A WOMAN'S VIEW ~ Lenore Buth

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:  

 

(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." --John 14:27; 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  

 

So . . . Merry Christ-mas to you and yours! May your heart be filled with JOY because you know the Babe in the Manger came for you--to be your Friend and to set you right with God.

Lovingly,

Lenore

    

How can we relate our lives today with that long-ago first Christmas?

Quick! What comes to mind when you think of that first Christmas in Bethlehem?

Most of us probably picture a semi-circle of sheep, cows and donkeys that seem transfixed as they gaze at those human intruders into their world.

Mary and Joseph are beaming their love at the newborn Baby, while a bright star overhead shines its light directly on the stable.

How lovely, we think. 

Reality would not have been so neat and tidy.

I've been around cows and sheep. Yes, that stable would have provided shelter from the cold night air--and warmth. The animals would have given off heat. 

Animals give off something else, too. Let's just say that stable would not have smelled of incense or fragrant spices.

Mary and Joseph never would have chosen such a place.

Yet that lowly stable was God's appointed place for them that night.

Sometimes life is like that for us too, isn't it?

Even when we trust in God. Even when we're doing what we believe is right. Living our faith. Believing. Trusting. We end up in a place we didn't choose and we think, that's not right.

Days or months or years later we see the pattern.

Think how often we pray and then make what seems a good move. Maybe we go to the right.

God, however, has another direction in mind. Somehow before long we find ourselves going left.

It's disconcerting because it reminds us we're not as much in charge of our lives as we think we are.

This turns out to be a very good thing

My husband and I got a big lesson in how this works some time ago. For many years we operated a successful modern dairy-grain farm in central Illinois. Life was good.

Then a series of events and people contacts came together in a remarkable way and we left it all behind. Lots of prayer went into that decision. and we knew, absolutely knew, that God was leading us.

For awhile that seemed true and we brimmed over with praise and joy.

Then one thing after another fizzled out. There we were, asking Why? It made no sense.

At the time.

Later we could see God's leading in all the twists and turns. Had our original plans worked out we never would have arrived in the good place God planned for us.

Through it all we learned to trust Him in a deeper way than ever before.

We came to understand He knows the way, even we think we're lost

Joseph and Mary believed God in what seemed an impossible situation. They believed He went before them, no matter what.

Yet there they were, on that journey to Bethlehem because the Emperor decreed every citizen must go to their town of origin. No exceptions.

Joseph walked, leading the donkey while Mary, in her ninth month of pregnancy, gratefully sat on its back. 

Even before they reached Bethlehem she felt the first pangs of labor. Despite Joseph's frantic search, there was no room for them but in that stable.

And God lit up that humble place with His light and His love.

(Read the Christmas story for yourself in Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 2:1-20.)

He can light up our lowly places, too

Every one of us occasionally spends time in situations we would not have chosen. All we can do is keep walking and pray God will bring good out of our pain and confusion.

Christmas reminds us nothing is impossible with God.

Because Jesus was born that night you and I can have hope in the midst of our dark times, the times we can't see the way ahead but still must keep on walking. 

God comes to us at just the right time, just as He did in Bethlehem that starry night long ago.

Jesus is the Light who shines His love and peace into our darkness.

Each of us has reason to say "Merry Christ-mas!" and that's my wish for you, my friend!

Warmly,

Lenore

Are you looking for Christmas joy? Find it here

Last Sunday in church we sat right behind pure joy

The worship theme for the day was "Joy!" and the little girl in the row ahead of us showed us what joy looks like.

She swayed back and forth in her polka dot dress, keeping time to the music of the worship team. 

She kept smiling up at her parents and her smile lit up her face.

This adorable 4-year old was lost in praise and joy.

All of us around her were smiling, too. Oh, we sang the praise songs, but with more restraint. Blame it on being all grown-up and sensible. Experienced. Seasoned by life.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to feel such joy every day of the week?

Has life dragged you down? 

Especially at Christmas when days are short and dark is long, we all need an infusion of joy.

The angels proclaimed JOY to all the world the night Jesus was born. Remember?

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people."     --Luke 2:8-10

Joy to you and joy to me.

The same joy that bubbled up in that little girl and spilled over onto the world around her.

Joy to the highest of the high and the lowest of the low

From our perch on the world we assume the shepherds had it easy. All they had to do was keep an eye on those quiet, gentle sheep as they grazed those picturesque green hills we see on our Christmas cards. 

Um, maybe it wasn't so peaceful--and sometimes grasses were sparse. 

If you've ever been around sheep you know they're easily spooked and will run mindlessly after the first sheep that starts running. 

Then there were the predators that lurked in the shadows, waiting. In 1 Samuel 17 young David tells of a shepherd's life:

“I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death." 

Doesn't sound too idyllic, does it?

Every day those shepherds dealt with life and death--and they got no respect from the world. They lived with their sheep and probably smelled like them, coming back to their villages badly in need of a shower and a haircut. 

Yet they were the first to see and worship Jesus, except Mary and Joseph.

Whatever our difficulties, Jesus brings joy

Christians are not immune from troubles and trials, but we're never on our own.

The Apostle Peter wrote about that in 1 Peter 1. He describes how Jesus brings us joy, here from the New Living Translation, verses 8-9:

You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him, you trust him; and even now you are happy with a glorious, inesxpressible joy. Your reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

That's our reason for joy and for praise, for swaying with the music of our lives. Through whatever comes, we know Jesus is with us.

That joy can be yours.

If you're still wondering what you think about God, find a Bible and look up the Gospel of John. Read John 3:16 and think on it awhile. Ponder that the word "whoever" includes you.

You'll find the familiar Christmas story in Luke, chapter 2.

JOY to you, my friends, in the dark and in the light, all year through!

Lenore