Ready for 2016

I am excited to be back at the blog this morning! We had a wonderful Christmas with our daughter and her family. Other than the constant rain and dampness (at least it wasn't ice and snow!) and one sick child, it was a great time with our 3 little granddaughters and their parents. Besides a nice Christmas day and a fun trip to Busch Gardens Christmastown, playing, reading books, cookie-baking and craft-making prevailed!


In the past few days, I have heard and read a lot of comments about this "in-between" week - that is, the week after Christmas, but before New Year's. In general, people seem to have negative feelings about this week. They express feelings of depression or let-down after the Christmas holiday, boredom, and restlessness.

As for myself - I happen to love this "in-between" week!

• I love the quiet mornings to sit by the lights of the Christmas tree, with my cup of coffee and my Bible and journal, and really enjoy quality time with the Lord.
• I actually enjoy my Christmas decorations and playing Christmas music more after Christmas, when all the busyness and activity is past.
• As one of those "strange" people who actually like to clean and organize, I have enjoyed giving my house a thorough cleaning and doing some needed organization after all the busyness at church and home over Christmas.
• Most of all, I have come to relish this week as one in which I can really do some preparation of my heart for the coming year. For many years, I have prayerfully chosen a special verse of Scripture for the coming new year. I highlight it in my Bible and memorize it. In addition, this year I was challenged to do something new - to select a word of special significance for the coming year. I loved this! I spent a lot of time thinking and praying about it. I considered and then discarded several words before making my decision.

So, are you ready? My word for 2016 is: Perspective.

In choosing the word perspective, I am saying that I desire to have God's perspective on all that happens in 2016. The new year ahead of us stretches out as a blank canvas of the unknown. I want to try to remember to look at things as God would see them, with His perspective, and not how I am apt to see them. Also, I chose this word to remind me to keep things in the right perspective, whether they be blessings or challenges. I need to choose to be grateful (grateful was a close contender for my special word!). I need to see people and needs as an opportunity to love and to serve.

The verse I have chosen for 2016 is 1 Chronicles 16:11: "Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His face continually." Short and sweet this year, but it says so much! If I would just remember to

• Always seek the Lord and not someone or something else, and
• Seek His strength and not my own, and
• Seek His face (His presence) continually,  

Then I will have the right perspective.

How about you? Do you choose a special verse or word for the new year? I would love to hear your thoughts. May the Lord bless you in this coming year. Thanks for reading my blog! I hope to be a blessing and source of encouragement to you this year as I write.

Love,
Kathi

The Heart of a Handmaiden

Only 9 days until Christmas! As Christmas gets closer, our to-do lists seem to grow longer and longer. There is the present-buying, the wrapping, the finishing up of cards and letters, menu planning, cooking and baking, and the attending all sorts of Christmas events, celebrations, and special services. If you are like me, it also seems to get harder and harder to focus on the reason for our Christmas celebrations. We find ourselves becoming more task-oriented than Christ-oriented. We are more concerned with "getting it done" than we are about why we are doing it.

In my quiet times, I have been enjoying once again reading about and reflecting on the life of Mary, the mother of Jesus. I especially have been focusing on Luke 1:38: "And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her." 

When the angel of the Lord appeared to this young, poor, teenage girl and gave her the astounding news that she, a virgin, was going to conceive and give birth to a child who would be God's Son and the Savior of the world, I think that Mary's response was equally astounding. After her question in verse 34 of how this would be, which was a question of normal curiosity since she wasn't married, she doesn't ask any other questions! She doesn't ask how this was going to work with her relationship to Joseph or her parents. She doesn't ask how she would raise this child, or what it would mean to her future. She doesn't ask why she was chosen.

Instead, she says "yes" to the Lord. Not only does she say "yes," but she refers to herself as the "handmaid of the Lord."  In Bible times, the handmaid was the lowest of the female servants. Psalm 123:2 also mentions the handmaid. It is interesting because of what a handmaid did - she was given that name because she would sit quietly and wait for her master or mistress to give her orders by a slight motion of the hands. She had to be very attentive in order not to miss it. She would quickly and completely obey the orders of her master. How significant is was that Mary referred to herself to that "handmaiden of the Lord." She knew exactly what it meant and she was wiling to obey.

The angel of the Lord told Mary that she was "favored." We usually think of that as being a good thing. When Mary said "yes" to the Lord, she had no idea of the trials that awaited her. She had to endure the ridicule and gossip of being an unwed mother. She had to face the possibility of being left by her fiancee and disowned by her family. She would endure a treacherous trip to Bethlehem at the end of her pregnancy, and giving birth away from home in a dirty stable. She would have to flee to a foreign country with Joseph to protect Jesus. Most of all, she would have to suffer watching her Son suffer misunderstanding and hatred, and die a cruel death on a cross.

None of these things were what Mary had in mind when she said"yes" to God's will for her life. Like Mary, when we say "yes" to the Lord, we expect things to be different. We expect joy and blessings and ease - after all, we are submitting ourselves to the Lord. Instead, the reality is often very different than the expectations. This Christmas, in the middle of the busyness, I am contemplating what it means to have the heart of a handmaiden - and praying that I might be more like that.

Wishing you a joyous, and Christ-centered, Christmas!
Kathi

1 Cor. 13 for Christmas

Wow, December is moving quickly - as it always does. I mentioned in my last post that I would tell you about our Ladies Creating Christmas event that we had at church this last Saturday. This was something new for us this year - in fact, I dreamed up the idea and because of that and since it was so different from what we normally do (a sit-down meal with themed decorations and a speaker), I was not sure how it would go. I am happy to report that it was a great success!

Creating Christmas was a hands-on, informal, fun afternoon of learning and making crafts and decorations while enjoying refreshments, fellowship, and a devotional. We had four craft stations, and made some really nice things: sock snowmen, curled paper-filled glass ornaments, a lovely nativity scene Christmas card, and scented foaming hand soap. We also had a cookie exchange and a take-home sheet with ideas for decorating and quick gifts, and recipes for gifts from your kitchen.  All of us had so much fun and I am already getting requests to do it again next year.

The idea behind Creating Christmas is to be able to gather ideas that we as wives, moms, and grandmas can use in celebrating Christmas with our families - the coming of Jesus as a baby into this world for the purpose of dying for our sins. As Christians, we should celebrate, because without the birth of Jesus, we would have no hope! I love the example of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in Luke 2:19. We are told that "Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart." That has the idea that she treasured the events and memories surrounding the birth of her Son. We should do the same. When we celebrate with gifts, baking, and decorations, we are showing that we treasure the birth of Christ.

That being said, we have to be careful to keep a balance. We are not really celebrating the birth of Jesus if our celebrations and busyness mean other things in our lives are out of place. Consider this reading of 1st Corinthians 13, the love chapter, in the context of Christmas. I have had this in my files for many years, so I am sorry that I do not know who the author is.

"If I decorate my house perfectly with bows, strands of shiny balls and twinkling lights,
but do not show love to my family,
I am just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies,
preparing gourmet meals, and arranging a beautifully adorned table,
but do not show love to others,
I am just another cook.

If I volunteer in the soup kitchen or sing carols at the nursing home, and give extra to charity,
but do not have love for my Lord,
it profits me nothing.

If I trim the tree with shimmering angels and hand-made snowflakes,
and attend a myriad of Christmas events and sing in the church choir,
but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops baking to hug the child, sets aside the decorating to kiss one's spouse.
Love is kind, although tired and hurried.
Love doesn't envy another's house that has more decorations and coordinated china and linens.

Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way,
but is thankful that they are there to be in the way.
Love doesn't give to only those who can give in return,
but rejoices in giving to those who cannot.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.

Toys will break, necklaces will be lost, golf clubs will rust.
But the gift of love remains forever.
Faith, hope, and love abide, these three,
But the greatest of these is love."

Wishing you a balanced celebration of Christmas,
Kathi

A Peek Inside my Window

Here we are, post-Thanksgiving and into the month of December. Is it me, or does it seem like Christmas comes faster every year? Since I was away last week, I thought for today's blog post I would first give you a little peek into where I have been and what I have been up to the past couple of weeks. I will end the post with some thoughts to ponder, as usual.

Where I Went
We were so excited to be able to spend Thanksgiving with our youngest son and his family this year. They live in Florida and are the parents of our adorable 2 year old granddaughter and expecting our eighth grandchild (a boy!) in a couple of months. We were there for 5 days and enjoyed time at the park, celebrating Thanksgiving, a day the Tampa zoo, shopping, eating pie and playing games, and other fun things! Being with them was especially meaningful because we got to be present at our son's deacon ordination service, which my husband preached the message for and participated in.

 What I Baked
For Thanksgiving, I am the designated pie-baker. I usually make far too many pies for the number of people present, but hey, I have to include everyone's favorites! And we get to enjoy slices of pie with coffee in the evening which enhances our game-playing times. I made the traditional pumpkin and apple pies, and another one our family's favorites is a decadent pie which my granddaughter dubbed "Cookie Pie." The real name is Toll House pie, and it is also very similar to Derby Pie. In the picture here, it is the pie in the lower right.

Toll House Pie
2 eggs
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. flour
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
1 9 inch pie crust, unbaked

Preheat oven to 325. With mixer, beat eggs until foamy. Beat in sugars and flour until well-blended. Blend in softened butter. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Pour into pie crust. Bake 50-60 minutes and serve with whipped cream.

What I Decorated
This year we decorated our house for Christmas a week earlier than usual. Decorating for Christmas is a major undertaking at our house because we have 9 large storage containers of decorations, and because I like to decorate the whole house! We decorated a week early because when we looked at our calendar, after coming home from Thanksgiving we had NO free weekends until Christmas, and very few free days at all. This year I have something new - my husband made me a rustic-looking ladder to display my lighted village pieces and my Old-World Santa collection. I saw it on Pinterest and he said "I could make that!" And he did! I love it!

What Else I Did
As if decorating for Christmas, a trip, catching up both at home and in ministry after a trip, and working on upcoming activities (including this weekend's Ladies Creating Christmas event, which I will post about at a later date) wasn't enough, I squeezed in something special: I was invited to a lunch with Mrs. Heidi Cruz, the wife of Presidential candidate Ted Cruz. I had the opportunity to meet and talk with her, and I found her to be not only a lovely Christian lady, but also very gracious and down to earth!

What Made Me Smile
My favorite picture of the past two weeks:

What Made Me Sad 
In the midst of all the family time, the Thanksgiving and Christmas preparations and celebrating, and the blessings, there are two things which make me sad. The first is the unprecedented turmoil in our country. More shootings, more violence and danger, and more hostility toward God and Christianity mean that my grandchildren are growing up in a very broken world. It makes me sad that they will never know the kind of world I grew up in or raised our children in. Truly, Psalm 31:24 is a verse that encourages us as Christians: "Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord." The key, I think, is the end: "...in the Lord." We all hope in something - or someone. Our hope must not be misplaced - it has to be in the Lord.

The other thing that makes me sad is related to the first, and that is the apathy of Christians today. It is no accident that part of the reason our world is so broken today is because of the careless attitude of Christians - not toward events in the world, but toward spiritual things. I remember after 9-11 the turning of people to God and an increased interest in church and walking with God. Not so today. Even in the midst of all that is going on in the world, church attendance and involvement is declining. I hear over and over again "I'm just too busy." Other things are deemed more important that serving the Lord and working for Him. We are reminded how we are to respond in uncertain times in Ephesians 5:15-16: "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil." When we are living in the midst of evil times - and we certainly are - we are to be wise and make the most of the time that God graciously allows us. That is what will make the difference in our personal and family lives, and in turn, our country.

Lovingly,
Kathi