Monday, July 29, 2013

Christmas in July/Christmases When You Were Mine


I can hear it now,
What? Christmas in July?
It's not even close to December.
This commercialism has gone too far!

I have a confession to make.
My children will testify.

When they were growing up, I thought it would be fun to play Christmas carols in July.
That was long ago, before it was the cool thing to do in the middle of summer - get it? Cool?
Ok.
There were no advertisements for Christmas in July back then.
Imagine my surprise when it became a media frenzy years later.
Pshaw.
I'd been celebrating Christmas in July for years....without the
decorations and gifts.
Just the music,
and thoughts of the meaning.

I always thought Christmas should be celebrated all year long.
Why try to cram everything nice in one month or one day?
I thought we should bake for our neighbors one month.
Send cards another month.
Visit and spread cheer everyday.
You know, spread the love of Christmas all year.
I don't know how well that would catch on, but I think it would be great to get Christmas cards in August.
Then, December wouldn't be such a stressful month of goodness.
Don't try to give me the 'I don't get caught up in all that stuff,' or 'I don't get stressed.'
Bah humbug if you don't.

I love Christmas - that was why I played carols in July.
I remember one day when the children were fairly small,
I loaded up a picnic basket, and we piled in the car to go to Bonnie Dam (rest her dry soul).
On the way, I put in a Christmas cassette (long ago, yes).
Windows were down, and "Joy To The World" and "Rocking Around The Christmas Tree"
filled the summer air.

Those were the days.
We were all together, laughing, and having a good time.
I'm thinking we (at least some of us) were singing along.
It was great.

Caleb loved Christmas.
July twenty-fifth I came across a radio station playing Christmas carols all day.
I listened, sang, thought of Caleb and yes, a tear or more (ok, more) fell down my cheeks.

I could see his smile and hear him singing.
I'm not sure where I'll be in December...whether I'll be able to write about Christmas or not,
but yesterday it warmed my heart because I knew Caleb so enjoyed Christmas - and if you knew him you know he also liked
Taylor Swift.

So, Merry Christmas in July.
This song is for you my son -

Christmases When You Were Mine - Taylor Swift.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

A Look At Death/That 'D' Word



It's unknown territory for me....
Trying to deal with this broken down life in a broken down world.
I heard from a friend of mine.
Some friends of his lost their six year old son yesterday in a swimming accident.
The intense heartbreak of that couple has to be horrific.

I've been trying to come to terms with the enormity of....what else can you call it -
loss, myself.

Their son, my son, your daughter, his wife, her sister....it goes on.
The 'd' word runs rampant in the world.
It doesn't matter what your status is, or how closely you walk with God and do the right things.
The 'd' word is in this world and can come to your house, too.

I've been thinking and praying about it for a while.
It doesn't make sense how young lives have been snatched away...just like that.
God is big.
Why doesn't he just stop this nonsense from happening and breaking our hearts?
He can do anything, can't he?
Or can he?

This is what I think.
I'm not telling anyone else what to think.
I'm not saying I know anything or that anybody should agree with me.
It's just a thought.
Got it?
I'm not an expert by any means.
Just thinking, maybe....
Here's my take on the whole 'd' word....

The 'd' word came into the world with Lucifer the beautiful, narcissistic angel of music who was jealous of God and wanted the glory for himself.
When he got kicked out of heaven, he took some stupid angels with him and they started their campaign of death and destruction because there was nothing good in them, only evil.

God created Adam and Eve - beautiful, happy, alive forevermore in the Garden of Eden.
It was the way it was supposed to be.
But, because evil himself was around, he decided to try to destroy what God created in his image.
So, he tempted them.
I'm thinking he may have been tempting them, breaking them down before the day of the forbidden fruit.
So that day when he showed up, Eve was already entertaining negative, doubt-filled 'what ifs'.
When evil mentioned eating the fruit, she thought, why not.

Evil knew he was bound for hell - a horrible place just for him and his angels, but he didn't want to go there alone. Who better to take with him than God's prized creation, man created in God's image.

It worked.
Sin entered with disobedience and with it, the 'd' word.
Thanks for eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve - it takes two, you know.
So, they were banished from the Garden of Eden where we'd all be living if it hadn't been for evil, temptation and disobedience.

That is when the 'd' word began to be a household name.
Cain killed Abel.
Death had begun.
Adam died.
Eve died.
I believe every time someone died, God was sad.
He hated death, but because man had listened to evil, there it was.
I'm not saying those people went to hell, that's a topic for another day. I'm just saying they died...the 'd' word is what this is about.
The thing about God, is he gives his creation freedom. He is not a dictator or manipulator. He shows us the right way, so we can avoid heartache and pain, but he gives us the freedom to choose.
Adam and Eve chose death, and so it was.

What could God do? There was only one way to overcome eternal death and damnation, and that was to end it himself, and he could only do that by allowing death and sin to enter his body so he could destroy it.
That's when he sent Jesus, the living Word made flesh.
Jesus accounted for our sins and died, taking all the ugliness of evil on himself.
He overcame death so it had no sting.
Sure, people would still die on this earth because of sin, and our mortality, but the sting was gone because Jesus took the keys to hell, and had the keys to heaven. Heaven's gates were open for his creation again. He died, went to hell, overcame all its grotesque ugliness and rose to life everlasting giving all of us the right to go there.

I believe death is the worst sin has to offer, that's why it's so horrible, why it hurts so, so bad.
It's irregular, unnatural.
We were never supposed to experience it.
Because we experience it, God has, too.
He understands everything we go through.
I believe he hurts, too, being separated from us. He loves us.
When we accept the gift of Jesus' life for our death, he knows he will be with us again.
Until then, he misses us and hurts, too - death separates people who love.

The Bible says, "Death where is your sting?"  Death does not have preeminence over our lives because Christ gave death a lethal blow by his life.
So! The terrible hurt is because death is not the norm for God's creation...it is a result of the evil one and the weakness of mankind. The victory in it is that Jesus overcame death and the grave once and for all when he went there and took the keys of sin and death.

When a believer passes from here, he goes from life to life.
Caleb went from this life to heaven's life.
My friend's friends' son walked into the arms of Jesus.
That lessens the blow.
We have hope.

However hurtful death is in this life, there is an eternal life waiting for us and no weapon can stand against that.
As difficult as it is for me to come to terms with the 'd' word, it helps to know heaven is real. I know Jesus is real and eternal life is ours.

 I like what one evangelist said. He said Christians should change how they talk about the 'd' word. Your loved ones aren't dead. He was saying one day that death is not death to the believer-- it is changing location.  John 11 says that whoever believes in Him shall never die!
When we leave this world, we pass from life to eternal life.  I love knowing that.

My thoughts have also been on heaven and earth and reality.  I'll save that for another time.
In the meantime, thanks for taking time to share in my thoughts.

Be at peace.
Selah.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Just Another Day in Paradise



The sun is bound to shine today.
It peers in through the morning shadows.
Ah.....
It's another day in paradise.

Lord, this morning, like every morning, I wake knowing you are there.
It  doesn't take long before the reality is there as well.

"This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it."
It is how I have started my days for many years.
I remember when I first started saying that verse.
It was a long, long time ago.
It was a difficult  time, filled with uncertainty.

I didn't know what the future held.
But, I knew Who held my future.
I threw my broken life on the altar, and cried out to my Father.
I'd lie in bed, and say the verse
over and over.

Did my troubles go away?
No.
But, saying the words reassured me of the truth of the Word I believed in.
Peace came in the midst of uncertainty.
That was so long ago...Sigh.
Yes.
God got me through.
His victory lived in my life and He healed every broken place.


Today is a new day.
The wound of my broken heart is still open and raw.
Everyday it's like it's new all over again - the deep laceration of hurt and separation breaks in all over again.

I hear people say it will get better -
People who have years of experience behind them.
I don't dispute what they say.
They are where they are.
They know.
From where I am....
Well,
I can't imagine that right now.

Yet, somehow I make it through each day.
Each new day.

Yes, I do rejoice.
I know that I know where Caleb is.
He's just moved beyond my life.
That's the great and hard part.
Where he's moved I can't be right now.

I do rejoice.
I know who my Father is.
I know who my Savior is.
I know He is faithful.
I know in Whom I hope.

This is the day the Lord has made.
There is a reason I'm still here.
It is for his purpose.

One of my favorite sayings is,
 "There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still." ~ Corrie ten Boom
It's true.
God reaches into my brokenness and picks me up everyday.
In this broken state, he is there.
He carries me.
It is through Christ that I move, and breath and have my being.
In this I do rejoice.
It is how I make it through the day.

That's how it is here in paradise.

Carry me, Lord. On my knees I stand. You are my strength and my salvation. You are the Lord of my life. It is in You that I have hope. I rejoice in you. You give me the manna of your Word everyday. You are my light and my covering for each day. I am so thankful that you are strong. You are filled with compassion. You love me, and know my very heart. There is  nothing hidden from You. I am here, your child, open arms, and broken. Your grace is sufficient. You are more than enough.
Abba Father, I love you, and because of your son I come.
In Jesus I hide.
Amen.

Steve Camp sings, "Carry Me."





Thursday, July 4, 2013

Happy Birthday America /Because of The Brave



Happy Birthday America.
For two hundred thirty-seven years you have survived.
There has been bloodshed.
There has been heartache.
There has been victory, prosperity.
There have been times of hardship, and times of harvests of plenty.


In 1776,  the Declaration of Independence was introduced, and with it, the knowledge and foresight of the high cost of freedom.

Happy Birthday America.
So many didn't think you'd make it.
Some still think you won't.
There are those who love you and will stand for you, and die for you.
There are those who hate what you stand for and try to tear you apart from the inside out.

Happy Birthday America.
Yes.
You are the land I love.
You are the land that so many have sacrificed for,
willing to come from foreign lands to grace your soil,
-willing to fight for it.
-willing to die for freedom.

Happy Birthday America.
I believe in you.
Many have given their lives through history, believing in the Declaration of Independence, "..that we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Happy Birthday America.
Today I celebrate with pride.
My son is part of the celebration.
Because of him, and men like him,
we can freely raise our US flags, and understand what it means to be free.

It is not without sacrifice.
It is with determination and a belief in the foundation of this country.
It is with perseverance and the integrity of honest men and women that we remain who we are today.

When I see the American flag, it brings hope, and gratitude to my heart.
My son died for the red, white and blue.
His life, his death - and of those before and after him will always
be engrafted in the colors of freedom.
That, is what I see when I see American flags in our neighborhoods.
That is what I see when I see flags in our business districts and windows.
That is what this mother holds dear as she joins with others in our fine country today
to celebrate another birthday.

Happy Birthday and God Bless America.