that were burdensome, especially the order to return to the place of one’s birth to be counted in the census.  So we also are under burdensome rules and recommendations in 2020.  Christmas was different for many of us, and travel has been difficult.  

But what a blessing it is to be living on this side of the birth of Christ.  The Jews who lived before Christ worshipped in their temple and synagogues, but when they left to return to their homes, they left God there.  Because God came to earth on that first Christmas, we don’t leave Him in our places of worship.  He is with us all the time.  Emmanuel, God with us!  I don’t think we really stop to consider how truly remarkable that fact is.  When we receive Christ as Savior, He comes to live inside us.  Jesus said in John 14:23:

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”

So when I put away the Christmas decorations I will not actually be putting away Christmas.  I am not putting God in a box.  Because of Christmas I can experience joy even in the darkest days.  And because of Christmas I can face an unknown 2021; God will be with me.  And so as I turn to this big chore before me, I resolve to keep Christmas.

THE WEARY WORLD REJOICES

One of my favorite Christmas carols is O Holy Night.  I heard it on the radio the other day and these words jumped out at me:

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn

The weary world.  I know there have been many times in history when the world has been weary, but this is the weariest I can remember it in my lifetime.  We have fatigue.  Pandemic fatigue, Zoom fatigue, crisis fatigue, election fatigue…these are all real experiences.  I think weary is an accurate word to describe what many of us are feeling in 2020.  I looked up some synonyms for weary: they include exhausted, drained, disillusioned, all-in,  worn out, my personal favorite: whacked.  Sometimes I feel like 2020 has just whacked me in the face.  When I look at the word weary I see the word wear, and I think that describes how I feel.  2020 is wearing on me.  And I am concerned that January 1 is not going to make all this weariness go away.   

I am weary with this rancorous political season, weary of identity politics, weary of the notion that if I disagree with you I must hate you.  I am weary of seeing people riot in our streets, tearing down statues and burning down cities.  Oh, and I am really weary of people getting offended!  When did we become so thin-skinned that there is acceptable speech and anything else is hate speech?  I’m not an anti-masker, but I am weary of wearing a mask and of the whole mask debate.  Weary of being told what I can and cannot do.  I don’t want to be told how many people can come to my house on Christmas Day.  And I sure don’t want to be told not to hug my grandchildren.  Many of us are weary of job and income insecurity. We are weary for our children, sitting in front of screens all day because they can’t go to school.  For those of us who are grandparents saddened to miss milestone events.  We won’t get these days back.  We are weary of the long lines we see on television for Covid testing and food boxes.  And we are so weary of sickness and death and grief.  Almost everyone has lost some one or some thing.  

When you become weary you get crankier, or at least I do.  So even the not-so-important things bother me.  I’m weary of this unpredictable football season.  My Sooners didn’t get to play last Saturday and it was a disappointment.  I was cranky.  I’m weary of shortages.  The stores are out of such strange things.  Peanut butter?  Petite peas?  I wanted to buy a new Christmas tree, one of those slim pencil trees, but I guess I waited too long because I discovered that there is a shortage of both real and artificial trees.  I went to every Hobby Lobby, Lowe’s and Home Depot before I finally found one online, but Wal-Mart summarily cancelled my order!  I’m weary of tracking down all the Christmas presents I ordered that are still out there somewhere.   Where is my package that supposedly was delivered? And why is there an unauthorized charge on my American Express card?   Yesterday I received a voice mail that was recorded on last Monday.  Where was it all week?  I’m weary of technical glitches.  Why did my outgoing email suddenly quit working?  And quite frankly, I am really weary of Medicare commercials and Joe Namath’s face on TV!  

Yes, I realize that my weariness is trivial.  First world problems for sure.  I have so many friends and family members who are dealing with major problems, so I feel blessed in the midst of my weariness.  This has been a year of losses.  For many of us Christmas is going to be different.  Maybe there won’t be a family celebration this year because of COVID.  Some of us will have an empty chair at the table.  Some are facing eviction and don’t know where their table will be.  Maybe there has been bad news from the doctor.  Some of us are privately fighting battles we cannot share.  And none of us knows what is going to happen in 2021.  

I don’t think anyone gets to my season of life without some weariness, and maybe it is the weariness that gets us ready for heaven.  Haven’t you had moments this year when you have been homesick for heaven?  Longing to see Jesus, longing to see those who have passed on ahead of you, but also longing to be away from the trials and ugliness of this world?   Well I want to give you some hope today.   

I guess I’m not alone in this, but don’t sleep very well these days.  That is not a complaint, just an observation.  I find that moving to the sofa and turning on the television help me go back to sleep pretty quickly.  It’s a surprise if I wake up in my own bed.  The other night I found a soothing YouTube channel that plays scripture with a background of ocean sounds.  It plays in a continual loop, and the same words kept waking me: “…we are more than conquerors.”  

Apparently, the Lord wanted me to really absorb these words, and so I want to share them with you.  They are found in the 8th chapter of Romans, along with these familiar words:

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

That is a promise we cling to. God causing everything to work together for good.  He speaks into our circumstances.  The same God who created the universe can redeem even our worst situations. I have been reminding myself to look for the good in the midst of the bad.  Because there have been some good things to come out of 2020.  We have had more time for the Lord.  This shaking that the prophet Haggai told us we would experience in these last days, this shaking is waking us up to what is really important.  It is a call to return to the Lord.  For me, I have never spent as much time in prayer as I have this year.  I am in several different prayer groups, both locally and nationally.  And we are praying big bold prayers!!

Paul goes on to tell us that we may have to face many trials and ordeals in this life.  We may go through seasons of intense distress.  But if we belong to Christ, nothing can separate us from God’s love.  Even if we “have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death” (Rom. 8:35 NLT), we are overwhelmingly victorious!  We are more than conquerors!  

Paul’s words are so beautiful I want to share the rest of this chapter in the New Living Translation:

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love?  Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?… No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.  Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.   No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The weary world rejoices.  Some might ask how that can be in 2020.  The answer to that question lies in the words that come right before: the thrill of hope.  We have hope!   Because Christ came to earth on that holy night we are no longer under the condemnation of sin.  We can be in a right relationship with God.  And nothing, nothing, can separate us from His love.  Even though we may still endure the weariness of this world, we know there is a better world to come.  And even death is not the end of our story.  So whether we are walking through a difficult season or one of fruitfulness, we are more than conquerors.

Dear Father,

Thank you so much for sending your son to come and dwell with us in this weary world.  He is our hope.  And because of that Hope we can rejoice even in the midst of our trials because we have your assurance that nothing can separate us from your love.  Oh how we look forward to the day when we will see you face-to-face.  Until that day, we take comfort in the promise that nothing can separate us from your love.  We are more than conquerors! 

There is a footnote to this story, a God wink.  As I was writing these words, Wal-Mart sent me a text.  They found my Christmas tree.  

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Remember when you were a child how it seemed as if Christmas would NEVER come?  Oh the days and weeks and months were so long!  When my siblings and I were growing up, Christmas was really the only time during the year when we got toys.  Oh maybe a little something on birthdays, but Christmas was it!  It was an ironclad rule at our house that we put up our tree (a real one in the early days) two weeks before Christmas and not one day earlier.  My father grew up in a household where the Christmas tree went up on Christmas Eve, so he thought two weeks was a generous compromise.  I loved the night we went to pick out a tree and brought it home to decorate.  And then we had to wait two weeks.  Oh how those two weeks drug on!  Now two weeks before Christmas goes by in the blink of an eye. 

Those were days of waiting. 

When I was a child my father worked for Western Auto.  During the Christmas season the Western Auto stores carried toys and put out a Christmas catalogue just full of things to delight children.  Oh how we would pour over that catalogue, circling our favorite toys.  Days of dreaming and waiting, wishing and hoping.  There was so much hoping as a child at Christmas.  By Christmas Eve the waiting would be at a fever pitch, making sleep so difficult.  But finally the waiting would come to an end, and Christmas morning would be filled with shrieks of joy and the sound of paper ripping.

Of course those toys are long gone now.  I barely even remember them except for a few: a Western Flyer bicycle, a Toni doll, and later, a bride doll.  They brought me joy, but only for a short time.

This morning in my quiet time I was reading about two elderly people who waited their entire lives for Christmas, Simeon and Anna.  They are two examples to us of how to wait with godly expectation.  And for me as I am well into my senior years, they serve as an example that God has a purpose and plan for us in every stage of life.  In fact, the Bible tells us in Psalm 139 that God has a pre-ordained plan for us written in a book, and that every day of our lives has a purpose.  We have a day to be born and a day to die, and the days in between are days of God’s intention for us.  When we are in tune with God, spending time in His word and in prayer, He reveals these intentions to us.  Simeon believed that he would see the Messiah before he died because He spent time with God.  We are told in the Gospel of Luke that the Holy Spirit assured him of this.  But well into his advance years, did he ever doubt?  Some of us wait a long time, even a lifetime for our prayers to be answered.  Anna was married for only seven years before she became a widow.  I’m sure that was not the life she expected.  She could have been angry with God, but instead she devoted the rest of her 84 years to serving in the temple, worshipping and fasting.  She too got to see the baby Jesus.  

Today at the close of 2020, I am waiting for some BIG things.  I wait for God to send another Great Awakening to America, that we can once again be a nation that fears and honors God, and that we will fulfill our destiny of spreading the Gospel to the ends of the earth.  And I also wait for Jesus to come and rapture His church.  I too want to see Him face-to-face.  I wait to be reunited with loved ones who have passed on ahead of me.  I long for the Millennial reign of Christ on earth, to see this world as it was intended to be.  And I look forward to the wedding supper of the Lamb, and the new heaven and earth.  I can wait like Simeon, with certain expectancy, because God has promised these things in His word.  I am reminded of the words of John Wesley in the Christmas song, Come Thou Long Expected Jesus:

Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

As believers we wait for the Hope of all the earth…Jesus.  He is the desire (and the need) of every nation and the joy of every longing heart.  It is a joy that cannot be found wrapped in pretty paper under the Christmas tree.  That kind of joy doesn’t last.  But the joy that Jesus brings lasts forever.  My Christmas wish for everyone is that they discover this long expected Jesus for themselves.  

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 15:13 NIV

I WONDER

I wonder.  I’ve always wondered.  What was it like?  What was it like for a teenaged Mary to be told by an angel that she would be the mother of God?  As I read the story I can understand her initial fear at seeing an angel, but then it seems that belief came to her quietly and naturally, as if she had just been waiting for a chance to say yes.  She had undoubtedly heard the stories from the scriptures…that one day a Messiah would come.  But did she ever really believe that He might come through her?  It seems that Mary received Christ so easily.  And that’s how it is for some people.  In their tender years Jesus comes to them and with a childlike faith they say yes.  God was giving her a privileged but difficult mission.  Mary said yes.  Would I?  I wonder.  

I wonder about Mary’s mother.  As a mother to three girls I’ve always wondered. How could she believe this story her daughter told?  And even if she did believe Mary, what about the gossip?  Hadn’t she done all the things a Jewish mother should do to bring up a daughter?  And here she had this nice marriage arranged and then this!  We aren’t told how she received the news, but as a mother myself I can put myself in her sandals.  You want to trust your child, but this story was problematic, even for one who knew the scriptures.  Maybe that is part of the reason Mary went to live with a relative.  Maybe it took Mary’s mother time to believe.  Would I have believed my daughter?  I wonder.

And what about Joseph?  We are told he was a good man, a righteous man.  I wonder about him.  Was he a man who finally had all his ducks in a row so he could marry and start a family?  Had he been waiting to get his carpentry business off the ground?  And finally, after he had found this young virgin from a good family, after he had paid the bride price and became engaged, she tells him that she is pregnant.  Since he is a virtuous man, Joseph decided to end the relationship quietly, but an angel interceded.  I wonder what it was like to be told that you would bear the responsibility for rearing God’s Son.  Joseph needed more confirmation, but he too said yes to God.  Would I?  When God interrupts my carefully made plans, am I willing to get in line with His?    

How I would love to have been on that hillside with the shepherds.  To be smacked right in the face with the glory of God!  And to be told about Jesus by not just one angel, but a multitude of them.  Sometimes Jesus comes to us in a dramatic and exciting way because we need to be told that way.  Ask Saul of Tarsus.  After the angelic announcement, we are told that the shepherds went “with haste” to find Mary, Joseph, and the baby.  Did they just go off and leave their sheep unattended?  Leave their livelihood vulnerable to prey, both animal and human?  Would I risk my financial security, trust God to take care of it while I share the Good News with others?  I wonder.   

I wonder about the magi.  Men of science, but seeking something that was missing.  Willing to go to great lengths and to pay a dear price to find the King.  I became a woman of faith long before I became a woman of science.  Would I have been open to the possibility of the miraculous after first being trained in the scientific method?  Or would I have wanted empirical proof?  I wonder.

But the One I wonder about the most is the baby.  Jesus.  The Messiah.  God who took on human flesh and came into our world as a helpless infant.  When the Father said, “Go,” did you immediately become an embryo?  What was it like for you, living and growing in the very womb that you created?  And how was it for you, equal with God, co-creator of the universe, to suffer the indignities of becoming a human baby?  To be cold and hungry?  To have your diapers changed?  I wonder.  When did you know that you were God?  At conception?  At birth?  When you were 12 years old?  When you began your public ministry?  And when did you know that your purpose in life was to become sin for me, to pay the debt I owed, to die a shameful death on a cross?  How could you love me?  I wonder.

My wondering is not doubt; it comes from a place of wanting to know Him better.  The Lord invites our wondering in Jeremiah 33:3

Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.(ESV)

The New Living Translations says, “I will tell you remarkable secrets.”  I want to know His secrets.

I guess as long as I am on this earth I will wonder, but I’m not the only one.  One hot day in July of 1933, a folksinger named John Jacob Niles was attending a fundraiser in North Carolina for a group of evangelicals who had been ordered out of town by the local police.  A little girl named Annie Morgan stepped onto a makeshift stage and began to sing.  She was dirty and ragged, but beautiful.  She also had a beautiful voice, and she sang a few lines of a folk song over and over.  From those few lines, Niles composed the Christmas folk hymn, I Wonder as I Wander.  It expresses my wonderings simply but beautifully:   

I wonder as I wander out under the sky
How Jesus my Saviour did come for to die
For poor on’ry people like you and like I
I wonder as I wander out under the sky