Clues of Christmas Past

The holidays are over. The tree has been taken down, its pine needles devoured by your vacuum and discarded like an old used rag down at the curb to be snatched up by men who wear big fat gloves. Or maybe you allow your dead tree to be a place of refuge for the birds and backyard critters for the remainder of this winter, tucked away in the far, hard to see corner of your fence. Or maybe your tree is artificial, and its decoration is now a somber plastic bag, tightly tucked away in a dark, web-laced corner of your basement or garage. Boxes of decorations, gingerly wrapped and packed, properly marked, have been safely put away to hibernate another year.

The gifts so carefully chosen by loved ones have been taken back, worn, spent, or put away for future use. The empty boxes that enthralled the children for days after Christmas have been replaced by the new toys they received. Children are relearning your household rules after a few precious days of blissful indulgences with Grandparents. Thank you notes have been written, signed, sealed and swallowed up by the post box. We wish we could bottle and cap the sweet memories to savor them again in mid-July.

Grandma’s over sized roasting pan has been scrubbed and put under the bed anticipating the size of that next large bird to be sacrificed. All of your regal china and silver have been replaced by your common, but hearty stoneware and flatware. You have cleaned the refrigerator of all the stuff that turned black and anything that is green and hairy, along with the unrecognizable liquids pooling in the vegetable bin.

Dial soap is put to use for soaping the zipper of your now too-tight jeans, while you lay prostrate on the bed, hoping to be able to stand up, breath and walk properly once this secret deed is done. You remove the old, but faithful bathroom scale from its holiday hiding place, blow the dust off and take it back to its proper post, to remind you daily of all those delectable, holiday nibbles. You have cleaned the house and swear you will never again buy spray snow for your windows, no matter how charmingly Hallmark-y you think it will look.

The rushing, frenzied pace of the last few months are over. Vacations are over. Visits made bittersweet with last goodbyes, were sealed with hugs and kisses. It is back to everyday business, as usual. You look all around you, and perhaps there are no apparent signs or clues of Christmas past.

And you wonder...What have I gained or gleaned or grasped from these past few months?

My prayer is that you will bring into this New Year, a deeper, sweeter awareness and knowledge of whom Jesus Christ is, and a more intimate, daily relationship with Him. Take away all the decorations, the gifts, the food, the dinnerware, the visits, and the busyness. Take away all that the world tells you are necessary for a great Christmas and be reminded of the place of a lowly manger and follow the life of Christ to His bare, blood stained cross of love and redemption, and a grave that could not hold the resurrected Christ. Just for you, just for me. Take these precious gifts, His birth, His death and His resurrection; His gifts to us, and allow them to have a prominent place in your minds, hearts and homes. Display them with all glory and honor given to Him, in all that you think, speak, do and plan. Taste them and see that they are good. Savor and enjoy them. Take delight in Him because He delights in you.

Happy New Year



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Delete, Pitch or Shred

Yep, it is clean and clear time. This time of the year always makes me want to clean and clear. Oh, not the cleaning we do daily or weekly, but clearing my cluttered desk and office and going through files in drawers as well as stored on my PC.

Some files I delete, pitch or shred immediately because I know I will never need that information or those documents again. I find some that I just cannot part with…maybe I will need that again…perhaps I will do that craft, that recipe, that trip again. My loving hubby always says “Yea, right”.

There’s that big bulky file filled with manuals and instruction booklets of appliances, furnaces, washer and dryers as well as all those warranty papers and forms that promise a “life time” guarantee (ummm, didn’t I see “going out of business” signs all over that one retail store?). I promise myself every year I will go through it…I’m sure there are papers from mixers, coffee makers, and compact CD players that were thrown to the curb years ago…instead the file just gets fatter and fatter every year. You never know, someday it will be like strolling down memory lane…”Can you believe coffee makers only cost $14.99 in 1990..and remember, that was the best coffee maker we ever had...they sure don’t make em like that anymore!”

Many are filled with stories, articles, and past bible studies that I filed away thinking I would use some enlightening information…a word, a sentence, a thought that really meant something to me at the time, and now I read it and wonder why I saved some of them….I can’t remember my thought process at the time. Some are still very useful and relevant. Hummmmm...I have some new (from old sources) ideas to think about, write and share.

Then there are the hard copies and PC files of my “jots and dots”…the many things I have written over the years. Articles, seminars, retreats, poems, stories, devotionals, bible studies, teaching notes, letters, prayers and thoughts from the middle of the night. Entire three and four part retreat messages as well as some awful attempts of poetry. Unfinished stories that I started to write, but was interrupted or it was just too difficult to write at the time (it is hard to write or type with tears plopping on the keyboard or smearing the ink on paper.)

Each year I tell myself I will organize my “jots and dots”, but I have to confess I love writing them more than organizing them. I pray that when I am gone, my children and grandchildren will read them and see a Mom and Gamma they did not see or know while we all lived such busy lives.

I just found one that I had forgotten. Crystal’s Life Mapping from a home group project done in November of 1995. My life posts with events and dates, highs, lows and hero’s of each decade from 1953 to 1995. I took the time to read it through and found it very interesting. Funny…what seemed so significant while writing the memories at the time…seem immature and trivial to me now. However, much was good to read and remember.

I am thinking I want to bring it current…for the last 14 years have been such a time of growth in the Lord for me. Because of Him, I see things so differently now…I love, trust, adore and obey Him more. I love and trust others more. My tongue used less these days….but when in use it is more for edifying, uplifting and encouraging others. Self and pride still trips me from time to time, but not as before. I have that peace that surpasses all understanding that totally eluded me in 1995. My prayer life not filled with as many “flare prayers” anymore…but more of praise, thanksgiving, contentment, and blessings. At a deeper level, I know His will is always for my best and the best of all whom I love….and I trust that…Oh, I trust Him so much more now.

You see, Christ has done some cleaning and clearing of my heart….using His Word and the Holy Spirit to perform a spiritual delete, pitch or shred of wrong thinking, sinful behavior, negative (and harmful) associations, caustic tongue, selfishness, presumed entitlements, pride, false guilt and regret, and unrealistic expectations.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2Ti 3:16, 17

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psa 51:10

His mercy and grace is so great that He does not wait a year…it is an everyday happening…not always pleasant or welcomed (let’s be honest here) but I’ve learned sooooooo necessary to keep me from getting bulky with anything unwholesome or perilous to my relationship with Christ and others.

My life posts of the last 14 years will have memories filled with joy, delight, laughter, friendship, blessings, and great spiritual growth. But they will have times of trail, tribulation, sadness disappointment and discouragement as well….but I will write them with a heart, mind and soul that knows and loves the risen Christ more intimately, more deeply and with more understanding and acceptance of His place and will in my life.

They will be more of His thoughts and words and less of my own…and that is always a good thing.

Hummmmmmmmmmm….let’s see…what was happening in 1996…..


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Are We Like Sticky Buns?

I was putting away all my many worn, torn, stained and hard to read recipes used for Thanksgiving and Christmas and realized I never made my Sticky Buns.

It is not as if they were missed with all of the other baking and cooking I did…but I missed making them and smelling the savory fragrance of cinnamon and brown sugar. I missed sharing them, because most people love them with a hot cup of coffee or a big cold glass of milk on a cold winter morning.

I can see my family and friends taking that fist bite of warm, gooey, sticky cinnamon delight and then licking their fingers of all the sweet goodness. Eat a few of these and you walk away filled and satisfied with the lingering smell of cinnamon on your fingers and soul. There are eaten quickly as people come back for more and more and more.

As I was shaking my head thinking I will not forget them for the holidays of 2010…I was stuck on the word sticky and how we can pull a lesson from my Sticky Buns in every day life….

First the recipe…

Sticky Buns

36 count-frozen rolls (do not thaw)
1 stick melted butter
1 large package vanilla pudding (NOT instant)
1 T milk
2 t cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Grease a 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle nuts in pan. Fill pan with a single layer of the frozen bread rolls. Heat other ingredients in a saucepan on the stove. Pour sauce over the dough. Let rise in fridge overnight. (Cover loosely)
In the morning let sit on counter for a half hour or so. Then bake at 350 for 30 minutes uncovered. Do not over bake. Invert immediately. ENJOY!!



When praying, what sticks in your heart and mind that you need to talk over with the Lord? What praise and thanksgiving is sticking on your heart today?

Share something sweet about your husband, children, neighbor or co-worker that sticks in your mind ….share it with them in a letter, a short note slipped in their pocket or purse, an e-mail, a phone call or talking the next time you see them.

What nice memory sticks on your soul of a time of answered prayer, a blessing from God, a gesture of kindness or help from someone? God wants us to remember those healing times in our lives.

What words do you want to stick in the hearts and minds of those around you? Words that heal and comfort or words that hurt and destroy?

What memory sticks out of this past year….what is sticking in your mind today for 2010?
Forget unwarranted regrets and be realistic about goals. Think on those memories of joy and delight, and do not make your wish list your goals.

Here are some great goals that we will never regret:

Followers of Christ need to be like my Sticky Buns. Our walk with the Lord should be warm, fragrant, sweet, inviting, and filling. People should leave our presence filled and satisfied with the lingering scent of Christ on their hearts and soul. May they come back to us wanting more and more and more of what we have in Christ….nothing like what the world offers.

As Followers of Christ, may we all stick together and bring honor and glory to God in all that we do for the Lord, for our place of worship, for our families, for each other and in our ministries, in our homes, in our work place, and in our neighborhoods.

Hummmmmmmmmmm…I think I will make some tomorrow morning…


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A Night Not Like Any Other Night

Shepherds… hardworking, rugged men working and living with smelly, dim-witted sheep day and night. Living in the elements of life in all kinds of weather with the threat of marauders, thieves, coyotes and loneliness.

Faces like leather, splashed with lines of life, worry, time and sun. Hands are large, veined and calloused thick. They are the misfits of society, doing a worthy job of watching and caring for the sheep…but it is dirty job that many did not want to do or esteem.

They wake up this morning unaware that their lives will be changed tonight. They start with morning meditation and prayer and then gather the sheep, goad them to a greener pasture to feed and fresh clear water not far away. The sit and eat their meals of dry bread and fish, perhaps some figs, and olives.

They talk of the ordinary, mundane things of life. They talk of the weather, or a lazy brother or interfering mother in law. Aching backs, feet, hands, and a family that seemingly have forgotten them as they have been away from home for many weeks. Speaking of troubled times and wondering what lies ahead for them. They might talk of the coming Messiah promised in the oral traditions they have heard since they were small children. When will He come to save them from this hard life and oppression of Roman rule?

The day passes and the setting sun reminds them to gather the sheep for the long nights rest. They have been very busy…the sheep a little more skittish and excited today, a little harder to handle. They settle the stubborn, bleating sheep, and sit to rest themselves. They are tired, worn, and ready to drop into an exhausted sleep on the cool desert sand.

Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.


The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. (Luke 2)

These smelly, tired shepherds were the ones God choose to announce the coming of the greatest event of all times. The birth of Jesus. Think of the fear, the trembling, the excitement, and the anticipation as they ran a long way to find this baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

Imagine as they ran… the yelling, the talking, and the sharing “Did you see that?” “Did you hear that voice?” "I was so frightened." “Did you hear everything he said?” “A Savior is born!” “A Savior is born to us, for us?” “Where we not taking of this this very morning?” “Did you see the sky split open with millions of angels...can you believe the sound of their singing…like nothing we have ever heard!” "The light so bright I had to cover my eyes." “Do you think anyone else saw it….it was as though they were talking just to us…just to us…JUST TO US!!”

These shepherds, these misfits, these dirty, smelly rugged desert men were the first to see, to hear, to believe, to run, to worship, to quickly go tell others the great news…and to go back with renewed strength and spirit to praise and worship their new Savior.

Their lives would never be the same…for it was a night not like any other night. This holy night changed them forever.

28 years ago, I was a misfit, my thoughts and deeds dirty and smelly…my life made rugged with worldly influences. Stubborn and bleating through daily living. My spirit weary and tired of trying to plow my own pastures of tainted goodness and finding my water contaminated by my selfish tears and spittle of words flung out of my mouth without a thought. Living in a dry barren desert of my own doing, not realizing I was dying in a spiritual drought.

Then someone ran to me and told me the same words the shepherds heard that night so long ago….what I heard was “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” …all the people….all the people…my friend said “Crystal, for you…just for you…JUST FOR YOU!”

That was a night like no other night for me….along side my dear husband we fell to our knees and prayed…because we saw, we heard, and we believed…then we ran, we worshiped and went quickly to tell others.

Christmas reminds me again and again of how God sent His Son to save a misfit like me…On that night not like any other night Christ stepped down from heaven into a stable to touch my soul, all souls with the cry of a hungry baby.

Merry Christmas

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Snowflakes, Puppies and a Lesson

Footprints, puffs of clouds, floating droplets of white, shivering, crunching, and two puppies romping and playing in the back yard

The yard is covered with a white blanket of snow so clean and beautiful you hate to desecrate it with footprints and a ba-zillion puppy paw prints.

While I stood outside with the puppies this morning, watching my breath like little puffs of clouds, I shivered and thought “Oh no, I have too much to do today to be bothered with snow, ice and rain”. With the final shopping list as long as my arm, and favorite family recipes peeking from the pockets of my purse, I was ready to fly out the door and turn this one day into two!!!!!

Three more small gifts, food to buy, and tape for wrapping (cannot forget the tape). Goodies to make, last minute cards to sign and it’s a wrap for Christmas 2009.

I was thinking the puppies were taking too long. “Come on, come on guys don’t you know I have a busy day and besides, it’s cold out here and I am getting wet”…whine, whine, whine….then I stopped thinking “busy” and watched them play, romp, sniff, lick, and roll in the “new stuff on the ground”. They love the snow and the time to play in it.

I looked up at the snow mingled with rain….half snow, half rain…but caught sight of one full snowflake. Like our fingerprints, there are no two alike. Like exquisite lattice or lacework as only God can produce, I watch it fall to the ground to join all the others.

A flood of memories of times played in the snow as a child and with my own children came to mind. Of a late nigh walk on OSU’s campus with my new boyfriend Dennis. Of looking for the lost ring of my three-year-old daughter dropped in the deep snow in Granddad’s back yard. Sledding with son and his friends praying I would not break my neck. Long walks with husband Dennis through hushed parks. Remembering one very early morning with snow falling while sitting on top of a slide in the park watching an entire deer family come out and stroll. Remembering so many quiet times with the Lord, all wrapped up in a blanket watching the snowfall from my front window. Remembering snow topped mountains, and the crackling, tinkling noise of frozen rivers breaking up and flowing as God intended.

A Cardinal flew by and rested every so quickly on my fence and then was gone. Brilliant red against the pure white touched my soul and delighted my eyes and heart…and then I realized…If I had rushed the puppies in the house I would have missed that moment of beauty.

I shook my head as though to empty it of the impatient “come on, come on…things to do, busy day, wrapping, cooking” thoughts and filled it with what the puppies were experiencing, Pure joy and delight...with wildness of play and happiness while discovering something so wonderful as wet white stuff for their enjoyment.


God’s beauty is all around me, every day and how much do I miss being worried and upset about many things, when there is only One thing that is needed which is far better than any list, gift, recipe, wrapping paper or preparations. Only One thing that can never be taken from me: my Lord, Savior and King, Jesus Christ and all that He has so generously provided for me to enjoy.

I stayed outside for a long time, taking in the joy of nature, the puppies, the scrambling squirrels, and gave God all the honor and glory and thanks for using footprints, puffs of clouds, floating droplets of white, shivering, crunching, and two puppies playfully romping and playing in the back yard to settle my heart and mind.

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Half Off Sweater Table

*I thought I would share an experience I had this past weekend….

I went shopping this weekend (yep, nuts!!!) and I saw very little joy or delight. I saw hurried and stressed, bothered and pushed, shoved and annoyed.

I smiled and said a gentle Merry Christmas to many; some responded…many did not. (some looked at me like I was a stalker or something…rushing to get away from me with worried downcast eyes).

I thought on the way home of when Jesus entered the temple and drove out the money changers…

Mar 11:15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.

Mar 11:17 And as he taught them, he said, "Is it not written: "'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'"

We have made Christmas a holiday of robbers…robbers of money, peace, joy, and time.

I so wanted to jump up on the “Half Off” sweater table and shout:

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. "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.

I wanted to tell them about a Savior who was born, only to die for them..who does give peace, joy and a new life that is filled with the greatest gift ever, that will never rust, decay, or die. I wanted to tell them the joy of knowing the One that brings light to the eyes, peace to the heart, wisdom to the mind and contentment to the soul. I wanted to tell them…that they have been robbed, scammed, taken, used, abused and lied to about the real reason for this celebration.

Wise men and women still seek Him...and when they do, with a sincere heart, He is always found with open arms and willing to save and give us the greatest gift ever…Himself.

Buying gifts is not bad. Gifts were given to the One I speak of from Wise men…Gifts should be lovingly chosen, wisely bought, gingerly wrapped, and given with expectant anticipation…it is a joy to see surprise and delight in the eyes and smile of those we give.

May we, who know Him so intimately always remember HE is the greatest Gift and gather as many around Him as we can this Christmas and all of 2010.


*(I originally wrote this December 23, 2008 to a friend expressing what I saw at a Mall here in Columbus…but I had been shopping again in December 2009 and "there is nothing new under the sun.")

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A Treasured Birth

I am Mary and I am a very young woman, betrothed to a righteous man named Joseph. At this time I am very heavy with child, my days almost complete to give birth. We are traveling, Joseph and I, to Judea, to the city of David, named Bethlehem.

It is far from our home, Nazareth*, and I am riding bareback on an old, gray burro. Joseph is walking along side me. The air is thick, the road is dusty, and I am very tired. Joseph is so kind, I know he is tired, his cloak must be heavy on his broad shoulders as the miles and days go by, but he is insistent that I remain on the sturdy back of our ancient but faithful burro.

There are many strange people and families along with their animals, and possessions all around us. There is very little water, very little privacy, very little time to stop and rest. We are almost to Judea where we will register for the ordered census, ordered by Caesar Augustus and required of all inhabited earth, which includes Joseph and I.

Such an inconvenient time to be traveling, and very uncomfortable in my condition. I do not complain of the short, sharp pains I have been experiencing because I do not want to worry Joseph needlessly. I do not want to be so far from my home, being so close to the time of the birth of my first baby. It is just Joseph, I, and a few of our animals. Much of my family and my families trusted midwives could not come with me…I knew that if I gave birth, I would have only Joseph and myself.

For you see, this baby is not just special because it will be my first, but it is a baby miraculously conceived in my womb by the Holy Spirit of God. An angel told me that though I was a virgin, never been with a man in any way, the Holy Spirit would come upon me, and the power of the Most High would overshadow me and I would have a holy offspring and He would be called the Son of God. This is an earnest desire and dream of every young Hebrew woman. To be chosen by God to carry the Messiah.
The Messiah, the King who would come to save the Jews, my people from bondage, oppression and sin. I am just a lowly, humble, young Hebrew woman, a bond slave from a poor family, and equally improvised town. Why would God have any regard for me? What awe I felt! My soul exalted the Lord, my spirit rejoiced in God my Savior and I believed, trusted, and humbly accepted this pregnancy, which I knew many would not understand, or welcome. Now, I am on the road to Judea knowing that any moment I could be giving birth to a baby who would be called Jesus, the One who will save His people from their sins.

Joseph also knows of this miracle from a visitation of an angel from God, that appeared one night in a dream, and he is also willing to believe and trust our God. Joseph is indeed a kind and righteous man. I am honored to be his wife.


We have arrived. There are people everywhere. It is late, we are both very tired, and I have noticed the pains coming closer and sharper. The crowded streets, all lined with sleeping families with babies, children and animals. We must be careful not to step on any of them. Joseph is determined to find a comfortable place for me to rest. He inquires at all the inns and homes. They are all full, no vacancies. Joseph pleads, “Please, my wife is heavy with child and so tired. She would like a bed just to rest for a while.” The many slammed doors silence his pleas. One innkeeper takes pity on us and offers us a corner of his stable. It would just be Joseph, I, and the innkeeper’s animals. There would be some privacy and time to rest. We are very thankful.

The stable is warm from the body heat of the animals and the insulation of the hay. Many pungent odors fill our nostrils and the hay pricks and tickles our feet. There is just a faint light from the full moon and stars overhead and as we lay exhausted, we are lulled to sleep by the night sounds of a full stable.

The rest is very short, however as I am awakened by a very sharp pain. It is not like anything I have ever felt before. I am frightened and I cry out to Joseph. Instantly awake, he comes to my side. I am worried and tell Joseph that I wonder how we are going to deliver this baby without a midwife, here is this stable, at night, in a strange city. No water, except that which is for the animals to drink. No fresh water, salt, or oil to rub all over the baby’s body. No clean rags to wrap him tightly for seven days. No bed to lay him down, just a dirt floor and an empty manger. Joseph reassures me that with God nothing is impossible and we are to trust Him with the delivery of His Son. I love Joseph and my God and I will trust and not be afraid.

The pains are now almost nonstop and hard. The urge to push is so strong. Joseph tells me to push, push harder. I can hear Joseph telling me that he can see the top of my baby’s head and just one stronger, long push. I feel a strange release, and I hear a baby cry. I strain to see and hear whose baby is crying and I see Joseph holding MY baby. It is my baby, Jesus, who is crying. Joseph is smiling and hands me the tiny, warm, breathing body that just came forth from my own body, born on the dirt floor of a stable.

I am awestruck! I wrap Him in the only swaddling cloths I have, and I bring Him close to my exposed breast and He eagerly accepts my nourishment. I am holding the baby conceived by the Holy Spirit. I am nourishing at my breast the Son of God. His tiny hand is holding so tightly onto my finger and I look down at His face, such a sweet face. I know that He is the Son of God, but I also know He is partly mine and Joseph to raise as God would want Him to be raised. I stare in wonder. Joseph and I are strangely quiet as I lay Jesus in the empty manger to sleep.


I am no longer tired. I am exhilarated with joy and love. Joseph is standing looking out when suddenly it seems brighter in the stable. The sky is much brighter but it is not morning. As we wonder about the light, the animals begin to stir, they seem eager and excited about something while Jesus just sleeps, so peacefully.

Suddenly some shepherds from this same region appear and bow down, and told Joseph and I about an angel of the Lord, who stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone all around them, and they were terribly frightened. But the angel reassured them and told them the good news of a Savior being born, this very day, who is Christ the Lord. The angel told the shepherds where to go to find this Savior and that He would be wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. The shepherds then told us how the entire sky lit up with a multitude of angels praising God and saying “Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” The shepherds told many as they ran towards the stable and many listened and wondered at all that the shepherds were telling them.

Although there are many all around, I sit quietly, almost as if by myself, looking at and touching this life that just a few hours before was a part of me. Now, I look at His face and kiss His brow and I am pondering all the words of the shepherds in my heart. As I lift Him close to my breast, I know I will treasure all these things, these happenings, these very moments for the rest of my life. I look up and see Joseph looking at me, smiling and I know he too, feels the same wonder and awe. We share a secret that no other couples share. We know we will both treasure each moment of this precious life of our son and our Savior, Jesus, who is Christ the Lord. He has come to save all men from their sins, from themselves.

Do you personally know the Man this baby grew up to be? Do you treasure your relationship that you have with Him? Do you feel the wonder and awe of it all? The One who threw the stars in the sky and named each one, is the One who designed and knew you before you were born….was born a baby, feeding at a young woman’s breast, holding tightly to her finger…so He could be the physical representation of God to live among those He came to save.

I stand amazed, truly amazed.


*about 90 miles

(original written November 1996)

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Be Still And Know That I Am God

While traveling for business over the last two years, my eyes opened to a whole new adventure of people, things and events. The speed and ease of such traveling amazes me. The immense and intricate systems, from one airport to another, are overwhelming: planes, trains, buses, shuttles, rental cars, terminals, hubs, baggage claims, parking (both short term and long-term), and several hotels.

At the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport, it is five miles from the entrance of the airport to the rental care hub. Five miles! After you drop off your rental car, you get on a bus and go another five miles to your terminal. Ten miles from entrance to terminal!

It takes the better part of 45 minutes to go completely around the inside of the DFW airport, passing four huge terminals, and if you miss your terminal exit, you have to go all the way around again. It is a city within a city where everything moves fast.

The Dallas-Fort Worth Airport is something right out of the Jetson’s. My elderly mother, who has been mostly house bound for the better part of 25 years, would be knocked off her feet as she took in the changes over the last quarter century. Remember when we use to walk outside to get to our airplane? (okay, some of you won’t remember!!!)

Wow...and that is outside the terminals. Inside, it’s a colossal colleague of shops, restaurants, security checkpoints, and giant golf cart-like cars that take you from one gate to another with flashing lights as well as an annoying beep, beep beeps if you get in the way.

People...a myriad of people of numerous shapes, sizes, colors, ages and nationalities. Many are employed at the airport as well as the thousands who are travel-bound. Those traveling are a mixed bag of assorted vigor and attitudes. Some are excited, others are weary. Some are bored and some are angry. Some are lost and some miss their flight. Some are early; some are late and rush by trying to find someone to point them in the right direction. Some are traveling alone and some with entire families complete with frazzled parents, crying babies, bored teens and shuffling grandparents.

One thing I noticed (while waiting through delay after delay), not many read books. Well, at least the ones that you hold in your hand turn pages and fold down the corner when you stop to hold your place. The I-pods, laptop computers, blackberries, and cell phones help keep people in a frenzied type of existence. They are talking, typing, texting and tapping their feet to the music. Back in the day when you saw someone walking and talking with out some visual sign of a communication device, you thought they were loony and talking to themselves. Not anymore. Just look for that flashing bug like thing sticking out of their ear. People do everything fast and if you are walking slowly, you better watch out!!

People cannot sit still. I had to wait for several hours on my last return trip and I sat in the same seat, reading a paperback book and watching. Several people would settle themselves in a seat, with a drink and maybe some snack, pull out their I-pod or computer, and settle down. It would last all of ten minutes. They would put it all away, get up and walk around, find another seat and start the process again all over again. They would do this ritual several times…all the while talking on their cell phones, or at least opening it to check for the next important text or message.

As I was slowly shaking my head and tsk, tsk, tsking at their obvious inability to make a commitment to one spot…The Spirit of the Lord nudged my soul and I had to think of all the times I set up my little “quiet time” area, complete with hot coffee, post-it notes, pen, highlighter, Bible, bible study and notebook. I even have tissues just in case I cry. I settle down, open the Bible, read one or two pages, answer one or two questions of the Bible study and remember I have a load of wash in the washer to put in the dryer, or I have to call the dentist to make a dental appointment, or think of a commentary I need and up I go to do or find whatever it is that distracted me. Sometimes this can happen several times during my “planned” time and then it is gone. I have to go to work, or to bed or to the next “urgent” project.

I have to wonder if God is slowly shaking His head and tsk, tsk, tsking at my obvious inability to make a commitment to my time with Him. My goal is to offer Him quality time, unfragmented by a bunch of the “urgents” or “to do’s”—not on the run, or always in the car, or at the last minute. Not at the end of the day when I have nothing left mentally or emotionally, and I fall asleep after the first “Dear Father, thank you for thi………….yawn…snort…snore.

Dear Father, forgive me that I allow the foolish things of this world to hinder me from seeking you with quality time, alertness and excited anticipation. Father, slow me down. Help me simplify. Help me rid myself of the tyranny of the urgent that creeps in early in the morning and drains me by day’s end. There will always be deadlines and appointments that are job and life related. I grow weary of the demands that pull me from You and the work You have given me to do. May I have the courage to say no. It is better to say no lovingly than to do begrudgingly. May I pay attention to that nudging of the Holy Spirit that tells me to get up a little earlier, or study at lunch, or quit watching TV…all those things, Dear Father, and more. Help me always to understand that the nudging of the Holy Spirit is your voice…Your nudging…Your wanting to sit with me and spend some time with me. I never have to worry about You being distracted and moving from seat to seat. Father, help me see what is needed, what is necessary and help me:

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psa 46:10

Thank you Father for Your love, wisdom and devotion to me even when I can’t sit still. May I slow down and look to You…always. In the name of Jesus, Amen

(May be subject to copyright)

God With Us

This past weekend our church presented our 3rd annual Journey to Bethlehem. It is a guided live outdoor drama telling the story of how thousand of Jews descended upon the little town of Bethlehem during the time of the birth of Jesus. Complete with live animals (including camels), Roman soldiers on horseback, a market place, shepherds, Gabriel, the Magi, the tax collector and of course Joseph, Mary and the Baby Jesus.

When we entered the house of the innkeeper telling him what we had heard on our “journey” about a baby, the Messiah being born in Bethlehem, the guide asked him...”do you know of this?” He answered, “I only know if a women soon to give birth resting in my stable behind the house.”

When it was explained to the innkeeper and his family that it was the Messiah, the long awaited Messiah…his sister, standing quietly in the corner started singing O come, O come, Emmanuel. As I listened to that sweet, soft voice in the cold night, I was so moved as I pictured myself among those people waiting for their Deliverer and hearing such good news among the oppression of Roman rule, excessive taxation, seedy merchants and poverty.

The people in Bethlehem that night were anxiously waiting for such good news and yet many still missed the greatest mystery revealed…That God is with us, in the simple, ordinary birth of a baby. The mystery of the Son who stepped from the royal threshold of Heaven to the dirt floor of a stable to redeem and save.


While outside this morning with my puppies….in the quiet, cold and dark…I looked up and saw the moon peeking through the barren branches and I started to sing

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

With heartfelt tears, I was reminded again that Jesus ransomed my captive heart 28 years ago. With a heart overflowing with thanksgiving, I could not complete the song but lifted my hands to God and whispered praises as I worshiped Him alone in the stillness of an early Monday morning with puppies running all around my feet.

(Story may be subject to copyright)