ENDING WITH A MIRACLE

On Wednesdays I usually write on the Christian Writer blog chain’s monthly theme. This month it is "Colors, Sounds and Smells of December." But instead, I’m taking the opportunity to post an article that appeared this month on WEUSED2BU. Hopefully it will give you some thinking points as we close 2012 and enter the winter season.

 

 

A time of death celebrated as a time for rebirth

Bible historians say that the actual day of Jesus’ birth is not known. Some guess—based on astronomical events at the time in history—that Jesus was probably born in the springtime or summer. Other historians tell us the date of December 25 was selected to celebrate Jesus’ birth because a widely-observed pagan holiday occurred on that date and thus Christmas would already have a popular following on that date and the pagan focus could be diluted.

Whatever day was Jesus’ actual birth day, we celebrate it on December 25. Just days after we recognize the entrance into the earth’s dormant stage, we celebrate the way God brought new life to His people through Jesus. Winter—the day that recognizes the beginning of the earth’s dying cycle—so nicely coincides with the celebration of the birth of our savior, giving us a way for spiritual rebirth.

For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. (1 Corinthians 5:22)

　

An end of the old and the start of the new

God created time in the beginning; right there on day number four of creation.

And God said, "Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years" (Genesis 1:14)

God knew we humans need time to mark the passage of our lives. And so we designed calendars based on God’s celestial timepieces and Earth’s place in the solar system. We live our lives marked by minutes, hours, days, months and years. And we give special importance to the ending of one year and the beginning of the next.

We end this calendar year and begin 2013 with a fresh, unblemished page on our calendars. We do so at a time of the year that we also celebrate Christmas—God’s miracle gift to us of His son, Jesus, who makes all things new.

　

The placement of a miracle

The miracle of Christmas represents our new life through Jesus. We observe it at the same time we observe the beginning of the Earth’s dying season. We observe it as we end one year and begin of the next. Thank you, Jesus for the reminder that life in you is always new, always alive, always a miracle.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!(2 Corinthians 5:17)

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?

CREATING HEIRLOOMS

I’ve become guardian and protector of many of our family heirlooms. I’ve also begun the creation of new family heirlooms.

Not all of these new heirlooms have great intrinsic value. But to me, the creation of a new heirloom is more about sentimental, than intrinsic value. If it has no sentiment behind it, chances are it’s just "stuff."

So, although my awesome and amazing turbo whisk is incredible—it will never be a family heirloom. It neither has intrinsic value nor sentimental value.

My collection of necklaces and ear bobs may have intrinsic value, but to my son they’re just minerals.

Our collection of Dickens Village houses, however has become a family heirloom in the making. Each house was selected and added to the growing collection over a period of more than 25 years, with each family member in mind.

Daughter Nicole chose the Cratchet family house with the real smoking chimney and the Nicolas Nickelby house to match her nickname.

Doug liked the train station and the mill with the rotating water wheel because—well, wheels back in Dickens’ day were as close to cars as a young boy could get.

Each year the boxes were opened amid delighted squeals and "ooohs." Each house was placed under the Christmas tree with care and adjusted and tweaked until that moment when the power strip trailing 20 cords attached to 20 houses was flipped on, bringing the village to "life."

The memories of the village include the train track that ran around the tree and through the village, the train never quite making it beyond its first rotation before jumping the track and landing in a polyester snow pile, but adding charm to the village nonetheless.

Memories include the daily readjustment of the wobbly trees and fences.

Memories include the white kitty cat who each year concluded we had placed the fluffy snow cloth under the tree for his specific sleeping pleasure.

Memories include sitting in the dark together, looking at the tree and the lights and the village and the cat. Not speaking. Just being together

As we close the end of 2012, once again I look forward to digging out those family heirlooms—only one generation old—and reliving the sentiment behind them. Family heirlooms in the making.

PRAYER: Thank you God for families and memories we can make together. Please give us more opportunities to create memories together and reminders of treasured times past. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Do you have a new family heirloom in the making?

　

This post is part of the Christian Writer’s Blog Chain. Our theme for November is "heirloom." Please click on the links to the right to see what my friends have to say about our theme.

AND SO IT BEGINS

Yep, I did it again. Ate too much yesterday. Have too many leftovers left over today.

Then again, I’ll get more exercise than usual. Because it’s that day.

The day we decorate the house for Christmas.

PRAYER: Thank you, Father, for the feast you allowed us yesterday. Please be with those people who don’t have enough food and provide for them. Please show all of us how to feast upon your love and guidance throughout our lives. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Does the day after Thanksgiving begin the Christmas season in your house?

AFTERGLOW

This post is part of the Christian Writers blog chain. Our theme for this month is “Gifts from the Heart.” Please see the list to the right and visit my friends’ blogs to see what they have to say about this topic.

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Breathe. Inhale and exhale. Enjoy the rest after the boxes and wrappings; too much food and never enough time.  

Now we relax from the celebration of Christmas.

Yet, it was after that first Christmas that the shepherds and wise men started arriving to worship baby Jesus.  

And it was after that first Christmas that God continued to work His plan—growing Jesus to maturity; sending John the Baptist; preparing hearts and minds to understand the good news. 

And God is still at work on His plan; His plan that was the gift from His heart.  

God’s plan didn’t end on Christmas morning. It didn’t end on Easter morning. And the celebration of Christmas doesn’t end for us at Christmas time. 

Christmas is a pause in the plan. Not a stop or a bump or simply a sparkle point.  

It is a time to wonder at the power and creativity of a God who would send our savior in the form of a human; a tender babe, perfect and innocent at the beginning of His earthly life. Perfect and innocent at the end of His earthly life. Perfect and innocent throughout time. 

It is time for the afterglow. The soft-focus filter of God’s holy light to shine on us and through us, catching fire and burning brighter each day from now on. 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for the celebration of Christmas. Please help us maintain the celebration throughout the coming year. Please shine on us and through us for your glory. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? How will you maintain the afterglow?

DEATH AND NEW LIFE

Yesterday was the first day of winter.  

Winter—the day that recognizes the beginning of the earth’s dying cycle so nicely coincides with the celebration of the birth of our savior—the day that symbolizes our spiritual rebirth.  

Bible historians say that the actual day of Jesus’ birth was not recorded and is therefore not known. They guess—based on astronomical events at the time in history that would account for a bright “star” in the sky pointing the magi to Bethlehem—Jesus was probably born in the springtime or summer. 

Other bible historians tell us the date of December 25 was selected to celebrate Jesus’ birth because a widely observed pagan holiday already occurred on that date and thus Christmas would already have a popular following for celebration on that date. Or that early Christian leaders selected the date in order to dilute the pagan celebration. 

Mankind’s calendar notwithstanding, we celebrate the birth of our savior on December 25. Just days after we recognize the entrance into the earth’s dormant stage, we celebrate the way God brought new life to His people throughout time. 

Thank you, Jesus.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for your plan. Thank you that you have created a cycle of life and death and have included a plan where we can have eternal life spent in your presence. Amen. 

WHAT ABOUT YOU? What interesting insights do you have about the coincident celebration of the beginning of winter and Jesus’ birth?

KISSES FROM CHRIST

I post each Wednesday on the theme set by ChristianWriters.com. This month our theme is "Gifts from the Heart." Please see the list of other ChristianWriters.com blogs to the right and check out what my friends have to say this month.

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TV commercials announce “Xmas” sales and church members complain that stores have taken Christ out of Christmas. 

There definitely is a commercialization of Christmas. But the term Xmas isn’t part of it.

As we know, God sent Jesus first to save the Jews and only secondarily to save us gentiles. Thanks to Paul and his traveling band of evangelists, Christianity arrived in Rome and Greece. There the early church found a solid base and secured the formation of the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Christian churches—from which our other varieties of Christianity have evolved.

Because in those early years, Christian leadership was focused in Rome and Greece, many of the words and phrases in Christian-ese come from the Roman and Greek languages.

One of those is the word “Christmas.”

In Roman Catholic tradition, Christmas is the celebration of the “mass of Christ” or “Christ’s mass.”  It is a celebration of the rite of the Eucharist (Holy Communion) or "mass" of Christ.

That’s the Roman Catholic part of the word “Christmas.” Now for the Greek Orthodox twist.

In the Greek alphabet, the letter “X” is pronounced “chi” and the Greek letter “P” is pronounced “rho.” The letter “Σ” corresponds to our letter “S.” The Greek letter “I” is pronounced “I,” "T" is "T" and “O” is “O.”

End of the Greek language lesson. Now you know enough to read the Greek word, ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ. It is pronounced “Christos”—Greek for “Christ.”

Just as we sometimes use initials or monograms for our names, the early Greek Church used the letters XP (chi-rho) to refer to Christ. Often, the two would be combined into one symbol, like this:

You will still see this symbol in Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic and even in Protestant churches—on altar cloths, banners and vestments, bible bookmarks, pulpit cloths—embroidered with the Greek monogram of Jesus, the Christ. Here's a sample of a protestant church parament:

Just as you might sign a note with the initial of your first name only, so early Christians sometimes used just the single letter “X” to refer to Christ.  

Hence Xmas.   

I’ve decided not to let the use of “Xmas” bother me. Instead, if I hear someone say “Merry Xmas,” it’s an opportunity for me to pronounce it clearly for them: Christ’s mass.  

And then share with them what it means to me. And what it could mean to them. The gift from Christ’s heart to us. 

In our modern world, we often sign letters to those we love with our initial, preceded by XOXO—sending along our kisses and hugs.  

That’s what God, did, too—when He sent Jesus. Jesus (X) is God’s kiss to the world.  

The Kiss of Christ. 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, you know how important words are. You spoke our world into creation and you gave us the ability to read and speak languages. Remind us of the meaning of words; remind us of the meaning behind the name “The Christ.” Thank you, Jesus for becoming human for our sake. Amen. 

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Have you used the opportunity to share the meaning behind the word: Christ-mas?

GROWING FAMILIES

This post is part of the Christian Writers blog chain. Our theme for this month is “Gifts from the Heart.” Please see the list to the right and visit my friends’ blogs to see what they have to say about this topic. 

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Twenty-two Christmases ago, our son was three years old; our daughter was 6 months. I remember sitting under the tree, watching husband and son opening gifts; watching baby girl google at the soft blanket in her chubby hands. I smiled and thought, “Now, our family is complete.”

Fast forward 22 years and I smile once more, realizing how wrong I had been. This year will be the last year we are a family of four. Nicole’s fiancé, Kyle joins our family at the end of the month. Next Christmas our family will be a family of five. And one day—God willing—there will be a wife for our son. And grandchildren, too. 

That reminds me of Jesus.  

No doubt, when baby Jesus was born, Father God smiled down on the earth. But surely He didn’t say, “Now, my family is complete.”  

Father God knew that because of Jesus, there would be millions of souls who would be adopted into His family. In fact, God’s family will only be complete at one point in the future; on a date no one but He knows; growing larger each moment, day, month, year, millennium.  

Meanwhile, we celebrate being adopted into God’s family with our earthly families and friends—made possible by the birth of baby Jesus.  

I like to think of Jesus googling at the soft blanket in his chubby hands that Christmas morn, and thinking, “Now my family begins.” 

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for adopting me into your family and for sending Jesus to make it possible. Thank you for the gift of your heart—Jesus. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Is your family still growing? Have you added anyone new this year?

POINSETTIAS AND PROMISES

Every month has a birthstone. Every month also has a birth flower. Can you guess the birth flower for December? Of course you can! It’s the poinsettia. And it reminds me of Jesus.

Growing Wild 

If you’ve been to the Caribbean, Hawaii, Mexico or Central America you may have seen enormous poinsettia bushes growing wild. The red of these tropical plants are actually leaves. The flower itself is small and located in the center of the leaves.

The ancient Aztecs believed the poinsettia was a symbol of purity. In modern times, it has become a symbol of celebration, reassurance and good cheer. All of which epitomize Jesus.

A Christmas Symbol 

The poinsettia is the number one, best-selling potted plant in America. Nearly all of the plants are sold in November and December. Because of the flower’s brilliant red and vibrant green colors, the poinsettia is an almost universal symbol of Christmas. And Christmas, of course, is all about Jesus.

A Christmas Story 

One Christmas Eve, the church in a small village held a special evening service. Attendees were to bring gifts in honor of baby Jesus. A young girl wanted to attend the service, but she was poor and had nothing to bring. Rather than dishonor Jesus by not attending the worship service, she picked some weeds alongside the road and humbly laid the bouquet on the altar.

This modest gift was pleasing to God because it had come from the heart of a child in true worship. In delight, God caused the weeds to blossom into brilliant red flowers. This is the Christmas miracle of the poinsettia plant.

Happy birthday to everyone born in the month of December.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for Christmas and for everything that reminds us of this season that celebrates your love for us. Every time we see a poinsettia plant, remind us of your son Jesus and your promise through him. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Do you have a poinsettia plant sitting on your counter this month?

THANKING GOD FOR BLESSINGS TO COME

Today ends November—the month of counting blessings. It’s interesting—from a human point of view—that we set Thanksgiving at the end of our calendar year and just before Christmas.

November is just at the end of the harvest season in the Northern Hemisphere. Here abundance is emphasized. The crops are in. The pantry is stocked and the freezer is full. We face the cold winter months (cold is relative here in California) but we face them at this point in the calendar from the perspective of plenty.

One more month in the year. Some of us look at the calendar and wonder where the year went. What moments slipped by without our even noticing? What things could we have accomplished but didn’t?

But...

...the year is not over. We still have a whole, entire, fresh and vibrant month left in 2011. And in that month, we have the best and most wonderful celebration in the history of the universe: the celebration of God setting aside his divinity and becoming human for our sake.

 

As we count our blessings this month, we count the past and thank Jesus for his earthly life that made our eternal lives with him possible.

 

And we count the future for the time of celebration—on December 25 and in the life to come with Him.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for your blessings, too many to count. Thank you for the blessings you give us that are beyond our comprehension; blessings that would defy our capacity to understand. Help us to see more of your blessings each day. We thank you for them. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? What are you counting?