One Week

It really was the best Christmas ever. We had all the girls, sons-in-law, and grandson home plus our mothers and a sister. We had a great time cooking, baking, wrapping, playing games, doing extra laundry (I love doing laundry) and planning. Looking back on the week, was my focus on Christ? Yes and no.
Yes, I started out praying every morning and being with Christ a few minutes every morning as is my habit, but it was more challenging as the week wore on to keep that time since I was not the first person up in the mornings. Yes, we went to the Christmas Eve service and engaged in meaningful worship of our God and listened to an excellent teaching on Jesus, Christmas, and the troubling times in which we live. No, I didn't have a huge revelation during the Christmas Eve Service, but I did heard God's whisper when our pastor asked us to take a moment to listen to anything the Holy Spirit wanted to speak to us individually. (I will hold on to the words God impressed upon my heart for our daughters with all my strength.)
Many times I felt the grace of God on my family as we were just hanging out together. Many times one of our daughters would make a comment on how it was the best Christmas or how we gave each other thoughtful gifts that really fit the other person's taste. The loving times really outshone the tiny moments of conflict instead of the other way around. All I can say is-- thank You, God, for Your grace.
I was joking with my family at the beginning of the week and told them I wanted a sign in our kitchen that said that our family "put the fun in dysfunction." (We all know there is some amount of dysfunction in every family and we also know our family's dysfunction.) I guess the real truth is God pours His grace (the function) on imperfect, broken people (the "dys") and we reap the benefits (the fun). How great is that?
There were a few times I heard my girls refer to things we used to listen to or read or do that had a connection to Jesus. I think the Lord was showing me they will remember the good things of their growing up rather than the mistakes Tim and I have made as parents. Thank God. That is balm to this mother's heart. I loved watching how much my oldest daughter loves her grandmother. They are at once alike and dissimilar. And they really, really love each other. They talked and played games and talked and made things to eat together. Everybody should have a granddaughter or a grandmother like that. What a sweet relationship.
I enjoyed my mom being here. She is organized, discerning, practical, with a unique blend of bluntness and diploma

cy. She believes in decorum and dignity at all times. She loves her family. She loves her God. And she still has the softest skin of anybody over the age of one. In the words of my two oldest daughters' favorite movie, Muppet Treasure Island, "how does she do that?!"
Christmas is over and our oldest daughter and her husband are in the midst of a 24-hour drive back to Minnesota. Our second oldest is back in Vermont with her husband and son. And our daughters who still live at home are back to their usual activities. The dog is quiet. The cats have come out of hiding. The Christmas tree is still up. The last of the left-overs are on the counter ready to be either eaten or given the ol' heave ho, as my late step-dad used to say. It's quiet and the house is less cluttered and I have had a good, long nap. Did I remember Christ in the midst of Christmas? Yes and no. Did He remember me? Yes. And He kept reminding me of the good things I did as a parent. He reminded me of the greatest gift my mother gave to me-- a good and strong mothering instinct which, I fear, is growing weaker and weaker in our culture. And He kept reminding me of times we had as a family. And He kept pouring His grace on us. God is faithful. God is faithful. God is faithful.

Preparing for Christ and Christmas

I was trying to type the name of the page on this blog and it would only let me type in a specific number of letters. It's ironic and profound how the program would only let me type "Preparing For Christ" instead of my first thought, "Preparing For Christmas." What a kind reminder that really, my ultimate goal as a person who loves and has determined to follow Jesus all the days of my life, is to prepare my heart to remember His first coming. My small goals for this Saturday and next Saturday are to deep clean our home, decorate it, wrap gifts, and have everything ready for my daughter, son-in-law, and mother when they come to stay with us for a week or so. Every year at Christmas time I hear brothers and sisters-in-Christ say that we need to keep Christ at the center of the season. I am thankful for the Spirit of God who has the ability to remind me of Christ throughout my day in so many ways. So, my prayer is that Holy Spirit would show me other things as I am deep-cleaning my kitchen, living room, sunroom, and dining room today. Maybe He will show me things in my heart that need to be reorganized, dusted off, polished, vacuumed out, swept away, scrubbed and wiped clean. As a friend at church said one time, my job is just to acknowledge it, turn away from the junk, and let God do His work in me. Yes. That's what I'd like to happen. Onward.

Listening

I was slightly embarrassed when my daughter pulled a small rectangular prism of a package out of the Christmas decorations tub. It was a gift for a friend from last Christmas! Oh, brother. I've been working on my organizational skills these past five years of teaching so the unopened gift wasn't a welcome sight. In order to redeem myself I tossed the package into my large, red bag as I was getting ready to go to church this morning. I envisioned my friend and I having a good laugh over the belated gift and wondered what the sign said. I remembered that whatever was written on it seemed very appropriate for the season of life my friend was experiencing a year ago. I wondered if she would still find it appropriate or if she had moved beyond what those words meant when I chose it a year ago. I didn't see my friend. I stayed after the worship service and prayed not thinking about the sign or my friend. Suddenly I decided to open the gift. I saw, "the Lord is compassionate" from the book of John chapter 11 and verse 35. I know it is always meaningful to be reminded of one of the character traits of the God of the Universe, but just two days after the tragedy of the Connecticut school shooting, it holds even more meaning. It reminds me of the tender and loving heart of Father God. It reminds me of who I want to be towards my school kids, my class (not to mention my husband and family). It reminds me to take my eyes off the ugliness of the events of the end of this week, though not to forget that there's evil in the world that robs our children of their innocence and, sometimes, their lives. I will continue to pray for our children, country, leaders, and churches. And this week I will focus on the compassion and grace of Jesus Christ. I really don't even want to write about the recent events; however, I am grateful to be reminded of how precious my students are and how blessed I am to be employed as a teacher. My heart expands with God's love for these kids. I know this is just a sliver of what the Lord feels toward my students and their families. I think I'll keep the bluish-gray inexpensive chunk of wood of a sign. I have a feeling the Lord already let my friend know over and over how compassionate His heart is and was towards her. He is faithful like that.

Jovial? Really?

Jovial? Really? Yes, jovial! Learning is fun whether you are a student or a teacher and both parties should be learning every day. To my way of thinking,sparking students' minds for thinking and learning is a much more worthwhile endeavor than attempting to fill brains with facts and knowledge that might or might not make learning connections. Therefore,learning and thinking and creating and puzzling and solving in a jovial manner is the way to go! I want to be constantly on the lookout for a better way for individual students to understand, know, do, create, think, and succeed!