A Settling Pilgrim

By Grace, by Agape Love, by Providence the Mullaney Pilgrims have had the same address for over a year now. Settled? Not quite. However, we are taking steps to settle into a community of believers and this too is a part of the pilgrim journey. Where would this be? Just north of Worcester in West Boylston, MA at Bethlehem Bible Church (BBC).

This past Sunday I finished taking a membership class at BBC where we have been attending for the last year. I had lots of questions and the ones I asked were answered. There are still a few I would like answered before I take the plunge and say yes I'm in. In a number of ways I am already in, that is pretty good for a New England Church but after all I am a native. Actually, I was more skeptical of them then they were of me.
In the past nearly 8 years, we have been blessed by many believers up and down the east coast who have welcomed us into their midst, loved and cared for us, made us feel at "home." Upon returning to our motherland i.e. Massachusetts, we have visited several churches and had done just that - visited. Not until Dan started to attend BBC regularly (and yours truly dragging her feet which we won’t get into here) did we actually start to dialogue about making a commitment to this local body of believers.

It is still quite an adventure. Yes, this is in New England and in Massachusetts and in fact when the kids were little we went to BBC for Awana for 1 year. However, we are here at BBC meeting new people and digging deeper into the Scriptures, discovering and uncovering more truth as we continue on the pilgrim highway. No matter what anyone’s position is in this body of believers, one thing is clear; each and every one is human, imperfect, dependent on God’s grace, hungers for truth, loves one another and desires to serve the LORD, one another and those in their sphere of influence.

(Massachusetts seems to be the next stop for us. This being said after 3 years 3 months and 15 days back in the Commonwealth)

This type of settling is making a commitment. It isn’t quite like picking out the best spot on the beach and “settling in there” because we like it. A lot of Americans go to and become members of a church because they like it. And like any other blue blooded American I like to be comfortable and be at ease. It is a good thing to want to be at home with the people who you would want to call your church family. We need to want to belong to a local body of believers who love the LORD Jesus Christ, want to honor Him in all things, know the grace of God, preach and teach the Word of God, we would want to live in obedience to Christ and encourage one another to do so and above all Glorify God.

We had to pretty much push the like question down on the list. The questions ran more like this: Is BBC teaching sound biblical doctrine? Do they worship in spirit and in truth? Do the people at BBC love one another? Do they extend the hand of friendship and love welcoming those who come into their midst? Do they love one another enough to confront with the truth and exercise church discipline? Is Jesus Christ being lifted up and glorified? When these questions are answered in the affirmative, which they have been. Well then, YES we like it. (Are there things we don’t like? Sure but hey there are things we don’t like about ourselves and one another everywhere we go when we take the time to get to know one another. However, we are given the grace to put up with those things.)

For any of you who know of my pilgrimage, it has been quite interesting (and I am not talking about the 18 moves). So why this church? Well, Dan started to listen to the pastor’s radio show on the local Christian Station here and he like what Mike was saying. Dan couldn't believe that a pastor was saying what he was saying. Dan started going pretty regularly and I visited a couple of times. It wasn’t good for our marriage to be doing church separately especially since both of us wanted to become part of a community of believers. So, I finally came around and started attending, a bit reluctantly but with an open mind. Then something happened that I had never seen in a church and had only vaguely heard about and that was the exercise of church discipline. My second to last question was:
“Do they love one another enough to confront with the truth and exercise church discipline?” It was done with integrity, with love, with anguish and in the spirit and manner for doing so as it is laid out in the Bible. This was the tipping point for me. I could belong to a church like this because if I get really off the mark, I hope someone loves me enough to call me out, loves me enough to want to restore me and bring me back to the LORD. It was real, it was raw, and mostly it was sobering. And I thought “but for the grace of God there go I.”

In Churches there are weddings, funerals, baptisms, etc. Do we gather on Sunday to praise the LORD, to hear the Word preached, to be equipped to go out into the world? You betcha. But life is not always “all good.” God is always good but life is hard. If you believe that God is sovereign, ruling over the good and the bad in life, then you need to be willing as a church family to take the good with the bad and deal with it effectively. Be mature, do the right thing, even with strangers in the midst. I recently heard someone say, “my life got harder after I became a Christian. I became aware of my sin. I want to honor God in my living not in order to earn God’s favor but out of gratitude for His saving Grace in my life.” Obedience to God is not so I can get into good standing. I want to obey because the LORD God has made me righteous through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ. Obedience is birthed out of gratitude. I have been bought by the blood and I now belong to Him. Just like a father loves his child enough to discipline him, a church ought to love enough to exercise discipline for their family members, don’t you think?

So what is the meaning of this post? To say Dan and I are looking to become members of a local body of believers and we know it will not always be pretty or perfect. Like I said earlier in this post, in a lot of ways we are already welcomed in as a part of the BBC Church family and it is our hope that God will continue to get all the Glory as we continue on the Pilgrim Path toward the Celestial City.

No longer children

A continuation from a July Post (click post)

This past Friday my son Michael turned 18 years old. Some say, now he is an adult but my husband has been readying me for this day for the past 2 years. After he turned 16, Dan started saying, "stop treating him like a boy, he is becoming a man." Michael can probably attest to the fact that it has been a struggle at times for me. Some readers may wave it off and say boys don't become men until way into their 20s these days. I say if you treat your daughters and sons like children into their 20s you will reap what you sow.

Signs of Manhood

The fall before Michael turned 16 Dan broke his foot and was unable to do any nursing for almost 3 months. After his surgery and once he was feeling better, Michael and Dan worked several nights a week at Dan's brother Billy's store. Dan trained Michael mostly from a chair since he could have no weigh baring for 6 weeks on his foot. Consequently, Michael learned quickly and was able to do the work.

Shortly after Michael's 16th birthday, Dan and I ran Billy's store from mid May through mid July. (Billy had his hip replaced) We both know that we could not have done it without Michael's help. He got up four or five mornings a week before 4 AM. We would work until we were done. On occasion we would get out of work by 10 AM, most days by 12noon and other days not til 2 or 3 PM, Fridays were busy and rarely got out before 1PM. Since we were running the business, if something came up we of course stayed or came back to the store to take care of whatever needed taking care of. Michael did a great job and continues to do a great job (he and I work at the store one day a week). The customers and other employees have grown to love him and he does whatever needs to be done with excellence, whether that is waiting on customers, making coffee, putting together the Sunday Paper or putting up the grocery load (I could add a lot more to that list). Many have commented to me that they thought he was older than he is.

Those are school hours! [say those who like to find at least one thing wrong with those of us who do not have their kids in school] Yes, I was picking up from that post in July. Our family subscribes to Mark Twain's philosophy, "we never let school get in the way of education." If you have read any amount of my post that refer to education or you know me personally, you know that I am not a fan of the term "homeschooling" and prefer to say "educated at home." As I was saying at the end of that July post we also have had the benefit of walking through this life and in this world along side of our children. The three of us working at the store together was doing just that. It was a real challenge for us and it is now a treasured memory of watching my son growing into manhood and having to be his boss in the work place helped me tremendously in learning to treat him like a man. Perhaps I was actually succeeding in doing so and that is what some of those witnessing customers saw as well.

The fine citizens of Dedham once in a while would ask Michael about school but for the most part that was it. The way in which Michael conducted himself, worked hard and served well earned him their respect and there was no cause for concern about the way in which he was being educated.

There hasn't been a lot of time to reflect lately which can be a good and a bad thing. I need to take time to reflect and write about the closing of this season and look ahead to what is to come sooner rather than later. It has been a wonderful adventure thus far and I imagine it will continue to do so.

"Storm's comin'"

Life is messy. Isn't that how I began the post before last? Well, we have been having some winter around here (MA) as well as other parts of the country. It got me to thinking that sometimes life is exactly like this winter - storm, after storm, after storm. That would fairly describe different seasons in my life. Sometimes these storms are not visible and other times they are.

God of Might and of Love

The God of Power, Might and Love all in one passage

Psalm 90

BOOK FOUR

From Everlasting to Everlasting

A^(A) Prayer of Moses, the^(B) man of God.

¹Lord, you have been our^(C) dwelling place^[a]
in all generations.
^2(D) Before the^(E) mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
^(F) from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

³You return man to dust
and say,^(G) "Return,^(H) O children of man!"^[b]
4For^(I) a thousand years in your sight
are but as^(J) yesterday when it is past,
or as^(K) a watch in the night.

⁵You^(L) sweep them away as with a flood; they are like^(M) a dream,
like^(N) grass that is renewed in the morning:
⁶in^(O) the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it^(P) fades and^(Q) withers.

⁷For we are brought to an end by your anger;
by your wrath we are dismayed.
⁸You have^(R) set our iniquities before you,
our^(S) secret sins in the light of your presence.

⁹For all our days pass away under your wrath;
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
¹⁰The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span^[c] is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
¹¹Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?

^12(T) So teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
^13(U) Return, O LORD!^(V) How long?
Have^(W) pity on your servants!
¹⁴Satisfy us in the^(X) morning with your steadfast love,
that we may^(Y) rejoice and be glad all our days.
¹⁵Make us glad for as many days as you have^(Z) afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
¹⁶Let your^(AA) work be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
¹⁷Let the^(AB) favor^[d] of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish^(AC) the work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!

Do we dare accept the good from God and not the wrath? The blessings and not the sufferings? Do we just carve out what we like from this passage and others like it and leave the rest behind?

His Presence

His Presence

Standing between you and your enemy

Life is messy and life continues to be a great teacher. I was thinking about my last post and "the God who is NOT safe" and I stick by that and I find that this is a part of who the Holy God of the Bible is and not something I came up with out of my imagination. One of the messiest parts of life is in relationships. One of the truths of the Bible that not every Christian subscribes to unfortunately is that we do not war against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6). If we can look at our brother or sister in Christ and know this truth, no matter how difficult the circumstances, the person before me is not my enemy then there is a greater chance of working things out with that person. One of the greatest sins of Church of the 21st century is treating and believing that our brother or sister in Christ is the enemy. If the strive between us is too great for God then what kind of God are we serving.

Our earthly fathers are just that, earthly. Families have kids that just can't get along. But if we can see that our Almighty Father God is to be feared by the enemy, the common enemy of believers, namely Satan we will come to a place where reconciliation can happen. Satan is the one who wants us to be at each others throats and when we are able to come together, trembling in the Presence of our Father, He will give us eyes to see who the real enemy is and the peace that surpasses all human understanding will be ours in the Presence of a Fearsome God.

In First Peter it says that we are to humble ourselves under the Mighty Hand of God. We know that this "mighty" hand is also a "loving" hand. I don't know about you but when I am facing the enemy that first Peter talks about, the one who is looking to devour me, I want the Mighty Hand to be there to win the battle for me. Satan is no match for God because God is NOT safe. And saying that does not negate the fact that God is love, God is holy, God is just, God is merciful, God is all powerful and all knowing.

Do me a favor think of 3 people that you know really well, who you love deeply and they love you deeply? Are you not fascinated by who they are as a person? Are you still discovering things about them that you never knew? Are they just one dimensional? Most will answer: Yes, Yes and No. If we are imperfect people and we can say that about these dear ones then we who believe in this Perfect, Triune, Living God must say:

I am fascinated by this God who cares about the details of my life who is both the Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God!

And

If I lived to be 100 years old, I will still be discovering things about this Incredible God until I see Him face to face.

The God who Created the Universe, who held back the Red Sea, who sent His Own Son to die for Our sins, who Raised His Son from the Dead, who chose ordinary people to carry the Message of Our Great Salvation to the ends of the earth, whose Story is written from Genesis to Revelation in a book that has stood the test of time and has been preserved by His Divine Intervention and is one continuous Story woven throughout the lives of those who believe and those who don't, can not be measured.

This is the God who is our Refuge and in His Presence the enemy is anything but safe.

Dangerous

A Mighty God

^8"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Isaiah 55; 8 & 9

"God is GOOD but He is NOT SAFE....He is trustworthy but He did ordain pain." Tullian Tchividjian preaching on Job

I wrote this quote on my Facebook status and my friend Brenda asked me to elaborate and it is right along some of the lines that I have been thinking about lately. Who God is: the character of God. There is a problem with the view of God is ALL Loving which quite often means ALL Loving and nothing else. How often do we define the Love of God by human standards? If something is distasteful, hard to understand, difficult to describe and just outright hard to swallow, then My God would not do that, say that, have the authors of the Bible write that or assign that to GOD. My God is Good all the time. This is a distortion that I believe has permeated the modern American Christian church and it has touched me as much as any other American Christian.

So the last 5 years, the LORD has drawn me, to take a closer at Him for all that He is including not being safe. I don't think it is a case of semantics, God may lead us through dangers and what some may say is not safe AND ALMIGHTY GOD is NOT Safe. I will do my best to stick to this one characteristic of GOD, The Lion of Judah.

In my comment to my status I quoted from C.S. Lewis' The Horse and His boy from the Chronicles of Narnia.

The character Aslan, the Lion (for those not familiar with the story) is the one speaking with the boy, Shasta toward the end of the book:

"I was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the Horses the new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time. And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you."

"Then it was you who wounded Aravis?"

"It was I"

"But what for?"

"Child," said the Voice, "I am telling you your story, not hers. I tell no one any story but his own."

Aslan is the character who represents Christ throughout the Chronicles. He is also the only character that is in all 7 books. I do not believe this is a misrepresentation of the Triune God. The One whose character is written of from Genesis to Revelation. At this point, I am thinking that I could make this a series of posts.

Let us start with Genesis and see His character displayed. A global flood sent by Almighty God, only Noah and His family survive:

"The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. ⁶And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. ⁷So the LORD said, "I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them." ⁸But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD." Genesis 6; 5-8

Abraham pleads with the LORD not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah

Abraham goes back and forth with the Lord in Genesis 18 and finally at the end of the discourse, the Lord says, "For the sake of the ten I will not destroy it." I suppose if you have read the Bible or even if you haven't, most people have heard references to Sodom and Gomorrah and know what happened:

^15"As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, "Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city." ¹⁶But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. ¹⁷And as they brought them out, one said, "Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away." ¹⁸And Lot said to them, "Oh, no, my lords. ¹⁹Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. ²⁰Behold, this city is near enough to flee to, and it is a little one. Let me escape there—is it not a little one?—and my life will be saved!"²¹He said to him, "Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. ²²Escape there quickly, for I can do nothing till you arrive there." Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar.

²³The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zoar. ²⁴Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire from the LORD out of heaven. ²⁵And he overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.²⁶But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt." Genesis 19; 15-26

I hate to quit writing now. (Still in Genesis) This Fearsome God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac! WHAT?! Nations are going to be blessed through the descendants of a burnt offering? Wood on the back of Isaac, the fire and a knife in the hands of Abraham and Isaac asks, "Where is the Lamb?" The question must have made Abraham's blood run cold, what would you say to the one who you were about slay? Would you be weak in the knees? Abraham trusted God enough to what? Raise Isaac from the dead? He trusted God so much he was able to say, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." Genesis 22; 8

So, I am in the Old Testament that is the beginning of the story of Our God who is the same yesterday, today and forever. Did God change at Matthew 1; 1? I don't think so. From Genesis 1 God says, Let Us make man in Our image. God, the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit were present throughout Old Testament and continuing in the New. He is Unchanging. This Fearsome, Just, Almighty, Righteous, Merciful and Loving God is to be feared, to be loved and to be honored. God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, three persons in One God is to be known for Who He is not who we want Him to be.

As is listed in my religious views on my Facebook Profile, "I see through a mirror dimly." It is my desire to get to know my Heavenly Father for who He is and this far into the journey, I think that I am just scratching the surface and I have a feeling that is how I will feel at the end of my journey here on earth. Lately, I am discovering more and more who God is and doing my best to keep my eyes and ears open. It is a humbling path because there have been times when I thought I knew who my God was and that was the problem, He was My God and not the One who had rescued me from sin and death. My prayer is that I remain teachable for the rest of my life and never to stop hungering and thirsting for the Living God.

Peace,

Catherine ie Caitriona

Preparing for the Real World

(Originally drafted 10/30/10)

Warning: Some content of this blog may be offensive to some. Please leave a comment.

I would love to have a lively exchange.

I just finished reading an article by Alex Chediak about College and learning from professors on typical American College Campuses who have something to offer simply because of common grace. It was an article worth reading. Dr. Chediak is also the author of Thriving at College: making great friends, keep your faith and get ready for the real world. It was that last phrase, get ready for the real world that flooded my mind with some memories and caused me to get my computer and sit down to write.

Once our children became school age one of the criticisms of our educational choices for them was this: "By keeping your children out of school, you are keeping your children from experiencing the real world. It is not right for you to do that to them." That's right, I was looking to harm my children. NOT. There are a select few parents who educate their children at home who isolate them in a very unhealthy manner. I am not one of them.

In the early years we were asked time and time again to defend our position, funny thing is that those who have their kids in public or private school were rarely asked to defend themselves. It was tough going sometimes and I wanted to turn it around on those whose kids were in schools and at the same time not put my friends and family on the defensive. Not to avoid the questioning and also knowing that being put on the spot I would not be speaking just for me but for a whole community of people who had made the same educational choice that we did.

Back to the real world, Is the classroom the real world? For those who believe that all children ought to be in a classroom with a "qualified and trained teacher" for their best waking hours and at least 36 of the 52 weeks of the year then the answer would be yes, that is the real world for children, it is where they belong. In some respects people who believe this have just 5 short years to prepare their children to be launched into this real world. Even though these parents delegate the responsibility of their children to other adults more often than not the teacher is not someone that they pick or even know. Children do not distinguish between responsibility and authority, so Johnny eventually gives more weight to the words and beliefs of his teacher than his parents. It may not happen right away but given a little time, it is often the result. Education is not neutral on values.

However, "the real world" is not segregated by age and not everybody works 9 to 5 and not all children learn best by sitting still in their seats with someone stuffing their little heads with information both true and false.

Community Members Wanted

Community members

wanted

for

DONE

(Debate Only in New England)

Tournament

January 21 & 22, 2011

(Friday and Saturday)

at

The Fellowship

604 Foundry Street Easton, MA

Dear Members of the Community of Easton and its surrounding towns,

One week from Friday Debaters from all over the Northeast will come to the town of Easton to compete in their first qualifying tournament for the 2011 NCFCA Season. These young people have been working hard this past fall to prepare to enter this arena to sharpen their skills, compete with excellence and enjoy the process.

"Tournaments have two concrete requirements: rooms and judges." *

We have the rooms and a roster of competitors. Now we need to fill a number of judging slots in order to make this tournament run.

So we kindly invite you to come and judge these young people who are our future leaders. Community members who have served in the past haven't given high praise to the quality of these young communicators and often have renewed hope in this future generation.

Anyone willing to judge can register at our website If you need further assistance just leave a comment with your email address or email me at macsgrill@gmail.com and I will get back to you asap.

Judge registration www.ncfcajudges.com

Thank you,

Catherine

*NCFCA Judge Philosophy 2005

A friend of mine from Texas (I am blessed with a few Texans that I can call friends) used to say, "Life is a wonderful awful mix." I whole heartily agree. I am looking to figure a number of things out this year including the direction of this blog. It has been a great first weekend and I am exhausted.

Just remember each day is new you don't always have to wait til January 1st.

Days of Auld Lang Syne

In the early hours of the new year, I found myself reading about a song I kinda know and you kinda know but until today, I had never fully heard the words. It reminded me of being a sixteen year old girl who was a lector in the church I grew up in and not being able to hear or understand the words I was reading. The song is Auld Lang Syne. Did you sing it or hear others singing it last night? Or perhaps you know all the words and you actually know what you are singing.

I was at a party last night and we raised a glass to ring in the new year (a non-alcoholic one for me) and then a few people sang the song and I listened. My ears were opened today as I read this article from yesterday's Wall Street Journal by Peggy Noonan. In essence the song says, Remember the people who have touched your lives, those you have met along the pilgrim highway. Often, I have wanted to write about those people who have touched my life and highlight how they have affected me but often it is far too personal to be specific. Let's just say that the blessings of friends and family have far outweighed the wounds that I have received in this life.

Happy New Year to all that I have encountered upon this journey in 2010. At the risk of offending some, I will list these dear people and if you ought to be included here please comment and remind me of our meeting on the road of life this past year.

Dan, Grace, Katie and Michael Mullaney: my immediate family.

Billy and Kelly Mullaney, Barry and Mary Mullaney, Bill Mullaney (dad), Jimbo and Karen Mullaney, Ellen and Paul Lippens, Shosh and Paul Babson, Smully, Paul A. MacDonald, Peter and Tammie MacDonald, Laura MacDonald, Paul and Joan MacDonald (dad and mum): our extended families.

Now I will got back in hopes that none will be forgot:

Becky and Cliff Mort, Mike and Kim Abendroth, Nancy Myers, Dave and Vida Farrar, Marie Steinmann, Fran Walken, Flo Paras, Marie and Tom Bertrand, Charlie and Elaine Crane, Cindy and Scott Farrar, Steve and Janet Cooley, Deb and Dana Peterson, Bruce and Lori Pelissier, David MacAdam, Joanne and Glenn Gray, Steve and Carol Gray, Elizabeth Kehoe, BonnieJean Wiebe, Kristen Neprud, Devan Wiebe, Diane and Clark Pitchford, Pam and Kenny Hopkins, Kelly and Phil Bower, Eunice and Au Au, Dina Webb, Cathy Creed, Misun Min, Helen Kim, Mary and Jeff Weix, Little Joe, Joe the Builder, Howard, Marilyn, Marcia, Charlie, John, John, Lorraine, Mr. Norton (Karen Mullaney's dad) Uncle Bill, Lorraine, Cousin Anna, Eileen, Elena, all the old men regulars at Endicott Variety, Sharon Scanell, Gail and John Lefferts (There are more I am sure but it has been a crazy 24 hours).

Again, I am reminded that people matter. It is in the context of human relationships that we continue to become who we are because we have been a part of one another's lives in big and small ways.

A new day and a new year is an opportunity for renewed hope.

Today I am sharing a video by one of the 3 people that I have had the pleasure of giving birth to and raising and living with over the last nearly 18 years.

Mostly, O Holy Night!

So, there are some great Christmas songs out there and there are some not so great ones and then the snarky and the all out anti-Christmas ones. The ones that rail out against poverty and cry out in pain like Father Christmas by the Kinks. It is a pretty angry song but not unlike much of the brokenness in this world behind that anger is a whole lot of hurt.
This year has been different for me. The brokenness of human relationships has pounded my mind and torn open scars in my heart. Usually, the music of the season is going so long (an October start) and so loud in my car and in my home that by December 14th my family is pretty much done with me and my Christmas music.
October came and I did started to listen to Christmas music a little bit. I texted a friend to see when she started to listen to the songs of celebration and she responded with "the day after game day" which would be 2 days after Thanksgiving and then she wrote, "Mostly O Holy Night." I have that one by 7 different artists. It is really the only one that I have paid attention to this season.
Going to my computer I wanted to find out the history of the song. These are the words we normally sing:
O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! O hear the angels' voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.
Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here come the wise men from Orient land.
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friend.
He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King, Before Him lowly bend!
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim.

Incarnation: Emmanuel, God is with us. Strangely, I have felt at a loss at how to celebrate and acknowledge that the Creator of the Universe took on flesh and walked among us. I guess you might say I am on a search for simplicity.
The above words of O Holy Night is John Sullivan Dwight's translation. The original song was derived from French poet Placide Cappeau. Here is the literal English translation:
Midnight, Christians, it is the solemn hour,
When God-man descended to us
To erase the stain of original sin
And to end the wrath of His Father.
The entire world thrills with hope
On this night that gives it a Savior.
People kneel down, wait for your deliverance.
Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer,
Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer!
May the ardent light of our Faith
Guide us all to the cradle of the infant,
As in ancient times a brilliant star
Guided the Oriental kings there.
The King of Kings was born in a humble manger;
O mighty ones of today, proud of your greatness,
It is to your pride that God preaches.
Bow your heads before the Redeemer!
Bow your heads before the Redeemer!
The Redeemer has overcome every obstacle:
The Earth is free, and Heaven is open.
He sees a brother where there was only a slave,
Love unites those that iron had chained.
Who will tell Him of our gratitude,
For all of us He is born, He suffers and dies.
People stand up! Sing of your deliverance,
Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer,
Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer!

This is the first year in many years that I did not purchase any additional music to add to my December collection. I never got off the ground with my usual listening tradition. A couple of Boston radio stations started their holiday tunes in November and I found myself changing the station once I heard the voice of Johnny Mathis or Bing Crosby or The Carpenters.


I came very close to abandoning all of the usual traditions. However, we had already made plans with extended family and I had committed to hosting one side and attending the other side's festivities. I did manage to enjoy being with extended family. Of course, we are very happy to have our "girls" home even while having to continue to adjust to their adult status. The relatives wanted to see them too.

I really want to think about revisiting the idea of simplifying Christmas for 2011 perhaps in February. There are traditions that are worth keeping: like reflecting on the Babe in the Manger, singing and enjoying Christmas music, seeing relatives and friends.

Be Ready

Today we will prepare for our oldest daughter, Grace to come home. She is back in the Commonwealth and went straight to helping out dear friends. There are lots of things to prepare for in this life before they come to pass. Be ready. People make incredible and often elaborate plans for a wedding and little preparation for marriage: get ready to have a baby but fail to prepare for parenting; focus on the Babe in the manger and forget that His entrance was made in the shadow of The Cross.

Many Americans go ALL out for Christmas and usually, I am one of them. There is lots of preparations involved. Playing Christmas music and singing along, black Friday, baking, decorating, shopping, making lists, checking them twice, Christmas parties, The Tree, spending lots of money, Holiday concerts, writing Christmas cards and letters, shopping, putting up the Advent Calendar (hey look at that, something I actually did this year), deciding when to get together with the in-laws ( a check mark here as well;-), time to reflect on what we are celebrating.

It Did cross my mind that in the traditional sense, I am not ready and not worried about it either. What a gift from God. I have been poked and questioned about my lack of action but remained unmoved for the most part. This morning I sat down to read my Bible (nothing unusual there) and came to a passage in Isaiah:

"It will be said on that day, Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."

Isaiah 25;9

Jesus is the One who came. He has given us the gift of salvation. He will come again. Preparation for the remembrance of our God becoming flesh, yes I have done it during this season of Advent but instead of it being a family affair, it has been something, I have been quietly doing myself. (Our family is in one of the great seasons of parenting: some call it "launching arrows, others "sending out the eaglets" or "birthing adults." I freely admit that I am not doing a perfect job and at times find myself treating these adults like children. There is a lot of coming and going happening.)

Some Jews, Simeon and Anna, the Prophetess, Joseph and Mary, Mary's cousin Elizabeth and her husband, Zechariah, the lowly shepherds and others recognized Jesus as the Christ. All of Israel was waiting for their Messiah and some are still waiting. We, Christians await Jesus Second Coming. He will not come in the same manner as the first coming but as the Warrior Kin in power and might. And we say, Maranatha! (translated means Come Lord Jesus Come!)

Are we prepared for the Return of the Reigning King? Do we care? When Jesus does return will He find faith on the earth? I hope so. I want to be found ready: walking in the Truth with the Truth by the Truth in the stream of His Love empowered by His Spirit, loving God and Loving others, being about the business of building His Kingdom for His glory.

The food will be eaten, the drinks drunk, the songs sung and gifts given. Then we will turn the calendars to January 2011, a new year and hopefully continuing to prepare for the Return of God's One and Only Son.

I say Rejoice, Rejoice Emmanuel shall come to you O Israel.

Hope

I am really having trouble with posting my Advent Foretold posts and I still haven't figured it out. Perhaps, the revisiting of this devotional is for my personal benefit and not to be shared. Honestly, I have had a hard time getting into the Christmas Spirit this year. Tonight I am planning to go to a Christmas party and I am thinking that I want to just skip it. It is out of character for me. I am one of those people who drives her family crazy because I start listening to Christmas music in October. I am listening to some right now but even the music, I have been "eh," take it or leave it.

Nevertheless, Jesus Christ is the Hope of Glory, He is the Word who became flesh and He is the Light of the World. Jesus Christ is the Joy of our Salvation. He is the Alpha and the Omega and nothing I desire can compare with Him. My zeal, my love, my passion for my Lord has actually increased over the last few months, as I begin to see the Beauty of His Holiness. You read that right "begin." O Christians do you not believe what it says in the second letter to the Corinthians, "Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day?"

Now that I am writing I remember a song by my friend David MacAdam and in this song he writes, "Christmas can be everyday of the year when Jesus does your living. No longer a slave to yourself must you be when you can be forgiven." Yes, each day, I get up and say yes, LORD thank you for another day. With you there is Hope and with your Holy Spirit and by Your power will I live out this day. When (not if) I stumble and fall, your forgiveness, grace, mercy and yes, hope is right there enabling me to carry on. With this hope, I desire to bring life, joy, grace, truth, love and hope to each person I encounter because I have a personal relationship with the One who was born of a virgin, hailed as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, is called Immanuel, at birth was King of Kings, Lord of Lords. Jesus is the One who has given me His Holy Spirit. It is this Spirit that I need each and every day in every season.

So, I am not into the festivities or the mood or the decorating or shopping or even the music that is brought about at Christmas time, but that doesn't make me a Humbug. It just makes me human in the midst of life, changes and challenges, joys and sorrows, faith, hope and love.

Have a day full of hope!

In the past few years my sleeping habits have changed and I am usually in bed by 10 PM when I am at home. Well, I knew that tonight's game would be big, but I thought I might fall asleep. NO WAY, the cold, the adrenaline and of course the action of the New England Patriots have kept me totally engaged.

Yes! I am a fan since before the days of Tom Brady.

Play offs and then on to the Superbowl 2011
chances look good for the Patriots.

Advent Foretold

Technology not always cooperating

For the last 3 days I have attempted to post my thoughts on Advent Foretold which I am reading through and I am doing something technically that is not allowing my posts to be posted. Nevertheless, I am reading, reflecting, and remembering our times in this book and around God's Word and His story of using imperfect human beings who really lived to carry out His perfect plan.

It is an Amazing story: Abraham, an old man and Sarah his wife, past childbearing age gives birth to Isaac. Isaac is the promised seed of Abraham and God says, bring this son to the alter, worship and sacrifice him. Abraham trusted God enough believing perhaps that God could and would raise Isaac from the dead. He didn't know how "God would provide" which was the answer Abraham gave to Isaac when he asked "We have the wood and the fire, what about the sacrifice father?" Abraham did however have faith in God. (Genesis 22)

The ancestral line is being set up for the One who would come in humility born of a woman. Isaac lives and has Esau and Jacob. Jacob the younger receives the blessing and begets many sons. Again, in God's providence and outside of the scope of human tradition, chooses son #4 of 12 and makes Judah the Lion and Ruler of his brothers.
For several generations there is silence and then from the tribe of Judah, Jesse would become the father of David, who would be the least likely son to become King of Israel.

To Date: it is a continuous History lesson and one that my children learned during the preparations of Christmas.



⁵ "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶In his days Judah will be saved, an Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called:'The LORD is our righteousness.' Jeremiah 23;5

December 2

Advent Foretold

written by Gary and Wanda Sanseri

originally published 1990 for their family

Looking at the first prophecy

Genesis 3;15

The stage was set.

Sin and death had entered the world.

God stated that there would be war and there would be the Victory.

All was not lost at the beginning of human history.

There is hope for those who believe in Restoration and The Restorer.

December 1st Advent Foretold Revisited

Last year Katie and I went into our storage to find a few things - one of the treasures I came across was our family's copy of Advent Foretold, a December devotional for all Ages. We used this devotional from 1996 through 2002. At the moment of discovery, I was flooded with memories and emotions, of our family with growing little ones sharing in this tradition.

You probably can't tell by the picture but the book is held together by duct tape. There are pictures that can be colored in with each day's devotion. Many copies were made over those 7 years, unfortunately, not many were saved.

The first half of the devotional is Prophecies about our coming Messiah and the second half is the fulfillment of those prophecies. The purpose of the book is to point us to Our God Incarnate, the Son of Man coming as a babe, born of a woman. It is because of this Event in history that we celebrate His humble entrance into this world.

Today's devotion sends us to 3 Scriptures Isaiah 46;9-10, Isaiah 48;3, 5 and Numbers 23;19

³"The former things I declared of old;
they went out from my mouth, and I announced them;
then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.
⁴Because I know that you are obstinate,
and your neck is an iron sinew
and your forehead brass,
⁵ I declared them to you from of old,
before they came to pass I announced them to you,
lest you should say, 'My idol did them,
my carved image and my metal image commanded them.'

⁶"You have heard; now see all this;
and will you not declare it?
From this time forth I announce to you new things,
hidden things that you have not known.

Now I am looking at Isaiah 48 and since the devotion today sets us up for the rest of the book, I thought I would give you my take on it. Only God has ever perfectly proclaimed those things that are yet to come. When I read, "hidden things that you have not known." It makes me think not only of the coming of the LORD but also, of those things yet to come in my own life and the life of the Lord's Church. His Bride being prepared for the Bridegroom and the LORD's second coming.

The Bible is a Living Word and we can trust in what God has left us, His Holy Word and he says here in Isaiah 48 I spoke it out and it happened. He announces new things and we can be sure that God's Word will come to pass.

I am looking forward to revisiting this book and looking again at the coming of Emmanuel.

"Forgiveness is the name of love practiced among people who love poorly. The hard truth is that all people love poorly. We need to forgive and be forgiven every day, every hour increasingly. That is the great work of love among the fellowship of the weak that is the human family."
-Henri Nouwen