Mr. Marvelous' Garden

Mr. Marvelous and I are currently attending different classes on Wednesday nights at our church.  I am in a women's group ~ led by our pastor's blessing....I mean wife ~ and Mr. Marvelous is in a class on the Gospel.  As we were driving home last night I asked him about his class.  He was telling me different things that had happened and been discussed.  He told me that in the conversation about heaven they were talking about the beauty of a perfect garden.  "Just think;"  he piped up, "We won't have to carry a hoe around in that garden!"

We are slowly getting our outdoor area ready to be gardened and planning a method that will hopefully cut back on the weeds at least a little bit this year.  In an effort to avoid using the rototiller as much as possible (his knees are somewhat older than his joie de vivre), we are planning to do raised beds.  The thought is that we will clear out plots throughout the front and back garden areas, then build frames around these areas and fill them with a mixture of mulch/compost/good soil.  First things first; how do you clear out large areas of a former yard without using a tiller?

How do you go from this:

Yes, my Vermont friends, that really is green stuff growing in January!

To this?

 It's quite simple.

You don't.

They do.

And oh, are they ever happy to assist in this process!

In the space of a few days, these girls are able to strip a fairly large area quite bare.  They remove all weeds, "til" the soil by scratching, and add quite a bit of fertilizer in the process.

Once the girls ~ and their consort, Brave Sir Robin ~ are done with an area, the pens are moved to another area and we are left with something that looks like this:

We bring in the lumber and the wagon, but you get the idea.

Mr. Marvelous had decided that instead of buying lumber we would use ropes and Mr. Marvelous Jr. (!) and drag tree trunks up from the bottom of the back hill.  They went down there with saws, ropes and willing spirits;

they were quickly daunted by the slope of the hill and the pain of the back!

Mr. Marvelous pronounced that it was too much and that he would have to purchase the lumber.  Junior quietly spoke up and pointed out several trees at the top of the hill that happen to be just the right size to use to build raised beds.  He also noticed that these particular trees do need to come down AND will increase the amount of sunlight in the back garden.  

Brilliant, isn't he?!

So this coming weekend the men will be out in the back cutting down a few trees, removing branches, and moving the trunks into position for raised beds.  We will not have to spend money on lumber for the beds, and it also will give the beds a more rustic ~ and therefore Akin-ish ~ look.

I will be inside while they are doing this, pretending that I don't know what is going on and talking to God about surrendering fear.

We aren't sure that we will be able to do all the beds like this (remember the SIXTY tomato plants?!), but we should be able to make quite a few.

Names

My jar is overflowing as I finish up the Prophets! 

Here are some of the treasures I have found this month.

In Daniel 5:16 He is  

your God Whom you serve continually

May that be said of us as well!

In Daniel 5:23 He is 

The God in Whose hand is your breath.

In Zephaniah 2:7 He is  

Mindful (of His people) 

It is comforting to remember that He is mindful of us, isn't it?

In Zephaniah 3:17 (are you singing that old camp song?) He is the One Who 

Rejoices over you 

and Who  

quiets you by His love.

His peace to your homes.

Monday Morning Memories

The Ballet Recital

When Mr. Marvelous and I married over twenty-seven years ago, he inherited a treasure trove.  I came with nieces and nephews.  At the time we married there were a total of six with two more on the way.  Four of these (and one of the ones on the way) belonged to my sisters.  For several years my sisters and I lived within a triangle that went from Macon to Warner Robins to Americus and we frequently got together either at each others' homes or at the Mennonite restaurant in Montezuma.  Montezuma may not have been exactly central, but Yoder's Deitsch Haus Restaurant is so good we pretended like it was.

As I said, Mr. Marvelous inherited nephews and nieces.  This was an entirely new experience for him.  There is an eight-year gap between Mr. Marvelous and his younger sister, and his cousins were all considerably older than him, so he was not used to having little ones around.  Which brings us to the matter of:

The Ballet Recital

Shortly after we married, one of these nieces ~ who was not quite four years old ~ was taking ballet lessons.  One day I mentioned to Mr. Marvelous that I would be going to Americus the following Saturday.  He said he did not have plans for that Saturday, so he thought he would go with me.  I assured him that it was not necessary for him to go along since I was going over for The Ballet Recital (I was used to little ones.  I knew what "The Ballet Recital" meant!).  He said he thought that would be fun and he would go with me.  I gently tried to dissuade him, I really did.  I was flattered that he wanted to be with me and spend time with my family, but I (to myself) did not think he had the patience for The Ballet Recital.  He insisted.  I gave in.

Saturday morning found us on the road enjoying a lovely Spring drive to Americus.  We arrived in plenty of time, met my sister and brother-in-law and the baby and went in to find a seat.  We visited a little with the family, met a few of their friends who were sitting around us and also had daughters in The Ballet Recital, and settled in for an afternoon of.......well let's just call it eye-opening-enrichment, shall we?

The first class came out on the stage.  The Ballet Recital began with the very littlest dancers.  Mr. Marvelous' interest began to wane.  The first class left to enthusiastic applause and the next class came out.  His interest continued to wane.  They left to enthusiastic applause and the next class came out.  His interest waned even further.  Mr. Marvelous actually began to slip down in his seat.  When our niece's class came out he perked up in expectation.  That did not last long.  He says now that there were at least fifteen different classes (each class did 2-3 dances) and it lasted for three hours.  Periodically I would glance over to find him looking at me with a horrified expression.

As things wound down, the final class came out on stage.  These were the "big girls".  They began to dance and Mr. Marvelous began to perk up.  As their performance went on, he sat up a little straighter in his seat.  Toward the end he leaned over to me and began to point out one of the dancers in this last class who, in his words, had real potential; he thought that with work she might go somewhere with this dancing-thing.

I leaned over.  "Honey", I whispered, "That's the teacher".

He has never gone to another recital of any kind. Ever.

Thankfully, our only child is a son.

I can hardly wait to watch him with Grand-daughters!

Sadly I have no pictures of her in her tutu, but this is one of my favorite pictures of one of my favorite ballerinas, who was also one of my flower-girls.

She is a little (!) older now.
She is still gorgeous.

Friday!

Enjoy the sunrise this weekend.

Remember; He's coming back!

God's peace to your homes.

Homestead Update

Mr. Marvelous is marvelously happy.  One might even say he is "Happy, happy, happy!!!"  The garden has moved through dreaming to planning and he is now busily working in the basement with his hands in the potting soil. 

The basement has been tidied and reorganized.  The light stands have been built.  

The calendar has lists of what things are to be planted in what weeks.  He has planted multiple varieties of lettuce, some hot peppers, tomatoes (of course), and a few herbs.  Green shoots are peeping up through the dirt. 

Or in some cases, getting ready to take over the basement.

Mr. Marvelous is walking around with a smile on his face and every night it is a gardening book he brings to bed.  "What do you think about this plan for an herb bed?"  "Would you like for me to try planting some of these?"  "I think I'm going to try a little of that!". 

Whew, I'm glad I am writing about this right now.  It reminded me that the artichoke plants we have babied through the year were not covered today and the temperatures are plummeting.  Now, where was I?  Oh yes.

Do you like the little newspaper pots we have this year?  So do we!  Last year Mr. Marvelous tried to make them by hand.  It was a less successful experiment than he might have wished.  This year as he was thumbing through one of his (many) garden catalogs, he came across a little gem of a tool.  He wondered if perhaps Santa might see fit to bring him one.  Santa sent one by way of Jack South.

Isn't this the niftiest little gadget?  Mr. Marvelous is in love with it.  It is made by Secrets du Potager in Belgium and you can find it here on Amazon.com.  For $12.52 (we have free shipping), we can make innumerable little pots.  In our county the little weekly newspaper is free; we don't even have to pay for that.  For the next 50 or so years we can make as many little starter pots as we want.  That is a big deal in our house, because we go through a LOT of little starter pots in a year.  Remember those SIXTY tomato plants last year?! 

Every Wednesday evening we go down to the local shopping mall (also known as Jeeter's Country Store) and pillage remove the remaining unwanted newspapers to kindly make room for the new edition that comes out on Thursdays.  If we also pick some up on Friday I'm not telling.

We bring them home and Mr. Marvelous gets to work. 

He measures.

He cuts into strips.

Lots of strips.

And he turns into little pots.

The one on the left was the first one he made.

The one on the right was the first one he made after he read the directions.

How many has he made so far?

A few.  Hundred.

See the ones down below?  Each one of these flats contains 60-70 pots and he has at least 8 filled.  So far.

That is what we have been doing the past week or two.  That and babying artichoke plants.  

Mostly we are just having fun.

Stay tuned; baby bunnies are coming in less than three weeks!

 

About Books. And Prayer.

I have started tracking my steps again.  We'll see how long the pedometer works this time.  I know I need a new pedometer that is reliable, but until I win a Pioneer Woman FitBit give-away I'm sticking with old (semi) faithful.  I'll have totals at the end of January.  For now, let's talk about something else I love.

Photo from daydreamreader.com

 My name is Virginia and I love books.  It's not a problem.  Really.  The fact that I create "bookshelves" out of floor space is not a big deal.  Books are friends AND food.  Or something.

I discovered a few new Christian fiction authors last year.  One of my new favorites is Lisa Wingate.  A highlight of my Pinterest life was when she not only noticed that I had one of her books pinned on my Book Board, she liked it and re-pinned it!  Lisa Wingate is a very generous author.  She promotes other writers on the Tyndale House blog she helps maintain, on her Facebook page, and on Southern BelleView Daily.  That generosity appeals to me.  I like the recommendations that are made for other authors I have yet to meet.  I also like this spirit of sharing new authors with her fans, and sharing her fans with other authors.  Did that make sense?  Read it again and see if you can make it come straight.  Got it?  Okay.

In December I was reading the blog and was introduced to Jolina Petersheim.  This lady writes Plain fiction.  Plain as in Old-Order Mennonite.  I like Plain fiction but I am VERY picky about it.  So far the only authors I really enjoy are Beverly Lewis and Cindy Woodsmall.  I've tried others, and haven't been able to finish most of them because they are so poorly written.  I was a little uncertain about trying another one, but decided to risk it.  The first book, The Outcast, is touted as a modern-day re-telling of The Scarlet Letter.  I don't care for modern-day re-tellings as a general rule, but I decided to forge ahead anyway.  I am glad I did!  I enjoyed this first book so much that a) I finished it and b) I already have the next book, The Midwife, ordered from our library.

A day or two after I ordered it from our library, I was back on the Southern BelleView Daily blog and read that Jolina Petersheim's husband was going through a health crisis (she shares the story on her blog), and I began to pray.  It is interesting to connect with an author.  I think that connecting through prayer is one of the best possible connections to have.  Having had this opportunity to pray for Jolina and her family has been a good reminder to me to pray for other authors I read and enjoy.  Sometimes we have the privilege of praying over a crisis that is shared through a blog or a Facebook post.  Sometimes we have the privilege of praying over something that the Holy Spirit whispers to us.  Sometimes we are able to pray over the family who are keeping the house going while Mom or Dad finish up the latest book.  Sometimes we can pray that the book itself will be what God wants it to be, and will honor Him and reflect Him clearly to the world.

In a small and peculiar way, I get to be a part of something I love;

A new good book!

The Further Adventures of Jack South

Jack was a busy boy gnome during December.  I bet you thought it was just the elves, didn't you?

Nope.  Jack was busy too.

He helped with the Christmas baking.

He helped with the Christmas decorating.

(and made sure the cat did not misbehave!)

He even helped the Wisemenman find his way to the stable.

("Dude, it's over there!)

Jack went with us to visit family.

He likes my sister's tree.

While we were there he successfully defended three young ladies ~ and their mother ~ from the evil Barbie.

WNBA Barbie now knows Jack.

Jack is back home today and the house is undecorated to his approval.  

He is going to chill the rest of the week.  

With temperatures in the single digits tonight, what else is there to do?!

Oops; I missed one!

The Twelve Days of Christmas Day Six

Quiet Reflection

 

The gift of time for quiet reflection.  This seems to be a day for that doesn't it?  We look back over the past year and evaluate our goals/resolutions that may (or may not!) have been set last year.  Then we look ahead to the coming year and ponder what we hope to achieve.  I have learned the hard way that both have to be done together.  It doesn't do much for me to just look back (though I am very prone to doing that), and it doesn't do much for me to never look back. 

This past year was in many respects a difficult year.  To be honest, the past two years have been challenging in many ways.  I have a choice when I look back.  I may choose to focus on the negative aspects of those challenges, or I may choose to focus on the positive aspects of those same challenges.  Or I may look at them and see that there are both negative and positive parts in these challenges and grow and mature from both sides.

Hardships strengthen us.  They can, if we let them, give us a deeper empathy for others.  They make us more dependent on  a Sovereign God.  They teach us things about the nature of God.  They force us to spend more time in prayer ~ communion with God.  They remind us that there is something better coming.

As I look back over the year, I am confronted with a number of failures.  In so many ways I was not the woman I want to be.  It is easy for me to be overwhelmed by my short-comings and wallow in regret.  I have to remind myself that this accomplishes nothing, and brings absolutely no glory to God whatsoever.  When I am tempted to give in to regret and get lost in the day-dreams of "what-if", the only thing that happens is that I give bitterness an opportunity to grow in my spirit.  I don't get anything done that needs to be done, whether that is dishes and laundry or Bible study and prayer.  It takes great effort on my part to resist that, but I must resist.  Instead of giving in to the "what-ifs" or the "if only I hads", a better response is to go to my Heavenly Father and beg Him for the grace to be what He wants me to be, and to do better at the next opportunity.  And then move along with life.

I can not wrap up without acknowledging a few of the more wonderful things that have happened this past year.  Here are some of the blessings I will be counting today:

1. The privilege of going with my dear friend (who also happens to be my sister in law) to her chemo treatments.  The joy of seeing her come through those treatments strong and with minimal side-effects.
2. The assurance that my cousin Dan Carlton and my niece Meaghan McNutt are perfectly and completely healed and living in the presence of God in heaven
3. My dear brother survived his heart-attack and is strong and healthy.
4. My parents are still, in their mid-80's, able to travel and be with us.
5. I am able to travel and visit with my parents!
6. A new church home
7. A pastor who faithfully, consistently and unapologetically proclaims the Truth of God's word
8. Text messages from nieces!
9. The opportunity to take part in a women's Bible study class and find some new friends there

The list is much longer; this is just a glimpse into some of the precious gifts.

I hope that you too will make some time for quiet reflection today.  May God's comfort, peace, love and strength fill your hearts, minds and homes as we end this year and look forward to the next.

The Twelve Days of Christmas Day 4

 

The Twelve Days of Christmas.  Did you grow up singing that song?  Did you know what the Twelve Days are?  

This is one of my favorite Christmas songs.  It's a little silly, and it can get me giggling; especially some of the sillier parodies of it (like the ones I posted here).  It is not truly a carol, and there really is not a secret, coded catechism for Catholic children.  It is just a fun little song to count down the days to the feast of Epiphany.  

What is Epiphany?  According to Webster's Dictionary it is:

A Christian feast celebrating the manifestation of the divine nature of Jesus to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi, traditionally observed on January 6. 

I love to celebrate Epiphany, probably because it lets me continue to celebrate Christmas for a few more days (twelve, to be exact).  When I was growing up, we never "took down Christmas" until Epiphany on January 6th.  Mr. Marvelous and I do the same thing in our home.  Our tree is still up.  The lights still get lit when it is dark.  The Christmas dishes are still being used.  I still have Christmas music playing throughout the day.  I'm even still watching a Christmas movie or two.  For me, this continued celebration/countdown to Epiphany is part of the fun of Christmas.  

In that spirit of fun, I wanted to share a little silly writing that my mother and I dearly love.  I found it on the internet several years ago and it became one of our favorite things to read during this Twelve Days season.  

The Twelve Thank You Notes of Christmas

 by John Julius Norwich

          26th December

          My dearest darling,
          That partridge in that lovely little pear tree! What an enchanting, romantic, poetic
          present!  Bless you and thank you.

          Your deeply loving Emily...

          28th December

          My darling Edward,
          You do think of the most original presents; whoever thought of sending anybody 
          three French hens?  Do they really come all the way from France? It's a pity we have 
          no chicken coops, but I expect we'll find some. Thank you anyway, they're heaven.

          Your loving Emily...

          29th December

          Dearest Edward,
          What a surprise - four calling birds arrived this morning. They are very sweet - even 
          if they do call rather loudly - they make telephoning impossible. But I expect they'll 
          calm down when they get used to their new home. Anyway, I'm very grateful - of 
          course I am.

          Love from Emily...

          30th December

          Dearest Edward,
          The postman has just delivered five most beautiful gold rings, one for each finger, 
          and all fitting perfectly. A really lovely present - lovelier in a way than the
          birds, which do take rather a lot of  looking after. The four that arrived yesterday 
          are still making a terrible row, and I'm afraid none of us got much sleep last night. 
          Mummy says she wants to use the rings to 'wring' their necks, she's only
          joking, I think; though I know what she means. But I love the rings. Bless you.

          Love Emily

          31st December

          Dear Edward,
          Whatever I expected to find when I opened the front door this morning, it certainly 
          wasn't six socking great geese laying eggs all over the doorstep. Frankly, I had rather 
          hoped you had stopped sending me birds - we have no room for them and they have 
          already ruined the croquet lawn. I know you meant well, but - let's call a halt, shall we?

          Love Emily

          1st January

          Edward,
          I thought I said no more birds, but this morning I woke to find no less than seven 
          swans all trying to get into our tiny goldfish pond. I'd rather not think what happened 
          to the goldfish.   The whole house seems to be full of birds - to say nothing of what 
          they leave behind them.  Please, please STOP...

          Your Emily

          2nd January 

          Frankly, I think I prefer the birds. What am I to do with eight milkmaids - AND their 
          cows? Is this some kind of a joke? If so I'm afraid I don't find it very amusing.

          Emily...

          3rd January

          Look here Edward, this has gone far enough. You say you're sending me nine ladies 
          dancing; all I can say is that judging from the way they dance, they're certainly
          not ladies. The village just isn't accustomed to seeing a regiment of shameless hussies 
          with nothing on but their lipstick cavorting round the green - and it's Mummy and I 
          who get blamed.  If you value our friendship - which I do less and less - kindly stop 
          this ridiculous behaviour at once.

          Emily...

         4th January

          As I write this letter, ten disgusting old men are prancing about all over what used to 
          be the garden - before the geese and the swans and the cows got at it; and several
          of them, I notice, are taking inexcusable liberties with the milkmaids. Meanwhile 
          the neighbours are trying to have us evicted. I shall never speak to you again.

          Emily

          5th January

          This is the last straw. You know I detest bagpipes. The place has now become 
          something between a menagerie and a madhouse and a man from the Council has 
          just declared it unfit for habitation. At least Mummy has been spared this last outrage; 
          they took her away this afternoon in an ambulance. I hope you're satisfied...

          6th January

          Sir, 

          Our client, Miss Emily Wilbraham, instructs me to inform you that with the arrival 
          on her premises at half-past-seven this morning of the entire percussion section of the 
          Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra and several of their friends she has no course left open 
          to her but to seek an injunction to prevent your importuning her further.  I am making

          arrangements for the return of much assorted livestock. 

          I am, sir, 

          Yours faithfully,

          G. Creep, Solicitor-at-Law

  

 

The First Day of Christmas

Merry Christmas!

My Dad is an amazing man.  Not only is he the greatest preacher in the world (sorry, David Platt and John Thweatt!), he is also a terrific author.  Today my Christmas gift to you is this guest post from Dad.  I hope you enjoy it. 

The Comfort of Christmas

 

Very early on Christmas day, many years ago, I received a telephone call.  There was really nothing unusual about getting a call so early in the morning, especially on Christmas day.  I had many friends and family members who called to wish me a merry and blessed Christmas.  This call was different from the rest.  When I answered that call, as was my custom on Christmas day, I said, "Merry Christmas, God bless you."  The call came from a nephew named Danny.  "Uncle Gordon", he began, "Daddy is celebrating Christmas with Jesus in heaven today."  To say the least, that was not what I expected from my first Christmas call that year.  Danny went on to explain that his dad, my brother-in-law, had suffered a massive heart attack, late the night before, and died right then and there, with his family around him assuring him of their great love for him, and telling him goodbye "Til we meet in heaven."

When my sister came on the phone she was obviously sad and upset, but amazingly calm and obviously at peace (she is truly at peace now for she too is with the Lord in heaven).  After she heard me in my clumsy way telling her my feeling of grief and loss, and assuring her of my sympathy, love and prayers, she simply said, "What better place than heaven, with the Lord, for Dan to celebrate Christmas".  She said her first reaction when she realized Dan was dying was, "Please Lord, not on Christmas Eve!".  Her next thought was, "but isn't this truly what Christmas is all about; that because of Christmas, God has defeated death by sending His Son into the world?".  So she quieted her own heart and the hearts of her children gathered around her and they prayed together.

The first words in Isaiah 40 are these; "Comfort, yes comfort my people, says your God.  Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned".  It seems to me that this is really an explanation of what Christmas means.  It is a message of comfort, for it tells that our sins have been forgiven, and we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  But Christmas points us to another event, or should I say, Advent.  The message of comfort which Christmas brings is not complete without the good news our Lord is coming again, and that He has opened heaven to His people.  Yes, the sorrows of this life are real and many.  We are reminded at Christmas of the loss of loved ones whether recently or in days gone by, and our grief is renewed and the heart wounds are reopened, and the pain returns.

But God has a message of comfort, peace and hope.  We sorrow not as others who have no hope.  We anticipate, yes, we long for that belssed day when we shall meet our loved ones again, and will never again be seperated from them.  Until that day, hear God saying in His word, "Comfort, yes comfort my people...For those who wait upon the Lordshall renew their strength.  They shall mount up with wings like eagles.  They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint".

"The Lord bless you and keep you.  The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you.  The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace."  

This Christmas and forever.

This Christmas my cousin Danny is reunited with both his parents celebrating Jesus.  Our Meaghan is there with them.  In our grief, we are comforted.

May God's peace, comfort, hope and joy overwhelm your hearts and homes.

The Twenty Four Days of Christmas Day Twenty-Four

Lion of Judah

(with apologies to those who have read this before)

Lion of Judah, Lamb of God,

On this night the Creator of all things

          seen and unseen,

Humbled Himself to be born

          in a lowly condition,

And accepted for Himself a limited human body.

He who spoke the universe into existence

          Must now learn to talk.

He who taught cheetahs and gazelles to run

          Must now learn to walk.

He who fashioned whole galaxies with His hand

          Can barely grasp His mother's finger

          With His weak, tiny, human fist.

And He who abhors even the concept of evil,

          Must become my sin,

                    Suffer my guilt,

                              Bear my punishment

                                        For my redemption.

My praises, my worship, my exultation

          Will transcend even that of angels.

My song will rise and spread to fill heaven.

          I am no longer captive!

This earth can not hold me, for

          This baby so tender,

                    This man of compassion,

                              My victorious Savior,

                                        My risen Lord,

                                                  Lion of Judah,

                                                            Lamb of God

                         Has made me His very own.

copyright Virginia Akin 2002

May the Lord bless you

And keep you

And give you the strength, courage, and grace

That you need each day

During this Christmas Season

And the coming year 

 

The Twenty-Four Days of Christmas Day Twenty-Three

Silence

 

Our home is filled to the brim with hundreds of books of every kind.  We have so many books that we do not have enough shelf space.  As if those are not enough, within ten minutes I can drive to a library where there are thousands of books (and video, and audio recordings) available to me. 

Most of us have multiple Bibles in our home.  Our house has at least a dozen (we donated a lot in the past year).  In addition we have commentaries, Bible study books, Bible histories, Bible dictionaries, and many, many other works that explain the Bible more thoroughly.  I can just sit down whenever I want to, pick up my Bible and read it for myself.  

Every Sunday, and almost every Wednesday (at least when we are healthy), we drive to church and our preacher explains more of the Bible to us.  We pray together as a church, we share with one another how those prayers are answered from week to week.  We point out to one another instances throughout the week when we have seen God's hand in our lives and the lives of those we love.  

We take it for granted.

Now imagine a world without all these forms of communication.  Imagine that there are only a few scrolls with God's word.  The "preachers" (or the priests and prophets) who in years past would tell us what God had said and how He was working, had nothing.  No words.  No communication from God.  No place to gather as a group of people who worship the same God.  Not even any rebuke from God.  

Nothing. 

Just silence.

For four hundred years.  

After four hundred years, don't you think there was very little hope left in God's promises?

After four hundred years, do you think there might have been a lack of hope bordering on despair?

Stop a minute and listen to the silence.  

Feel the darkness.

And far away in the distance, listen to the one or two voices that dare to sing despite the waning hope:

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here,
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o'er the grave.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high,
And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heav'nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Adonai, Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

As you listen, dare to hope.

He came.

He will return.

The Twenty Four Days of Christmas Day Twenty-One

I'm just a little bit behind.....

 

Shopping is not usually my favorite activity.  Somehow it usually makes me feel incapable, inept and awkward.  It makes me wish I had a daughter.  I almost always find myself wishing that I could magically make my niece Melanie appear by my side to help me (she is magic when it comes to shopping!).  Especially if I am shopping for clothing.

Shopping for others is better; there is great joy in finding something that will put a smile on someone's face.  Yet I struggle to think of ideas for folks who are over the age of about 8.

I went shopping on Friday.  I called my sister on my way to the first store, and she just happened to be in the general vicinity, so we met for a cup of coffee before I got started.  Sister-time to start that kind of expedition is tremendously helpful and encouraging.  Especially with any of my sisters, in-law or otherwise!

After we finished coffee and she made her way back to work to grade that last exam, I looked over my plan and got to work.  Head down, focus on what matters and get the job done, right?

So what is it that really matters?  God has given this season to remind me of the great gift He has given me.  Not only have I been redeemed; before He went back to heaven, Jesus promised to give me a helper.  He tells me that the result of this helper being with me includes joy.  

JOY!

As I think about that walking through the stores, my expedition becomes less about finding the "perfect" gift for a list of people (whom I love dearly).  That gift is important because it helps me express to them how very much I love them, but it is also an opportunity to reflect and share my joy with the people around me.  Not the fake, look-at-me-I'm-so-joyful kind of thing, but genuine joy.  

It means being willing to take the time if necessary to interact with someone I don't know.  It might mean offering to return a cart into the store for a young mother struggling to get packages and children into the car.  It might mean nothing more than a smile to the down-cast older man.  It might mean a cheerful, "Merry Christmas!" to the woman trying to get through the line at the Dollar Tree.

It means listening to someone who starts talking.  Listening and realizing that they have a story they really need to tell to someone.  Like the young lady in the gas station who was talking about decorating her register....because her mother did not want to decorate the house.   It meant taking a moment (even though I was in a rush to be DONE with the whole shopping experience), to ask her how her mother was doing and what made her mother feel that way.  When you do that, you discover things like the fact that this was the family's first Christmas without Dad, who died back in June.  And you find that this may be the last Christmas with Mom, who is thought to have a particularly nasty and lethal cancer.  You connect.  You pull out the book that you "just happened" to decide to put in your purse that morning before you left the house, that favorite Christmas book, Triumph Over Tragedy.  You take just a moment to encourage.  You promise to pray for this family (and if you promise, you pray!!).  Perhaps in the busy-ness of the next week, you take the time to check back in and remind her that you are indeed praying.  

So look around you this week as you are out and about.  Pray and ask God to give you the eyes of Jesus; eyes to see folks as Jesus sees them and to reach out with compassion.  It may only be a 30 second interaction to just say "Merry Christmas!"  It may be a 30 minute interaction to listen.   And maybe, just maybe, if you are willing to put self aside for a little while, you will have the privilege of attending another kind of birth.  Maybe God will allow you the honor of being present when someone is re-born spiritually.  

May His wisdom, His discernment, His joy and His love overwhelm you this week.

And may you share that generously with everyone you meet.

The Twenty Four Days of Christmas Day Eighteen

Decorating.

I love Christmas trees.  If I thought I could get away with it, I would have a tree in every single room of the house.  I decided that this year I was going to have a second tree.  I just wanted a little one and I didn't want to spend a lot of money on it.  I was thinking about going to the store and seeing if they had their trees discounted yet when Jack stepped in with a suggestion.

Jack took me for a little walk out on the side hill.  Guess what we found?

Isn't it lovely?!

Good thing I brought a shovel and a bucket.

I didn't want to cut it down; I wanted to try and save the root so that we can plant it in the front yard after Christmas.  Sort of like the old John Douglas Fir Tree (that's a family joke).

We managed to get the tree levered out of the ground with most of the root intact.

I hope.

Do you remember me telling you about saving all that dirt in the pots at the end of the summer? 

Now you see why we do that.

I had a few small ornaments to trim it

Then I got the wreath put up.

 

It's not fancy, but I like it.

So does Jack.

Indoors I got our manger scene fixed to my liking.  Old navy blue sheets are quite useful.

The wisemenman is still traveling from Switzerland

And one of my favorite ~ and quite important ~ decorations made it out to the piano:

It was quite a day, with this and baking.

I wore Mr. Marvelous' kitten out with all the activity.

 

Seems that Jack was a little tired too!

Now back to the baking....

The Twenty Four Days of Christmas Day Seventeen

I enjoy words.  I enjoy learning words and finding out where they come from and what they mean.  I enjoy using words, although anyone who knows me would tell you that I am much better at writing words than speaking words!  One of my favorite quotes from Rush Limbaugh is, "Words mean things!"

Often when I am reading or studying my Bible, I will find a word and go dig out my big dictionary and my Bible dictionary just to make sure I understand that particular word.  I have been known to sit taking notes during a sermon and jot a note to myself in the corner to do a word study on a particular word the preacher uses.

One of my favorite words in the Bible or out of the Bible is the word, sanctify.  I love how this word has multiple layers of meaning.  My Websters tells me that it comes from two Latin words, sanctus which means holy (Saint comes from that same word), and facio, to make.  To make holy.  It also means to set apart. 

I have been sanctified through the birth, the life, the work, the death and the resurrection of Jesus, and through the continuing work of the Holy Spirit.  I have been made holy, and (don't neglect this part) I have been set apart. 

As we approach the day when we celebrate the birth of Jesus remember to spend some time thinking about the why of His coming.  Christmas is wonderful but it has little meaning if we are not thinking about the coming of Easter and the celebration of Jesus' finished work; God's glory and our sanctification.

Yesterday as I was reading through the book of Ezekiel, I came to this description of God in Ezekiel 20:12

The Lord Who Sanctifies

I pray that over the next few days you will take a little time to meditate on that.  In the meditation of that, I believe that you will find a depth and fullness and richness added to your celebration of Christmas!

His peace ~ and presence ~ to your home.

The Twenty Four Days of Christmas Day 15

We're On The Home Stretch!

It's getting close.  Can you feel it?  It is only nine days until Christmas.  

This is the week I will (finally) be decorating.  We went and cut down a tree over the weekend and my house smells absolutely wonderful.  The tree is up and (mostly) decorated.  It's a little more minimalist this year which is quite different from my usual full tree.  Mr. Marvelous has even talked about a second tree for all his quirky and crazy cow and pink flamingo ornaments, so I will pick up a small cheap one when I am out today.  The garland and the wreath will go up on the front porch.  The nativity sets are (mostly) up (I have more than one.  I love nativity sets).  The wisemenman has moved over to Switzerland ~ that means he is standing on top of my picture of Geneva ~ so is halfway around the living room to the nativity.  

I will finish up shopping for gifts this week, and get a few things in the mail.  I might even start my baking this week.  I will be listening to some great music this week; Handel (I can never get enough of The Messiah), some Pergolesi (yes, it is in Latin.  I still love it), some Mannheim Steamroller, some Transiberian Orchestra (see, I am eclectic), and some good old fashioned carols.

I will be getting ready for out of town company, time with the grandchildren whom my sister so generously shares with me, an extended family trip to the Alabama Theater to see a Christmas movie, and all the other delightful odds and ends that fill our days this time of year.  

I will be sitting quietly in my rocker in the early mornings and late evenings (and throughout the day).  I will be thanking God for His many gifts this past year; the ones that I am aware of, the ones that I don't even know He gave me, the ones that hurt, and especially for the gift of Jesus.  I will be confessing my sins and confessing His ultimate authority in my life.  I will be asking His peace and mercy to fill the hearts and homes of friends who have suffered through a family death this year.  I will be asking Him to help me see Him more clearly; to know Him better and show Him better to the world around me.  I will be listening.

Enjoy!  Celebrate!  

But in the middle of the enjoyment and the celebration, stop.... 

...and listen.  

Remember Who this season is about.  

Give thanks for the great gift we have been offered!