Category Archives: Christmas

De-cluttering

Posted on by

All of us love to decorate our houses before Christmas. Some go all out, removing everyday dishes and substituting holiday-patterned ones or putting the regular linens in the basement in favor of red and green decor. Glasses, wall  hangings, figurines, you name it; decorated items come in all categories. As the old Swede sang, “Oh I ‘yust go nuts at Christmas!”

Many people struggle to keep Christ the central subject of the season, and all of us can be tempted to go to decorating extremes. When our family lived in Illinois, I used to make elaborate 3” ribbon bows for every curtain hanging in front of every window (two each, since curtains have left and right sides) and load every outdoor bush with lights. And that was only the beginning. My decorating dominated a week’s agenda, and in January it needed another week to be dismantled.

Today I’ve re-listened to my Christmas CDs in one last burst of seasonal celebrating before I put them back in their basement bin. I never get enough of the music and thought each record deserved one last play. Eleven months without them is a long, long time. As the carols played and the red/green decor began to disappear, my ordinary color scheme re-emerged. And it looked pretty good, like a family member coming home. Coupling the switch-back with a little Windex made the house sparkle in a way different than all the holiday glitz and glitter, more like a freshly-balanced new beginning than an ending.

It’s not a bad idea to focus on tidying up the bits and pieces of our lives every so often, holidays or no. This is especially important in the spiritual realm. Just as decorations begin to seem like clutter when January comes, so our once-good ideas about God and Scripture can clutter up our thinking.

Every so often I ought to ask myself, “Is my relationship with the Lord the same as last year? Are the two of us closer this year? Or farther apart? How am I doing on Bible reading? Am I stuck relying on what I learned last year or even before that? How’s my prayer life? Is God answering my requests? Am I battling the same sins in the same way as last year without improved results?

Our self-exam questions will serve to point out needless clutter, and if we answer them honestly and then take action, the result will be a spiritually de-cluttered life whose “decorating scheme” looks pretty good to us.

And more importantly, it’ll look good to the Lord, too.

“Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me; Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I’m about; See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong— then guide me…” (Psalm 139:23-24)

What do you want most?

Posted on by

In the days leading up to Christmas, family members focused on shopping for gifts, asking those on their list what they’d like most. Some insisted, “You don’t have to buy me anything.” Others said, “It doesn’t matter; just don’t spend too much.” Teens had long lists ready, and children changed their answers day-to-day.

When we asked 3 year old Skylar what she wanted most, her answer was always the same: “A calendar.”

“A calendar? Really?”

We asked again and again, but she stuck with her answer.

So I bought her what she asked for, a wall calendar with doggie pictures on each month. When she opened it Christmas morning, she studied the cover, turned it over and checked out the 12 different doggie pictures, then tossed it aside.

I couldn’t help but say, “Skylar, are you glad you got a calendar?”

“Sure, Grandma Midgee!” she said, reaching for a new gift.

Of course her calendar gift was more for grown-up laughs than childhood pleasure. All of us know Skylar has no concept of what a calendar is all about. The passing of time agitates adults week-to-week and day-to-day but is a non-factor with children. For example, if Skylar is asked, “When is your birthday?” she answers, “Um… I think it’s today!” We giggle at her lack of calendar savvy and remind her it’s not for 7 more months. But eventually her life will be dominated by a calendar just like the rest of us. For now, though, it’s lucky for Skylar.

Recently our family round-tabled the tabloid prediction that the world will come to an end on 12/12/12, about a year from now. Very few people will line up behind that idea, and Bible-believers understand that only God knows the exact date that time will end and calendars will become unnecessary.

But what does God think of our current obsession with charting our lives according to calendar dates? Is he laughing at us the same way we laughed at Skylar? He might be thinking, “You have the emphasis in all the wrong places.”

Maybe he wants us to believe there’s only one truly important date, the one on which time ends for each of us, whether by death or his return. Despite not being able to circle that date on a calendar, the rest of our lives would be aligned “decently and in order” if we focused on the knowledge that time will, indeed, end.

In 2012 I’ve decided to focus less intently on my wall calendar and more specifically on God’s over-arching purposes for the upcoming year. Skylar has been a good example for me: January 1st is almost here, but her doggie calendar is still in its cellophane sleeve.

“With all my heart I want your blessings. Be merciful as you promised. I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow your laws. I will hurry, without delay, to obey your commands.” (Psalm 119:58-60)

All Fired Up

Posted on by

As we gradually create new holiday traditions without our beloved father/husband, Christmas Day saw another “second annual:” the beach bonfire. With an overcast sky and sideways winds we wondered if we should pursue it. Temps were in the 30’s, but when the children woke from naps, we decided to try.

Nelson and Klaus went to the beach an hour before sunset to stoke up the fire, and when the rest of us arrived, it was roaring, successfully fighting the cold winds to keep us warm. We took turns standing in the sweet spot out of the way of sparks and smoke but in the path of warmth, nursing cups of hot chocolate and coffee. This year we also pursued s’mores, a big hit with the small fry.

To top everything off, God painted a spectacular winter sunset in Christmas colors at just the right time. We stood around the fire appreciating our hats, coats, and the view when Skylar said, “How ‘bout we make a sand castle?” The sun had set, the temp had dropped, and none of us wanted to kneel in the wildly blowing sand to build with gloved hands, so we distracted her.

Instead the fire was our focus, and I thought of how that’s been true for millennia: fires for warming, cooking, light, and in vehicles (from cars to rockets). But fire can be tricky. We can add things to make it bigger (gasoline) or to calm it (water). Sometimes it works best to subtract things (oxygen). Whether or not we want to increase or decrease a flame depends on what we want it to do for us.

The Bible highlights fire in both the Old and New Testaments, using it as a symbol of God’s presence, the truth of which does a great deal for us. When the children of Israel traversed the desert for 40 years, he personally led them by cloaking himself in a pillar of fire, a constant, sure reminder he was there. And who could forget the fire he sent down to pulverize Elijah’s sacrifice (and the water around it) as a demonstration of his superiority.

God also used fire in judgment (consuming Sodom and Gomorrah) and in animal sacrifice (obliterating sin). He even referred to the tongue as a destructive fire, especially in tale-bearing and gossiping. And then there’s God’s predicted judgment of the earth, a fiery destruction the likes of which we’ve never known. But worst of all will be the lake of fire for the devil and those who align themselves with him.

Fire destroys, but it can also purify. We sometimes refer to people as having had a “baptism by fire” in reference to hard times, yet God labels those very things “cleansing fires” sent to purify our hearts. Just as we can boil the impurities out of contaminated water, so he refines our imperfections, preparing us to one day meet Jesus.

In that sense, turning up the heat is his expression of deep love for us.

”Let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29)