Christmas Word

This word from our Lord - first given to me in 2011 still rings true in my spirit today.

In the quiet, in the waiting, I have been listening for what the Lord would share:

Even as a tiny baby I Was and Am big enough

to hold and carry all that concerns you.

This then is the magic of Christmas.

Your worry for My peace.

Your grief for My joy.

Your bondage for My freedom.

Your wrong for My right.

In all the unwrapping of gifts,

do not forget this divine exchange.

Now thanks be to God for His Gift, [precious] beyond telling 

[His indescribable, inexpressible, free Gift]! 

 2 Corinthians 9:15 Amplified

 

Christmas glory

Christmas eve, Lake Malawi

the sun set glory blazing

in the Southern skies

a cross shining

like Bethlehem's star

as God once again

announced His coming

 

annual Christmas love letter

It is a tradition for my husband and to write love letters to each other, place them in the decorated tree to read on Christmas eve.  This year the letters waited til morning as we were out visiting friends till much too late last night.  These are the words I penned to my beloved:

Dear Rick: 

It is our 13th holiday season together.

I sit lost in the beauty of our tree 

where you wove the glittering lights.

Snow fills the view outside the window

and I hear the moan of increasing winds.

Christmas is family and friends and frosty temperatures.

We wake together on Christmas morning,

snuggled in down and body heat.

This is familiar.  This is what we have come to know.

But we have given the lives we know to the God

we continue to learn about

and soon nothing will look familiar but the love He has for us

the love He has given us for each other

and the love He has developed in us for the red dirt of Africa

I have walked by your side through 13 winters

and by your side is where I shall remain

following a narrow road, but the best road

honoring you, respecting you, assisting you

and loving you always until the end of this life we live

and then forward into eternity

I am His, and I am yours,

in hope and joy,

 

less of me for Christmas

This was originally written and posted in 2010.  It is as true now as it was then.

this has been another year of wanting to learn 

what it means to surrender

to desire more of Him and less of me

to lay down my plans, offer my heart

to come as I am knowing His love will accept me

but also change me.

this has been a year of learning 

how much of my "self" still fights for life.

so for this Christmas I want less

less of who I think I am and more of Who He Is.

that I might loosen my grip on this alabaster jar 

even knowing it will fall

shatter and empty 

pouring out all that I am.

this year I will again wrap a box

to place beneath the tree

as a gift to my Lord, an offering of a place emptied

prepared, waiting to be filled.

my Christmas hope, a miraculous exchange

that would leave none of me

and all of Him.

Mary's song

And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has been mindful

of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

for the Mighty One has done great things for me—

holy is his name.

Luke 1:46-49 NIV

singing my praise with the Sunday choir at Deidra's

 

in the stillness before Christmas

The time draws near the birth of Christ: 

The moon is hid; 

the night is still; 

the Christmas bells from hill to hill 

answer each other in the mist.

Tennyson

in the hush

holy settles soft

in the waiting

He comes

and lingers

in the stillness with Sandy

 

let it be unto me

Bonnie asked us to think 

about which character in the Christmas story 

speaks to us most deeply 

and I think of Mary

but we are not yet in Bethlehem

nor are we on the way

my spirit trembles, resonates 

with the pre-Christmas story

Mary was busy with the details of life

yes, she loved her God

but she also loved her betrothed

promises, dreams and plans 

swirled through her thoughts

day after ordinary day

promises, dreams and plans 

swirl through my thoughts

day after ordinary day

but God interrupts

with plans of His own

sending word

before shuffling the deck

The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, 

for you have found favor with God. 

And now, you will conceive in your womb 

and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 

He will be great, 

and will be called the Son of the Most High, 

and the Lord God will give to him 

the throne of his ancestor David.

He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, 

and of his kingdom there will be no end.” 

Mary said to the angel, 

“How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 

The angel said to her, 

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, 

and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; 

therefore the child to be born will be holy; 

he will be called Son of God.

Luke 1:30-35 RSV

perhaps Mary could have said no

perhaps I can say no

when what He asks doesn't seem to suit my desires

but I hear the quiet voice as the Holy Spirit sings

reminding me of my quest

a life laid down, surrendered

to reply, boldly as Mary did

Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord; 

let it be done to me according to what you have said. 

Luke 1:38 Amplified

I have tasted the blessings of obedience

and I hunger for more of the same

let it be unto me

let it be unto me

let it be unto me

as He wills

 

jamming with Bonnie about characters in the Christmas story

 

find the cross

the sparkle, the lights

the house warmed

by scents of fir, cinnamon

ready to calm a restless heart

shake snow off boots

shed layers of protection

take time to settle

look close

behind the tree

and find the cross

 

sweet lingers

My hands have been at work

measuring, stirring

shaping cookies

the oven adding both warmth

and aroma

to a home so quickly filled

with winter.

I am preparing

old favourites

but also testing new 

recipes and ideas

aware that this may be

my last time

to cherish a Canadian Christmas.

As I try to imagine

the next years

(perhaps many, many years)

in Africa

I sample the results

of my work here

a sweet lingers

leaving longing on my tongue.

walking with Emily, imperfect but chosen and loved

 

Yankee Doodle Christmas and a giveaway!!

In only three days my friend Sheila has a novelette being released!

Sheila Seiler Lagrand, Ph.D., earned her doctorate in anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles. As an undergraduate at the University of California, San Diego, she studied anthropology and literature with an emphasis in writing. You will find her blog on the home page of this site. Sheila is a member of The High Calling. As a young woman she published poems in dozens of literary magazines. She has also contributed to anthropology journals and contributed a chapter to the book Fieldwork and Families: Constructing New Models for Ethnographic Research.

More recently, her work has appeared in Wounded Women of the Bible: Finding Hope When Life Hurts, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians (BibleDude Community Commentary Series), and a few volumes of Chicken Soup for the Soul. She has work forthcoming in Soul Bare. 

I was blessed to be able to read an advanced copy of this warm and delightful tale about a bit of a Christmas mix-up.  I also had the opportunity to have a sort of virtual coffee date with Sheila to ask her some questions.  Why don't you go pour yourself a cup of something comforting and join us.

Sheila, your novelette Yankee Doodle Christmas is releasing in just a few days.  That seems like a wonderful gift for a writer. What other gifts would you like to receive this year?

Karin, thanks. It IS a wonderful gift. I would love to receive the gift of time--more time--to spend with our extended family. 

What are your favourite gifts to give?

Something that shows I've been paying attention, I guess. We took three of our grandchildren to the tall ships festival and Ayden, the 9 year old, was very interested in a book about pirates. We bought him one for Christmas. 

Your main character struggles with the need for approval.  What would you say to others who share the same struggle?

Oh, that's a hard question. Because I want to say, "God made you just as you are for a reason. Of course you're 'good enough.'" But I know when I've been in the throes of insecurity, that statement wouldn't soothe my spirit. I might be more likely to pray for that person rather than dispense advice.

What was your most memorable Christmas? 

Oh, that's a tough one. They've all been memorable. Maybe it was the Christmas I spent in the hospital when I was 14, recovering from a ruptured appendix. My parents were there with gifts at 8 a.m. That left a sweet impression on me. 

Coming from the Midwest and now living in Manitoba, to me winter has always meant snow and cold.  How do you make it look and feel like Christmas in California?

We hang lights, put up a tree, decorate, drink eggnog. Sometimes it gets all the way down to the 50s, you know.  And some years it's 80 degrees on Christmas. I've lived here all my life (except for a year in Polynesia, where it's even warmer) so I really don't have anything to compare it to. Snow is something that happens in the mountains and we drive to visit it. 

Mrs. Delsey's butter cookies are mentioned often in your story.  Do you have a recipe?

What a great idea! I don't. Do you?

Now, I ask you all the  same question?  What is your favourite butter cookie recipe?  Share it with us in the comments and you'll be entered to win a free e-copy of Yankee Doodle Christmas as soon as it releases.

Winner will be chosen by random draw on Wednesday night, not by bake-off!

missing her

Mom and I never shared Christmas

not in the way I rejoice with other believers

those who at least try to remember the reason

but we shared joy in the lights

and the beauty of the season

cookies and candies

ribbons and bows

gifts given and received

it was a time for keeping warm

and extravagant love

that is what I remember

that is what I miss

that is what filled and spilled tears today

walking with Emily and the broken, imperfect redeemed
 

lights and artifice

light-emitting diode 

colours bright 

the inside tree reflects 

on slick white frozen 

through to the other side

of the living room window

while flames artifice

dance in snaps 

and crackles on the flat screen

pretending heat

still the air is warm

here where hearts 

find rest in sacred expectation

side by side with the poets today
 

Christmas night

How silently, how silently,

the wondrous gift is given!

So God imparts to human hears

the blessings of his heaven.

I pray that the wonder and peace of Christmas 

blossoms and prospers 

in your hearts and spirits

tonight and in all the days to come.  

The glitter and lights, 

wrappings and ribbons 

soon fade away 

but His love endures forever.

 

A Christmas offer

"Come. Sit down. Let’s argue this out.”

    This is God’s Message:

“If your sins are blood-red,

    they’ll be snow-white.

If they’re red like crimson,

    they’ll be like wool.

Isaiah 1:18 The Message

 

Joining Deidra and the Sunday chorus

 

Christmas poems

It's December, the season of the wonder of Christmas 

I'm happy to share with you that I have two poems published 

in this month's issue of 

The Wordsmith Journal Magazine.

You can read them here Christmas Poems

 

Christmas Roses by Amanda Cabot

The back cover of the short novel Christmas Roses by Amanda Cabot teases:

Celia Anderson doesn't have a husband on her Christmas wish list. But when a travelling carpenter finds lodging at her boardinghouse, she admits that she might remarry if she found the right man--the kind of man who would bring her roses for Christmas. It would take a miracle, though, to find roses during a harsh Wyoming winter.  But Christmas, after all, is the time for miracles . . .

I found this, my first book by Cabot to be a charming start to my Christmas season.  The characters are well developed and the pacing is quick even if somewhat predictable in outcome.

If you're looking for a bit of Christmas cheer, you will enjoy this winter tale.

I received a complimentary copy of this book to review from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.  The opinions I have expressed are my own.

 

Christmas fulfills

As dawn breaks on this Christmas morning

Rejoice in the One Who fulfills the ancient words –

A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,

the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD

Isaiah 11:1-2 NIV

“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches.

I am the Root and the Offspring of David,

the Bright and Morning Star.”

Revelation 22:16 NKJV

Christmas tears

It has been an Advent of searching and finding and rejoicing in His love.  Tonight we will gather to join hands and hearts and sing of His miraculous birth.

But today, as I wait, I am awash in tears.  I am reminded that the same thing happened to me last year, so I share the words I posted, true then, true now...

Having time to ponder the glory of His coming, into a world as stark as this --

Yet come He did, and come again He will, not as a child but as our King. Yes, I rejoice in the wonder of His promises and the completeness of His gift, indeed my praises rise.

Still today my heart is troubled for those who do not recognize His birth or hope for His return; those who cannot see the light behind the clouds. Tears flow as my spirit aches, a groaning deep, an exhalation of sighs, every breath a prayer.

Lord, may they know You.

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. John 1:9-10 NIV

 

Divine exchange

In the quiet, in the waiting, I have been listening for what the Lord would share:

Even as a tiny baby I Was and Am big enough

to hold and carry all that concerns you.

This then is the magic of Christmas.

Your worry for My peace.

Your grief for My joy.

Your bondage for My freedom.

Your wrong for My right.

In all the unwrapping of gifts,

do not forget this divine exchange.

Now thanks be to God for His Gift, [precious] beyond telling [His indescribable, inexpressible, free Gift]!  2 Corinthians 9:15 Amplified

 

Did Mary know? Do I?



Image via Wikipedia

 

Did Mary know
when the angel came
what her surrender
would accomplish?

Then Mary said, Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be done to me according to what you have said. And the angel left her.  Luke 1:38 Amplified

Questions will remain unasked,
unanswered
not every stop will be marked
neatly on a map
I may not know the why
but must believe that the Who
can sort out the how
and my part
the simplest and most difficult
is to say "yes"

because nothing I can imagine
can compare
and all that is good, in me
is His

according to His Word
according to His will
let it be done to me
let it be done through me



Jamming with Bonnie and unwrapping Jesus

also joining the others imperfect but redeemed at Emily's