“Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart… filled it, too, with melody that would last forever.” – Bess Streeter Aldrich
What will you be singing that night?…Jeanie
Christmas is everywhere!
Even this morning as I was reading about how Solomon was building the Temple for the reknown and glory of the Name of the Lord and to establish his own house, I read this, surely a precursor to our Christmas ornamentation:
“He made wreaths of [gold] chainwork, as in the inner sanctuary, and put them on top of pillars; and he made one hundred pomegranates and put them on the wreaths of chainwork.” 2 Chronicles 3.16
I sigh wearily of hearing Christians who attribute all the symbols of Christmas to ancient pagan traditions. The tree, my brothers and sisters (created in the Garden where God walked first), the lights (Jesus IS the Light of the World, after all), the gift-giving (must I mention John 3.16 and the inspiration to all-gift-giving ever for all times based on this, THE most amazing gift ever?), and all the rest seem to be up for scrutiny every year. If I act a wee bit too joyous they remind me, like the father-in-law at Clark Griswold’s Christmas Vacation, “The little lights aren’t twinkling.” The bah-humbuggers want to drop-kick the joy and the meaning we have tried with our little human efforts to capture right out the door.
I don’t think the Advent wreath on which I light a candle is some all-holy-get-me-into-heaven thing. Nor do I believe God is displeased that I annually string lights and drag out the Nativity set and wrap gifts for the people I love.
What is a wreath after all? It is something woven into a circular shape and hung purely for its beauty. Or placed on the head of some one royal. It is part of my Christmas, my Christ Mass, my worship of the Christ (Christmas=Christ worship). While I am living to proclaim the reknown of the Name of the Lord on the earth, I am also establishing and decorating my home at Christmas. Solomon did it for the love of God. And so do I. His were real gold, heavy in richness. Mine are simple branches woven and beribboned.
Someday, the wreath of my life, the things I have feebly woven together in honor to God will be the crown on my head. But like the twenty-four Elders in Revelation
“[they] fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives until the Ages of the Ages and they cast their wreaths down in front of the throne…” Rev. 4.10 wey
The traditions we keep aren’t sacred. They are just our ways of celebrating and enjoying the story of our redemption, God’s plan, a Savior! They just mark our deliverance from darkness into His marvelous light. They are only the symbols we use to try to depict a God so great that even our words fail us.
Let me have my wreath and worship with it, too…Jeanie
NOTE TO SELF: Weave golden moments and bejeweled treasures together into love-wreaths for people all around-even and especially the bah-humbuggers.
pictured: the front door one night last year…
Thanks to Amy Grant for my favorite new Christmas song this year. I DO need one! How about you?
I’ve made the same mistake before
Too many malls, too many stores
December traffic, Christmas rush
It breaks me till I push and shoveChildren are crying while mothers are trying
To photograph Santa and sleigh
The shopping and buying and standing forever in line
What can I say?I need a silent night, a holy night
To hear an angel voice through the chaos and the noise
I need a midnight clear, a little peace right here
To end this crazy day with a silent nightDecember comes then disappears
Faster and faster every year
Did my own mother keep this pace
Or was the world a different place?Where people stayed home wishing for snow
Watching three channels on their TV
Look at us now rushing around
Trying to buy Christmas peaceI need a silent night, a holy night
To hear an angel voice through the chaos and the noise
I need a midnight clear, a little peace right here
To end this crazy day with a silent nightWhat was it like back there in Bethlehem
With peace on earth, good will toward men?Every shepherd’s out in the field
Keeping watch over their clock by night
And the glory of the Lord shone around them
And they were so afraidAnd the angels said fear not for behold
I bring you good news of a great joy that shall be for all people
For unto you is born this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord
And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Prince of PeaceI need a silent night, a holy night
To hear an angel voice through the chaos and the noise
I need a midnight clear, a little peace right here
To end this crazy day with a silent night
To end this crazy day with a silent night
Two years ago I was sitting in the “Garage” at church (the “edgier” venue at Northern Hills) and suddenly envisioned a very cool silhouette, “crystally” bright Bethlehem scene with a giant star hanging from the middle of the 30-some-feet-high ceiling. Didn’t have the time nor $$ to do anything with it, but filed it away into my thinking. Couldn’t work it out last year, either, but this year, Scott, the Worship Arts pastor asked me to decorate both venues, The Garage and The Celebration Center.
Last week we decorated the Celebration Center. We put out a call for old, artificial trees in the church bulletin to be recycled. I got some there and picked up a few via Craigslist. With 8 old trees in hand, we cut the branches off and created, on wooden fence-post 1 x 6s, 3 large wreath forms and wired on the tree branches. The middle wreath is actually over 7 feet in diameter. The two flanking wreaths are 5 1/2 feet. There are about 4000 lights on the three wreaths combined.
Three red damask tablecloths sewn together for a combined size of 5 feet x 25 1/2 feet were draped over the wreaths.
The rest of the tree beanches were wired to create 50 feet of “garland” across the front of the stage. We wrapped it with over-sized 24″ wide sparkly red floral wrap and lit it up. Next, we placed foil-wrapped and beribboned cereal and pop-tart boxes into the garland as “gift ornaments.”
The 9-foot pre-lit tree was lit some more (seriously, people: lights are key!) and a giant bow placed at the top, swirling down the branches in a carefree manner, tucked in here and there amongst giant glittery ornaments.
One of my “helpers” loaned me a beautiful 2-ft Nativity set to display at the baptistry opening, which is stone-lined and just looked “Bethlehem” to me and voila! Done. Simple. To the point. Well-there will be a couple of new touches this next Sunday….
Think large bank or mall-sized stuff. Simple lines, giant ornaments, basic Christmas shapes, twinkling lights-everything way over-sized, but not looking over-sized because they are in such a large room. They just fit.
And it turned out nice. It turned out festive and maybe even a bit elegant, but if nothing else: green! Everything was recycled!
Now all the women’s teas and homeschool kids programs and packed-out Christmas Eve services will have a beautiful backdrop.
On to The Garage! Just wait!!…Jeanie
MY DEEPEST THANKS TO: my long-suffering, and very talented husband, Dave; Stormie, Rocky & Jovan, Tredessa, Laura Frye, Pearl and Bryan-the amazings!; my nephew Zach; the patient and helpful maintenance staff (Mike, Sebastian and Charles) and all the people who donated their old trees for the celebration!
pictured-Dave got a few shots Sunday…I’ll be adding more! Click on thumbnails for bigger image. Obviously, btw, the sermon series changes this week! Ha!
A large, loudly-squawking flock of geese flew over the backyard early this morning, heading south with a fury. There is a snow moving in on us from the north today, I hear (even though it was nearly 70-degrees yesterday). Apparently they had missed the announcement that 22 days before Christmas is kinda late for the travel plans they should have made.
A downloadable book with teaching and cut-out decorations for creating a tree that teaches the true meaning of Christmas:
Crafts and fun times with the kids and advent activities:
http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/christmas_crafts.htm, http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/christmas_advent.htm
A cool teacher’s site:
www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/christmas/christmas-symbols/index.html
This is one of the most fun websites ever:
www.familyfun.go.com! Check out the Christmas page and the Arts and Crafts page. Great card-making ideas and how-to videos.
I don’t know how I ever raised my children without all these great resources. Aren’t you excited about all the free gifts I am giving out? *smile…
Hope you’re having a holly jolly day…Jeanie
NOTE TO SELF: Tomorrow is grandkid day…plan fun stuff! And…this is post #400, odd as it is.
pictured: last year’s hand and foot prints (before Averi was born). I may have to subject them to this annually, hehehehe…
The first time I ever remember crying over simple words strung together in a book was as I was reading a selection aloud to Dave from Max Lucado’s God Came Down back in the 80’s. I think I was reading the chapter written as Mary, the mother of Jesus, sort of pondering and praying in her heart about her newborn son, and, being a young mother myself, was impacted deeply.
Parts of “Mary’s Prayer” by Max Lucado
GOD. O infant-God. Heaven’s fairest child. Conceived by the union of divine grace with
our disgrace. Sleep well…
Rest well, tiny hands. For though you belong to a king, you will touch no satin, own no gold. You will grasp no pen, guide no brush. No, your tiny hands are reserved for works more precious:
to touch a leper’s open wound,
to wipe a widow’s weary tear,
to claw the ground of Gethsemane.
Your hands, so tiny, so white-clutched tonight in an infant’s fist. They aren’t destined to hold a scepter nor wave from a palace balcony. They are reserved instead for a Roman spike that will staple them to a Roman cross…
O eyes that will see hell’s darkest pit and witness her ugly prince . . . sleep, please sleep; sleep while you can.
Lie still, tiny mouth. Lie still, mouth from which eternity will speak.
Tiny tongue that will soon summon the dead, that will define grace, that will silence our foolishness.
Rosebud lips-upon which ride a starborn kiss of forgiveness to those who believe you, and of death to those who deny you-lie still…
That Max has a way with words (www.maxlucado.com) and you can access a special, downloadable selection of Christmas writings put together as “It Began in a Manger” right here. It is a 15-page gathering of writings he has done in various books with 6 short, but thought-provoking and inspirational “chapters” including “The Arrival, ” the above-mentioned “Mary’s Prayer” and “Gabriel’s Questions.”
I love to read this every year as I “prepare Him room”…again. Check it out! Enjoy “my” (Max’s) FREE gift to you on this first day of December!
He came as a baby to save me, even me! I’ll be contemplating that and celebrating my deliverance from the law of sin and death for the next 24+ days!…Jeanie
NOTE TO SELF: God loves to see us celebrate and rejoice. Spread the word! JOY! To the whole world! Repeat as needed!
Thanksgiving.
Can I just say the sooner the leftovers are gone, the better (except for Stormie’s pumpkin pies)? But all delish.
We did a “thankful” tree on Thanksgiving, everyone filling out little “leaves” and hanging them with things for which we are grateful written.
Thumbnails (click for larger image):
The Flu.
In the middle of the night following Thanksgiving, I got hit with a full-on, horrid stomach flu, complete with fever, chills, and wrenching. I won’t say more. If it hadn’t been for the entire Kelley family having contracted and suffered through it just before Thanksgiving (Gavin does go to public school now – germ breeding grounds!), I’d have been thinking food poisoning. But no, just a very untimely stomach bug! So I spent Friday, while my husband and daughters were all shopping madly, in bed – when I wasn’t running to the bathroom. Truly a “Black Friday” for me!
I wish the google image above really did reflect my 3 a.m. view Friday morning!
Snow at Last.
At about 11 o’clock last night, we looked outside to see the most beautiful snow. My nephew Zach from Montana, living with us while he completes a ministerial internship here, had just asked 2 days ago, “Yeah-so when do you guys get snow here?” I am not a huge fan, but since it has so politely remained largely at bay this year so far, it was a welcome sight. This morning the grass is almost covered and every branch has a puffy white coating and it is lovely and makes you want to watch Christmas movies and wrap presents.
This is the snow-on-the-branches view out the back door this morning at 7:15 a.m., just after the bunny rabbit, who’d been looking in at me, hopped away.
Blogoversary.
Teena from Toronto left me a “Happy Blogoversary” message this morning and I realized that, yes, it is indeed my “blogoversary.” How did she know that?
Two years ago today, I started blogging. The kids found and bequeathed the image that adorns my blog banner to get me started. They all said she looks just like me, and I am happy they understand the inner me, for surely that is what they see.
To blog was both exhilerating and trepidatious for me. I was so afraid to hit the “post” button back in those days, fearful of what my words would reveal of me, but also needing a place to tell some truth and speak some words I was struggling to communicate, especially to my children. I was so cautious and agonized over how much to say, carefully wondering how much I could really tell truthfully, lest my truth hurt some one else. You can read my very first blog here. (from 11.29.06)
Now I blather on with both spiritual epiphanies as they come (they are for me, anyway) and the torrid, word-filled minutia of my life (like telling you about my stomach flu, for crying out loud!!). This is my 398th post and I have 30 drafts in the folder waiting for me to finish off and publish – there is no end in sight, people! And I always wonder about when I am gone – if my offspring should really ever begin to read this stuff, investigating it as they look for meaning and understanding of their past and their own lives – how really weird will they think I was?
It all remains to be seen…from the ever-graphomaniacal Jeanie
NOTE TO FAMILY: To all the Rhoadeses in every direction-hope Thanksgiving was warm and wonderful for you. To the whole Moslander bunch, far and wide, always think of you and miss you on these days. 1991 was our last everyone-together Thanksgiving, and that does not seem right!
Wanna send the most unique and amazing Christmas cards ever? Check out Ellie’s work at www.cardchef.com. She does beautiful design and uses quality materials. Plus, she’ll incorporate your ideas!
I hope she won’t mind that I am showing you these here! :)
These are just thumbnails. You have to click on the images for a better view.
Inspiring!
I love my Dave. And he loves Christmas.
For 28 Christmases now, he has worked hard, planned, created, wrapped, shopped, baked, played, decorated and done whatever else is necessary to create a magical, love-filled, memory-made Christmas for our family. Christmas mornings at our house are legendary feasts of extravagant indulgence and convivial love banquets of gifts and good smells and laughter and mountains of giftwrap and the music of Christmas and the love of the most incredible husband-father-grandfather. It isn’t about the money spent, for often there has been precious-little of that, but it’s the thoughtful generosity of spirit, gifts that remind the recipient: you are loved, cherished and appreciated-this is my token of that. But – wrap all of that in a huge Christmas bow and you have the gift of the season that my husband puts much great effort in to.
You are the original Clark Griswold, honey. You are George Bailey and Father O’Malley ringing the bells of Christmas. You are my handsome Jefferson Jones, my lover by tree-light. You are Kris Kringle and Santa Claus. You are the man described in “Holiday Inn” in the exchange between Jim Hardy and Miss Linda Mason (Bing Crosby and Marjorie Reynolds).
Linda: You’re a lot like my father – just a man with a family. Never amounted to much, never really cared. But as long as he was alive, we had food to eat and clothes to keep us warm.
Jim: Were you happy?
Linda: Very.
Jim: Well, then your father was a successful man. I hope I can do as well.
Yes, baby, you are Mr. Christmas. I love that you are. I love that you are ever-committed to making merry for all. I am smiling at how excited you are to be organizing the decorations – getting ready to haul them out in mere days. You know where everything is and you’re planning, with a twinkle in your eye, to give us yet another wonderful Christmas.
As the Carpenters once sang: Merry Christmas, Darling…Jeanie
From Dickens’ A Christmas Carol~
“…and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that truly be said of us, all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, ‘God bless us, Every One!'”
NOTE TO SELF: Love the Christmas keeper.
characters above from some of our favorite Christmas movies, including: Christmas Vacation, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Bells of Saint Mary’s, Christmas in Connecticut, Miracle on 34th Street, Holiday Inn
pictured: sweet daughter, Stormie did the graphic for me, from a photo of Dave and a Bing Crosby album.
“The convivial table is where it all begins,” I once read with immediate agreement and wish I could remember where and to whom it should be attributed. Naturally I liked the word “convivial” because it denotes lively feasting and banqueting with loved ones, being in good company with lots of good food for all.
I was perusing an old issue of Architectural Digest recently, a lovely magazine I try to pick up from the annual library clean-up sale, when I saw an ad for Electrolux appliances which said,
“In my kitchen: I preheat a memory. I fold in old friends with new. I bake a good laugh.”
I enjoyed the clever marrying of cooking and baking terms to the meaning of life. There’s an ad person with a poet’s heart, methinks.
And isn’t the kitchen truly the lifeline of home and family? Is this not where we experience unforgettable laughter and memory, the aromas of love and home-cooking? Isn’t it in the kitchen we hear the music of the percolating coffee, the sizzle of the bacon, the the beep of the timer signifying the wait is over, the promise has arrived? Is this not where we see the garden’s burst of color and taste of life itself?
The convivial table is life-giving. The convivial table is a place of gratefulness and feasting. “The convivial table is where it all begins,” and the place we keep hoping to get back to and should visit often.
I my kitchen I…what?
Eat, drink and be merry with some people you love…Jeanie
NOTE TO SELF: Tomorrow the table will be laden with fish tacos and fruit pizza for Tristan’s birthday (hey it is his menu!), and with love for him and loud talk and laughter amongst all.
pictured: a table spread for Christmas cheer moments before the lively and much-loved guests arrived