Category: Christmas

Last Sunday night, we finally got the church Christmas play produced. We really struggled with it this year because we had less help than usual. We seemed to be surrounded by the perfect storm of people being too busy to assist and with less people to help to begin with, the Friday night set up reached a critical point.

At one point, there was just the Gaines family of four to get the sanctuary cleared and everything set up for the dress rehearsal on Saturday morning. But, wouldn’t you know it, God provided. My daughter called two friends who agreed to help finish sets. My son and my co-director’s son were also on hand. The director of music (a part-timer), showed up unannounced to help and then there was good old, Mr. Roy.

I suppose every church has a Mr. Roy. If they don’t, they need one. He’s a retiree who is always on hand to help with just about everything. He serves on committees. He drives the bus and goes on youth retreats if we are short. He even agreed to be in the play last year. (Much to his dismay) He cuts grass and rakes leaves. If it needs doing at the church, he will do it, no questions asked.

One of my favorite provision stories is Elijah and the ravens.  It’s found in 1 Kings 17:2-4. “Then the Lord said to Elijah, ” Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River. Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.” The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening.

Let’s consider that for a moment. I can’t even get my dog to return a chew toy I throw for him. God commanded the ravens. Can you imagine commanding a wild bird to do anything? God commanded the ravens and they complied. They helped keep Elijah alive while he was in hiding.

Now let’s get back to our little Christmas play. If God could command ravens, then He certainly could send me help when I was trying to tell the story of the birth of His son and that was exactly what He did. We had enough help to get it done. We didn’t have extra, but we had enough. Isn’t that what faith is all about? Isn’t believing in our hearts that God will provide like He did with the fishes and loaves and the ravens, what helps to drive our faith? We have to humbly give what we have and trust that He will do the rest.

And He did. The play went off without a hitch. We did have to Duck Tape a shepherd’s staff that got broken when they were using them for swords during practice and there was a sheep that whispered in my ear about it being too dark in the sanctuary until it was time for him to go on. But, those are the memories that I treasure the most.

As usual, God took something that looked kind of hopeless and turned it into something beautiful, but then, that’s His way. Why do I ever doubt? Have you ever had a similar experience? Feel free to share.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

I just love Christmas music of all types. I like the hymns like “The First Noel” and I like the secular tunes like, “Walking in a Winter Wonderland.” Most everyone has a favorite Christmas song. If I were to ask you yours, I’ll bet one would pop right into your mind. Did it? If I were to ask you your least favorite Christmas song, you might have an equally quick response.

I have never been fond of the “Twelve Days of Christmas.” I can never remember all of the parts. I get the numbers and characters, like ladies dancing and pipers piping all mixed up. And I always wondered what in the world that song even means anyway, so I looked it up.

Turns out, it has a Christian foundation to it. Who would have thought? The story goes that in England from 1558-1829, Catholics were forbidden to practice their faith. (If they were caught it could lead to imprisonment or even death.) The song was written to help youngsters learn the basis of their faith without risking getting caught.

A Partridge in a Pear Tree is Jesus.

2 Turtle Doves are the Old and New Testaments.

3 French Hens are Faith, Hope and Charity.

4 Calling Birds are the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

5 Golden Rings are the first five books of the Old Testament called the Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

6 Geese A-laying are the six days of creation.

7  Swans A-swimming are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord.

8 Maids A-milking are the eight beatitudes. Remember those? Blessed be the: poor in spirit, the meek, those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst for justice, the merciful, the pure of heart, the peacemakers and those who suffer for justice sake.

9  Ladies Dancing are the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, perseverance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

10 Lords A-leaping are the Ten Commandments.

11 Pipers Piping are the eleven apostles who were faithful. Judas betrayed Jesus.

12 Drummers Drumming are the twelve points of doctrine of the Apostles’ Creed.

Now you know!

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

I was subbing in a fourth grade class one day last week and it just so happened that the fifth grade class was performing their holiday musical that day. The fifth grade class performs a musical every year and they are always fun to watch.

It’s also a time when some of the less athletic kids get their opportunity to be in the spotlight. The kids who may struggle at P.E. and sometimes academics, often will shine during the musical. They get a chance to have a moment to strut their stuff.

It’s always a delight to see some of them just come out of their shell when they are allowed to sing and dance. Some of them are really talented.

We all filed in and took our seats and the musical began. It was fantastic. I had seen some of the practices when I was subbing the week before and it had come together beautifully. The kids had a lot of fun with it. There was a saxophone solo and voice solos. Everyone cheered like we were on Broadway instead of a gym.

Towards the end of the show, one of the classes performed Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree. There was a little boy with Down’s Syndrome in that particular class and he stood right on the front row. He kept a close watch on the little girl standing beside him so he could get his hand motions right, but he had a ball.

I’m sure you have heard the expression, “dance like no one is watching.” He danced like that and his face was filled with pure joy as he clapped and spun around.

My heart was touched so much so that I had to fight back tears watching him. Do you remember what is was like to have the pure faith of a child, when everything seemed possible? Do you remember a time when you thought you were good at everything? Do you remember when you would willingly dance and sing in front of a large crowd and not care what anyone thought?

God does. Not only does He remember, He knows the truth. Your faith in the seemingly impossible may have shrunk as your body grew, but God knows nothing is impossible with Him and He invites us to remember.

Jesus said, “For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Mark 10:14-15

During this Advent Season, I’m asking myself what I need to turn over to God to restore child-like faith in my life. Is it worry and anxiety? Is it fear? Is it pride? What about you? Is there anything you need to hand over to God, so that you heart can once again be free to have the faith of a child?

The little fellow on the front row reminded me that now is the prefect time to start fresh, so I think I will give it a shot. What about you? What do you think? Feel free to share.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

I recently drove by this sign on the way to pick my kids up from school. I found myself saying, “right on!” Now, I have spent my entire life in the heart of the Bible Belt. I have always attended church and celebrated Christmas along with almost everyone I know.

I’m not sure when saying the phrase, “Merry Christmas,” became offensive to some people. It’s simply a friendly greeting to spread Christmas cheer. No one who uses this phrase is attempting be intolerant of the beliefs of others. And when did celebrating the birth of Christ become intolerant or offensive?

Jesus, himself represented love and grace. But, guess what? In his day, he was considered offensive to those in power. When he healed a woman on the Sabbath, in Luke, Chapter 13, he offended those in charge, the Pharisees. They said he was breaking the law by “working” on the Sabbath. His work was healing. He saw a woman in distress, felt compassion for her and healed her. That was his nature.

He also offended the status quo when he healed a man on the Sabbath, in Mark, Chapter 3. He wasn’t as much concerned with the law as with the people who were suffering. The people in charge were very legalistic and the scripture tells us that Jesus was saddened by their hardness of heart.

Today, we also live in a land governed by laws and that’s usually a good thing. In 1885, Congress established a federal law that made December 25th, Christmas Day, a holiday for all federal employees. The law didn’t say the 25th was a winter holiday or some unnamed season. It said, Christmas Day was a federal holiday.

Fast forward to good old 2013; we have been surrounded by a different kind of Pharisee. We have been taken over by the Political Correctness Police. These self-appointed, folks have decided that we can’t say Merry Christmas in schools or in anything that has to do with the government, even though the U.S. Government has been officially recognizing Christmas since 1885.

Why are these people so offended by Christmas? It’s a day that represents hope, peace and joy to all who believe.

I encountered this second sign a little further down the road. These private citizens are peacefully showing their faith and exercising their First Amendment rights. Maybe we should all do a little more of that. Maybe as Christians, we should all be sure to say “Merry Christmas” to strangers as well as put “Merry Christmas” on our greeting cards instead of “Happy Holidays.”

Maybe we should be a little less concerned about being offensive and little more concerned about the true reason for the season. If the idea of peace, hope, joy and love is offensive, maybe the P.C. police need a heart check. I’ll start here. Merry Christmas Ya’ll! What do you think? Feel free to share.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

It has often been said that Christmas has a certain magic about it. We love the Ebenezer Scrooge story and his transformation so much that a dozen adaptations have been made. Disney even got in on that one. From Miracle on 34th Street to It’s a Wonderful Life, we embrace the special magic that surrounds Christmas.

As I’ve said before, it’s almost as if God draws a little closer to us during this season. Of course, it may be that we draw closer to Him. Maybe the feeling of magic comes from the miracle of the Virgin Birth itself. It may stem from angels filling the sky and bringing all mankind tidings of peace and joy directly from heaven or from a star that shone so brightly that it lit up the entire night sky.

There are countless stories of Christmas magic, where the seemingly impossible is made possible by those trying to spread the love and peace of Christ. There are stockings that get miraculously filled, to bills that get miraculously paid. While many of these “miracles” do come from common people, not God; I’ll bet that very often these “miracle workers” are being led by the Holy Spirit. I would also be willing to bet that these people are true believers who have opened their hearts to God’s will for them.

One magical Christmas moment occurred on Christmas Eve and Day in 1914. World War 1 had been raging for several months and it was proving to be the bloodiest and most destructive war mankind had ever seen. On the western front, German soldiers began lighting candles. The British soldiers could see them from their trenches. The Germans began singing the Christmas carol, Silent Night in German. The British soldiers responded by singing the carol in English.

Picture that scene for a moment. It’s freezing and dark. You hate the guy on the other side. You are trying to kill him, but then you hear a tune you know and love in a language you don’t know. “Silent night, holy night, all is calm all is bright..” What do you do? They answered in their own language.

For a single day, there was peace among enemies. The opposing soldiers mingled and sat around fires. They sang Christmas carols and exchanged small gifts like food and chocolate. The truce didn’t last and it wasn’t on every front of the war. But, on that small stretch of earth, there was peace on the night that we celebrate God’s gift to all mankind.

The truce didn’t repeat itself the next year. The higher-ups were very displeased when they heard about it. Enemy soldiers were never supposed to mingle, but when candles are lit and voices join together in Silent Night, well, miracles can happen, there can be peace on earth, even if only for a moment.

When we open our hearts to the reason for this season, we can be transformed and that, my friends is the true magic of Christmas. What do you think about Christmas magic? Feel free to share.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

In my quest to search for more of God this Advent Season, I decided to do a little research on Christmas decorations. Not surprisingly, many were created as reminders that Jesus really is the reason for the season. Here’s some of the cool facts I learned.

 

In the 15th century, in London, churches and homes were decked with holm (a type of tree), ivy, bays, holly and anything that was green. The heart-shaped leaves of ivy were supposed to represent Jesus coming to earth. The holly thorns are said to represent the crown of thorns Jesus wore during the crucifixion and the red berries represented the blood Jesus shed for us.

Candles in each window is an old Irish tradition. It is a sign of welcome in remembrance that Mary and Joseph could find no place to stay when it was time for Jesus’ birth. Candles in windows can also represent Jesus as being the light of the world.

The first Nativity Scene was actually created by St. Francis of Assisi. (He was also the guy who was so good with animals.) The story goes that he got permission from the Pope at the time, to set up a live scene in a cave in a small Italian village, with a manger, straw and two animals. He invited local villagers in and preached the Nativity Story. It was such a hit with the people, that Nativity re-creations spread like wildfire and within a couple of centuries they were all over Europe.

All Masses at the time were preached in Latin. Most of the common people didn’t understand Latin. St. Francis found a way to make the birth story real to them. Just one man, trying to communicate God’s love to others and look what he started! Do you have a nativity set in your home? Say a special prayer of thanks for St. Francis of Assisi.

Wreaths are circles. Circles have no end so they are supposed to represent the  everlasting life that we have in Jesus. They are also usually made of evergreen which also represents everlasting life. The traditional Christmas colors are red, green, and gold. Red represents the blood of Christ. Green represents eternal life and gold represents the gift of gold from one of the three Magi who visited Jesus.

The Christmas holiday has become very commercial. Remembering the true meaning behind some of our common decor helps me keep the Christ in Christmas. I’m sure there is disagreement about some of these traditions and some may have started out as pagan like the Christmas tree, but my Christmas tree has stars, angels, the Baby Jesus and churches on it. There’s nothing pagan about that!

The truth is, if we look for God, we will find Him. We can see Him in all sorts of places. Why not start with Christmas decorations? What do you think? Feel free to share.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The Christmas season always makes me think of my granddaddy. That man loved Christmas. He loved the decorations and the music and he loved to carve a turkey. We always had a houseful of people visit on Christmas Day when he was alive.

My sister and I had the forty-five record of All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth, and he would play it for us tirelessly while the two of us danced around in circles. He was the sheriff of our Georgia county for twenty years, so when my mom was growing up, they always exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve because he never knew when he would get a call to go into work. Unfortunately, the holidays are always a busy time for officers of the law.

When my mother married and had kids, she continued that tradition with us. Granddaddy was always there for us to open gifts. He delighted in it. Now that I have kids of my own, I have added my own tradition. We attend church service on Christmas Eve and then we come home and eat some chili and then my kids and my sisters kids open their gifts.

Granddaddy has been gone for thirty years now and a tradition he started out of necessity, still lives on. The woman who lives across the street from us brings my kids an Advent Calender every year since we moved in. We have been here for nine years now and at the beginning of the Christmas season, she shows up at our door with two Advent Calendars. She has started a beautiful tradition that my children will always remember and it helps to keep the Christ in Christmas.

I will be sure to pass this on when my kids have kids or maybe when we get new neighbors with young kids. Great traditions have a way of living on.

One of the fabulous things about Christmas is that we can always start new traditions, ones that are meaningful. The best ones leave permanent footprints on our hearts. I still get teary thinking of Granddaddy and his talk of Santy Clause. I’ve learned to appreciate those tears. They are simply physical proof of the love he left me after he went home to be with Jesus.

I wonder what he would say about us continuing to do Christmas the way he started it. I wonder if my kids will continue that tradition when they have kids. I hope so. I hope they will continue to attend a Christmas Eve service too. There’s nothing like the reading of the Christmas Story and singing Silent Night by candlelight with over a hundred other voices, that makes me feel overflowing with peace and joy.

What Christmas traditions do you treasure? What traditions would you like to start? It’s never too late to start something new. You never know, it might be profound enough for your great-grandchildren to continue thirty plus years from now. Let’s make this Christmas one to remember! Feel free to share.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

When we decorate for Christmas, we are likely to use an angel or two somewhere in our homes. Many of us top our trees with them. Artists and retailers have made angels to be beautiful and delicate. We think of them as comforting guardians who watch over us.

The Nativity Story gives us a different picture of angels. When Gabriel appears to Mary, he tells her, “Do not be afraid.” When an angel of the Lord visits the shepherds, the scripture says they were terrified. “But the angel reassured them, “Don’t be afraid, he said. I bring you news of great joy that will be for all the people.” Luke 2:10 It goes on to say that the angel was joined by a vast host of others, the armies of heaven.

Armies aren’t typically made of sweet, gentle beings. They are usually filled with warriors, ready to do battle. In the Elisha story in 2 Kings, Elisha’s servant kept asking him where their army was because they were alone. Elisha told him they had more on their side than the Arameans did. The servant was scratching his head, for he saw no one. Elisha prayed that God would open the young man’s eyes. God did and the young man could see the hillside was filled with horses and chariots of fire. 2 Kings 6:11-16 Elisha knew they were there. He didn’t need to see them.

Of course, there are also stories of angels who comfort. God sent an angel to make Elijah wake up and eat, twice. An angel appeared from heaven and strengthened Jesus in the garden before the crucifixion. Luke 22:43

Angels are mentioned at least 108 times in the Old Testament and 165 in the New Testament. We rarely get a physical description of them, but they are usually doing something to assist God’s people who are doing God’s work, like breaking people out of jail who were locked up for spreading the Good News.

I think they look like whatever God wants them to look like at the time, or maybe what we need them to look like so we can understand God’s message for us. You wouldn’t want that delicate tree topper to defend you in a fierce battle. But, you also might not be comforted by a ten foot warrior on a fiery chariot. Humanity has always had a need to try to tame God.

We desperately want to put Him in a box and wrap it up with a neat little bow. The Bible tells us the nature of God is just not like that. He has a plan, but His plan is quite unpredictable and often messy and scary. Sometimes, He may send angels to help us along in whatever ways He sees fit. We just need to be open to that and try not to figure out the specifics.

Isn’t that what faith is all about? If we do the best we can to follow His plan, we should be covered. The Bible says, “Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it.” Hebrews 13:2

So, the takeaway on angels? Do not be afraid! God has your back.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Like many people, we put our Christmas tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving. That just seems to be the “right time” to decorate for Christmas. I just love meeting people on the road with a Christmas tree strapped onto their roof. I got behind several on the road over the past few days.Those trees always make me smile.

Now, I will be the first one to grumble when retailers decide to put their Christmas decorations up before I have finished eating my kids leftover Halloween candy, but the first time I enter a store after Thanksgiving and Christmas music is playing, well, that just warms my heart. I think that’s the time when I’m ready.

Yesterday, we celebrated the first Sunday in Advent at church and we sang the old hymn, Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel.  What is Advent anyway? Advent is the time that we are supposed to prepare our hearts and minds for the birth of Jesus. It’s a joyous time for us to remember what Christmas is really about.

The four weeks in Advent are for us to contemplate the enormity of God’s love for us. Emmanuel means, “God is with us.”  That’s a perfect short definition for Jesus. I am trying to intentionally, watch for God this Advent season and I would love it if you would like to join me.

My family went to Wal-Mart and Target the day after Black Friday and we were pleasantly surprised at all of the Christmas cheer we found. Both places were very busy, but everyone was so nice. There were a lot of “excuse me’s” and apologies for aisles being blocked. Almost everyone was smiling. Maybe all of the craziness happened the day before or maybe if you look for the good, you can find it. My daughter commented on the good cheer as well.

Yes, I’m going to buy gifts for my family to put under my tree, but I’m keeping my eyes open for ways to serve as well. It can be something as small as donating a gift for Toys for Tots or packing a shoe box for Operation Christmas Child. There are so many ways that we can share the love of Christ during this beautiful season. We can invite someone to church or to a Christmas service.

The point is not to get too terribly caught up in all of the commercialism and to remember the beautiful gift that all of mankind was given some 2000 plus years ago. Let’s don’t just remember it on the Sundays in Advent. Let’s remember it everyday over the next twenty-four days. Remind your kids what we are really celebrating. Remind yourself.  Santa and Frosty are fun, but Jesus is awesome and Jesus is forever.

I’m going to try to start each day during Advent with a prayer of thanks for that baby born in Bethlehem and then I’m going to watch for God’s hand in the world around me. He’s always here, but this time of year, He just seems closer. “Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel.” I hope you will join me. Feel free to share any of your Advent God Sightings.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂