A Word Study

Before we officially leave the holidays of 2015, let's do a little word study:

CHRISTMAS

Christ mass - Christian celebration of the birth of Christ

NATIVITY

Birth or origin - capitalized, it is the holy birth of Jesus

HALLELUJAH

"Praise the Lord"

FELIZ NAVIDAD

Merry Christmas - Literally: Pleasant Birth in Spanish

ADVENT

The four-week period leading up to Christmas, beginning on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day
In Christian theology, the coming of Jesus Christ

CAROL

 A joyful religious song or hymn, especially a Christian song celebrating Christmas

EMMANUEL or IMMANUEL

God with us - the real meaning of Jesus' birth

JESUS

 A Jewish religious teacher who lived from about 4 BC to Ad 33. His life and teachings form the basis of Christianity

 MORE THAN A RELIGIOUS TEACHER:

• THE SON OF GOD
• THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD
• THE WAY TO SALVATION & FORGIVENESS OF SIN

No Room in the Inn

It was Christmas morning, 2014, in San Diego. The day was cold and crisp. My husband and I opened the doors to our car parked in the garage of the Holiday Inn. We were eager to drive the ten minutes to our son's home because his young daughters were holding off the Christmas celebration until Grandma Sue and Grandpa Bob arrived. No time to waste!

That's when it hit us. A waft of strong, putrid smoke. Someone had been smoking in our car! How did they get in? Did we forget to lock the doors?

Immediately, I thought of the gifts--some of them cash--in the trunk. More importantly, I feared for the Dutch pastry carefully balanced on top of them. That pastry took me two days to make and it better not be eaten! I thought.

We popped the trunk. Nothing was disturbed. We checked the backseat of the car and everything there looked fine, also. "What is going on?" we asked each other.

Obviously, we had an overnight visitor in our car. It was a tidy and considerate visitor who left nothing behind. After we assured each other the car had been locked, we both became silent. Christmas morning. The night had been very cold. It was only right someone should spend Christmas Eve in the cozy back seat of our Ford Taurus, rather than under a bridge or on the cold California beach--even someone who knew how to jimmy a lock.

Christmas Eve. No room in the inn. Jesus born in a manger, "...because there was no room..." Who can be upset?

That smoky smell lingered for a long time. It served as a reminder of the tragedy of people needing warmth and shelter, especially on Christmas. I am touched and saddened. Who else needs to find a room in the inn? Who else needs to find the love of the Savior?

                                                                             Photo courtesy Lorraine Eyer

Not Busy Enough

The holidays are usually quite hectic. It seems we save up all the celebrating, re-connecting, serving, and giving projects for one season of the year. It makes it fun, though busy. Especially enjoyable are the child-centered events. Just seeing the happiness on young faces makes me smile.

There's another side of that coin, however. I've always felt a tug at my heart for the person who must spend Christmas alone. Memories are terrific but they can go only so far in assuaging the pang of loneliness. Take heart, dear Friends. There are ways to get through the holidays with joy. It takes some effort, but try this:

• Be pro-active about scheduling events with loved ones or friends. It doesn't have to be elaborate. It can be meeting someone for coffee or having them over for a simple dessert (that you buy, not bake).
• Resist the temptation to indulge in a pity-party for yourself. It happens to the best of us. Don't let that ugly monster grab you around the throat.
• Worship God who loved you enough to send his Child to save this messed up world.
• Every day, list five or more things you are grateful for. Gratitude is the basis for joy.
• Enjoy good holiday movies and specials on tv, but if they add to your sadness stick to comedy.
• If you can get out, attend a holiday performance or two. Churches and schools put on lovely programs this time of year.
• Read the Christmas story from Luke chapter two frequently during the holidays.
• Connect with people. Serve.
• If you're homebound and feel isolated, read about Kathryn Koob. She was an American hostage in Iran in the early 1980s and found herself spending two Christmases in a lonely cell. Nevertheless, she set up a place to worship God. She fashioned a tiny cross out of gum wrappers. That became part of her Christmas decorations. Read about it in my blog post from last December:  http://sueraatjes.blogspot.com/2014/12/christmas-alone.html
• There's another post about Kathryn Koob celebrating Christmas. Read here:  http://sueraatjes.blogspot.com/2014/12/easter-in-december.html

Christmas blessings to you, my Friends, whether you're too busy or not busy enough.

God knows, he understands, and he cares.

Merry Christmas!

Sue

Anticipating Christmas

 It's a busy time of year, for sure. I've let my blog posts slide and for that I apologize. Won't happen again. I intend to post a new blog every Thursday, for sure!

Just look at this mess. It really sums up a month without enough days.

This is my "usually tidy" guest room. During December it becomes a wrapping, decorating, dumping spot. I bet everyone has a room like that during the holidays.

 ***************

I was raised in the country in a suburb just outside Cleveland, Ohio. My neighborhood consisted of a lot of kids, but most of them were boys. Therefore, I loved it when a girlfriend from school would come to my house for a Friday night sleepover.

I remember watching out my bedroom window for Laurie, my very "bestest" friend. I could see the end of the street so I knew when her dad's car would turn into the neighborhood. Only then would I smile and relax, knowing the sleepover really was going to take place. I don't know why I always doubted she would show. She always did.

I never will forget the feeling of anticipation waiting for Laurie. I really liked her and I liked having a girl to play with, rather than rough-and-tumble boys. We always had a fun time together.

Advent is like that. We anticipate celebrating Jesus' birth and all the festivities surrounding this important holiday. Some even start planning for Christmas in January!

Sometimes, however, we overload ourselves with activities and anticipation turns to exhaustion. Here are some suggestions if you find yourself with too much to do, and too little December left to accomplish it:

• Spend alone time with God, every day--no matter how busy you are.
• Rest.
• Observe good nutrition. Enjoy the delicious holiday treats at gatherings, but eat healthy at home so you can indulge with no guilt.
• Exercise so you can enjoy the fun food. It will help your energy level stay high.
• Schedule family time. The holidays are a good time to do things together: decorating, baking, wrapping, playing board games, watching shmaltzy movies, etc. A once-a-week game night with no electronics will create fun memories. The kids might groan at first, but they'll enjoy it and even look forward to it. Don't forget outdoor fun, no matter what climate you live in. And then, there are Christmas lights to enjoy. The best ones are those someone else puts up.
• Try to make time for family meals. It's a lost art but one that carries value.
• Prioritize your events and scale down, if necessary. A good reminder is: "People are more important than things."
• Allow your family the chance to give to others. It can be fun and will establish valuable memories.
• Spend even more time alone with God. You will maintain your equilibrium in what can be a chaotic time of year.

Christmas should be celebrated. The birth of Jesus is God's greatest gift to mankind. Make worship an important part of your holiday.


Next post: for those who spend the holidays alone and are not busy enough.

The Shepherd Soothes

I am a news junkie who enjoys keeping up with happenings in the world. Television broadcasts, the newspaper, and the internet offer news coverage 24/7. As a child, I thought current events were boring, something I had to report on every Friday in Social Studies. Now I find them fascinating.

A professor once said if you never read any part of the newspaper but one, make it the Editorial Page. That is where readers get varying opinions on both sides of an issue, and then make up their own minds. It's called Critical Thinking.

These past couple of weeks, I had to limit my news viewing because I was overdosing on the grim attacks around the world. The ugly threat of terrorism permeated my thoughts. So, I withdrew a little.

What really helped me was a Bible study I attended. It was a video class led by Ray VanderLaan, a Bible teacher at Holland Christian High School in Michigan. He teaches several excellent video Bible studies, filmed in the Holy Land. (Click here for more information.)

This particular video was on Jesus as the Good Shepherd, who gave his life for the sheep. The location was the Negev desert. VanderLaan taught standing in the midst of very bleak, hot, dry, dusty conditions--actually the scenery looked much like Arizona. In the background, were young children tending their families' herds of sheep.

With that as a backdrop, this excellent teacher proceeded to educate us on the characteristics of sheep:

• They're helpless without a watchful shepherd.
• If they fall over, they're unable to right themselves. The shepherd must do that. If he/she doesn't, the animal dies.
• They cannot drink from flowing water--it must be "still waters." (See where this is leading?)
• At night, the shepherd of Bible days slept in the gate to the fold (actually he was the gate) so the sheep wouldn't escape and predators could not enter.
• The desert that serves as their buffet table, is not lush green grass. Rather it is very sparse and has just enough foliage for one day. The shepherd moves the herd to other patches daily.  He gives them their "daily bread."
• A few goats will be in the herd but they will not outnumber the sheep. Sheep tend to follow the goats and we all know goats often go rogue. (Life lesson: never follow a "goat.")

Click here to learn about a good book by Phillip Keller called, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. If you read it, the 23rd Psalm will come alive for you.

Back to my being a newsie. When I walked out of that Bible study, I felt soothed. After a week of terrifying news of a world spinning out of control, I needed comfort. And I received it through remembering I have a Shepherd who is watching over all of us. He cares, he loves, and, he wins (I read the Book!).

Take heart. When the current evil overwhelms you, remember God loves all of us and he is in control. Jesus defeated evil on the cross. God's presence can be with us even in the midst of unspeakable atrocities.

Read the Twenty-third Psalm every morning for the next several days and be soothed.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving week. Whether you're alone or with loved ones, take time to let God's presence and love flow over you.

Sounds of the Midwest

I visited the hometown of my youth in Middleburgh Heights, Ohio, last week. Going home triggers a mix of emotions:

joy, nostalgia, longing, and weirdness

Joy because visiting family is the very reason for the trip. I enjoyed quality time with a sister, a brother-in-law, two nieces, a nephew, a nephew in-law, and five great-nieces and nephews. All that in three days!

I felt a little weird because it is strange to drive along previously empty country roads and see them filled with fast food restaurants and retail chain stores. I guess nothing stays the same.

Weird, too, because the Southwest that has been my home the past forty-five years, differs from Ohio. The climate, topography, architecture, and local color are unique--equally beautiful but different.

Another strange phenomenon was the weather. Ohio can be anything the first week of November. My visit was blessed with 70-degree weather, pretty much the whole time. In fact, one day it was cooler in Phoenix than in Ohio. I didn't even wear the light jacket I packed.

Other than visiting with loved ones, what touched my heart most were the sounds and sites of the Midwest I remember and love:

• Falling leaves - I'd forgotten how beautiful they look when they tumble to the ground in a soft breeze. The trees seems to be whispering.
• A muffled train whistle off in the distance - it made me want to write a country western song about riding the rails. A train whistle stirs up a longing in my heart for....? What, I don't know.
• Crunching through fall leaves in a woods - my sister and her husband live on wooded property and walking through the dried leaves reminded me of my childhood. Like most children, my friends and I raked the leaves into huge piles to jump through. I remember vividly the large worms hiding in those piles. Maybe that added to the adventure.
• Deer running through the back yard. Actually, it was a doe trying to get away from two eager young bucks. (I saw 23 deer in the three days of my visit!)
• Squirrels - all 4,000 of them!- crunching peanuts left on the porch. I think squirrels are going to take over the world--at least northern Ohio.
• Squawking blue jays - I saw them as beautiful, my family considers them a nuisance.

Sounds of the Midwest are really sounds of home. I suspect every place has its special noises. My husband was raised in Chicago and he fondly remembers city noises: sirens, car horns, and screeching brakes. He even likes the smell of bus fumes! I can't even imagine.

What sounds bring back your childhood?

 

Think about your youth. What sounds trigger positive memories? Share a memory or two with your family members.

Have fun!

Preserved fall leaves from my childhood neighborhood--they remind me of my roots.

 

AZ Birds

It's that time of year again. Visitors from the chilly north descend upon our sunny state in droves. Snowbirds, we affectionately call them.

Note to Snowbirds: welcome to the sunbelt. We appreciate your fondness for our state and the boost you give our economy. It's fun to meet you and hear you go on and on about the place we call home.

It's time to do a little refresher course on the unique place called Arizona

• Arizona became the 48th state and last of the contiguous states on February 14, 1912. President William Howard Taft was ready to make it official on February 12, but it was Lincoln's birthday. The 13th was considered bad luck, so they waited until the following day. That's how it became known as the Valentine State.
• Even though much of Arizona is desert, it has 3,928 mountain peaks--more mountains than any of the other mountain states in the west (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming). Who counted them? Twenty-six of those peaks are more than 10,000 feet in elevation.
• The Sonoran Desert is the most biologically diverse desert in North America.
• If you're driving from the north, you will pass through incredible scenery. Oraibi, a Hopi village located in Navajo County, dates back to before A.D. 1200 and is the oldest continuously inhabited community in America.
• Four Corners allows you to put your hands and feet in four states all at once: New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, & Arizona. You have to bend a little to do this but it's a great photo op.
• The Petrified Forest in northeastern Arizona contains America's largest deposits of petrified wood. It is the official state fossil. (I didn't even know we had a state fossil.)
• The best-preserved meteor crater in the world is located near Winslow, Arizona. No doubt you've heard the song about Winslow. Click here to read about it.
• On the drive from Flagstaff to Phoenix, take a little detour to visit incredible Sedona with its red rock formations. I gasp every time I visit. It's as awe-inspiring at the Grand Canyon (which you won't want to miss). Then slip over to Prescott--a mile high city. It is home to the world's oldest rodeo, as well as the world's largest to-scale collection of miniature airplane models. The collection is housed in the library at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
• Speaking of rodeos, Payson, Arizona, is home to the world's oldest continuous rodeo, dating back to he 1880s.

A serenading cowboy on the train from Williams to the Grand Canyon. First the cowboys "rob" you, then they sing.

There you have it--some interesting and some not-so-exciting facts about my state. We residents pay our dues each summer by enduring ridiculously hot days and very warm nights. Now is our time to enjoy our incredible climate and boast a little--or a lot!

Come and enjoy!