Monthly Archives: December 2013

‘Tis the Season! For family, baked goods, tinsel, the scent of spruce, twinkling lights, the story of a babe, and gift giving. Wait. What? Hmmm. That doesn’t sound exactly right. Not to sound blasphemous but I’m calling “Bull!” on the whole thing this year. What gives, right? Nobody likes a buzzkill, I know. Maybe it’s that we’re in a new house this year and I never got around to unpacking my decorations. Maybe it’s because we’re so technologically advanced with Skype and whatnot that we celebrated a week early with the Grands. Maybe it’s that I’m desperately digging for something genuine to cling to. I put my biggest Little on a plane this past Saturday to spend a week (and change) with her dad. Right before grabbing the flight attendant’s hand to walk down the ramp she turned and hugged me with tear-filled eyes and said “Merry Christmas Mama. I love you.” Come on now!!! Who can walk away from that without at least a few pulled heartstrings?!?! We had our family of five’s “Christmas Morning” that same Saturday. Kids really don’t care. My Bestie suggested (so incredibly in awe of his reverence to Him) that we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. So we did. Then the wheels started turning. Ready for this?

Christmas is NOT some calculated commercialized pomp and circumstance thing that is preempted every July. Christmas is NOT about having a Clark Griswold nuclear meltdown that puts Chernobyl to shame. Christmas is NOT about some ridiculous elf telling your kids to “Be good, Santa is watching.” Not saying it’s all bad, not saying I don’t like having my kids’ picture taken with the fat man every year, simply saying it’s ALL irrelevant.

Christmas is about reflecting on a life event. A Light event. It’s personal. Nothing about the birth of Christ is commercial. Mary didn’t get a complimentary bath robe, anti-slip socks, a year’s supply of diapers, a turkey sandwich at three in the morning with a low-fat peach yogurt and a bucket of crunchy ice. She was in a barn, with livestock, and feces… Cow poop, sheep poop, and (if you’re a mom, let’s keep it real) probably some of her own poop. NOTHING about that night of intense labor with a scared-stiff new daddy that most certainly had not gone through Lamaze classes can be romanticized. No matter how hard one might try.

Christmas is a simple word. Christ-mas. Christ was the Annointed one. Mas is a suffix and derivative of the word maesse, meaning festival, feast day, or mass.

So does this definition make my perspective wrong? I really don’t think so. I think a celebration and time of worship and prayer filled with thanksgiving is spot on. This transfiguration of my heart though has given me a real motivation to dig a little deeper into the Word.

Isaiah 49:6

6 He says, It is too light a thing that you should be My servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors [of the judgments] of Israel; I will also give you for a light to the nations, that My salvation may extend to the end of the earth.

Luke 1:74-75

74 To grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our foes, might serve Him fearlessly

75 In holiness (divine consecration) and righteousness [in accordance with the everlasting principles of right] within His presence all the days of our lives.

John 1:9

9 There it was–the true Light [was then] coming into the world [the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light] that illuminates every person.

Christmas is a personal faith-based decision to believe. Accepting it and it’s truths is a direct reflection of Christ’s saving us from our own iniquities. The “Light” mentioned in John is His. It’s our choice whether or not we will accept the Truth. Christ died so that we might love and serve with Him as the Prize, fearlessly. That’s all I need. I’ve come too far to still be all that I was before He freed me from myself. He’s my Savior, my Love, my Father – I ain’t NEVER giving that up!

For each of us, may we be filled with reflection of the Anointed Celebration of His light this season. Be Merry!

It’s a dangerous thing my friends. Before I even begin my rant on this topic, let’s dig a little into scripture to see what He has to say about it, shall we? 

Ecclesiastes 6:9  “Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire: this is also vanity and vexation of the spirit.” 

Isaiah 5:18 “Woe to them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope.”

Psalms 4:2 “O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? How long will ye love vanity and seek after leasing?”

So I think biblically speaking, it’s pretty clear about the nature of our human hearts. There are eighty-seven passages of scripture that send warning to both Jew and Gentile regarding this very simplistic form of idolatry. That’s a lot of repetitiveness, if you ask me. Ok, got it Lord! We are however, called to be beautiful. Not necessarily the way society interprets it though. Not with ornamental things, the “braiding of hair” etc. We are beautiful like women reflecting Proverbs 31 and Ephesians 5 (for the wives.) Being spiritually charged, not driven by fleeting physical appearance is what makes us the most holy. Holiness IS beauty. We are smothered in a world of (not that I’m judging at all) glycolic peels, Botox, lipo, implants, and the list just keeps going. Does any of that really make us any more lovely/loving/lovable? I’m afraid not. It may however, make us look younger… Temporarily. Please remember though that He is the creator of all things, and He makes ALL things beautiful, in His time. 

Psalm 139:14 “I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.”

He is the Potter, we are the clay.

Many Blessings!

Ever tried to take pictures of goldfish at dinner time? Not exactly the brightest idea I’ve ever had. Lola is by far my favorite, and also the eldest of the five. It’s hard for me to even say her name without singing that goofy song from The Kinks. L-O-L-A Lola. We also have Casper, Jasper, Clyde, and our newest addition Money. The pictures are to more or less show my point that goldfish flit about mindlessly. That’s it. That’s their existence. Or is it? Just this past week I read a study about goldfish identifying different classical composers and that their hearing is so complex because of their structure and buoyancy. Huh. Interesting. So, even one of God’s most mindless creatures – the goldfish – is made with the ability to discern? How often do we view our lives like a fishbowl? Or even yet, lose faith and focus while running this race called life? Lola (and her crew) I’m almost 100% positive don’t fret about dinner on the table. It is an expectation. Needs will be met. Also, I’m fairly certain that if I opened the hood of the aquarium and spoke over them that I had everything  covered do you think that they’d even “blub” at me? No. Hebrews 10:23 says “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His Promise.” Now I challenge you to this… Live the life of a goldfish. One of peace, contentment, and discernment.