THE COLORS OF CHRISTMAS

Today’s post is part of the Christian Writer’s blog chain. Our theme for December is "Christmas Sense: the Five Senses." Please click on the links in the right column and see what my friends have to say about our theme.

　
When I was nine, Mom took me to the famous Podesta Baldocci florist in San Francisco. Each year in December, the florist shop created dazzling, fantasy Christmas trees and put them on display for lucky people like us to linger near, joyfully investigating the minutely amazing decorations that sprinkled and sparkled amidst the evergreen limbs.

That year, I saw a Victorian-themed Christmas tree, decked in white and pink. I had never seen anything more beautiful.

Since then I’ve had the chance to create my own memorable Christmas trees. And although I’ve never forgotten that beautiful pink and white tree at Podesta Baldocci, I’ve never created one for myself.

Because as beautiful as a pink and white tree is, nothing says Christmas like red and green.

• RED—the color of Christ’s blood, shed for us, made possible by his becoming human for our sake.

• GREEN—the color that represents fresh, new life in nature and thus reminds us of the new life we have in Christ.

Both of which became a reality at Jesus’ birth.

We humans love silver and gold tinsel. We love multi-colored twinkle lights outlining our roofs. And some of us even love pink and white Victorian decorations.

But, nothing can say Christmas like red and green. Because they remind us of Jesus.

PRAYER: Thank you God for color. We are so grateful for the enormous beauty you filled this world with. You have put color everywhere to delight our senses and remind us of you. Help us always be mindful of your glory whenever we see the colors of Christmas. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Do you go with a theme when you decorate for Christmas?

CHRISTMAS CAROL SING-ALONG

It’s December and what a better way to get into the spirit of the Holy Season than with a Christmas carol sing along? On selected days, I’ll post a youtube spot featuring a beloved Christmas carol, along with the lyrics. Let’s get the workweek started singing.

You can’t have Christmas without a Hallelujah Chorus sing along! Here’s the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Lyrics follow.

Sing along! Join in! Turn up the volume! Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4BWhvIlFVE

Hallelujah Chorus lyrics by Handel's Messiah


Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!


Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!


For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!


For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!


Repeat

The kingdom of this world
Is become the kingdom of our Lord,

And of His Christ, and of His Christ;


And He shall reign for ever and ever,
And He shall reign for ever and ever,

And He shall reign for ever and ever,

And He shall reign for ever and ever,

King of kings, and Lord of lords,
King of kings, and Lord of lords,
King of kings, and Lord of lords,

King of kings, and Lord of lords,


And He shall reign,
And He shall reign forever and ever,


King of kings, forever and ever,
And Lord of lords,
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!


And He shall reign forever and ever,
King of kings! and Lord of lords!

King of kings! and Lord of lords!
And He shall reign forever and ever,


King of kings! and Lord of lords!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!

REDEDICATION

Although much of the historical background of Hanukkah, including the miracle of the oils is part of extra biblical Jewish sources, the following from the Apocropha in some of our Christian Bibles, relates the period of cleansing and rededicating the Temple in Jerusalem following it’s desecration by the Syrians. It is these scriptures which Christians can refer to for an understanding of the joyfulness of the Jewish Hanukkah celebration.

Although Hanukkah is often referred to as "the festival of lights," the original Hebrew meaning of the word is "to dedicate." It was the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem that was the focus of the early celebration. The rededication involved God’s miracle provision of the oil, which allowed the one-day supply of temple oil to burn for the entire eight days required to press, make ready and sanctify the new oil. Enjoy the reading.

The First Book of the Maccabees, Chapter 4

4:36 Then said Judas and his brethren, Behold, our enemies are
discomfited: let us go up to cleanse and dedicate the sanctuary.
4:37 Upon this all the host assembled themselves together, and went
up into mount Sion.
4:38 And when they saw the sanctuary desolate, and the altar
profaned, and the gates burned up, and shrubs growing in the
courts as in a forest, or in one of the mountains, yea, and the
priests' chambers pulled down;
4:39 They rent their clothes, and made great lamentation, and cast
ashes upon their heads,
4:40 And fell down flat to the ground upon their faces, and blew an
alarm with the trumpets, and cried toward heaven.
4:41 Then Judas appointed certain men to fight against those that were
in the fortress, until he had cleansed the sanctuary.
4:42 So he chose priests of blameless conversation, such as had
pleasure in the law:
4:43 Who cleansed the sanctuary, and bare out the defiled stones into
an unclean place.
4:44 And when as they consulted what to do with the altar of burnt
offerings, which was profaned;
4:45 They thought it best to pull it down, lest it should be a reproach
to them, because the heathen had defiled it: wherefore they pulled
it down,
4:46 And laid up the stones in the mountain of the temple in a
convenient place, until there should come a prophet to shew what
should be done with them.
4:47 Then they took whole stones according to the law, and built a
new altar according to the former;
4:48 And made up the sanctuary, and the things that were within the
temple, and hallowed the courts.
4:49 They made also new holy vessels, and into the temple they
brought the candlestick, and the altar of burnt offerings, and of
incense, and the table.
4:50 And upon the altar they burned incense, and the lamps that were
upon the candlestick they lighted, that they might give light in the
temple.
4:51 Furthermore they set the loaves upon the table, and spread out
the veils, and finished all the works which they had begun to
make.
4:52 Now on the five and twentieth day of the ninth month, which is
called the month Casleu, in the hundred forty and eighth year,
they rose up betimes in the morning,
4:53 And offered sacrifice according to the law upon the new altar of
burnt offerings, which they had made.
4:54 Look, at what time and what day the heathen had profaned it,
even in that was it dedicated with songs, and citherns, and harps,
and cymbals.
4:55 Then all the people fell upon their faces, worshipping and
praising the God of heaven, who had given them good success.
4:56 And so they kept the dedication of the altar eight days and
offered burnt offerings with gladness, and sacrificed the sacrifice
of deliverance and praise.
4:57 They decked also the forefront of the temple with crowns of gold,
and with shields; and the gates and the chambers they renewed,
and hanged doors upon them.
4:58 Thus was there very great gladness among the people, for that the
reproach of the heathen was put away.
4:59 Moreover Judas and his brethren with the whole congregation of
Israel ordained, that the days of the dedication of the altar should
be kept in their season from year to year by the space of eight
days, from the five and twentieth day of the month Casleu, with
mirth and gladness.

PRAYER: Thank you holy God for your miracles and your provision. Thank you for times and seasons that remind us not only of your great power, but also of our need to cleanse and rededicate ourselves to you. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Thinking of lighting a candle or nine to honor God’s miracle of the oil?

THE SMELL OF DECEMBER

Today’s post is part of the Christian Writer’s blog chain. Our theme for December is "Christmas Sense: the Five Senses." Please click on the links in the right column and see what my friends have to say about our theme.

Pine.

But not real pine. A spray; a candle; dried bark and needles in a bowl. Because our tree isn’t real.

Horrible, you cry. Sacrilege, you moan.

Maybe. Or maybe our family loves to celebrate our savior’s birth so much that we do anything we can to prolong and extend the holy days.

During the first eight years of marriage, hubs and I diligently purchased a freshly cut tree, gathered up our collection of delicate and one-of-a-kind ornaments and lovingly decorated it, despairing over its eventual trip out to the street for Boy Scout collection.

When we moved to New York, we bought our tree the day after Thanksgiving—standard practice in California. By the first week of December, the dry air and baseboard heater had turned the tree into a fire hazard. We flooded the tree’s base with water and prayed daily that our Christmas wouldn’t end up in flames.

The day after Christmas, we purchased a fake tree.

Every year since then—26 years this year—we have dragged the giant box out from under the stairs and enjoyed the daily twinkling lights and spinning ornaments through the end of November, for the entire month of December and past hub’s birthday in January. Without worry of flames.

No, it’s not the same as a "real" tree. But thanks to mankind’s desire to create something never as good, but with a defined purpose, we have more time to celebrate God’s gift to us. Jesus.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for Christmas. Thank you so much, Jesus for setting aside your glorious divinity temporarily and taking on the burden of humanity. Thank you for the many ways we celebrate Christmas and remember your sacrifice. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Real or fake?

CAROL'S GEMS: BLUE TOPAZ AND TANZANITE

Blue Topaz

Each month has a birthstone. The birthstones for the month of December are the blue topaz and tanzanite.



Tanzanite





And they both remind me of Jesus.

Blue topaz and tanzanite are popular gemstones used often in women’s jewelry. But did you know that nearly all of the two gems found in their natural state begin as dull, brownish stones?

In fact, the exquisite tanzanite—found at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in 1967 and no where else on earth—was not recognized as a gemstone until a wildfire heated some of the brown stones on the ground and turned them the rich purplish blue color we know today.

It is heat that did it. And heat is also routinely applied to natural brownish topaz to turn that gemstone blue.

Our souls, too—in their natural state—are dull and brownish; filled with unrepentant sin. We need Jesus to clean us up and make us sparkle.

Scripture tells us that Jesus will make us white as snow. But when you think of laundry back in Grandma’s day, you remember that she added bluing to the white load because blue white was even whiter than white.

So, too can Jesus clean up our souls so that they are whiter than white.

Sometimes though, he has to do so by allowing us to go through fire.

This third I will put into the fire;
I will refine them like silver
and test them like gold.
They will call on my name
and I will answer them;
I will say, ‘They are my people,’
and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’"

(Zechariah 13:9)

And check this out—scripture that combines both a refiner’s fire AND a laundry reference!

But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. (Malachi 3:1-3)

　

God can transform our drab, brown souls into something that glorifies Him. He can turn them into something that reflects His glory.

I said last month that more than any other birthstones, yellow topaz and citrine best represented their birth month, November—a time for autumn and harvest. But December’s blue topaz and blue/violet tanzanite also nicely reflect their birth month, December. The color we humans most generally associate with baby boys? Blue. Appropriate because during this month of December, we celebrate the human birth of the most precious baby boy in the history of humanity—Jesus Emanuel. God with us.

Happy birthday to everyone born in the month of December.



PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for the sparkling glimpses of your glory found in nature. Please clean us up and make us shine—even if you have to put us through fire. We thank you that you are with us always. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Is there a time you felt you went through fire but came through knowing God had been with you?