A Woman's View

It's Christmas time once more! (with apologies to all you poets)

 

If Messiah fills the air waves and our arms are getting sore

    From the Christmas cards we've written, but we've still a whole lot more,

    Yet we're feeling jolly, hanging lights and holly on the door,

    The secret's out, there is no doubt, it's Christmas time once more.

 

If the family's acting funny and we're fuming just a bit

    While we're hunting for the bunting that will surely be a hit,

    Christmas shopping has us hopping, we're about to lose our wits,

    And the object that's a project has turned out to be the pits.

 

If we have no whammy bunting, only clammy hands and sighs

    'Cause we're sick of spending money. Isn't funny, isn't wise.

    So we go into a huddle, still we muddle, agonize,

    While our dreams of finding "perfect" self-destruct before our eyes.

 

If we'll pitch the lists and flowcharts, let our hearts start thinking small,

    No more reading. What we're needing won't be found within a Mall.

    All the best stuff is the real stuff. Nothing changes, after all,

    It's still love that makes gifts matter, 'spite of chattter in the hall. 

 

So at Christmas time and all the time, this wish comes from my heart,

    May great joy reign. May all your pain and all your stress depart,

    And may every day be one you say, "I cannot wait to start!"

   Then at day's end, let Christ, our friend, speak peace deep in your heart. 

 

For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders, and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  --Isaiah 9:6)  (Jesus said) Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  --ohn 14:17 

 

So . . . Merry Christ-mas!

Lovingly,

Lenore

    

Declare a "joy break" and refresh your heart

Most of us could use a transfusion of smiles and energy about now. So sit back, put your feet up and watch these beautiful children. You won't want to miss a move.  

Even if you've seen this before, I promise it will make you smile all over again and give you an energy lift.

 

Fifth-graders who live in the Yupik Eskimo village of Quinhagak, Alaska, pop. 555 at the 2,000 census, put this together as a school computer project, intended for other Yupik villages in the area. 

By now more than 1,200,000 people have viewed this performance of the "Hallelujah" chorus from Handel's Messiah.

Take a moment to marvel at what God can do with the work of one individual.

In 1741, George Frideric Handel considered himself something of a failure. Then he composed the entire score of Messiah over a period of 24 days. He is said to have felt God gave him the music, but he could not predict how this music would endure.

He could not have imagined that 360 years later, Eskimo children in a small Alaskan village would treat us to this creative performance accompanied by a choir singing the "Hallelujah" chorus.

Tthe teacher of this class in that small Eskimo school could not foresee anyone in any other place would ever see this video.

There's a lesson here for you and me

As  individuals and as moms and dads we cannot know what God will do with our work--or our child's work.

Handel composed many other musical works, but  only his "Hallelujah" chorus is sung and hummed all over the world. His Messiah is performed every Christmas season by choruses and choirs in huge cities and in tiny villages on every continent. At the time he could not have guessed the value of his work.

I can't help thinking of this Bible verse.

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.     --Ephesians 2:10

That verse wasn't aimed only at Handel and other famous people. It speaks to you and me, too.

Think you're on a treadmill and going nowhere?

Perhaps today you question the value of your life. Maybe you're facing your first Christmas alone after losing a loved one.

If you're a mom, your family most often notices what you do when you don't do it. Put a positive spin on that. Being taken for granted also means your family knows they can count on you.

Forget looking elsewhere to find your particular "good works." You're living with them. What's more, the family life you create, the love you pour into your days will live on in your children. Every day you are coloring their lives--and their picture of life.

Joy comes from giving ourselves fully and from knowing that what we do matters, whether we see the end result or not. God is faithful. What we do in faith will live on, one way or another.

Believe it. Let that truth put fresh energy in your tired body.

Then look again at the smiles on the faces of those Eskimo school children and sing Hallelujah! in your heart.

Someone needs us, needs our kind words, needs our encouragement. Those are gifts, too.

Now, let's enjoy this wonderful Christ-mas season of giving ourselves,

Lenore

 

Are you bored? Maybe it's a blessing in disguise

Sometimes we all feel like a little kid who moans, "Nothing ever happens around here. I am sooo bored."                                                                                                                        
It took me a long time to learn to be thankful for boring days. 

Lately I've been reminded why I should.

Too many people I know suddenly found themselves wishing they could go back a day or a week or a year to before.

Before those medical tests.

Before that pink slip.

Before that stroke.

As if often does, life smacked them up the side of their heads and proved it can turn upside-down in an instant. 

I don't know whether these friends yearned for some kind of change, but that's what they got, big time. In a finger-snap they looked at their lives through different eyes.

Who wouldn't? Who doesn't? 

Webster's defines "boring" as "dull, tiresome, etc." The same old, same old.

But what's so bad about that? There's comfort in the same old, same old.

Too often I forget.

That's a good time to jot down what I value most and what/who I count on.  Then I notice I've just listed my blessings. They were there all the time, but I was blind.

With new clarity I understand again that life is fragile and I catch my breath. Do I pray? You betcha, with all my heart. Lord, please let me have more of the same old, same old. Help me stay fresh in the midst of the familiar.

I need reminding, which is why I love a quote from Mary Jean Iron. I found it years ago and tacked these words to my bulletin board. Maybe they will speak to your heart as they do to mine.

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are . . . Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect Tomorrow. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in my pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.

Sounds like a restating of what the psalmist said in Psalm 118:24:

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Many people repeat these words every morning after they wake up. Sounds like a useful habit, doesn't it?

Peace and JOY,

Lenore

Knowing the power of the words we speak

Some of us got a bum start in life. How about you?

Perhaps we wore cast-offs and hand-me-downs kept clean and patched by loving hands, with shoes that never quite fit right. Maybe we ate frequent "mystery meals" made up of whatever was inside the bargain dented or unlabeled cans just opened. We may have grown up with two parents in the home or only one.

Yet if our childhood home rang with laughter and love, that's what we remember.

If our house echoed with silence and gloom, punctuated by dire predictions, we hear those words even now.

One thing is sure. Like all children, we believed what parents and other adults told us, true or not, because we had no long-range perspective.

Maybe when we were growing up someone who mattered said, "Don't expect too much out of life. People like us never get the breaks. We have three strikes against us from the start." 

The funny thing about childhood messages is that they never go away.

So the polished executive still hears his mother's voice. You don't try hard enough and you never finish what you start. You're going to be living on the streets, I just know it.

The slim, attractive woman cannot silence childhood taunts still playing in her mind. Fatty! Elephant hips! Here comes the blimp!

The other day I scribbled down a remark I overheard:

"Don't think you know who I am because of where I came from and don't think you know where I'm going because of where I am now."

None of us can rewrite the past, but we can decide not to live there anymore. We can decide we will make the present better for ourselves and our family. All it takes is to remember that our words matter, probably more than we know. As the writer of Proverbs said in 25:11:

A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

Here's the surprise. The words of love and strength we speak to others will come back to us as blessing. As we give out kindness and love to others it heals the empty places within us.

And isn't that more lasting, more valuable than even gold or silver?

Peace and joy,

Lenore

Looking at the Christmas story through Mary's eyes

Have you ever wondered what Mary felt? We can't know. But we can imagine . . . .

It began on a day like every other day. Out of nowhere there stood before me a radiant being who said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with  you." 

I knew somehow it was an angel. But why would an angel come to me? And why would I be "highly favored?" I was young and poor and female who lived in Nazareth, the least of all the villages in Israel. 

Then I heard, "Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High ."

I could not believe my ears, so I dared to ask, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?"

"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God . . . For nothing is impossible with God."

I could make no sense of this, yet I felt my heart warm within me. I trusted God, didn't I? So I said, "I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said."

Suddenly I was alone again, my heart brimming over with wonder and joy.

Then I thought of Joseph. Joseph! My precious Joseph, my betrothed. Already we were considered married, but as was the custom, we were waiting out our year of betrothal before we came together as husband and wife. What would Joseph say when he found out? He would know the child was not his. What would he do?

At that moment I felt an icy chill of fear. He could accuse me in front of the elders and have me flogged in the public square. I would live out the rest of my life in disgrace, alone. I and this child would live in disgrace.

I sat on that hard bench for a long time, praying, crying, trying to take it in. I swung from joy to sadness and back to joy, over and over again.  Finally I resolved I would trust the Lord, no matter what.

Joseph was stunned to find out I was pregnant, as any man would be. Finally he said he cared for me too much to have me flogged and disgraced. That dear, righteous man would just divorce me quietly.

Before he could speak to the authorities and make it official an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."

Joseph believed! Neither of us could understand the hows and the whys, but that didn't matter. God had decided Joseph and I were to be part of his miracle in sending his son to earth. Joseph took me home, but we agreed, of course, we would not come together as husband and wife until after God's Son was born.

Just as I feared, the folk in the village whispered about the child I was carrying. The men called Joseph a fool. But he paid them no mind. He was my protector and my support. 

Close to the end of my pregnancy Emperor Caesar Augustus decreed a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. Joseph and I both belonged to the line of David. So we had to go from Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, the city of David, Israel's greatest king. It didn't matter that I was in my ninth month and Bethlehem was about seventy miles away. We had no choice. Caesar ruled his Empire with an iron fist.

Can you imagine the discomfort of that journey? Sometimes I rode side-saddle on the donkey and sometimes I walked. Either way, I felt every jolt, every rock, every rut in the road.

Toward the end I neared the end of my strength. As I walked I held my aching belly. By the time we drew near Bethlehem I was feeling ill. Then I felt a sharp pain down low in my belly.  I knew my time to give birth was coming soon. Yet we had no place to stay.

Joseph searched the town, pounding on doors, frantically inquiring of innkeepers. There were no rooms to be had, not anywhere. At last one kind man took pity on us and told us we could stay in his stable. At least we would be in out of the cold night air and we could have a bit of privacy. He lent us a small oil lamp. We watched its light dance and flicker on the rough walls and listened to the soft sounds of the animals. And we waited.

Joseph did what he could. He spread out a garment for me and helped me lie down on it. What a relief! My swollen feet throbbed and my whole body ached.

We had only the warmth--and the smell--of the animals. Only our love for each other.

Only the waiting for God's Son to be born.

Then I felt the labor pangs begin in earnest, quickly growing stronger. I know not how long I labored, trying not to scream. Joseph stayed by my side, his eyes filling with tears as he stroked my forehead and whispered my name, over and over. I hear him still: Mary. Mary . . . .

Then I felt such an urge to push I could not resist. With one final push and a long sigh my labor was over.

The Savior, the long-awaited Messiah, was born!

I could not hold back tears of joy. I looked into my baby's face and wondered what the future might hold for this little one. Then I wrapped him in some soft cloths I had brought with me. After awhile I laid the Child on top of the fresh hay Joseph had spread in the cleanest place in that cattle barn: the manger.

We could not have imagined what would come next. A group of men who looked to be shepherds burst into the stable. They went straight to the manger and gazed down at Jesus. Then they bowed down in worship. I saw a glow on their faces . . . as if they already knew who he was. 

After awhile they told us what brought them to the manger. They were out on the hills around Bethlehem as usual, guarding their sheep against thieves and animal attack. Suddenly everything around them shone bright. They never saw anything like it. Then an angel appeared and said, "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Before they could speak a word the sky filled with a great company of angels, all of them singing and praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men."

Then just as suddenly the angels were gone. The shepherds could hardly contain themselves. They said to one another, "Let us go to Bethlehem and see this wonderful thing!"

So they abandoned their sheep and ran as fast as they could to find the Savior, Christ the Lord, there in that lowly manger.

Why were any of us surprised? Centuries before Jesus was born there lived a prophet of God named Isaiah. He foretold that a virgin would be with child and give birth to a son who would be called Immanuel. Immanuel means, "God with us."

I never stopped thanking God for choosing me to be part of that glorious night.

But I never got used to the fact that when God stepped into our world almost no one paid attention.

It's still true, dear friends. Jesus is God with us. Jesus came to make us right with God. All who believe in him as Lord and Savior are forgiven for every sin and will never die. When we breathe our last breath here on earth, we'll draw our next breath in Heaven, where we'll be face-to-face with Jesus. With God.

You can find the Christmas Gospel (Good News) in the Bible. The best-known account of Christ's birth is in Luke 2: 1-20. Matthew 1:18 to 2:12 tells of the angel's visit to Joseph , and also the visit of the Magi, the wise men. Isaiah's prophecy is in the Old Testament book of Isaiah, chapter seven, verse fourteen. Read John, chapters 14 through 17 if you want to know Christ's heart of love. (The account of his death on the cross and resurrection follow.) To learn more about salvation from sin and God's forgiveness and grace in Christ, read Romans, chapter eight.

As you and I rush around getting ready for Christmas, let's hang onto the wonder and JOY!

Hugs,

Lenore

Questions? Comments? I'd love to hear from you.

Need an injection of Christmas spirit? Find it here . . .

Around this time of year, as we look at our To Do lists, I expect some of us long for a "shot of Christmas," to get us energized.

I don't have a magic potion, but this YouTube should do the trick. You may have seen it, but if you take time once again, I promise you'll find yourself smiling by the end. 

Are you smiling?

Some of us have been hearing or singing Handel's Messiah for years, especially Hallelujah. Not so many know the story of how Handel came to write this glorious music.

Picture the scene. It is the summer of 1741, in a small house in London. Discouraged and miserably in debt, 56 year-old George Fredric Handel considered himself something of a failure. Not long before he had given what he thought of as his farewell concert. Then a friend passed on a libretto based on the life of Christ. Its writer hoped someone could write music to go with his script, all of it quoted from The King James Bible. 

Handel, a strong believer in Christ, read it through and was deeply moved. So on August 22nd, he set to work composing. After that no one saw him except the servant who faithfully brought him food, then every day removed the untouched tray.

One day the servant opened the door to find his employer with tears streaming down his face. Handel said, "I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself."

George Frederic Handel uttered those words just after completing the movement that ever after has been known around the world as the Hallelujah Chorus.

He wrote the entire work in an amazing 24 days. In that short span of time Handel not only personally inked each note of the four-part vocal score, but also the music and every instrumental part for the orchestra. (If you've sung the Messiah, you know just the choral arrangement plus piano accompaniment runs to more than 250 pages.) Whether we call it genius or divine inspiration, for more than two centuries this piece of music has been performed all over the world.

Handel died April 14, 1759, eight days after his final performance where he conducted his mansterpiece, Messiah. If you visit Westminster Abbey in London, look for his statue. He's shown holding the manuscript for the solo that opens part three of Messiah, "I know that my Redeemer liveth."

It seems to me we can draw some lessons for ourselves. At the time, Handel would have been considered elderly and people around him considered him finished. So did he. It seems he never said, "Well, I can't do that because . . ." Maybe we, too, need to set aside our labels and our familiar thinking and step out in faith. Otherwise, who knows? We might miss out on doing something great.

As for getting in the mood for Christmas, I know what I need to do. I need to take my eyes off how much I have to do and focus on what Christmas really means. The Joy-Giver is just as capable of giving meaning and joy to our work as He was back in Handel's time. Sure, our "tune" may be small, but the world around us needs to hear it. So let's smile and give thanks, then go for it!

Comments?

Here's to letting our JOY show in this most wonderful time of the year,

Lenore

 

Of music and hope and seeing the beauty in life . . . no matter what

I met the most amazing woman the other day. She unexpectedly dropped into my Email inbox and once she told her story, I couldn't forget it.

I think it's safe to say you won't forget her, either. For one thing, how often do you meet an individual who is age 106 and still plays Scrabble? Yes, you read that correctly. Alice Herz-Sommer is age 106. In fact, she turns 107 this month.

She is . . .  But why not let Alice tell her story in her own words? I encourage you to settle back in your chair and prepare to be entranced. If at the beginning you find her accent difficult, hang in there. After a few seconds you won't notice it. Now just click on the arrow and float away.

For all of us, sometimes life, with its obstacles and challenges and disappointments, seems discouraging, even overwhelming. From now on I'll only have to think of Alice to realize how blessed I've been--and still am.

Although Alice's story is unique, I think she has a message for all of us, for all time: Life is beautiful! 

Those three words apply, no matter what's going on in our lives. Let's have the good sense to really understand this now. It's as the Psalmist said, centuries ago:

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. --Psalm 118:24

Here's to "living it up" and making the most of every day,

Lenore

Question for you: How did Alice's story touch you?

(Late addtion: My apologies, but the (better) YouTube clip I originally included was suddenly "withdrawn by the user," whatever that means. It seems to be inaccessible from any site. So I'm including a new link here, from The Guardian in London. This one is not as long, but you can hear Alice speaking and also playing her piano. Onceit ends you'll notice other YouTube video thumbnails are shown, such as a two-part BBC TV interview. You can read Alice's story in print at  http://nickreedent.com/   which is the website of the maker of the soon-to-be-released documentary about Alice Herz-Sommer.

Looking for happiness? Take a fresh look around

Isn't it easy to look at someone else's life and think they have it easy?

You've heard that old saying, "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence."

Here's what never gets said, "Yes, but you still have to mow it."

I confess. Early on, I spent a lot of time looking around at other people's lives and thinking, "If only ... ."

Maybe you're familiar with that swamp, the one filled with, "If only my life were easier. If only I were a better _____ ." Etc.

I could have filled in that blank with at least a dozen ways in which either my life or I could be "better." After awhile I got older and smarter and recognized the obvious. No one lives an "easy" life and no one is perfect. Every one of us deals with stresses and problems and difficulties in relationships.

Some people think daydreaming is harmless and costs nothing. Not true. While we have our heads in the clouds we miss out on the day and the life we actually inhabit.

It's good to stop and now and then and take stock. Try making a list of what's good in your life. Oh, and forget "perfect." Concentrate instead on what's "good."

I discovered it helped to pretend I was someone else, a reporter, perhaps. What would I write about the woman in the mirror and the life she lived? 

I used that list as a starting point for giving thanks to the Giver every day or so. By the time I worked my way through that list I'd be adding to it. 

You can guess what happened, can't you? That little exercise became a habit, a way of thinking about my life. Each time I read it and thanked God for these blessings, I felt more blessed.

Before long when I realized I was happy. I liked myself better, too.

Did anything change about my life? Nope. Only my perception. And that made all the difference.

Like so many others before me, I learned the truth of Proverbs 23:7, as translated in the King James or Revised Standard Version. Here it is, slightly paraphrased.

As a [woman] thinks in [her] heart, so is [she.]

So, dear reader, here's my challenge for you: Try it for yourself. Then share your findings with the rest of us by using the comments form below.

Blessings and joy,

Lenore

 

Want a mood-lifter today? Look in the mirror and watch your mouth ...

The other day a new acquaintance remarked, "You always seem to wear a smile. What's your secret?"

Hearing that delighted my heart, of course. But for a moment I couldn't come up with an answer, except for the usual, automatic, "Well, I have a lot to smile about." 

Then I remembered an encounter I had almost forgotten... 

On a day of casual department store browsing another shopper came up to me and said, "Oh, come on, it can't be that bad!"

I looked around, then realized she was talking to me, so I asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, judging by the grim expression on your face, you must be dealing with something really heavy. Just wanted to say that things seldom are as bad as they seem. Cheer up, Honey. Never give up hope!" 

The kindly little lady patted my shoulder and walked away. I stood there speechless. Then I caught my reflection on a mirrored pillar near me and swallowed hard. That well-meaning stranger spoke truth. Long after that encounter her words reverberated in my mind. 

So did the question that refused to be stilled. What do I communicate to others around me?

Before that day I considered myself a happy person and I was...inside. 

Then I spent a few days paying attention to the way I set my lips and the words I spoke. I couldn't escape the obvious. Too often I conveyed a different mindset.

So I challenged myself to change. From then on I would wear a happy expression, I would look for the good and I would speak encouragement. And if I wanted to grow a new habit,  this had to be all day, every day.

It wasn't too long before I didn't need to remind myself. Wearing a smile--or at least, a pleasant expression--became second-nature. I concentrated on looking for and speaking the good and that became routine, too. I knew I was more fun to be around, even for myself. Nothing changed, but everything changed. My same old life felt happier, too.

Years ago a hit song told us, "Put on a happy face...and you will be happy, too." Trust me, it works. If you don't believe it, try it for a few weeks. (And let me know what happens.)

In these belt-tightening days consider this a surefire way to travel--for no money--to a terrific place you'll never want to leave. 

Blessings,

Lenore

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Christmas comfort for the frazzled heart...

What's your image of how your home "should" look at Christmas?

 

 

Some people actually achieve that perfection, I guess. Otherwise they couldn't photograph it.

Most of us don't.

Sometimes that eats us up with guilt and we get frenzied, trying to do it all. Fix all the goodies. Trim every corner. Do gift wraps worthy of Martha Stewart.

That leaves us worn out, empty of real joy.

Here, from my heart to yours, is a better way, my variation on a well-known theme.

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If I decorate every corner of my home with glittery baubles, strings of lights and evergreen roping, but do not show love, I am just another interior decorator.

If I stay up until 2 a.m., making fudge and baking fifteen kinds of Christmas cookies, if I fix gourmet meals that make me proud and serve them on a table fitted with burning candles and special china, but snarl at my family, I'm just another cook.

If I gather toys for tots and canned goods for food baskets, help decorate the Christmas tree at church and never pass a Salvation Army kettle without dropping in coins, even write checks to every charity, it profits me nothing. 

If I insist on a green, living Christmas tree decorated with "natural" materials instead of baubles, if I sing with the choir and loudly say, "Merry Christmas!" to one and all, but forget that Christmas is all about Christ, I am empty.

Love smiles at the child whose mom is wrapped up in her cell phone and stoops to wish a Merry Christmas to the lonely individual in the wheelchair.

Love waits patiently while the next customer and the checker chat endlessly, then smiles at the clerk.

Love does not remind her husband that the guy down the street once again out-decorated his house and yard. 

Love looks at the teenager wearing earphones and tattered jeans with eyes that take the long view and focuses on potential yet to unfold. 

Love stops to listen and hug, even when there's no time.

Love does not complain about what's missing, but thanks God for what is.

Love gives without expecting a return. Love endures.

As for styles, they will change. This year's trendy best-seller will be next year's white elephant. Human knowledge will be disputed, disproven and surpassed.  Today's new discovery will become tomorrow's joke.

Only faith, hope and love remain. But the greatest gift of all is love.

Based on 1 Corinthians, Chapter 13, the Holy Bible

 

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Maybe you read through that listing and decide you really don't know how to love. Most of us miss the mark. So let's take another look at what Christmas means: New beginnings.

Love beyond all human understanding was born that night in that Bethlehem stable. Read the story again (Luke, chapter two, in the Bible.) Let those words flow over you and comfort your spirit. Go to church and sing the Christmas songs that lift your heart.

 

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one  and only Son 

into the world that we might live through him.

~1 John 4, verse 9

 

May your heart and your home be flooded with that love, fresh and new, filled to overflowing. May you rest in this love that never fails.

Merry CHRIST-mas and much joy to you and yours!

Peace,

Lenore