Month: December 2019

Finding Joy in Christmas (Past + Present)

2018ChristmasTree

For me, Christmas is a time to show people they are loved, and that they matter to you.  It’s what the Father did — to show His love He sent his precious, beloved son to be Emmanuel – God with us (Matthew 1:23).

As a child of divorce, Christmas was always a multiple-stop experience for my family, and I loved it. I had extra grandparents, and more aunts, uncles and cousins than most kids. I might have complained a little about leaving my new presents at home, but I really enjoyed spending time with family.  My family also visited nursing homes with our church groups each Christmas when I was young.  We sang Christmas songs and gave hugs to the seniors we met, doing our best to show them love.

When my husband and I had kids the tradition continued.  We packed our little ones up and made as many as 3-4 stops at Christmas to spend time with our grandparents, parents and extended family – which for a time even included great grandparents.

We’ve been married 45 years, so over time things changed, naturally. The kids got married and some had kids, grandparents and in-laws moved to heaven and we started just getting together with our kids and grand kids (the best part!)…   We tried to plan around their schedules, and usually Christmas day worked as many had other plans on Christmas Eve.  And, for several years now we have also gone Christmas Tree “shopping and chopping” together, enjoying the horse drawn rides at a local tree farm.

And as a couple, we have also hosted a Christmas Eve open house of sorts for several years… inviting extended family and friends – whoever else could or wanted to come. We made and decorated cookies together, played a white elephant game, played games…just hung out together.  Plus, for all holidays now, we always make sure to invite my mom. She is a treasure that I want to honor and enjoy!

I have great Christmas memories, and this is a favorite – it’s a card from my grandson Dominick a few years ago. It blesses me so!

This year is different. My husband has been ill and quite weak since early November. We are continuing to trust God for a diagnosis and plan for his healing/recovery.  The result though is no tree farm visit or real tree, and no hosting of Christmas events for us this year.  I am grateful our son and daughter-in-law are hosting Christmas this year, but sadly not everyone is coming.  Perhaps its time for a change and perhaps our kids/grand kids will start inviting us (and my mom) to participate in their Christmas celebrations from now on. But I hope we can at least do our Christmas Eve party next year.

BUT FOR NOW… regardless of present circumstances I WILL REJOICE in the birth of my savior, Jesus Christ. And, I WILL BE GRATEFUL for the love and kindness that has been show to us. This includes counting my blessings like:

  • Kids who took the night shift while he was in the hospital – so I could get some sleep in my own bed while they stayed with their dad
  • Pastor’s Keith & Judy who came to the hospital, sneaking communion in with them, and praying with love and compassion for healing
  • Several family, friends and co-workers who provided meals, cleaned our house, hung Christmas lights, raked our yard, and one who took me on the fastest most productive Christmas shopping trip ever (with my favorite coffee included)
  • Neighbors who left Christmas cards, came to visit, volunteered to shovel snow, rescued packages from rain… and are “here when we need them”
  • A boss and work team who have supported my need to work “wherever” and have helped when needed.
  • My mom, son Jon and brother-in-law Jim who have been there for us every week, for one or more days as needed, whenever we needed them.
  • Amazing friends (Shirlee, Cindy, Judy, Lori and others) and my EMIC eGroup who are strong in faith and praying for us, encouraging us with the Word. I can be real with these people – and know that whatever I share, they will always point me back to HIM, to His faithfulness, His truth, and to His love for me and my family.

Truly, because of Jesus, I am blessed to be living a grateful and grace-full life. And, I pray that you will find your joy in Him too this Christmas. Oh how He loves us!

 

Israel 2019: Part 9 – Ha Kotel, the Pool of Bethesda, Yad Vashem and more

I wish I could transport you Jerusalem so you could experience the tangible presence of God that I felt there. It’s like no other place on earth.

This is a continuation of June 2nd’s adventures. You can read the beginning in part 8.

Ha-Kotel, or better known as the Western Wall or Wailing Wall is located in the Old City of Jerusalem, a place of prayer, sacred to the Jewish people. It is the only remains of the Second Temple of Jerusalem (destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE). It may seem unusual, but I have never felt more at home or at rest and peace than when I am in this place. Even the air feels heavy with His presence. It reminds me that I am heaven-bound, and that some day I will never have to leave that feeling of home, rest and peace ever again. I enjoyed this video on the 50th Anniversary of Reunification by Rabbi Sacks. I hope you will like it too.

Our visit to the Western Wall Tunnels afforded us the opportunity to view the history, architecture and geography of the Temple Mount from a unique perspective. Herodian stones, words carved by Roman soldiers, a beautiful synagogue, a dig going down through layers over 2,000 years old and more.

From there we walked through the crowded streets of the Muslim quarter (passing Israelis celebrating Jerusalem Day) on our way to the Pool of Bethesda excavation site. It’s the place in John 5:2-18 where Jesus told the man, “Stand up, take your mat and walk,” and immediately he was made well.

After that was a wonderful healing service at St. Ann’s church. This beautiful and historic church marks the traditional site of the home of Jesus’ maternal grandparents, Anne and Joachim and the birthplace of the Virgin Mary. The acoustics were marvelous and the presence of the Lord was sweet as we prayed, worshiped, and received his healing touch.

The last place visited that day was Yad Vashem. It is not a pleasant place, but it is a place that must be visited. It’s uncomfortable, even horrific to see and hear what the Jews experienced during the holocaust. My mind knows it is true, but my heart just cannot understand. The stories and images are heart-wrenching. The most difficult part was the memorial to all the children whose lives were cut short. Truly this is something that humanity must never forget. The best part was learning about The Righteous Among the Nations, non-Jews who took great risks to save Jews from the holocaust. You may enjoy reading some of these stories.

We ended the day with a last night celebration dinner where we honored our tour guides and bus drivers. I may be partial, but I think the Red Bus had the best – shout out to Harrison, Moti, Julie, Lily and Shiree (smile).

Part 10 will be coming next, with the last day of my 2019 trip to Israel. For now I will close with these thoughts from the Word:
Hebrews 11:10 TPT — His (Abraham’s) eyes of faith were set on the city with unshakable foundations, whose architect and builder are God himself.
Hebrews 12:22b TPT — …for we have entered the city of the Living God, which is the New Jerusalem in heaven! We have joined the festal gathering of myriads of angels in their joyous celebration.

All Scripture quotations are from The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017, 2018 by Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ThePassionTranslation.com.