Adventurous Life

Would we change how we live if we were forced to see what our past was really like? Would we change if we saw how it affects our present? Or if we saw what our future will become if the present does not change? Ebeneezer Scrooge has this chance in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol , first published in 1843. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by spirits in an effort to warn him to change his ways. The story is well known, has received multiple film adaptations, and is where the terms "scrooge" for a miser and "bah humbug" for grumpiness at Christmas originate. Scrooge is changed when he accepts not only the wrong choices he has made, but also the fact that he does not have to live that way anymore. He becomes free to be a better person. On a deeper level,  A Christmas Carol  is about how each person has the hope to change. We do not have to remain as we are. Christmas is about hope, the hope that all things will be as they should. It is about possibility. We...

Every time I hear Vince Guaraldi's music from A Charlie Brown Christmas  (1965), specifically "Linus and Lucy," I begin to do the dance. Sometimes the dance is just in my head, but sometimes other get to "enjoy" it. It is joyful and reminds you of the good and simple things of life. Disgusted with the materialism and consumerism he sees, Charlie Brown tries different ways to figure out the true meaning of Christmas. Spoiler alert: he finds it. At the time it was ground breaking for an animated special: it did not use a laugh track, real children voiced the characters, it had a blatant message, and executives did not want the Bible quoted. Charlie Brown is now a Christmas staple for many. If you have never seen this 25 minutes of greatness, go and rent it or find it online. The music is brilliant, and the story is poignant. I identify with Charlie Brown in so many ways. I am busy trying to do so much that I feel as though I do nothing meaningful. I want more, a...

Imagine if you had never heard the Christmas story in your whole life. How would you interpret it? What would you do if you were the wise men? The angel? Mary or Joseph?  The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson is a short children's story first published in 1972, and it answers these questions from a child's perspective. The book recounts how a church's Christmas pageant went from expecting to flop to being the greatest of all time. And it all begins when the worst children in town, the Herdmans, show up at Sunday school because they heard there was cake for refreshments every Sunday. The editorial review on Amazon states it this way:  The Herdmans—Ralph, Imogene, Leroy, Claude, Ollie, and Gladys—are the town bullies who steal and smoke cigars. When they show up for the church Christmas pageant try-outs, no one is able to discourage them from participating. To the protests of children who think they can do better, the Herdmans land the starring roles in the Chri...

On this fourth and final Sunday of Advent, we are Accepting. The word accept means "to take or receive (something offered) with approval or favor." So, what is being offered to me? Redemption. What am I to receive? Christ the King. Nothing brings coincides with the theme of accepting as the song  O Holy Night does. The meaning of the lyrics and the grandeur of the music touched my heart even before I became a Christian. Find your favorite version of  O Holy Night . Snuggle up with a warm drink and jammies. Accept what Christ has done, is doing, and will do for you. Accept we have not done all we wanted to do for Christmas. Accept we could never do it all anyway. Accept the joy of the season. Accept that there is bad in the world. Accept that there is good, too. Accept ourselves as incomplete and needy. Accept that we will be fulfilled in Christ. Accept that the world is not as it should be. Accept that it will one day be made right. Accept. O Holy Night! The stars ...

Christmas is romanticized for the most part. I am guilty of this as my Advent blog series indicates. Just today, I lost the Christmas joy and said to myself, "I hate Christmas." because I was frustrated with Christmas shopping. I recovered quickly and then reflected on what I planned to write about today--Herod killing the children. Matthew 2:16-18   Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.   Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: "A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more." Frustration with Christmas shopping is petty and self-centered in comparison. While Christmas is good and beautiful and glorious in so many...

Matthew 2:2-12 Now   after Jesus was born in  Bethlehem of Judea  in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men   from   the east came to Jerusalem,   saying, “Where is he who has been born  king of the Jews? For we saw  his star when it rose and have come to  worship him.”   When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him;   and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where  the Christ was to be born.   They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: “‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,      are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler      who will  shepherd my people Israel.’” Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared.     And he sent them to Bethlehem, s...

Luke 2:8-18 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.   And an angel of the Lord  appeared to them, and  the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.   And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all  the people.   For  unto you is born this day in  the city of David  a Savior, who is  Christ  the Lord.   And  this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby  wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”   And suddenly there was with the angel  a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God   in the highest,      and on earth  peace  among those with whom he is pleased!” When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem a...

I often forget that it is not only humanity who awaits the Christ-child and the redemption He brings. Creation itself groans in anticipation and will burst with joy at that day. Can you imagine knowing what it was like to live in perfection, fulfilling your purpose at the very moment you came into existence? Then later on, being ripped from that perfection, joy, and peace and being burdened with brokenness and something that is far less than what you were meant to be? That is the present state of creation now. When Christ returns, I cannot wait to see the world as it was meant to be. I imagine colors to be brighter, sounds to be clearer, and everything in a sharper focus. I will rejoice in that day. Romans 8:18-23 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time  are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.   For the creation waits with eager longing for  the revealing of the sons of God.   For the creation  was subjected to f...

Joseph. Hey, Joseph. Wake up! Hmm? What is it, Mary? Is it my turn with the baby? No. It's our anniversary. Happy Anniversary! What? It's not our anniversary. Go back to sleep. It's not the anniversary of our marriage. It's the anniversary of something better--your commitment to stay with me. Stay awake with me for a little while Jesus still sleeps. I want to hear the story again. All right, my love. We had been betrothed for several months. You were visiting your cousin and were due to return any day. I was in the workshop finishing up a project. A couple of women passed by the window and I heard one of them mention your name. I figured you must have returned, so I hurried to your father's house. I remembered later you were covered in wood shavings. You hadn't even thought to brush them off. Yes, I was anxious to see you. As I approached the door, I heard your parents voices. Your father was angry and your mother was scared. I got scared too. ...

The day had finally come. All the angels were in a tither as they gathered in the throne to see who would be chosen. The excitement was palpable as they twittered among themselves. Wings were jostled and toes were crunched, but no one cared. Everyone wanted to be chosen to deliver this message. They had wanted thousands of years, and the day was here at last. After what seemed like another thousand years, Yahweh spoke. "The time of my Son's Advent has arrived." The crowd let out raucous shouts of jubilation. "The time has come!" responded the angels. "One of you will descend and make known to the blessed vessel what will occur. As you are all aware, the journey there and back is fraught with many perils. The one I have chosen must be bold and dauntless but also tender and gracious. This is not an easy task, but it is instrumental in continuing the plan." "It will be as You have said!" responded the angels, the excitement and suspense ...

The Christmas season is synonymous with parties and celebrations. It is a time for people to make merry and enjoy the goodness of life. It is a time for rejoicing. Rejoice is defined as "to make joyful, gladden," and the word is often used in Christmas carols. O Come, O Come Emmanuel. Good Christian Men Rejoice. O Holy Night. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Joy is the refrain of Christmas. Yet, rejoicing does not look the same for all people, and not everyone rejoices in the same way. I have been thinking about the Christmas story and all the characters a lot lately. What were they thinking? What were they feeling? Looking at the larger context, how did they respond? While I can only guess at the first two questions, the answer to the last question is that they rejoiced. For different reasons and in different ways. Many things were going wrong in Israel and with the world. Yet they rejoiced--not necessarily because of the current situation but because of the future gladdening of...

This post was originally supposed to be happy, joyous, and full of fa-la-la-la-las. But I just can't right now. I want to write about family traditions and what my family does at Christmas, but my heart is filled with an ache for a family of my own and a yearning to start my own family traditions. I get the singleness blahs around the holidays, some years are worse than others. I see couples spending time together, parents deciding on what to buy for their children, and families figuring out the when to go to all the families' Christmas gatherings. I know in some respects singleness is a blessing. I have less people to buy for if I choose and I only have one family I to spend the holidays with. My life is simpler in a lot of ways. I recognize this. But that ache in my heart is still there, refusing to go away, longing to be filled. The picture above is of some of the stockings hanging in my grandpa's basement. Every year, my mom's side of the family gets together at...

Hmmmmm. Cookies. Man, do I love them!Sugar cookies at Christmas create almost endless possibilities. So many different cookie cutter shapes. Icing, frosting, or neither. Sprinkles, decorating sugars, little candies. And now there are designer gels one can use to add even more decoration. For someone who enjoys creative activities, baking cookies is a dream come true. There is a lot to prepare, but if done well, the product is amazing. Again, I like making things that are beautiful (or close to it), and the fact that they are delicious is definitely a plus. I must admit that I am rubbish with a rolling pin. It makes baking cookies a little more frustrating for me. My mom would say that all I need is more practice with it, but for now, I prefer to wave the white flag and enjoy the fruits of others' labors. A couple of weeks ago, I made Christmas cookies with my middle school girls' life group. The picture above is of their finished project. It was fun to give them free rei...

I am not much of a collector, but Nativity sets are one item I would like to collect. I currently have two. The one pictured and a Precious Moments version. I like the simplicity of the golden set in that it is one piece to place on display, but it also reminds me of the beauty often found in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. The Precious Moments set takes more time to set up, obviously, because it has various pieces to set up and the stable to assemble. I like sets with multiple pieces because it is fun to rearrange all the characters.  It is something I learned from being in plays in high school--the placement of characters on a stage communicates much about their importance. To place Jesus in the center of the action whether in the foreground or background, to place the others in positions of worship, to include animals in the stable or place them outside. They all prepare for the coming child. If you want to check out some funny and unusual Nativity sets, click ...

Yes, this is my Christmas tree. (Please excuse the modem photo bombing.) It is a 6 ft. tall fake, and I love it. This is my first tree. I picked it out from the store, I bought the lights for it, and I decided what decorations would go on it. I know it isn't big or bursting with ornaments and garland, but it is full of meaning for me. A few of the ornaments are gifts from family and friends: a hand-painted glass ball, a purple sparkly snowflake, a gold and blue fish from China, a heart given as a graduation gift, a giraffe bell from Mexico, the angel at the very top, a Russian Easter egg, wood cutout Nativity scenes. Most of these gifts were not intended to be Christmas tree ornaments, but I made them that way. Most of the ornaments are souvenirs from trips I have taken. Friends of mine buy key chains or ornaments whenever they go on a trip, and when Christmas comes, they remember all the places they have gone and things they have done. I loved the idea and borrowed it. I have a ...

Growing up, we had the Christmas tree, a life-size painted wood cutout of Santa on the front porch, old electric candles in the windows, wreaths on the doors, a holly wreath and red candle on the TV in the living room, candy garland around the kitchen window, an ornament Santa and Mrs. Claus skating also hanging from the kitchen window, a Noel door ringer hanging from the back kitchen door, and 2 big felt candy canes hanging on a wall. When I was a teenager, I decided to decorate the inside of our house more than what it was. I found old garlands and wound them around the banister in the foyer and the columns in the living room. I hung mistletoe from the entry way into the living room. The first Christmas I spent in my first apartment was special because I could decorate any way I wanted. I bought materials to make 2 wreaths and garland and ribbons to wind around the staircase rails. In my current apartment, I made another wreath and bought pine garland, holly berries, and white ligh...

I have a confession to make. I enjoy watching Hallmark's and Lifetime's cheesy Christmas movies. Eek! I know! But there are a couple that are so good. I don't remember which ones exactly, but there are a couple. Below are some of my favorite moments from my other favorite Christmas movies, quotes taken from IMDb. What are some of yours? White Christmas (1954) Phil Davis : My dear partner, when what's left of you gets around to what's left to be gotten, what's left to be gotten won't be worth getting, whatever it is you've got left. Bob Wallace : When I figure out what that means I'll come up with a crushing reply. Phil Davis : We wouldn't be any good as generals. Gen. Thomas F. Waverly : You weren't any good as privates. Bob Wallace : Oh, Phil, when are you gonna learn that girls like that are a dime a dozen? Phil Davis : Please, don't quote me the price when I haven't got the time. Sisters Reprise:  http://www.y...

Dear friends of mine adopted a little boy from Guatemala six years ago. Every year they celebrate his Gotcha Day--the day he came home from Guatemala to live with his forever family. As part of the celebration, they watch videos his foster mother made, when my friends first met him, and when they brought him home. They first met their son when he was 2 months old, and parents and child were strangers to each other. There was a lot of uncertainty for the couple as they were first time parents with this little baby. Months of preparations and prayer had been spent leading up to their first meeting, and I can't imagine what it was like for them that first night together. What does this cry mean? Does he like to be on his stomach? How much will he eat? When will he eat? Will he sleep? How long? Will we sleep? Is he happy? Sad? Scared? Are we doing the right thing? Are we going to be okay? God calls us to do some strange things. Maybe it is to adopt a little babe from a distant countr...

Presents! It's the first thought children have when they hear "Christmas." They almost burst as they wait for the time when they can open their gifts. Presents teach us more about expecting at Christmas than anything else. Gift-givers spend time, money, and mental/emotional capacity searching for what will be the recipient's idea of a perfect gift. Then the gift is wrapped, addressed, and placed under the tree where it waits until the preordained time of revealing. The recipient unwraps the gift and expresses appreciation and delight. Relationships between giver and recipient are strengthened because of the not-so-simple act of giving. Joy is multiplied. There is a level of cynicism regarding gifts. Maybe the giver is looking for a gift simply to placate the recipient and check off as done on the Christmas to do list. Maybe the recipient only expresses appreciation to placate the giver or does not express any gratitude. Maybe there is a burden on the whole process o...

I had only been in Dallas a couple of years. It was December, late afternoon as I walked to my car after class. The sun was shining and the temperature was in the 80s. I turn on my car, and Bing Crosby sings to me  It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas . I laughed out loud. Right guy. Right song. Right season. Wrong environment. 80 degrees is not how Christmas looks to a northern girl. It is tradition for our high school band to play Sleigh Ride at the Christmas concert. They have done it over 20 years. We would begin the day after marching season ended and work on it every day until the concert. It is a difficult song to play for most of the instruments. I was a clarinet. Our fingers had to fly, our tongues had to be even faster, and we had to go from middle to high range in less than a second. Most of the band hated the song. Not me. I loved the challenge it presented, but more than that, Sleigh Ride  became synonymous with the beginning of Christmas. To this day, I ...