What Child, What World?

Today in the Christmas choir we sang a unique arrangement by Audrey Snyder called The Coventry Child. In it she masterfully weaves a 16th century lament called The Coventry Carol which mourns the babies that a jealous and power-hungry Herod killed, with a more popular 16th century melody, What Child is This?

A haunting, lonely "lullay, lullay," mourns goodbye while notes of wonder ask what child has come--and well we might ask, what world has He come to? The nativity scenes we set up always look so peaceful, but the reality is that Christ was born to a lost and fearfully dark world full of tragedy and evil.

Out of darkness came a glorious light--though He was different than what they expected. They expected a political leader to come overthrow an oppressive government--and that was a serious need. Instead He came to overthrow something even more insidious and harmful, and to create not a temporary kingdom, but an eternal one. He came to save our souls.

Isaac Watts aptly expressed the juxtaposition in his hymn When I Survey the Wondrous Cross when he wrote, "Sorrow and love flow mingled down..." Jesus carried the evil of the world and the burden of all sin when He gave His life in love. He who suffered through no fault of His own knows intimately the pain of suffering--and when we suffer unjustly, we draw near, we understand a part of what He went through willingly.

Perhaps today Jesus is still different from what we expect. We long and look for the one who will overthrow the oppressive forces in our lives, and sometimes He does. But sometimes He overcomes them silently by strengthening us and enabling us to endure, because His kingdom is not of this world, and His purposes go beyond what we see in the here and now.

Lullay thou little tiny child...
What Child is this who laid to rest...
By by lully, lullay...
This, this is Christ the King...

As the strains of music encircle and interweave, the song reveals the identity of our Savior and ends not in the minor chord of a lament, but the major chord of the hope that has now come. The hope that is ours even now, that beacons, calls to each heart: even in the midst of suffering, now is the time of God's favor, now is peace with God. May His peace reign in your hearts this Christmas.

Merry :-)

The essence of life

Sometimes life can be so discouraging. This summer and fall have been a season of discouragement. Dave has been unable to read again. He wanted to teach our small group, but his body is not cooperating in so many ways.

I read another blog, Find Us Burning, tonight, and she had great truth in her post on Love. She wrote:

"I loved it when God told me that even if I was in a coma I could still fulfill His purpose for my life. That He would not be disappointed if I didn't lift another finger for Him. Everything I was doing on the outside, in the physical realm, was just extra...just a day job. This changed my life, the day I chose to believe this! It is such a special promise. To God, knowing Him and dwelling with Him, praising Him and trusting Him, this is the essence of Life."

To read her complete, and very worthwhile post, click here.

It might be easy to think that this is true for someone else--but it's very difficult to believe this for oneself.

It's not easy to give up our vision for what serving God should look like--and as Lindsay describes in her post, we can feel such anger over what God has taken when all we wanted to do was show God how much we love Him. For all that chronic illness steals--it cannot steal your worth and value to God, and it can't separate you from Him--even when it feels like it does.

Merry

Sufficient to Each Day

No matter how many times I hear this sentiment, it's never too many times! So, I thought I would share today's "Grace Gem." Perhaps as I usually do, you have some anxieties you should let go of today.


Sufficient to Each Day

by Theodore Cuyler

"As your days--so shall your strength be."
Deuteronomy 33:25

Sufficient to each day are the duties
to be done--and the trials to be endured.

God never built a Christian strong enough to
carry today's duties and tomorrow's anxieties
piled on top of them.

"So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow
will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is
enough for today." Matthew 25:34

Top 20!

Happy 20th Honey!

Can you believe it? We've been married TWENTY years! So, in honor of this momentous occasion, I thought I'd countdown the top 20 reasons I'm glad I'm married to my honey.

20. He knows I'm an abstract random and that these are not necessarily in any discernible order--but he loves me anyway!

19. Confessions: I was late for our own wedding! (Only 5 minutes or so. Hey, we were taking pictures with our 2 & 3 yo nieces, they were so cute! That was a worthy cause, right? Plus, brides don't wear watches, do they?) The poor groomsmen were all up front waiting for us ladies because the organist (who had a crush on the best man) started playing. I think she made it through Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring 3 times. (Sorry, honey!) Well, I'm still no good with time. But he loves me anyway!

18. The Lord knew I needed someone to help me plan ahead. Take the other day--Zach and I were going to the store to buy curtains for his room. We got halfway there and I said, "What size curtains do you need?" (he didn't know either!) "See, if your dad was taking you on this trip, he'd have measured!" (By the way, we never did make it home with curtains...)

17. Speaking of not making it home with what we set out for...I remember when we were first married and looking for couches--that time we came home with a roll-top desk that we both fell in love with. Then a month or so later we went into Walmart for hairspray (for these frilly, palm-frond decorations we bought for our couch-less livingroom)...and came out with couches! Yeah, freak occurence, Walmart somehow had a load of couches filling their aisles. Thanks for the spontaneous times, honey!

16. Oh, spontaneous reminds me of surprises--there was the time we worked a week at Camp Wonderland leading the Winter Camp, and then we were going to stay for another day afterward... Poor Dave thought it was going to be a quiet, intimate time with just the two of us. In a huge cabin that had rooms for like 20 people. (This one has a fireplace, honey, that's why they moved us here, honest!) Unbeknownst to him I had planned a surprise happy graduation party, as he was nearing the end of seminary. Friends started showing up one by one, and by the third or fourth person he "got it" that these were not coincidences and they were not leaving! (In his defense, reunions at camp are pretty normal, and he was very tired.) I think I owe you a night with a fireplace, Hon! But he loves me anyway!

15. A night in front of a fire--reminds me of camping on Washington Island, making pudgy pies, and going to People's Park up on the cliff and watching the sunset over Lake Michigan. The picture at the top of our blog is from People's Park. I can still hear the waves crashing against the rocks below, the peace we felt together there, "North of the Tension Line."

14. Speaking of tension, Dear, thanks for all the times you supplied me with maps and directions complete with exit numbers and landmarks. (See, I like to just "drive and then I get there." He's the practical one!) One time I drove to a wedding in Toledo that way--the tension was not mine, it was Dave's and he couldn't come along--I really didn't know where I was going, but along the way I met some friends at an oasis who were also going to the wedding, and I followed them! Yep, he loves me anyway...

13. Another tension-reliever: I think I have a bone to pick with you! Picking on my gullible nature! One time Dave told me about a weather-predicting toaster--it could dial up the internet and print an image on the toast depending on the forecast. Yep, I'm so gullible I'll believe anything! Not this time, I wasn't buying this one. Funny thing was, it really was a true invention! Laughter has been a true gift for both of us.

12. Number 12 goes to the 12-year-old! Our son Zachary, a very special gift to us. And even though he chases me around the house with a dart gun sometimes, he's made our lives richer. Thanks for our son, Honey.

(No, I don't know where Zach gets it from...)

11. Dave's a great father. He spends one on one time with our kids, teaches them respect and practical life skills and gives all of himself that he can to them. I'm glad to walk this parenting journey with you, Dave.

10. Have to dedicate this one to Princess Anna, our 10 yo daughter. She too is a wonderful gift. Our children have been a joy to know and raise and homeschool.

9. Speaking of homeschooling--Dave is my biggest cheerleader, encourager, and supporter. Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing, and he reminds me why we are on this path and not to lose heart.

8. Dave has taught me such important truths as the Fact-Faith-Feeling Train (and not to get the cars mixed up), and "the answer is always no unless you ask," (so don't "say no" for people if you need something--ask and let them have the opportunity to say no.)

7. For years of ministry together and the laughs--I remember the student from one youth group who said they could lock Dave and I in a room with nothing in it, and we'd still find a way to have fun. From Colorado to South Carolina--it's been quite a journey, Hon!

6. Dave is our "hunter-gatherer" we like to joke, but he does all of our grocery shopping. He may have to do it only a few items at a time, but he's a diligent and wonderful supplier. (It's a good thing, I'd just forget we need food until I was hungry anyway!)

5. My closest friend. The one who used to pluck my gray hairs for me (and thankfully no longer does, I'd be bald!)

4. The one who has taught me that sometimes the antidote to depression is to find someone to serve.

3. The man I respect and admire because of his honesty, character, and love for the Lord

2. The romantic who swept me off my feet when he gave me my first kiss and said, "That's a touch with a promise, a promise I intend to keep."

1. Because I can't think of anyone else I'd rather spend my life with. Happy Anniversary, My Love!

Need to save a couple hundred $?

On Mother's Day, Dave informed our dear little cherubs that their mother is priceless...and that they'd be getting the bill soon, LOL!

The kids tried to guess how much it would be & one of them said, "1.1 million dollars?" I said that sounded pretty good (Dave said it wasn't enough!).

Then when we were cleaning up, my sooo sweet son asked, "Can I help clean anything else?"

"Oh thank you honey, that was so sweet of you to ask..." I said, to which he replied,

"That ought to be worth a couple hundred off!"

LOL!

Oh my...

Merry :-)

Grace in our Time of Need Part 6 (conclusion): God Hears

A few years ago, during an advent service at church, I remember feeling so alone. The first unity candle, signaling our hope in Christ, was lit by a young couple and their two year-old daughter, her pigtails bobbing with each step. As I sat in my pew alone, I remembered when we were them, healthy and strong, ready to face the world, excited to be serving the Lord—and the tears started to flow. I have no hope today, God, I silently confessed.Our Sunday School class was struggling with questions I knew Dave could answer, if only God would release him to the service he loved. Instead Dave was home, left with no answer to the unthinkable question: Will I need to be taken care of for the rest of my life?

I know the question comes with the depression and anxiety of having a chronic illness. But that doesn't erase the pain of the question, or the agony of not knowing. There is a truth in there that Jesus understood. Remember in the Bible when Lazarus died, Jesus wept. He felt deeply the pain that Mary and Martha felt. It didn't matter that He knew He could bring Lazarus back to life—understanding didn't erase the pain of the moment. He called out to God, and God heard—and answered—and Lazarus was brought back to life.

And isn't that what we all long for, the God who answers with His power and love? Then we know our prayers have been heard.But God doesn't answer simply yes—or no or wait awhile. When Jesus cried out to God the night before His death, "take this cup from me,” Hebrews 5:7-9 says He was heard. The passage reads, “During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him…”

God heard—but He didn’t remove the cup.

And God answered powerfully and with love as He strengthened Jesus' resolve to say "not my will, but yours be done." We do not have a benign paternal God who looks down from on High with occasional sympathy. We have Emmanuel: God with us. The God whose Holy Spirit has chosen to dwell IN us. Do we stop to think what this means? The God who lived through intense anguish in His life on earth, continues to choose to live through it along with us. He doesn't merely see our pain; He says that "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." (Mt 25:40). He is hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, and in prison, along with us. When He says "never will I leave you, never will I forsake you," He means to impart a depth of love and grace that if we truly understood it, would take our breath away.

What you and I live through, often involuntarily, God has chosen to live through with us, intimately, daily, weeping with us.Why He would choose pain rather than immediately use His power to "fix" everything, I don't know—but I have a glimpse of some possibilities. I think Jesus knows that power doesn't erase pain—He wept when Lazarus died, even though he then went on to raise him from the dead. When someone lives through something with us—really cares—they can comfort in a way someone more distant can't. On a deeper level I sense, as strange as this may sound, that God thinks we are worth the pain He goes through with us—and that the prize He is seeking is us, is relationship with us.

Would we understand what Jesus was willing to go through to woo us if we didn’t experience some of our own suffering? Could we truly know the love He has for us?

In us, and walking with us, God is making possible a relationship that will fulfill us so much that we will look back and think the pain was worth it, was miniscule in comparison. We can't see that now, but one day we will. Pour your heart out to God. Grief and depression can't be rushed—and they are not without purpose. God is a redeemer, and He will redeem this time, and restore your soul. Cling to Him. Habakkuk 3:17-19 says, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.”

The very sovereignty that allows our hard circumstances is the same sovereignty that protects us.

Finding our refuge in God means knowing He is good when life is not. He is sovereign when life seems out of control. He is loving when we feel alone or abandoned. His grace is sufficient for us and what we need will be there, even if what we want or think we need is not there. Seek first the Kingdom of God. Know that He hears when He appears silent, when it seems He is paying no attention. Know He answers—and He is near. He will give us grace in our time of need.

Grace in our Time of Need Part 5: God's Protection

We have lost part of the protection of God in our world (after the "Fall" of Adam and Eve), and we live with the result—a world plagued with horror and disease and the atrocities of what one man does to another. Some people consider these things to be evidence that there is no God. However, I think Thomas Merton’s view is closer to the truth, he wrote:

“It is only the infinite mercy and love of God that has prevented us from tearing ourselves to pieces and destroying His entire creation long ago. People seem to think that it is in some way a proof that no merciful God exists, if we have so many wars. On the contrary, consider how in spite of centuries of sin and greed and lust and cruelty and hatred and avarice and oppression and injustice, spawned and bred by the free wills of men, the human race can still recover, each time, and can still produce men and women who overcome evil with good, hatred with love, greed with charity, lust and cruelty with sanctity. How could all this be possible without the merciful love of God, pouring out His grace upon us?” —A Thomas Merton Reader, pg. 40

If God has not extended to you the grace you wanted, the miracle healing, the return of a prodigal child, the freedom from wondering how you will make it until the next paycheck, the restoration of a marriage in trouble, relief from depression or anxiety, or maybe a past hurt such as abuse—if God has not extended you this grace, I humbly submit He has extended you another grace that is just as powerful and amazing. How could our faith remain, even thrive, if not for the grace of God? I think I would have crumbled long ago.

God has protected man throughout the ages by always ensuring there is a remnant who follows Him. We have no way of knowing how many things God really does spare us from, in His mercy. He lets us see the full extent of sin, how awful it is to live without God—and I believe it is in the hope that we will turn to Him, realize He is our only protection and hope. His desire is that we will allow Him to draw us near, to shelter us in His wings, to receive His love.

“Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.”
—Ps 63:7-8

***

What are God’s intentions towards me?

… to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,

to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion

to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. —Isaiah 61:1-3


Jesus’ Call…

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls… —Matthew 11:28-29


Our Response to God…

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights. —Habakkuk 3:17-19

Next time Part 6 (the conclusion): God Hears