Sacred moments...

It's only 6:15 in the morning and I've been up for almost two hours now.  In the quiet and solitude I have been taking down Christmas.  This is the task I always dread...not because of the work involved, but because it is such an emotional time for me.  Of course I will need and welcome my hubby's help to carry the boxes to the basement, drag the tree down the steps, and remove the wreaths from the windows.  But taking the hundreds of ornaments off the tree (yes, hundreds) is something I almost always do by myself.  

I love the Christmas season.  All of it.  I love what we celebrate, the greatest moment in all of history when God came to dwell among us.  I love the story that will never grow old.  I hate putting all the stuff away that brings back so many precious memories of Christmas past.  Because it's not really the "stuff"...it's the relationships that the stuff represents.  God came to live and die as one of us to show us how to have an intimate relationship with Him. Relationships are important.

My ornaments aren't valuable in terms of their retail worth.  Many of them are hand made.  A few are pretty old and have sentimental value.  But all of them hold a memory of a special time or of a person or a place.  For 35 years now I've been accumulating ornaments and tenderly packing them away at the end of each season.  I don't mean to have so many! But it just happens.  The oldest one was my dad's favorite.  He first hung it on the tree the year I was born.  Then there's the plaster ornaments I painted for each of our boys for their respective first Christmases; the stuffed ornaments I sewed years ago; special ornaments friends and family have given me over the years; Ornaments my kids made when they were little...and now ornaments my grandchildren have made.  

These are sacred moments for me.  A quiet time where no one except God knows my inward thoughts.  Only He really understands why this is so emotional for me.  I don't understand it myself.  I always cry.  My mind always goes back in time to remember people who were once a part of my life and aren't any longer...to former times and places that have helped to shape who I am today.  Maybe that's it...These ornaments help tell a story...my story...my life.  It's a story of generations too. Four generations of our family are represented here.  This really isn't about stuff...it's about people.  People whose lives have in some way intertwined with mine.  I am so blessed.

Simply Christmas: simplifying is more than just a word...

This month finds me care-giving 5 days a week. Three days I watch three grandchildren, and the other two days are spent helping my brother who is having cancer treatments.  Hubby is still unemployed.  I've not yet been to a single store to do any kind of Christmas shopping.  I haven't had time to bake, and only a few decorations are in place, intermingled with the remnants of Thanksgiving stuff, which I haven't had time or energy to pack away. A few boxes and tissue paper have been strewn around the house for over a week. Most have remained in the basement. The month is looking very different from other years...

And yet...it doesn't matter.  Because not only am I not doing the things I normally would be doing, I am finding peace in staying out of the frenzy.  I'm sure there will be a present of one form or another for everyone to open on Christmas Day.  But  I have no desire for pretenses or for spending money we don't have.  I've actually been making a little game out of buying some used items from the on line swap group I'm in.  Next week I am hoping to have a couple of days to get my creative juices flowing and see what I can come up with. 

If there is anything I have learned from the experiences of the past year, it is that nothing in life can be taken for granted.  Every moment of every day is a gift from God.  What we do with those moments is our gift to Him.  

Today I pulled out a gingerbread train kit that I had purchased last year at an after-Christmas sale for $5.  Elylah (almost 6) and Ethan (just turned 3) had a great time putting it together and decorating it.  So glad I remembered to bring my camera...

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts...and be thankful...And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."  Colossians 3:15-17

Simply Christmas: Simple Faith...

Today at church we learned about two people who had a visit from the same angel, Gabriel. One was Zachariah, who was a priest and an educated man who had served in the temple for decades.  For years he and his wife, Elizabeth, had prayed for a child.  Now they were old and barren.  The other was Mary, a young teenage girl who, though engaged to be married, was a virgin.  Both Zachariah and Mary were given the news by Gabriel that a baby was on-the-way.  But their responses were quite different.  

Zachariah was not only surprised that he was being told his prayer was NOW going to be answered, he was actually full of disbelief and questioned the angel.  Mary, on the other hand, did not question "how CAN this be?" but simply asked "how WILL this happen?" (since I am a virgin)

You can read the story for yourself in Luke 1, but basically Zachariah was punished for his unbelief.  On the other hand, Mary was essentially told that she would be receiving a gift!

Mary, a young maiden who was most likely uneducated and illiterate, had plenty of things to be worrying about upon receiving news that she would bear a child.  However, she chose to worship instead of worry.  (Luke 1:46-55)

Do you find yourself in a difficult situation this Christmas?  I believe that sometimes God allows what we consider "hard times" to come to us so that we have absolutely no other choice but to place our trust in Him.  We are not being punished...we are being given a gift in the form of an invitation to turn our eyes and hearts to Him in simple faith, and to turn our worry into worship.  The Lord of all is worthy of our trust.

Here is one of the most ancient hymns of the Church.  I love these words and they always expand my perspective of God.  

"Of the Father's Love Begotten"

by Aurelius C. Prudentius, 413 A.D.

1. Of the Father's love begotten
Ere the worlds began to be,
He is Alpha and Omega,
He the Source, the Ending He,
Of the things that are, that have been,
And that future years shall see
Evermore and evermore.

2. Oh, that birth forever blessed
When the Virgin, full of grace,
By the Holy Ghost conceiving,
Bare the Savior of our race,
And the Babe, the world's Redeemer,
First revealed His sacred face
Evermore and evermore.

3. O ye heights of heaven, adore Him;
Angel hosts, His praises sing;
Powers, dominions, bow before Him
And extol our God and King.
Let no tongue on earth be silent,
Every voice in concert ring
Evermore and evermore.

4. This is He whom Heaven-taught singers
Sang of old with one accord;
Whom the Scriptures of the prophets
Promised in their faithful word.
Now He shines, the Long-expected;
Let creation praise its Lord
Evermore and evermore.

5. Christ, to Thee, with God the Father,
And, O Holy Ghost, to Thee
Hymn and chant and high thanksgiving
And unending praises be,
Honor, glory, and dominion,
And eternal victory
Evermore and evermore.

Simply Christmas: Bless the windows shining bright...

It was a beautiful sunny Saturday today. Being pretty exhausted from the emotional tole of care-giving this past week, we had no real plans. The temperature was only 33 degrees, but at noon the sun was bright and we decided hubby would wash the outside windows and I would do the inside~~~downstairs only~~~in preparation for hanging  our wreaths. This was a totally spontaneous act, and sharing this chore  made us both feel better.  It only took about an hour, and that was with a couple coffee breaks! That left plenty of time to accomplish a few other chores too.  The house still isn't decorated like it usually would be by now.  But we played some Christmas music throughout the afternoon and drank spiced hot tea and ate oatmeal cookies while we worked.  I thoroughly enjoyed spending this time together....just the two of us.

Does anyone remember this song? I learned it in the 6th grade in my PUBLIC school. The words  seem appropriate as we prepare our hearts and homes for opportunities to practice hospitality during this Christmas season.

Bless This House

Bless this house O Lord we pray; Make it safe by night and day;

Bless these walls so firm and stout, Keeping want and trouble out:

Bless the roof and chimneys tall, Let thy peace lie over all;

Bless this door, that it may prove ever open to joy and love.

Bless these windows shining bright, Letting in God's heav'nly light;

Bless the hearth a'blazing there, with smoke ascending like a prayer;

Bless the folk who dwell within, keep them pure and free from sin;

Bless us all that we may be Fit O Lord to dwell with thee;

Bless us all that one day we May dwell O Lord with thee.

"Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain." Psalm 127:1

Simply Christmas: Waiting...

Why is "waiting" such a difficult thing to do?   We tend to hate waiting....whether it is sitting in the doctor's office, standing in line at the grocery check-out, or sitting at the red light.  Earlier this year we waited for our two new grandbabies to arrive.  We've been waiting for a new job since last May.  Now we are waiting to see if cancer treatments will help my brother. Waiting is hard.

During the season of Advent we remember how the world waited for a Savior.  We also remember that we are looking for Him to come again...not as a baby in a manager, but as our King, robed in power, majesty and great glory.  A true observer of Advent will have a sense of longing, expectation, and waiting.  In the early centuries Advent was a penitential season for the Church, similar to Lent. It represented a period of time to prepare one's heart for celebration.  

I believe that God often calls us to wait not because He is hesitant to bless us, but rather because we are blessed as we wait with longing and expectation to see the work He will do in our hearts.  "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.  They shall mount up with wings as eagles.  They shall run and not be weary.  They shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31)

Here's a 6th Century Advent Hymn that speaks of both the first and second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Hark! a thrilling voice is sounding.

"Christ is nigh." it seems to say;
"Cast away the works of darkness,
O ye children of the day."

Wakened by the solemn warning,

let the earth-bound soul arise;

Christ, her Sun, all sloth dispelling,

shines upon the morning skies.

Lo! the Lamb, so long expected,

comes with pardon down from heaven;

let us all, with tears of sorrow,

pray that we may be forgiven;

that when next he comes with glory,

and the world is wrapped in fear,

with his mercy he may shield us,

and with words of love draw near.

Honor, glory, might, and blessing

to the Father and the Son,

with the everlasting Spirit,

while eternal ages run.

Simply Christmas: Getting the tree up and decorated

For years I have reserved the Friday after Thanksgiving as my set-in-the-stone day to get our tree up.  The main tree that is.  Yes, I've had years where I've had some kind of Christmas tree in every room in the downstairs!  I truly love  the Christmas season and seeing reminders of it in every square inch of our home gives me a lot of happiness.  Usually what happens is my hubby drags the tree up from the basement (we have to do artificial trees because my "decorated season" lasts so long), drags all the boxes of stuff up, and then he leaves me to my own devices.  It usually takes me about a week to get everything just the way I like it.  

It didn't happen that way this year.  Last Friday we spent the day concentrating a whole lot more on people than on things.  In the morning we met a couple we hardly knew for breakfast.  He had lost his brother to cancer about 6 weeks ago and had been the primary family caregiver.  He is still hurting ~ a lot.  Then we spent about 3 hours visiting my brother in the afternoon.  see THIS post  We had no inclination to think about Christmas decorating at all.

But something the friend we met for breakfast said in response to my lagging Christmas spirit jolted me into action.  I made a decision that in spite of all that is going on in my life this year, that I wanted to enjoy the moments I have with my loved ones in a sane, simple and sacred way.  So I invited our Ohio branch of our immediate family ~ our son, his wife, and their 3 kids over a couple nights ago for a simple soup supper and to decorate our tree.

It was a totally stress-free evening of fun. We opened two large boxes of ornaments that were not particularly fragile and let the 3 and 5 year olds go for it.  I didn't even help, I just watched.  I REALLY watched.  I saw the excitement, the smiles, the childlike pride in helping.  90% of the ornaments are on the bottom 1/3 of the tree.  Two days later, I haven't fixed it yet. When I feel like it I will get the more fragile and sentimental ornaments out and rearrange things a little.  But for now, I'm letting my mind and heart photocopy this priceless evening of togetherness and joy.

Simply Christmas...

Coincidentally our church is advocating our members to consider simplifying their lives this Christmas season.  I say "coincidentally" because with our current situation of unemployment and now a family health crisis going on, it had already been on my mind to somehow celebrate the birth of the Savior in a more appropriate and thoughtful way than we have in past years.

I do love the entire Christmas season.  I love decorating our home, baking the cookies, giving and receiving the gifts, going to the parties and concerts and special church services, and the hundreds of other little things we traditionally do non-stop for about six weeks out of the year.

I'm not sure at this point what exactly I will do differently this year.  I'm still thinking about what that might look like.  I had the idea that I will do a brief blog post each day starting December 1st and going through the entire season~both for the purpose of keeping myself accountable and also to share with you my ideas.  I hope you will share some of yours with me as well.

"...I am the light of the world..." John 9:5

Out of the Manger and Into the World...

I was going to wait until after New Year's to post this, but some of my Facebook friends have already been commenting about "after-Christmas letdown". Been there, done that! This is something that I originally wrote 8 years ago, and just recently polished it up a bit for my Christian Writer's Group assignment, so it is not in my typical blogging writing style. It hasn't been critiqued yet, but I thought I'd post it anyway. I need the reminder as much as anybody! Just ask my hubby~I was once NOTORIOUS for "after-Christmas letdown". Then I came to realize that I cannot put the Christmas spirit away when the decorations come down. I hope you will be blessed by taking the time to read it.

Out of the Manger and Into the World

I couldn’t believe it happened again. “The Holidays” ~ that favorite time of year ~ were over and the decorations needed to be put away. I did not expect to get depressed this time, something I have struggled with in years past. My husband and I had made a very intentional agreement that we would pace ourselves throughout the Christmas season, not over spend, over decorate, or over do in any way. We were exhausted from the events of the year: a son who graduated from high school and began college; another son, a college senior, who moved back home and then got married; concerns surrounding our four aging parents and a couple prodigal nephews; my husband’s job loss and several months of unemployment; the deaths of several close family members and friends.

So while we didn’t do as much decorating as usual, I still thrilled at getting some of the nostalgic memories out of their boxes in the basement and making our home feel warm and beautiful with the season’s special magic. Instead of baking for three weeks, I baked for three hours one day. It was plenty. We joyed at attending several special Christmas events and having friends and family gather throughout the season. It truly was the most stress-free holiday I could remember.

But something still snapped in me when it was over and I spent the weekend after New Year’s, my traditional time to tear things down, having a gloomy, self-centered pity party. Tears flowed as I carefully wrapped each ornament in tissue paper and packed them into boxes. I felt very alone. My husband long ago gave up trying to console me during these times. We both thought “simplifying” would be the answer, and frankly, I was surprised that I was having this reaction again. I mentioned it to a friend, who promptly sent me an e-mail and included a quote from “Hugs for the Holidays” by John William Smith. It read:

"The birth of Jesus was the birth of hope. Don't let the wonder of that hope disappear with the decorations at the end of the holiday season this year. Follow that hope right out of that manger and into the rest of His life. Watch hope become a man, the man a lamb, and the lamb the Lord who will come for us again. When He comes, we'll look at one another and say, 'There will never be another day like today.' "

I immediately knew this message had been sent straight from God to me. How could I have forgotten so soon? The story of the baby in the manger doesn’t end when we put away our Christmas decorations. No, it has only just begun. The warmth and joy we feel at Christmas is all about hope, and we need to follow that hope right out of that manger and into the rest of the story. Jesus came to bring light to a very sin darkened world. His light always invades the darkness. Even the smallest amount of light in the darkest of rooms can be seen, because that is the nature of light.

As I turned the calendar page to a new year, I realized I had a choice to make. Will I allow after-holiday letdown to overtake me and wallow around in self-pity and hopelessness, or will I let the light of Christ shine in and through me? Will I miss the whole point of the season of hope, or will I follow that baby out of the manger and into a world that desperately needs to see His light?

"Lord Jesus, forgive us for trying to keep you as that sweet baby in the manger. Your Father, and ours, sent you into this dark world with a mission~~to bring us Light and Salvation. Shine your light upon us, and save us especially from the sin of self-absorption. Give us a sense of mission too, and empower us to proclaim the meaning of your coming to a sin darkened world. We look forward to the day when you will come again in power and great glory! In your Name we pray. Amen."

'twas the weekend before Christmas...

This past Saturday for the 31st time in Akron, Ohio, members of our community were treated to a fantastic (free) Tuba Christmas concert.

It was held at the EJ Thomas Performing Arts Center and conducted by University of Akron Music Professor Tucker Jolly. 480 musicians gathered to share their talents with 5600 in attendance at two performances.

I think there were two dozen of our family that were present. It was a light-hearted, informal event, with lots of decorated tubas, and many members of the orchestra and audience decked themselves with Santa hats and jingle bells.

First the tubas would play a traditional Christmas carol, and then the conductor would turn to the audience and everyone would sing along the second time through.

We had a great time ~~ and immediately afterwards we gathered for our extended family's annual Christmas party...

top, from left: Marcella, Barb, Cindy, me~ bottom from left: Bob, Mom and Don

For mom's Christmas present, the six of us are giving her a trip to the beach with ALL of us and our spouses in June! We've been saving up for it and we have reserved a huge beach house in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

We made this poster board and a notebook with all the details in large print for her to look at later on when she had a chance to absorb it all...We were afraid she somehow had gotten wind of our plans because about a week ago she said "I know you guys are up to something..." and come to find out, she thought we were buying her new pots and pans for her newly redone kitchen! So we were happy she was really surprised!

My mom's next door neighbor, Anna, offered to be Mrs. Claus for our party this year. My siblings and I provide gifts for the youngest children, mom's great-grandchildren, by drawing names. We left them outside the door of the party room, and Mrs. Claus stuffed them into her bag before coming in. I was a little nervous that my granddaughter would recognize her because she sees her all the time. I asked her, "Do you know who that is?" and she giggled and said, "yes! That's Santa's wife!"

20 years ago at our family party, mom had HER grandchildren decorate their dads as if they were Christmas trees...and I was actually able to dig out a few pictures to pass around. So this year we had the newest generation...the children of THOSE children...get their turn. It was a LOT of fun!

Finally, we play our gift exchange game for the adults. Each of us brings a wrapped $10 gift and we put it in a pile in the middle of the floor. We go around the circle and each takes a gift and opens it...OR...steals one that has already been opened! Each gift may only be "stolen" three times.

The younger kids are watching Charlie Brown Christmas while we play our game. We have a great time being together...and it works out well that have have a place that can accomodate all of us. There were about 30 of us this year!

We will be celebrating for two more weekends...! I just love Christmas!

♫ ...Love and Joy Come to you, and to you Glad Christmas too... ♫

on the lighter side...random ramblings...

Our SC family left to go back home the Monday after Thanksgiving. In the week following several of us got a stomach virus and so my normal time to start decorating for Christmas was delayed. I'm still working on it, but it will be greatly scaled back this year. I'm ok with that.

Our house has nine windows in the front and last year at the after-Christmas sales I purchased new window wreaths for $2. each. Ours had seen 15 Ohio winters and were a bit worse for wear. I was lucky enough to find nine foot spools of ribbon for 68 cents each, and used one spool for each new bow I needed to make...10 altogether since I needed one for the front door wreath too.

My hubby was good enough to hang all the wreaths in spite of snow blowing in his face and into the house, since we hang them on the outside, from the inside. It was a pretty big deal. Thanks Bob!

My niece, who is in college, redesigns and makes her own jewelry. She had her second annual sale and I got these beautiful earrings for only $3. Aren't they great?

Hubby got our tree set up and I called for the local grands to come over and "help" me decorate it.

It took several days, but we got it done!

This past weekend we enjoyed a beautiful Christmas concert at our church...

and we came back to our house for supper and a little birthday party for our granddaughter, who turns 5 on Christmas Eve...

Mainly we've been dealing with the snowy, cold weather here. Here are some of the things we've done to fill our time:

Supposedly the severe weather will only last another couple of days. I have my shopping done (I think) and look forward to getting things wrapped. I'd like to bake a couple batches of cookies and do a few other little things, but mostly I'm very content this year to enjoy home, family, and friends for the holidays.

As Rebecca over at Life and Godliness has stated it so well, I want to keep this season sane, simple, and sacred. So far, so good!