Happy NEW Year

Happy NEW Year!

It's a New Year All Around the World

I'm always glad when a NEW year rolls around. It means I have survived all the challenges and joys of the previous year. Out with the old and in with the NEW!

New can apply to many things. Consider these examples:

1)   Solomon said, "There's nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9). If you just finished a season of Hallmark movies you might tend to agree. Writers know there are basic life themes and what keeps any story going is giving it an unexpected twist. So, don't be a cynic. Just look for some new favorites.

2)   As a care giver, I opened each new day by quoting the promise in Lamentations 3:22-23 (NKJV): "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness." I'm happy to say my personal experience proved this to be true.

Share a Little Kindness

3)   Remember singing What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love? It sounds good,doesn't it? But how many of us put it into practice? Too many people write love off as being mushy and emotional. Not true! Read First Corinthians Chapter 13 for a practical definition. In this new year, let's show love by simply being kind to one another. It's a choice, not a feeling.

Consider these definitions of new: 1) Something that existed before but is now known or discovered for the first time, and 2) something uncontaminated, unspoiled or undecayed. In other words, it's still fresh.

I'm facing the new year with fresh hope as expressed in Psalm 33:22: May Your unfailing love rest upon (me), O Lord, even as (I) put (my) hope in You.

That hope can be yours, too. Best wishes for a happy NEW Year!

Community Christmas

COMMUNITY CHRISTMAS

Poinsettias are Christmas Beauties

I spent many years, along with my husband, rehearsing choir Christmas productions. They required a lot of energy and commitment from everyone involved.

My husband had many responsibilities besides music, so he just enjoyed our Christmas productions. I, on the other hand, always wanted to explore other events.

No matter where we lived, I pursued Community Christmas.

I’m still reveling in the events I’ve gotten to attend this year:  

·        *A Women’s Christmas Dinner with a pottery demonstration by the speaker

·          *Christmas Indoors and Out, hosted by a church from 4 to 9 p.m.

·          *Christmas Fantasia by a University’s Music Departments

·          *Combined Christmas by a choir, orchestra, bell choir and pipe organ

·          *An Irish Christmas Cantata

·          *A Christmas luncheon hosted by a member of my women’s Bible study group

What makes Christmas for you? 

This poem came from one of those events. May you have a blessed Christmas!

IF YOU LOOK FOR ME AT CHRISTMAS

(I was told it came from the internet, author unknown)

If you look for me at Christmas,

You won’t need a special star.

I’m no longer just in Bethlehem;

I’m right there where you are.

You may not be aware of Me

Amid the celebrations.

You’ll have to look beyond the stores

And all the decorations.

But if you take a moment

From your list of things to do,

And listen to your heart, you’ll find

I’m waiting there for you.

You’re the one I want to be with.

You’re the reason that I came,

And you’ll find Me in the stillness,

As I’m whispering your name.

Love, Jesus

A Choice in Time

A CHOICE IN TIME

December---Last Month of the Year

End-of-year holidays have arrived, ready or not. Perhaps you are thinking we just completed Thanksgiving---give me a break!

The calendar just keeps turning its pages and the holidays get closer and closer. It’s time to make some choices. Will this be a year of holiday blahs, or blessings?

I once attended a Christmas holiday workshop. The topic was How to Reduce Holiday Stress. I attended as a skeptic, but came away with some helpful ideas.

One main idea---it’s OK to share. That means, as adults, we must be willing to let others know we would like some help. That’s not always easy, for a couple of reasons: 1) You have always enjoyed doing it all, and 2) people have enjoyed letting you do it.

But it’s a change for the better---pursue it!

Every Family Has Their Own Traditions

Holidays put undue stress on family dynamics. Children may have grown up and moved away, or perhaps there’s a new child to celebrate. Newly married couples try to decide which in-laws get them for which holidays. A loved one may be seriously ill or in the hospital.

Life’s losses also create new challenges. A loved one may have died, or someone decided to divorce or separate. No matter how it comes, changes in life are inevitable. Anyone choosing not to be flexible only makes life harder for themselves.

Do you make Christmas, or does it make you? How many cultural traditions, family expectations or community events can you handle? How many gifts do you need to keep giving? How many favorites do you need to keep baking? How many ways can you simplify Christmas cheer?

From You to You

Christmas is a time of giving. God started it by giving His Son, a baby full of promise and hope for the world (John 3:16). The wise men also exemplified giving by honoring Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh (Matthew 2:11).

This choice in time is positive and personal. Just remember---while giving to others, gift some time to yourself.

Has There Always Been a Christmas?

HAS THERE ALWAYS BEEN A CHRISTMAS?

Sights and Sounds of Christmas

For several years I collected books about Christmas. I enjoyed learning about cultural traditions around the world and reading a variety of Christmas stories and folklore.

My favorite book is Stories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas. On the cover the author is listed as Ace Collins, but I’ll give you the inside scoop. The publisher is Zondervan of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the copyright date is 2003 by Andrew Collins.

The Introduction shares a short history of how Christmas came to be on December 25^th. That is followed by information on twenty-six Christmas traditions from Advent to Yule Logs.

I found many surprises. For example, in 320 A.D Pope Julius 1 declared December 25th to be celebrated as Christ Mass. Prior to that, churches celebrated Christ’s birth on any day they chose.

December 25th gained acceptance when Constantine The Great, a Roman Emperor, declared it the official day to celebrate the birth of Christ. He also declared Sunday as a holy day on the first day of a newly-created seven-day week.

Candles Add Christmas Cheer

Prior to this, almost every culture had festivals to celebrate the rebirth of the sun during the shortest days of the year. December was the month for these Mardi-Gras-like celebrations.

Have you ever wondered why We Wish You A Merry Christmas contains the line “oh, bring us some figgy pudding” and “we won’t go until we get some?” Commoners in England would go to palatial homes, stand outside and sing. The owners knew if they did not respond, the singers would riot and break in, taking what they wanted.

Even in America “The Lords of Disorder” took over the streets of New York in the early 1800’s. Germany was the first country to honor December 25th as the second most holy day in the year, after Easter.

When Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Germany, he brought the reverent and German-oriented family traditions with him. English citizens started to copy the royal family, but Christmas as a holy day was still not established worldwide for many more years.

St. Nick Has Helpers

Two authors had a great influence on December 25^th traditions. In 1822, Clement Clarke Moore, minister and educator, wrote a poem for his children called “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” now known as The Night Before Christmas. Printed the next year in The New York Sentinel, it reshaped the holiday as one for children to enjoy.

In 1843, the already famous author, Charles Dickens, penned A Christmas Carol. Written during the Industrial Age, when men worked twelve hours six days a week and children were put to work for long hours at age eight or nine, it made people take another look at their values. It still does.

Celebrate The Holiday & Holy Day

In the next twenty to thirty years in America, states gradually declared December 25th a holiday. Moore’s poem started a commercial tradition, but churches also began to celebrate it as a holy day in honor of Christ’s birth.

Christmas has now become a season. It’s easy to become jaded by all the sights and sounds so many weeks before December 25^th. This year don’t just grit your teeth and wish it were over. I challenge you to be purposeful in your celebration of both the holiday and the holy day.  

Avoid the Fence of Offense

AVOID the FENCE of OFFENSE

Along with Settlements Came Fences

Have you heard the old western song Don’t Fence Me In? Being fenced in by others is one thing, but fencing ourselves in is a different story.

Offenses are solid fence-building materials. They are easily produced through words or actions.

What is an offense? It can be something that makes us feel hurt or angry, insulted or resentful. It causes us to want to retaliate, or even cut that person off from our relationship.

Since none of us are perfect, we will either give offense or take offense. Jesus said, “It is impossible that no offenses should come” (Luke 17:1, NKJV).

Barred Windows Separate People

Solomon pictured it this way: “A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city, and contentions are like the bars of a castle” (Proverbs 18:19, NKJV). Think of such bars as quarrelsome or unfriendly attitudes and you see how easily they separate people.

We have been forewarned that offenses will come, so how should we react when they do?

I’m not always aware of offending people. I do, however, seem aware of when people offend me. That’s when I ask myself, “Will I take offense at this?”

When, upon careful consideration, I choose to forgive or let it go, peace comes quickly.

I've Forgiven Forty-Six Times Already

I think Peter asked the next best question: “How often should I forgive one who sins against me? Seven times?”

Jesus didn’t let him off the hook that easily. He replied, “Not seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21-22, NKJV).

Seventy times seven equals four hundred ninety. In our computer age we might actually be able to keep track of such forgiveness, however, I do not see that self-centered action as a source of peace.

Fences have their place, but not in relationships. That’s why I remind myself not to build a fence of offense.