The most wonderful time of the year

I love watching Christmas movies. Amazing how I can laugh until my stomach hurts as I watch the same movie every year while anticipating the next line or scene. One of my favorites is A Charlie Brown Christmas. Today I heard a line from that program that I do not remember hearing before, and I have not been able to get it out of my mind. Charlie Brown said, "I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming, but I'm not happy. I don't feel the way I'm supposed to feel." How he's supposed to feel...

Perhaps this line struck a chord with me because of the countless times I've heard the song, "It's the most wonderful time of the year" this past month in the car, stores, and even on television. It's like my eardrums have become a magnetic force to this tune! Every time I hear it I think of those who may be listening that may want to declare something similar to Charlie Brown's sentiment with the realization that while Christmas is coming, he or she doesn't feel the way they are supposed to feel. Health issues, finantial crisis, relational strains, exhaustion, and even death do not take a Christmas vacation. Situations exist that are difficult and painful while the familiar chorus tell us to "be of good cheer" in the midst of "parties for hosting, marshmellows for toasting, and caroling out in the snow." The message that is often conveyed this time of year is that happiness and the "right feeling" will result as we engage in Christmasy things such as decorating our home, baking goodies, buying presents, attending social gatherings, and receiving gifts. Please don't misunderstand - I will be the first one to say that these activites can and should be wonderful times of fellowship with those we love and are a ton of fun! However, merely partaking in these activites will not satisfy the cravings of our soul, and if our intention is to have our deepest longings satisfied in those things then what happens when the decorations come down, the last cookie is eaten, (and let's not even mention getting on the scale!) there are no more presents to distribute, and the parties cease? How then are we supposed to feel?

Fact is we're addressing the wrong issue. Our feelings do not accurately reflect an appropriate sentiment - we need to address joy, peace, and hope grounded in the knowledge and belief in truth. Not rooted in the things that are here today and are gone tomorrow, but rooted in the One who was, is, and is to come. It is possible for joy to coexist with trials. Peace to reside despite conflict. And hope to dissipate despair. It is possible - but only through Christ. "For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Is. 9:6).

I don't know what struggle or trial exists in your life as Christmas comes this year, but it is my prayer that your heart will stir with wonder and bow in worship as you reflect on the birth of Christ. That His joy will saturate your thoughts and attitudes, that His peace will calm the storm in your mind and heart, and that His hope will spur you on to love Him more. Born in a manger - destined for the cross; the truth of what our Savior has done makes the message of this season the most wonderful time of the year. Not because of what we do, but because of what He's done.

O come let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord! May the joy, peace, and hope of our Savior Jesus Christ reign in your heart as we celebrate His birth. Merry Christmas!

Pastor Matt Chandler

Until yesterday I have never heard of The Village Church or its senior pastor, Matt Chandler. Sine I've been introduced to him and his family I have not been able to get them out of my mind. I urge you to take 4 minutes out of your day to watch a video of him recorded on December 6th on the blog at this link: http://fm.thevillagechurch.net/blog/pastors/?paged=2

Left me speechless.

Will you join me in praying for Matt, Lauren and their three children as they process through all of this and walk this tremendously difficult road.

Born in a manger, destined for the cross

Over the past several weeks I have been going through the book of John during my devotional times in the mornings. When Advent started I thought about stopping and going backwards to read the story of Christ's birth, maybe in the book of Luke... I felt compelled to continue going forward in the book of John, so that is exactly what I have done. As God would have it, as Christmas neared so did the portions of Jesus' crucifixion. For a split second I thought to myself that I should be reading this in preparation for Easter during lent - not advent! But as quickly as I could formulate those words in my mind the little synapses in my brain told me that this could not be more appropriate. I came across a verse a few days ago that I feel led to share with you. Just to give you a little context, Jesus was brought before Pilate who was trying to determine why the Jewish people wanted to bring charges against Jesus. Inside the palace, Pilate summoned Jesus. Here is a portion of their conversation:

"Jesus said, 'My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.'"

'You are a king, then!' said Pilate.

Jesus answered, 'You are right in saying that I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me'" (John 18:36-38).

Jesus was born to testify to the truth...

Completely God and completely human, Jesus Christ temporarily left the heavenlies, donned a tent of flesh, and He made His dwelling among us. Jesus lived in a human body for 33 years. He experienced physical exhaustion. He knew the bitter taste of sweat. Not only did He know what a hunger pang was - He experienced them. He enjoyed fellowship with those He loved, and was later abandoned by those same people. He faced temptation. He was angered. He cried. He knew what it was to put in a full day's work. Jesus experienced a tender kiss from His mother, and a painful kiss from His betrayer.

Did you ever notice that Jesus never used His sovereign power for any self-gratification purpose? Rather than walking on a dusty road He could have immediately placed Himself in any desired location. Rather than allowing the soldier's spit to land on His body before the crucifixion He could have stopped it mid-air - He could have stopped the soldiers in any way He desired, for that matter! The words of Hebrews 2:7-8 summarize this truth better than I ever could, " "but He (Jesus) made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!" And throughout His 33 years, Jesus never sinned.

Born in a manger, destined for the cross.

He came to serve that we may learn to serve.

He came to die that we may live.

Jesus Christ is truth. (See Jn. 14:6) May the truth of who He is and what He has done revive our hearts, rekindle our love for Him, and drive us to worship Him. He alone is worthy - Christ, the Lord.

A very unusual day

From morning to evening, yesterday was an incredibly unusual day.

It was the final moments before the younger two kids ventured out into the crisp morning air while they were putting on their hats and gloves when Chris let out the most blood curdling scream and began running around hysterically. Now, as a mom you know your kids have different cries. There's the whining nothing-is-really-wrong-I-just-want-your-attention cry. There's the cry with actual tears to display sincere, yet manageable pain. Then there is the unmistakable, your stomach drops the moment you hear it cry, and you know something is really wrong demanding immediate intervention cry. The latter describes Chris's cry yesterday. When I found him curled in a fetal position on the couch he managed to scream, "A mouse! There is a mouse in our house! It crawled out of my hat when I went to put it on!" Evidently he brought in his hat from the garage, also a rodent's home for the night... By this time his younger brother got wind of what was going on, and he too was hysterical, on top of the couch. "Are you sure, Chris?" I asked. The boy looked sure. Wishful thinking on my part, I guess... The two kids bolted out the door for the bus fastest I'd ever seen, and for the first time I wished I could get on the bus with them! Instead, I returned with great fear and trembling to my house... Taking careful steps with eyes wide open. Nothing. Silence. "Maybe he was just seeing things," I reassured myself. (Guess this would be an appropriate time to mention my phobia of bugs, reptiles, and rodents? And I do use phobia in the truest context of the word!)

Then I saw it. A small, thin, black, mouse and I screamed the loudest blood curdling scream you've ever heard. Much like Chris's come to think of it, only a few pitches off. I was shocked that the rodent didn't so much as flinch in response to my ear piercing wail! What on Earth could I do? I grabbed my broom and chased it around, wailing the entire time. I was armed, but not real dangerous, as I was so paralyzed with fear, and did not what to hit the thing! Then I realized I had to make a move or else have an uninvited house guest for an untold number of days! So I tried to hit it with my broom - no luck. So I stood hovering over it, just staring at it. I called my father and mother-in-law who, bless their hearts, came over with mouse traps. When they came I was still staring at it, scared half to death with the back door open wide in the hopes that the thing would run out unharmed. Well, they came in and we fell into position. First in line was my fearless mother-in-law, with a spray bottle of Clorox in hand in the hopes we could stun it and then carry it out of the house. (With the added bonus of disinfecting it at the same time!) Next my father-in-law with broom in hand. I was in the rear. No productive job for me, now that I think of it. We chased the mole (as I learned it was) for a couple hours until we finally lost sight of it in my dining room. We could not find it anywhere. We moved all the furniture around, lifted the couch, turned it upside down - no mole.

I left my house to run a couple errands and when I came home checked all the traps we set - Mr. Mole was nowhere to be found. When I walked across the dining room I felt a little bump under my feet... Holding my breath (and broom again) I lifted it up to find the mole flat as a pancake between my area rug and rug pad underneath! We must have turned the couch upside down on it! Though I am sorry it died, I have to tell you RELIEF came over me when I realized operation mole had come to an end!

When I picked up the kids from school I learned everyone from the principle to the janitor heard the news of the mouse in our house. Evidently Chris and Jacob asked all their friends to please call them and ask them to come over their house because they were afraid to come home. They were also happy to hear it was dead. Not so happy to hear its remains were where I found it, waiting for Daddy to get home!

The evening was unusual, but it such a better way! I think I may have mentioned before, I am not gifted in the craft department. Crafts are not something I do often, nor is it relaxing for me as I tend to hyperventilate and perspire when engaging in such activities. (And I am not a sweater, btw!) But every so often the two craft brain cells I do have connect, spark, and I get a great idea! This week that very thing happened, and the kids and I made non-edible ornaments and painted them. We had such fun making them! Here they are:

Homemade ornaments made by my children are my favorite and most treasured. What a wonderful memory. I thought I'd share the recipe in case you want to try them:

NON-EDIBLE CINNAMON ORNAMENTS

1 1/2 cup ground cinnamon (I bought from the dollar store, as this amount can be expensive!

1 c. applesauce

1/4 c white glue (like Elmer's)

- Mix all above ingredients together. (I used my hands to "knead" the dough.)

- Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

- Roll out dough onto cinnamon dusted wax paper. Do NOT roll too thin or they will crumble! Cut into shapes with cookie cutters.

- Using a straw, pierce the dough on the top to make a hole to thread ribbon through in order to hang on tree.

- Reroll scraps and continue until gone.

- Put on waxed paper lined trays to dry completely. Turn ornaments over after drying overnight. (Mine took over 24 hours to completely dry. It helped when I transferred them to a cooling rack, as the waxed paper retained moisture.)

- We used glitter glue to decorate when they were completely dry. This was the funnest part!

I made one and a half of this recipe, and we made 29 ornaments.

And speaking of cutting out dough, I am in a cookie baking mood this year! I've been flipping through cookbooks and making a list of types of cookies to make. Some tried and true recipes and some new to try. Will you be baking this year? If you have a tried and true to pass along, I'd love to have your recipe if you are willing to share! I am going to try my hand at Cream Wafers again this year. I tried them several years ago and vowed I would never make them again because the dough was so difficult to work with. I even wrote myself a caution to never make these cookies again in the margin of my cookbook where I refer to them as Nightmare Cookies! See what a couple years does to your memory - and perspective? What could be so hard about it, right? (I'll let you know how this pans out...)

So, that was my day yesterday. Morning mayhem gave way to craft extravaganza! And now let the rodent free baking begin!