Happy New Year Gentle Reader!
Getting Crafty
Late into the night on Sunday I was able to finish the cleaning, meal preparations, and Christmas gift for our H family gathering Monday night. I paid for it dearly this later evening however!
Nonetheless, this is my best work: an outdoor Christmas, Winter, and Spring planter that combines a dormant/upright holly bush (Ilex Sky Pencil), hidden mini daffodil bulbs (Tête-à-tête) below the surface, exquisite holiday silks, and battery-operated/synchronized LED lighting. In the Spring the recipient will remove the sparkly finery to allow room for the bulb shoots to emerge then follow-up with flowering annuals in May. The finished planter stood about 4 feet tall from the base to the tip of the wooden spikes. Yeah God!
This design was inspired by the Dirt Simple blog of Deborah Silver, owner of Detroit Garden works. She is my inspiration of late for all of my landscaping, potted planter, and flora decorating dreams for sure! I hope you go to her website and check it out.
Guess we had a “Christmas tree” after all this year! :JJ
A different kind of Christmas
Perhaps it is a sentiment of many Dayspring and Hallmark greeting cards to define Christmas as “the most wonderful day of the year.” For a believer in Jesus Christ, the day is one of the most meaningful: celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior. But perhaps the most significant holiday is actually celebrated on Easter Sunday as we recall the sacrifice that Christ made in dying on a cross for our sins such that we may have everlasting life. No sentiments are implied or required: the truth is that He came to save, the truth is that He is Lord of all!
Isaiah 9:6-7New King James Version (NKJV)
6 For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
I can almost hear the victorious singing of Handel’s Messiah in the background as I read these words. Such is the confidence that we have, the joy we know as believers in Jesus Christ!
Many days when my life is a “nothing burger,” these words are just about all that I have for comfort. My Christmas and Easter in 2015 were not filled with either the people or activities of a typical Christian holiday. There were no church services dressed in better finery, homemade treats enjoyed in the basement afterwards with the dearest of friends, or family dinners filled with laughter and much feasting. The décor around here was the same as it is every day. I could go on with all that was cut due to the ravages of severe illness but I won’t. Perhaps you get the idea Gentle Reader?
I spent each of these holidays staring into nothingness for much of it yet also with nothing to distract me from seeking the face of my Lord. My prayerful meditation was uninterrupted and peaceful. Warm, loving glances came from my beloved Steve whose presence is one of the greatest gifts I could ever ask for in my life. Even our furry friend Elle is always a special delight with the gentlest of brown eyes, the softest of fur coats. I did get somewhat of a break during the middle of the day on Christmas in which we connected with family via Skype and the phone, MacGyvered a tasty meal of sorts, and opened some sweet gifts for our eighth Christmas together as husband-and-wife. Yeah God for special moments like these!
In two days we will continue and conclude as many of these traditions as we can in a gathering with my husbands adult children and their spouses. They graciously will attend to the mold/fragrance-avoidance practices needed for me to host them in our home. Since it may be my only time to see them when they are in town from their respective States and countries, I do pray that I may be able to participate in every moment available. They are wonderful young adults and I do love them so! I have simplified our menu and Steve has begun the preparations. We have spent extra time finding special gifts that would be meaningful; one of them may even serve temporarily as a different kind of “Christmas tree!” We’ll see. I still have to pull that one together! Eeeek!
So if you too have changed things up a bit for this Christmas season, know that you are not alone. I understand completely. It’s o.k.! This holiday along with Easter in the Spring have nothing to do with Santa and the white bunny carrying chocolate eggs. These special days have everything to do with a decision we each make in our hearts about Who we will serve as Lord over our lives. Where have you placed your trust dear friends? With a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we will have a celebration that will never be limited to a date on the calendar.
And with that decision made to follow Christ, every day will be a different kind of adventure that transcends the moment into all of eternity. Yeah, I’m on board for that one. Will you be along too? JJ
It’s just not my turn that’s all
Another day slipped into history as I pondered the gratitude I felt for a recent task accomplished. It’s no matter that the wrapping of Christmas presents got done from about 2 to 6 in the morning on Saturday. That’s just how I roll these days . . .
Social media is one of the ways that I employ to counter the tremendous isolation I experience while overcoming a serious illness. I used to be shy about it. Many folks write about their need for a sabbatical occasionally when Facebook and the like become too big of a time eraser. My life is structured differently I guess . . .
My brother, Michael, often talked about the support he felt from fellow poker players online. Really? How can you experience anything valuable from an anonymous side chat in a gambling venue of penny poker through the internet? Flash forward ten years. Now I get it. Mike was home all of the time caring for our mother who was struggling with lung cancer, chemotherapy, and alcoholism. The things that he endured were very difficult. He would say that he never knew what he would find when he returned home from running out to the store or anywhere at all, making it difficult to get things done. Those little touch points with his fellow poker players gave him the assurance he needed to do what he had to do the rest of the day . . .
Should life return to “normal” one day for me then my time spent here with you will naturally diminish. I’ll be sleeping in the wee hours of the morning instead of wide awake in the recovery phase of a hellish nightmare earlier that evening. I have already grieved about it, the loss I mean. So much time has passed with so little getting done in my own life. Perhaps the tasks that have been completed are not measured on a calendar or my “To Do List?” For those in Christ Jesus, we know that to be true.
Another example is how I finished reviewing a copy of a canoe and kayak paddling magazine last night for which my husband is the Editor. I guess I can now add “Assistant Editor” to my resume for my contributions to the first four issues. Cool beans. I could list a bunch of crafty Christmas things that I would rather be doing yet that was not my calling for those hours. Many will be blessed by this sacrifice including me.
Ever feel this way when sidetracked from your dreams, Gentle Reader? In ways big and small we may struggle to discipline ourselves to do the tasks we must do when our hearts are in another room or time zone. Know what I mean?
The bottom line for me on this subject tonight is that the sooner I rest in the promises of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the sooner I will realize that I am perfectly where I need to be. He will provide everything I need from the breath that is not coming easily to the assembly of a Christmas gift still in boxes strewn here and there. I know from another tumultuous time in my life that the Lord does answer our prayers in due time. The waiting, the setbacks, the anticipation make the rewards sweeter. How can I expect to make it to the finish line with style and grace if I give up on the last leg of the race? I will not!
So don’t you give up on me either, k? And please hang tough if you are going through challenging times as well. If you need to cry out for help then please do so NOW. Our God promises in His Word that:
3 The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness;
You will sustain him on his sickbed.Psalm 41:3 New King James Version (NKJV)
He will see us through to our last breath if we but call upon His name. My Heavenly Father has done so for me a thousand times. He will do so for you too. Tonight I am praying for us both. JJ
Look into my eyes
In my very early contacts with who would become my Intended Beloved, I realized that I had not seen any close-up pictures of him. We had met online after Steve had found me in the database of the dating website Yahoo Personals. He certainly spoke and wrote like a God-fearing man yet I could not yet see it in his eyes! “Could you send me a picture that includes a look into your eyes closer-up?” I asked. Here is one that he sent me.
I was tickled that he took the time (long before the convenience of smart phones, by the way) to set up his tripod, take and upload the photos, then send them to me via email! Wow. He must have liked my profile photo a bit more than I thought already?
Flash forward less than a year and the look we have as we gaze at each other at our wedding probably tells its own story . . .
How could I possibly know that this gaze would only deepen, soften, and grow to a bond impervious to the tempestuous trials that came our way four years later? Only the Lord knew what was ahead of us. Only the Lord and the workings of the Holy Spirit could move this love to such a tender place built to last.
Funny thing is that I do not have a recent picture to show you what I mean. We just haven’t been able to go out as much to make memories worthy of recording. A photo taken on our recent anniversary may show a bit of weariness for me. Yet if you look closely, that’s a mighty strong arm holding me closely to his side. The joy on Steve’s face is unmistakable. That’s an arm of protection, of leadership, of devotion like no other wrapped tightly around me on a cool wintry night.
I am so very grateful to see the eyes of Christ in my precious Steve. Like my Lord Jesus, Steve is even more wonderful than the day I met him. His love has transformed my heart for sure.
Ever look into the eyes of someone like that, Gentle Reader? Was it long ago? Oh I hope that if it has not yet happened then it will someday soon! When it does I hope that you will tell the world about it. Maybe with a song like this one, in celebration of the eyes of love tonight:
Jesus is for the Wounded 
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