Are You Ready for Christmas?

     Are you ready for Christmas???  

I can't even tell you how many times I have been asked that question in the past few weeks.  And in a way, it seems funny, because I don't think I can ever answer, "Yes, I'm ready for Christmas!"  The best reply I can muster is, "I'm as ready as I'm going to be."  But really, is anyone ever ready for Christmas?

This past week we were lucky enough to have some beautiful, warm weather with clear skies at night.  One night we went for a walk and saw the Starlink satellites zipping across the sky.  And a few nights later I let the kids stay up extra late to sit outside and watch the Geminid meteor shower.  

Sitting there in the cold, dark night, just staring up at the moonless sky, we could see so many stars.  We felt our smallness in the midst of such splendor and vastness. We had fun identifying a few constellations and even saw Jupiter and three of its moons with binoculars.  But the shooting stars were what we were waiting for and we were not disappointed.

There is something so gripping about light, piercing the darkness.  First we saw one, then another, then another meteor flash across the sky.  Even as these potentially dangerous space rocks are burning up in our atmosphere, we see them as something beautiful - light piercing the darkness.   We saw 13 in all in about 40 minutes of watching.  Every one resulted in a thrill of excitement. Sudden...unexpected... stunningly beautiful.

This makes me think back on that question....are you ready for Christmas?  We live in a world filled with so much sorrow and chaos and pain...the darkness seems so impenetrable that at times we can't imagine a way out.  I remember the story of the three wise men, who saw and followed the unusual star in the sky that eventually led them to Jesus.  On their journey of many months, did they ever lose hope?  Did they wonder what exactly they would find when they reached their destination?

When we take the time to be still, to look for God, we find Him.  But we have to make that time...we have to be quiet and patient and let all of our pressing demands fade away. What are we striving for? What things are we pouring our time and energy into?  Christmas has nothing to do with checking everything off a list, and everything to do with setting our lists aside to focus on God.  Christmas isn't about how many things we can cram onto our calendar, but instead is about creating space to rest with the Lord and truly appreciate what He has done for us.  Christmas isn't about finding the perfect gifts, it's about rejoicing in the greatest gift ever given, the gift of Jesus, our Savior, Who rescues us from this dark and hopeless world and offers us a whole new life with Him.  

Even thinking about a gift like this now, I am so humbled and quieted.  How could anything else compare?  How could we feel like we need to add on anything else to make Christmas more special?  

Dear God, help us to slow down this Christmas season, so that we do not miss the beauty and hope and joy that Jesus offers us.  Help us to spend time in Your Word, which offers us truth and light.  Help us never to forget the reason we celebrate Christmas...Jesus.  Like a shooting star, He appeared in our dark and hopeless world, and brought Light.  Brilliant piercing Light, offering us hope, if we will only open our eyes to see...

Good Tidings of Great Joy...

I can't think back to a more memorable field trip I've done with the kids than our trip to see the Goodyear Blimp in December of 2019.  We drove to Ohio on a cold, snowy morning and were just in awe to be able to walk into the hanger and go right up to the blimp. 

Seeing it up in the sky from time to time you really can't appreciate the size of it.  But being up close you get a whole new perspective.  And I associate it with Christmas time because our visit was just shortly before Christmas.  After we saw the blimp, we stopped by a nearby church that advertised having an enormous number of nativities they had collected from all over the world.  We loved walking around and seeing all the different displays, and down in the basement of the church was an area with costumes for all the nativity characters that the kids could put on to act out the scene.  The girls wanted to dress up as angels...well two of them did!  

So why remember back to this trip right now?  As I watched the kids decorating our tree this evening, I thought back to my own childhood and the wonder of Christmas and the many traditions we shared.  I wanted it to be a beautiful and peaceful time for them. But the kids were arguing quite a bit about what color lights to put on the tree and how many, what decorations to hang, what music to listen to. There was name calling, pushing and shoving, pouting... Derrick and I sat back and let them do everything on their own for the first time.  It was utter chaos.  Ornaments were falling off the tree as soon as they were hung, kids were tripping over boxes strewn all over the floor, pine needles were everywhere.  I wasn't sure if anyone was feeling any Christmas joy!

But isn't this why Jesus came??  So quietly, so humbly, He came into the most imperfect world in the most inconspicuous way, amongst smelly farm animals and visited by lowly shepherds.  He came into our sin-marred world to bring light and life and hope.  It's easy to go through our days and not even notice Him or give Him much thought.  It's easy to go through the whole year and not think about the wondrous gift He has given us...until we return to Christmas.  But it is a gift we can appreciate every single day.

When I wish someone a Merry Christmas, I hope I am thinking about the words I'm saying.  We aren't joyful at Christmas because of our perfect decorations or the gifts we give, our family Christmas cards or the amount of baking we have done.  It is Jesus who offers us lasting joy, the greatest joy we could ever hope to find.  From a distance, I don't appreciate Him, don't grasp all that He means to me or all that He has done for me.  It's when I really start to understand and get close to Him, getting to know Him by reading His words in the Bible, and talking with Him in prayer that I can appreciate the gift He offers me.

I hope as Christmas nears, you will find some time to think about Jesus, and all that He means for us. 

Luke 2:10-12 - But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Stop Comparing...

A few weeks ago, I was reading Galatians in my "Message" Bible.  I was feeling pretty discouraged and depleted.  Holidays aren't what they used to be with so many empty seats around our table that were once filled with family members.  It is hard not to be sad.  It is hard not to go on Facebook or other social media and see the photos that others post and compare, all the time.  It's hard to remember back to the days when our lives were not so permeated by this constant flood of "information", having an ever-flowing window into the world of all of our "friends".  But is this really healthy for our minds and our souls?  

As I read a passage I am very familiar with, in a slightly different version, I was gripped.  I read it again, and again, and again.  How had I missed it before?  How had I passed over the deeper meaning so many times in the past?

Galatians 5: 19-26 (my emphasis in bold)

It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on. This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom.

But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard - things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely. Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way.

Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good - crucified. Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. 

That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.

Whoa, read that again if you need to.  I might!  How have we become so obsessed with comparing?  And does it really make our lives any better? I have to argue that it doesn't.  I know I often find myself either wallowing in self-pity and envy or trying to outdo someone else...neither of which should ever be the result of indulging in social media consumption.  

Am I focusing on what is really important, or just what I want?  Am I working out the implications of living for Christ, the life of the Spirit, in every detail of my life?  Or am I trying to post every detail of my life on Facebook to garner as many "likes" as possible?  

I crave this exuberance for life, this serenity, this peace in not needing to know what everyone else is doing or what society views as "necessities".  What happened to "give us this day our daily bread"?  We are so far down the road trying to plan out our whole future, the kids college funds, our retirement.  What happened to just being thankful for today and living it out to the fullest, completely in love with Jesus Who has freed us from the bondage of this earth and our own sin?

During this Christmas season, I hope and pray that you might find some quiet time to reflect on why we celebrate the birth of Christ.  I pray that you might grasp the life-altering implications of this incredible gift that God sent to us in the form of a tiny baby.  I pray that you might come before the Lord, empty-handed, and thank Him wholeheartedly for all that He has done for you.  

Dear God, how very far I stray from You!  Over and over again I look to the wrong things, the wrong places for satisfaction in my life.  To be sure, life can be very hard, but in spite of my circumstances, I know that You and You alone are good, and the only thing worth pursuing.  Help me to keep my eyes fixed on You.  I thank You for the gifts you have so graciously poured into my life, the only gifts worth celebrating at Christmas time.  Help me to take hold of Your promises and never look back.  Thank you for the greatest gift of Jesus.  Amen.

More than you could ever imagine or guess or request...

 God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.  Ephesians 3:20 (The Message)

We took a mini-road trip a few weeks back up to Pymatuning State Park.  It was a gorgeous, warm fall day and a much-needed break from a hectic fall schedule.  It is these times that I can step away from the perpetual grind of school and sports and chores, and really just soak in the moments, I can truly appreciate my blessings.  

I read a verse this week in a couple different translations and it spoke to my heart.  God can do anything...above and beyond what we can even comprehend.  This is so basic, so obvious, and yet we forget it all the time.  And He works in our lives "gently."  I am so undeserving of this kind of patient, quiet love.  I am so quick to demand and criticize and then ask again for more.  
And yet, in spite of being so undeserving, everywhere I look I see abundance.  I see beauty, and perfection in His Creation.  I see hope when I stop to appreciate the attention He has put into everything...from the glorious colors in Fall leaves, to the tiniest little ladybug.  

I hope that we can all allow ourselves a break from "the schedule" to stop and just appreciate all that He has done for us.  Do this often...it is what our souls need more than anything else...to be connected with our Creator and to find rest in drawing near to Him.

Into a Broad Place...

Psalm 18: 18-19, 28-33

...but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
For it is you who light my lamp;
the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
 This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God?—
the God who equipped me with strength
and made my way blameless.
He made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure on the heights.

Once, many years ago, when I was still in high school, my older cousins invited me to take a special trip with them.  They were driving up to New York City for the day and asked if I'd like to go too.  Of course, I was thrilled for the opportunity, never having been there before.  I remember the drive up, the anticipation...the first time seeing the Statue of Liberty and the city skyline.  It was incredible!  I remember walking around the city all day...to the Empire State Building where we rode to the observation deck, and then to Times Square.  Standing in Times Square, I was completely overwhelmed by the enormity of it...it was sheer sensory overload.  I had never seen anything like it before.  

Just the other day this memory came back to mind...I was feeling exhausted after a week of starting back to homeschool with the kids.  My brain felt overloaded by the number of things on my to-do list and the number of hours I had left in the day....

Aren't all of our lives, somehow, consumed by busy-ness...all the time!?  And yet, how much of this is self-imposed.  Like Times Square, do we have the choice to stay, or to leave for a time and give our minds and our souls the rest they need so very much?

All summer long I tried and tried to capture a few photos of my resident hummingbirds.  But every time I'd grab my camera and go out to find them, they'd disappear.  Now my yard is rarely a beacon of solitude...there is almost always someone screaming or running around.  Watching the days drop off the calendar and knowing they would be departing soon for their winter in the South, I finally made some quiet time to go outside when all was quiet and just wait.  And soon after, I was rewarded.  

Doesn't God wait to bless us in just this way?  When we are consumed by busy-ness...always distracted by all the noise, the to-do list, our man-made idols...we can't catch a glimpse of Him. The picture of Him rescuing me, bringing me out to a broad open place, is absolutely beautiful.  He knows what I need before I even do.  He sets my feet on firm ground when I feel like I'm losing my footing.  He is SO GOOD.  

Dear God,

As we exit one season and enter another, I pray that You would help us to see You, through all of our distractions.  Help us to keep our focus on You, our priorities straight, our hearts longing after a close relationship with You.  Let us not miss out on the truly remarkable blessings right in front of us, because we are too busy to quiet our hearts before You.  Give us rest, renewal, refuge...be our ROCK.  I thank You God, for caring so much about us as we spin off in so many directions...and yet You keep reaching down and bringing us back.  Forgive us, keep us close to You in this new week ahead.  Amen.

Making Room for Less...

 What did YOU do this summer?  Ah the somewhat-loaded, well-intentioned question I hear all too often as summer winds to a close.  We feel such pressure to come up with a long list of impressive sounding accomplishments at the end of summer. The activities we enrolled in, the trips we took, the projects we completed.  Social media only fuels this "competition"...we are always trying to keep up and always falling short.  I will never have as amazing a summer as the "x" family!!

My list of summer accomplishments could include such exciting things as, keeping up with the laundry, waging daily wars against pet hair and dirty dishes, trying to get the kids to fight less, reading approximately 1/2 of two books, and attacking the ever-encroaching weeds in the garden.  But really, who's keeping track of any of this?  Summer isn't about amassing some long list of achievements.  I'm not out to out-do anyone.

It's not about the rush...we are all "so busy"  and "so tired."  Let's just give ourselves a break from it all.  This summer more than ever, I have felt the crushing burden of trying to keep up...and over and over again, I have been reminded of what my one goal each day should be...  

Matthew 12:30-31 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Fix your eyes on Jesus...

Of course it's not always that simple.  Of course each day when I wake up, my problems are still there...but the heavy burden of trying to do and be everything slips away when we are putting our focus and attention on Him.  

John 6:35 "Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Do I really see and think of Him in that regard...as my sustenance?  Do I keep Him at the forefront of my thoughts as I go through my day?  Distractions are around every corner, trying to pull me away, trying to convince me that I have to "do more."

But actually, He wants me to make room for less in my life...not more.  I read this verse yesterday, and had to go back and re-read it several times to really let it soak in, 

Matthew 12:22-23  "...He dismissed the crowds. After He had sent them away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray..."

Even Jesus, God's own Son, recognized the importance of clearing out all the distractions and other people from around Him from time to time to make alone time with God.  He went off to isolated places to pray many times in Scripture.  He made room in His life for less, and in doing so received His sustenance and strength from the Father.

Before summer slips away, make some time in your life for less...give yourself those moments just to gaze deeply into the eyes of your little ones and appreciate them, give yourself unstructured time to be out in Creation, soaking in all the wonder that is there that we so often take for granted, and most importantly, give yourself space just to be alone with the Creator.  He wants to hear from you.  He wants you to know that you are pretty amazing...worth dying for.

While every aspect of American culture is encouraging us to do more, be more, get more...I want to challenge you to make room for less.  Less is often so much more...less allows us the space and freedom to finally see through all the clutter, the things that are truly important.  

Yesterday morning we all stopped by a local farm that was having a garage sale.  The 100+ year-old house and land was also for sale and as we talked to the daughter who had grown up there, she shared many fond memories of living there years ago.  I felt a sadness as I saw all the things that they had accumulated over the years....now no longer wanted.  Things that were once so important, so cherished...now dust covered and taking up space.

Dear God, help me to make room in my life for less.  Open my eyes each and every day to what is really important in this life.  Help me to truly receive my sustenance from You.  While so many things are competing for my time and attention, I ask You to give me the strength to stay focused on loving You with my all.  Amen.

A Dry and Parched Land

Psalm 63:1-8  

You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land where there is no water. 
I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; 
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.
I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.

It's summertime, and often during these warm months we have longer stretches with no rain.  After a particularly warm week this week with temperatures in the 90's and no rain, everything was very dry.  The grass was crunchy underfoot and the plants were wilting for lack of water.  We spent many hours watering our garden to keep everything alive.

When the kids were walking in the neighborhood, they happened to find a beautiful yellow swallowtail butterfly, just resting on the ground.  They picked it up to bring home and show Eva, our butterfly lover.  Clearly it was dying, though it looked absolutely perfect.  She could not grasp how something so beautiful could come and go so quickly from this earth.  Why did it have to die?  In spite of her efforts to gently place in on flower after flower where it could eat, it was all to no avail.  I gently hugged her and looked into her face.  "It's sad that butterflies only live for a few weeks, isn't it?  But that's how God created them and that's why they lay so many hundreds of eggs, so there will be more butterflies for us to enjoy."

As I watched the kids playing in the yard that night, my heart was heavy.  Just like Eva's grief over that butterfly, we all experience grief over the brevity of life.  We see Creation, in all its intended perfection and simultaneously experience the dissonance of death and loss in the midst of it.  Our souls LONG for peace, for hope, for God to draw near.

I recently read a passage from Katie Davis Majors' book "Safe all Along," that said this, 

"The psalmist here (in Psalm 13) both acknowledges his excruciating pain and trusts the good and loving character of God.  Friend, grief doesn't exclude joy.  Both exist together.  God is faithful and life is difficult.  Life is beautiful and worthy of celebration, and it is also hard and worthy of lament.  And acknowledging both realities leads us to His feet."

If you find yourself walking through that dry land with no water, remember to seek God who is the "Fountain of Life."

Ps 36:9 "For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light."

When the night is very dark, and you feel like you've lost your way, remember to watch for Him...

Psalm 27:1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?"

We can sing because HE IS OUR HELP

We cling to Him and HIS RIGHT HAND UPHOLDS US.

Dear God, I have longed for so many things...but I ask that You would help me to long  for You.  In this dry and parched land where there is no water, give me life abundant.  Help me to remember that "the joy of the Lord is my strength."  Give me Your peace that passes all understanding, and a hope that endures.  By your Spirit, strengthen me to walk through the valley of the shadow of death...and not be afraid.  I am weak, and weary, and so thirsty Lord.  Help me to thirst for You and more of You.  I thank you, God, for all that You have done for me.  You have saved me, redeemed me, shown me grace and mercy that I do not deserve.  I cling to you,  Amen.

Romans 15:13 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.

Seeing Clearly

 Psalm 18; 28

"You, Lord, keep my lamp burning: my God turns my darkness into light."

Over the past several weeks we've been dealing with air quality issues in Pittsburgh.  Smoke from many Canadian wildfires has been drifting down into our area and the visual impact has been pretty incredible at times.  Last week on the worst day so far, we were able to look almost directly at the sun at a time of evening when it normally would have been totally blinding.  

I was thinking of this more as the very next day, a storm front blew through, taking all the smoke away with it.  The sky was blue again, the smell of the smoke was gone.  Everything was back to normal again, as it should be.

Life has a way of getting cluttered with so many things, so quickly.  I find myself losing sight of the truly important things over and over again.  I can't see through the smoke screen of the things I think I should be doing.  Social media and technology seem to only contribute to this never ending cycle.  We see what everyone else is doing and think we need to keep up, catch up, or do better.  We are on an endless quest for "the best."

At church on Sunday, the pastor spoke about being weary...oh how I have felt that weariness!  But Jesus is the answer to all of our needs.  He gives us water that truly quenches our thirst.  He clears our eyes so we can see, once and for all, all that is real and all He has to offer us.  

Jesus paid the price for our sins, once and for all.  He died so that we can live freely, abundantly, hopefully and in right standing with God.  All we must do is believe.  And God gives us His Spirit to help us every step of the way.  

There is a C. S. Lewis quote that I love.  It says, 

"I believe in Christ as I believe that the sun has risen; not because I can see it, but because by it I see everything else."

God, give us eyes to see You, in all of Your glory, today.  Help us to recognize all that You have done for us and continue to do for us.  Help us not to get caught up in things that have no meaning or purpose.  Help us to see clearly, to see You, to see that You are all we need.