christmas

Mayhem in Bethlehem

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So yeah. I went to Walmart between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. with only eight days left until Christmas. Not smart. Then I came home to four piles of unfolded laundry and about ten gifts to be wrapped.  Then I sat down to make a grocery list for my holiday cooking: (background music swells)

4 yummy cakes,
3 pecan pies,
2 shrimp dips
and a partridge in a pear tree…

On top of this, our new Lab puppy named Lucy has decided that her wake up time is about 5:00 a.m.  Is there a Babywise for puppies??

Anyway, all this mayhem combined with the stress reflected in the faces of people I was shopping with made me think about Bethlehem.  With the influx of people coming in to town for the census, it must have been crazy.  Imagine game day in Tennessee multiplied by 100.  No hotels, standing lines at eateries, bumper to bumper traffic. Only there is no exciting game to anticipate, just more hassle from a hostile government.

And here He comes.  In the middle of all that commotion Jesus comes, quietly tucked into a stable but still in the middle of it all.  When we talk about the “peace that transcends understanding” think about the contradiction of God being born right smack dab in the center of town.  Peace that defies explanation, that goes beyond the ability to calculate or manipulate.

Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

He came in peace, lived in peace, left in peace. Even today He gives peace and leads in peace. I mean to say, He pours something into us. Just like God placed His Son into the world, He puts His peace into our lives. So despite the laundry and the to do lists, reflect on peace. It really does stretch you beyond your understanding.

Christmas Musings

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I love the dictionary. And I love how things don’t necessarily mean what I think they mean. So I had to look up the word “ponder.” It means to weigh heavily, to meditate, to soak or saturate your thoughts. Do you remember that Mary “pondered these things in her heart” ? She let the truths, thoughts, and realities permeate her being, her inner core. Her ponderings changed the way she viewed God, herself, and her circumstances.

So I thought I would offer some Christmas questions for you to ponder:

When the angel called Mary to the unbelievable task of carrying Jesus, he told her not to be afraid. He knew the magnitude of the calling and that she was overwhelmed with fear. He didn’t shame her, only comforted her.

1) What has God called you to and in what places are you afraid?
2) Are you willing to let God comfort you in these places?

After Gabriel foretold her future, he also told Mary that Elizabeth would have a baby, even in her old age. This is an incredible gift given to reassure Mary. There is a line out of the movie, “The Nativity” where Mary whispers a prayer: “Please Lord, let Elizabeth be with child.” One miracle confirmed the coming miracle. The birth of John the Baptist preceded the coming Messiah. The Lord didn’t have to time it that way. But He was paving the way for His work to be fulfilled. He wanted Mary to walk in confidence, even in the midst of the unknown.

4) Has the Lord sent you confirmation in your calling?
5) Have you pondered the small events, words, actions that seem to reassure you of the things to come?

Joseph is a mighty character in this story. Mary by all rights should have been stoned to death with Joseph throwing the first rock. But God’s intervention changed his mind. Joseph was wiling to take a radically different course of action because he believed what the angel had spoken in a dream.

6) Are you set on a course of action that goes counter to God’s calling?
7) Are you willing to listen to the small, still voice that whispers a completely different route than you          expected?

Don’t miss the power of the Christmas story. Instead of dismissing the familiar, ponder the deep workings of God. Let your mind reflect on all the characters and pieces of this event that changed history, the real flesh and blood human actions and reactions. Your heart will be awakened to the might and beauty of God in a new way. And then, lay these truths over your own story. After all, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Plastic Baby Jesus

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My family  hits several Christmas-y kind of events each year. And one such event will always stick in my memory. Last year Chuck took the girls to a nativity pageant while I was working. When they got home, I was a little surprised by their reactions. Despite all the hoopla of live animals and multi-member choirs, light shows and fake blue-bearded Isaiahs declaring the birth of the Messiah, there was one glaring and telling reality that summed up the whole of present day Christianity. The first thing my two daughters said when they got home was, “Mom, baby Jesus was plastic!!”

Did you hear me? Plastic. A shiny hunk of pink polyethylene.

Even with their childlike faith and same childlike imagination, the girls were scratching their heads in disbelief.  “Why would they do that?” they asked, verging on  indignation. Surely as adults we can offer lots of reasons and excuses why they did it. Convenience, practicality, order and control.  But aren’t those the very things that God sent Jesus to overturn?

Wasn’t it the absurdity of God born in a babe that changed all life and history as we know it?

The virgin bride didn’t get to consider whether it was convenient.

The betrothed business man didn’t get to waiver simply because it wasn’t practical.

And don’t forget an outraged king shed innocent blood just to control an outcome he couldn’t control.

It makes me wonder if we would even recognize a Real Jesus if we saw Him. Or heard Him. Or felt Him.

Don’t think for a moment that baby Jesus didn’t cry or have hunger or wet His pants. That is how radically God entered His world in our language. He was a helpless babe that we could all relate to — the warm little cuddle against our skin, the sound of His breathing and tiny cries; the delight when eyes meet and recognition sets in. How brilliant is the Lord?

Maybe we should have fake animals and pre-recorded tracks. Maybe the one thing, the most important thing we should see is a baby, a real crying or cooing baby snuggled in his mother’s arms.  And maybe the one thing we should always witness is the wonder and wrestling of these new parents as they hold this tiny child in a world full of chaos and commotion. A world like ours. Frantic and confusing like ours. God in our world. Emmanuel.

Let Earth Receive Her King – Part II

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In Part I, I told you about how my crazy husband got me so, so good with a surprise birthday party. I began explaining all that the Lord had revealed through this one event in my life.   Here is Part II.

My first lesson was that I can trust God with the desires of my heart.  But the second and perhaps more important lesson is: Do I know how to accept gifts from Him when He sets out to fulfill my desires? Through my birthday extravaganza, the Lord showed me that I don’t really know how to receive from Him.  Let me explain.

I told you that my instinct was to run away from the gathering of loving friends.  In the middle of the night, I went back to the Lord to ask Him why.  He explained that as long as Jana was giving to someone else, Jana was fine. But when someone wanted to give TO ME, then my hard drive went haywire. Somewhere in my God belief system, my programming was distorted.  I believed to the extreme that “it is better to give than to receive.”  So much so that I felt guilty, selfish, even sinful if I was ever given something.  Not from God, you understand, but from other people. When other people tried to bless me, I felt vulnerable, undeserving, lacking.  Do you hear that worth bell tolling?

To clarify, this scripture about giving is specifically geared toward stewarding money. Yet this verse had been manipulated into a theological equation that totaled: giving, giving, giving.  Only it didn’t quite add up.

You see, Jesus has his own doctrine:
Love one another.
Love your neighbor as you love yourself.
Love as I have loved you.

Somewhere in His doctrine there must be recipients.  Somewhere there is a giver AND receiver. Just look at Christmas.  Look at the gleeful children so ready, eager and waiting to Receive their Christmas gifts.  God Himself says: “Unto you a child is born, unto you a Son is given.” We have to Receive the Child that has been given to us. Receive the life He gives to us. How powerful now is the refrain, “Joy to the world. The Lord is come. Let earth receive her King.”

At my surprise birthday party, I was going through card after home-made card.  Reading scriptures, pictures and stories of how God had connected my life to others and how we had all been changed.  We were gifts to each other.  Gifts to be received.  This wasn’t a one way street. This wasn’t a benevolent, unconnected exchange.  This was flesh and blood interactions.  It was God’s life poured out through our lives, into my life.  It was Emmanuel.  God with us.  In us, through us, for us….

So revelation number 2: To really experience the Christ life is to Receive Him, His love and gifts — especially as they come through the hands of others….

Trees Without Christmas?

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Now here is a sad statement of the day.

Everywhere we go, people are saying “Happy Holidays” for fear of intolerance or offending.  Or they are being pure spiritual wimps. Yet we are still selling Christmas trees.  I mean seriously, where are the militant atheists when you need them? Where are the political, historical scrubbers who try to erase any sign of religious freedom in our country?  Are they taking naps? This is a pretty serious oversight…

(Deep breath.)  Is anyone else chaffed by this duplicity in our culture?  If we are not going to SAY Christmas then why are we still SELLING Christmas?  I mean, let’s just drop the whole day altogether if we aren’t going to have the freedom to call it what it is.  Now hear me, I happen to love unbelievers and folks of other faiths.  I spent a large part of my life in that belief system.  But the last time I checked, neither they nor I were the authorities on what Christians could and could not do.  If I didn’t believe in Jesus, then I didn’t participate.  Today however, for non-believers to tell me what can and cannot be said around my Holy Day is ridiculous.  At the very least, if you want to make money off it, then you should have to at least call it the same name I do.

I don’t believe in Halloween, Santa or the Easter Bunny, but I don’t try to move legislation to silence those things.  Christmas is a religious holiday, part of our religious heritage.

Can you imagine trying to pull off this heresy in a Muslim culture?

So you know what we are doing as a family?  We are wishing every single store teller, Salvation Army ringer, and restaurant server, “Merry Christmas.”  No matter what they say, we are singing it out.  It is a simple act of faith, but a stand for God nonetheless.  No matter what their reactions are, we smile and bless them anyway. Why?

Because that’s what the angels said that glorious day.  Without fear, without shame, they declared the good news in a world just as hostile to the Messiah as ours is today.

“Go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born.”  Merry Christmas.

Christmas Red

/ Jana / 1 Comment

I am sitting tonight by the last embers of our first official fire. The first fire kind of marks the beginning of winter in our family so it is a big deal, at least to us. I love watching it blaze bright yellow-orange then transition into varying shades of reds. And as I sit mesmerized by the fire, changing before my very eyes, I am remembering our first night in Charleston.

It was truly one of those moments when you didn’t want to blink or breathe for fear of missing something supernatural. There was a sunset, which is always beautiful at the beach. But moments after the sun had gone down, the sky turned a vibrant red – so red that the water in the marshes and the ocean reflected red. Not pink, but red. Blood red.

The thought came to me, “The world is covered in blood.” We were on historic ground, where much blood had been shed, that of native Americans, soldiers in the War for Independence and in the Civil War battles. Thinking of the sacrifice of wars, I felt this grateful grief come over me. They died that I might have freedom.

The expanse of the red sky was so great that the whole landscape was covered. Any place that there was water – the intercoastal, the beach, small inlets – it looked like great pools of blood. I sat there breathless in awe. I heard it again: “The world is covered in blood.”

And it hit me. “All of creation groans for the sons (and daughters) to be revealed.” Creation was groaning and reflecting the greatest sacrifice, reminding us of the Blood that was shed for the whole world. The blood that has truly set me free.

After this vivid picture, I notice the color red seems a little more dear to me this Christmas. More than a merry color, it helps me remember the “why” of the season, by His stripes we are healed. So this Christmas, think red.