Silent Night

Of all the family traditions we have, I love my Christmas tree the best. We put all our ornaments on it: those bought on vacation, homemade, kid-made, antique, beautiful, and funny. It is interesting how I can look at a tree filled with so many random things that don’t actually reflect the true meaning of Christmas and still turn my focus to the Savior of my soul and the blessings he has given me.  Funny glitter trees and an 8 year old’s strand of popcorn remind me how blessed I am to be a mother.  A hand-sewn teddy bear made by the loving hands of my grandmother and miniature birdhouses made by my father remind me of the blessing of family. Hand blown ornaments bought in a little coastal town remind me of a time when God taught me that He helps us to grow wherever He has put us.  Ornaments collected over the years as gifts or “stolen” at parties remind me of a wealth of treasured friends and moments.  Nativity ornaments remind me of my Savior’s birth and great love for me. 

When I find my silent, still moment and no one is around, I turn off all the lights except the lights on the tree.  I sit back and reflect on God’s goodness to me, and in the stillness, I recognize His faithfulness in my life.  Have you found a calm moment to appreciate the silent stillness and the wonder of Christ? 

“Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright…Silent night, holy, night, Son of God, loves first light.” These are my two favorite phrases in this Christmas carol.  Can you picture it? A silent night broken by a baby’s cry; an infant whose birth is announced by the most extravagant birth announcement of all time: angels & a star, proclaiming that the Son of God has come to earth. 

Put the kids to bed early, make a cup of coffee, turn off the world, and take a moment to reflect on the wonder of the silent night.

Break out the China

“There is something unique about being a member of a family that really needs you in order to function well. One of the deepest longings a person can have is to feel needed and essential.” Fred Rogers

Our church is just one piece of the larger thing known as the body of Christ, but it is like a smaller person enveloped by the whole. We operate as a complete body in ourselves, but know that somehow we fit into the plan of God’s universal church. Each one of us in that body is gifted with unique gifts, chosen for us by our creator. That being the case, our gifts are to be cherished, grown and used. They aren’t supposed to be hidden away like a secret treasure.

When they get married, most people register for china. They painstakingly choose a pattern and fill out forms to identify which dishes they want, and let others know where the china can be purchased. They unwrap the gift of china with great joy, then promptly put it into a special cupboard where it seldom gets used. Dishes that are stored in a cupboard are not being used for what they were intended. They were made to be filled, used up and filled again. Neither china nor spiritual gifts are meant to be put away and brought out once a year on a special occasion.

I have a friend who used her fine china every day because in her words, “What was more special than your own family sitting down to eat together?” Using your God given gifts is like using your best china every day, because rather than just taking it out for company, you are actually sharing daily with the people you love the most. Like china, gifts should not to be taken out and dusted off once a year, but should be used so often it is nearly impossible for them to get dusty. 1 Peter 4:10 “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.”
Using our gifts is one of the privileges and responsibilities of being a Christian and in belonging to the body of Christ. Each of these individual gifts works together with the others to serve in a meaningful way. We can function okay without all of the gifts, but we are meant to work together. Ephesians 4:16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Check out your cupboard:  Are you gifts dusty like fine china or are they well-worn and used regularly? Does the body of Christ benefit because you choose to serve?  If the items in your spiritual gifts cupboard are a little dusty, you know it’s time. Break Out the China!

Jumping the Fence

Last weekend my husband and I drove up to the very northern coast of California to visit friends in the small town where we used to live. It was the absolute perfect time to drive the hills and valleys of California. Seeing the green pastures and gentle streams made the words in Psalm 23:2 & 3 stand out in a mighty way: “He lets me rest in green meadows. He leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to His name.” The bright green hills with gently wafting breeze, dotted with sheep, cows and goats looks incredibly peaceful. It is a contented population on the pasture. Their safety is guaranteed: the farmer or shepherd is on duty and has taken care of everything. They are content just to be: content to feed on what is so lavishly provided, content to wander the fields, hills and valleys before them, content at the stream, content to answer the shepherds call. It is a beautiful picture.

Many people do not know that there is a private herd of elk in Laytonville. As we drove past their pasture the herd was gathered together and content. Except for the three elk next to the fence. One elk had gone astray. Rather than being in the safety that the pasture afforded him, he had jumped the fence. Wide-eyed, he found himself dealing with a perspective of the world he hadn’t anticipated. He had wandered outside of his shepherds care.

We often wander out of the path our Shepherd has laid before us. Then with wide-eyes we survey a part of the world we were never intended to encounter. The choice is ours. Do we step further from the Shepherd or, like the elk, do we cling to the fence line wanting desperately to be found and led back to the field?

Gladly, thankfully, there is no fence-line with the Lord. Those who wander a little or a lot are always within the grasp of the Father. “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path”. Proverbs 3:6

City Girl

I have lived in the city since I moved out of my parents’ house to attend college. A few years ago my family moved out of the city to the far north coast of California where my husband was the pastor of a small church. This was about as far from the city as you could get. When we first moved, there were a few things that grabbed my attention right away. One night someone walked past my house with a sheep on a leash. Being a city girl, this was entirely new to me. Another time, someone was giving us directions to their house and said, “Turn left where the three donkeys are standing in the field.” Also, not a phrase you hear in the city.  One of my favorite things about living in this small town was the local feed store, who in the spring, proudly proclaimed on their board: “Chicks Coming Soon”! This would mean something entirely different on a billboard in a city.

The Bible was not originally written to city folk, so there are a lot of places in scripture where God’s provision and care for us is displayed through agrarian pictures. In particular, He uses chicks quite a bit.

Once, my husband found a duck and her baby ducklings far away from the river, who were lost in the middle of concrete, houses and cars (these were city ducks). It took quite a while, but somehow, he was able to herd that duck and her babies back to the river. He said that periodically the mama would stop so her babies could rest, and anytime she stopped, they would gather around her and crowd into the shadow & shelter of her wings. Wings are what birds use to shelter their young. It is where they gather them in for warmth, shade, and protection. Under the mama's wings they find rest.

This is a beautiful picture of provision, and we also find it in scripture: “the Lord, under whose wings you have come to take refuge….” “For my soul takes refuge in thee, and in the shadow of thy wings will I take refuge until destruction passes by”, and finally, in Psalm 36:7 we are told, “All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings”. Today, if you need shelter, it is waiting. You only have to rest in the shadow that is provided for you under the shelter of His wings.

Play Well With Others

If you were 8 years old and on a playground, what would the other kids say about you? Would they say you are nice or mean?  Do you have a circle of friends that is closed off to newcomers and outsiders or do you let everyone play? When faced with someone who does something you don’t like, do you uninvited them to your birthday? 

As adults, we often jokingly use the phrase, “he doesn’t play well with others”.  The truth is, God wants us to love, encourage and be unified. He wants us to play well with others.  Does this mean that everyone I come in contact with is my BFF? Does this mean I mindlessly agree with everything someone says so I won’t cause friction? 

Playing well with others means we’re allowing the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, exhibiting the fruit that God has put there.  As believers, we have a full basket of the fruits of the spirit the moment we become His. He puts the love in our hearts and then the Holy Spirit works in us to produce the rest.  Just like fruit is the by-product of the tree, the fruits of the spirit are by-products of God’s love in us.

Am I encouraging others in their faith? Am I bringing unity, not dissension to the body of Christ? Sharing myself and God’s love with the world means that I “play well with others”. 

Galatians 5:22, 23 “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!