Today is the celebration of 12 years of married love for Tristan and Stephanie!
They left us with three of the cutest kids yesterday and one small Tuppy-the-Puppy and it’s like we’re living in a sit-com over here…and it is only going to get MORE exciting when the rest of the grandbebes arrive over the next few hours for some fun after-Christmas fun.
Steph posted a snapshot after they got checked in for their romantic get-away
So have a wonderful celebration and fun, Steph and Tris because we are here (with your dog and the cutest K-kids!)! :)
So – a house-full of grandbebes
And the weirdest thing is – I am sitting here watching my 11 1/2 month-old grand-boy, Kai, scroll through my iPhone camera roll sometimes with his forefinger, or more relaxed when he kicks back and thumbs through and I want to know HOW. ON. EARTH. this is possible? I swear he was editing red-eye. Ohmygosh! :)
Here is a truth you can count on from the second day of Christmas and everyday since Christ came:
Jesus came into the world to save sinners and you can think you are the worst of the lot of them or really be the worst, but either way, your sin is no match for Jesus, our Savior. See? This is SUCH good news! (1 Timothy 1.15)…No wonder the angels made so much noise in the sky when He was born!
On the second day of Christmas…or is it the first day of Christmas since Christmas actually ends on January 6th, the Day of Epiphany? Hmmmm…
Yesterday was lovely. No snow this year, but generous, billowing thoughtfulness drifted down from heaven right up to the house and pushed us in close as a merry and bright winter day settled in around us. Presents big and small brought oohs and aahs and thank-yous and hugs and kisses.
One especially amazing thing was having three brand new babies here with us, enjoying their very first Christmases. If our family continues to grow at this rate, we shall be forced to rent a Ski Chalet to house us all! We are now 22. Twenty-two! There are lots of us.
Steph took pics of my little tomatoes…LOVE!
The other day I posted a Kenny Rogers song for my Advent-take-a-deep-breath-and-enjoy-the-season-with-a-song project, and it reminded me how much I love my old Kenny Rogers Christmas music. Because…
Kids, kids, Christmas is for kids
Look around and you will see kids from one to ninety-three
Laughin’, lovin’ life and bein’ kids
Kids kids, Christmas is for kids
Kids like you and little brother, aunts and uncles, dads and mothers
Grandma, grandpa an’ all the other kids
Our first Christmas
Kenny Rogers released his album, perfectly named “Christmas” in 1981 and the local radio stations in Kokomo, Indiana were playing selections from it. The one I most remember hearing was the one I used the other day, “Christmas is My Favorite Time of the Year.” And because that was and is true, I was thrilled when Dave brought the cassette tape home for me a couple of days before Christmas. I listened and listened to it.
And it was then I discovered his song, “Kids.” I mean, there I was 22 with a little girl, a handsome husband and another baby on the way. I was making a home, I was building a family and memories and traditions. I was trying to figure out how to be a Proverbs 31 wife. And this song would come on and I would get misty-eyed because I would think of my family of origin and how we all fit…
Daddy runs the ‘lectric train
While all the children wait in vain
To take their turn at playin’ engineer
Grandpa kisses grandma’s cheek
And all the family sneaks a peak
And suddenly their wrinkles disappear
And, *sniff*sniff…I would think about how Christmas was one of the few days of the year I would see my dad just get on the floor and play with toys and not be working so hard. And I’d recall watching the love between my Grandma and Grandpa Allison, so much affection and so much love shared at Christmas.
Take a look at Betty Joe underneath the mistletoe
Pretending that she doesn’t know it’s there
Then these words…oh my. I was Betty Jo, and my brothers were teasing me and I could recall it like it was yesterday. That would SO have been me! :)
Yes, as a newlywed, I listened to this song and I recalled the Christmases of my childhood and my sweet parents and my grandparents and cousins and aunts and uncles and I so wanted, so-so-so-longed to begin to create the same memories for my family, without even knowing what it would look like.
So the other day, I listened to this song again and wow – now WE are the grandparents in the song. Uncle Rocky antagonizes the kids with their toys and Guini and Averi might watch for mistletoe and pretend not to see it…
The times and faces have changed. But the love and joy of Christmas remains.
Here is a song for the 1st day of Christmas. First. I’ve decided.
And now it’s when the fun begins
This time of year we all turn into kids
1st Day TRUTH: Jesus’s birth opened eternal doors for our salvation and I just know God was in heaven feeling so pleased with His gift knowing it would change everything for all times. We receive Him again and again, the greatest Gift we’ll ever know! Glory to God in the Highest! What a Merry, Merry Christmas! :)
Last year, Dave’s cast and crew fromMerry Gentlemen ~ A Christmas in Mediocrity, gave him a John Deere tractor and a little guy with a cardboard box on his head. There was such a character in his original play and it is a treasure to him now at his desk.
They also presented him with a lovely, blooming Christmas Cactus and on cue, when the holidays pass, the flowers fall and red balls form, later shriveling and dropping to leave a plain green plant for the year. Throughout the spring, then summer and into fall when I totally ignored it and wondered if it would even live took GREAT care of it, it didn’t have much going on. It just sort of sat in the corner, in natural light or not, depending on my mood. Since Thanksgiving, it had been tucked into the corner near the fridge, out-of-the-way, thank-you very much!
But the other day, while Christmas decorating, I moved it out thinking perhaps it could use a drink since it has been a couple of weeks. And voila! It is full of buds waiting to unfurl and several beautiful cactus flowers (which reminds me of Goldie Hawn, whom I adore).
And I just wondered – how did it know? How did the Christmas Cactus know that Christmas is almost here and it was time to bloom again? I didn’t feed it. I didn’t tell it about the snow and cold. I didn’t try to decorate it with bulbs. I did not once mention Christmas to this Christmas Cactus, yet on cue – it knew!
It turns out it is thermo-photoperiodic and likes long, dark nights and colder days. It actually emerges in it’s’ fullest beauty when the rest of the world has glazed over, sleeping through the winter, looking like death. Perfect!
Being thermo-photoperiodic, I suspect, my little Christmas Cactus knows by Whom and for Whom it has been created and is slated to rejoice wildly {and with colorful beauty} along with the rest of us during the Christmas season!
Glory to God in the highest! Peace on earth, goodwill toward men, on whom the favor of the living, loving God rests!
Oh, weariness. That bone-tired, overworked, hopeless state of too many of us these days. What on earth, in light of the heaviness of the things this world is dealing with, what could cause it to begin to rejoice?
I have all these little children and babies in my life – those of my own children {my little grandbebes} and those of friends and family. And this is the winter season, these are the days of colds and sniffles and flu and lots of teeth emerging and I watch all these young mommies try to balance everything and keep their families healthy in spite of all the bugs flying through the air. Almost impossible.
And so weariness sets in.
Then Christmas comes and all the resolve we had to be way ahead in the whole scheme is swallowed up by life, all of life: good and bad and happy and sad and programs and plays and emergencies and welcomed surprises and, weariness can set in.
There is blessedness to weariness, though, I think.
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Galatians 6.9
Maybe it helps us remember that being weary should be while doing good, while doing what we are actually called to do. Maybe it’s OK if it’s being all we were born to be, all we are meant to be – well that comes with a promise, a promise of a season of fruitfulness and reward.
Because when you are bone-tired and stretched to your maximum ability to cope, you have no choice but to stop and listen and look around and cut back and proceed with caution. You have to decide, at that time, what really, really matters – what is the best, highest, most noble use of your body and soul.
I was just messaging with Stef as I was writing. When baby boy gets a fever, we have to drop everything and ask: what is happening here? Is there a tooth coming through? Will we be rejoicing shortly? If there was no outward sign, we’d miss it, we’d miss his little body as it goes through change after change and is exploding with life and the continuing creative processes of God on his little life! Did he catch a little bug? If he had no outward signs, we’d still run ragged (both baby and mommy) and hurt his little body irreparably, mommy’s too. Pain has its’ purpose.
Tiredness, fatigue and weariness – they serve as a message to these mortal bodies and they are a gift.
Tredessa just had a baby this week. A woman’s body is taxed beyond belief during labor and delivery and while she wishes with all her heart she could come to her dad’s play tonight, it would be horrible to expose our tiny Evangeline, but it would tax her, too. It would wear her out to have to smile and navigate stairs at the church and her body needs 6-8 weeks to be “normal again” and there is a reason for that and it’s a gift to us.
Isn’t it fabulously amazing that God gives us these guideposts for deciding again and again, that He trusts us that much? Oh, that I would trust Him back the same…
So, weary world, at the lowest and most fatigued and maybe hopeless moment, Arise, shine-for your Light has come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
Even if you’re in your weariest, most fragile state…Stop. Breathe. Slow down and decide, once again, what is this time for – right now? In this moment? And then when you see all God has blessed you with, rejoicing will rise. There is a reason for weariness, there is a blessedness in it if we’ll pay attention…
Note to self: It’s ALL a note to myself.
Today’s song for Advent, first a peek at Evangeline. Then, The Isaacs: Messiah’s Lullaby
Sorry it can’t be the whole beautiful song. It was one of the YouTube free-to-use songs (no copyright problems). I WISH I could have faded it out. Maybe YouTube will catch up on that someday. Enjoy my sweet new grandbebe’s contented, peaceful state (and her mommy-right where she should be)…
“The whole world’s been waiting, too
The only Hope for hope for fallen man is there is in Your tiny hands…”
I *HAVE* to thank Chantell Hinkle for taking the solo for me!
With a grandbebe’s birth and Christmas things to do, and working, well…I just thank her from the bottom of my heart! She’ll be singing a song I used to sing every Christmas at malls and airports and schools and churches from the early 1980s on, “Merry Christmas with Love,” by Sandi Patty. I KNOW she will be amazing!!!
The FIRST FIVE grandbebes are in the production, which is so cool.
They even got headshots done for the lobby board! Gavin and Hunter are both part of the principal cast. I cannot wait to see them!
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ALSO – an INTERMISSION band that is so crazy good and they also just so happen to be my kids, but they are REALLY good either way! :)
These peeps:
+ this one = GOOD STUFF!
Omygoodness!!!
So exciting! Several of my besties are in the cast! Music, dancing, laugh-out-loud funny, I’ve been told. I haven’t actually seen it yet, but the rumors are out there. :) Plus heartwarming and some Christmas magic – how can you lose? I am so proud of my talented husband, the infamous Dave Rhoades, who wrote it (he is a great character-writer!), and is directing and acting in it and all of the WONDERFUL cast and crew who make it all come together so I don’t have to, haha!
I totally FORGOT to post yesterday. Hey it’s been a busy week with a GRANDBEBE being born and Dave’s BIG production coming up this Friday and Saturday!
Christmas 2006, the year Guini walloped Santa is his big, fat beard.
This group is making the rounds this year and I have to say, I am on the bandwagon! Their song, “Little Drummer Boy,” was the first I had ever heard of them, and I think they captured it well. REALLY great rendition. And it does make you think: Jesus came to bring so much. Of course we want to give back.
A really beautiful song and so perfect for Advent, as we look forward to Christmas, “Glory is Here” by Gungor.
Someday You’ll come.
Darkness will cease.
True light will dawn, everyone will then see everything new
We’ll finally see You.
Awaiting that day, searching for more
While along You are found with the poor.
Help me to see
You’re all around me
Our praises arise
As we come to recognize
Jesus is near
Glory is here
Oh yes, it is! And when I focus on that, Christmas burns brighter.
It’s an early 1990s prophetic worship song. Dave and Tara sometimes lead it still, and it is a beautiful song of longing for what is ahead for us in Christ.
There is a song for Advent in this post – you just have to read a lot first! :)
Today I am adding Casting Crown’s “I Heard the Bells.” It was probably about 10 or 12 years ago that I began to really understand the amazing thing that happened over “secular” radio airwaves each Christmas season as classic Christmas carols were played. There it was – out in the hustle and bustle of shopping and crowds and malls, KOSI-101 playing Bing Crosby’s voice singing these lyrics:
“…’There is no peace on earth,’ I said,
‘For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.’
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“GOD IS NOT DEAD, NOR DOES HE SLEEP;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With PEACE ON EARTH, goodwill to men.”
The story of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow writing these words, while unique to him, also proves that across time, we all experience the pain of loss. These are chaotic and confusing days and our world is politically, socially and most certainly spiritually distraught. Then in our own small lives an unforeseen setback comes to mar the beauty of the life we had tried to carve out. Sickness, professional fails, broken friendships, shattered dreams, the death of some one important…it can cause us to want to just forget about the whole Christmas thing, to feel as Longfellow did at the prospect of merry-making
“In despair I bowed my head, ‘There is no peace on earth, ‘ I said.”
But, oh how I thank Henry W. Longfellow for pressing through and getting the revelation of the truth of what the angels proclaimed in dazzling, glorious, bright-light words to the shepherds so long ago. Because he wrote the words that led to a song that, while we may see it as just another old-fashioned Christmas carol, becomes a TRUTH released into the atmosphere proclaiming the VERY words of God and His Word will always, ALWAYS accomplish what it was sent forth to do. Dig it, people – Christmas is a time you can actually, really, with total boldness and clarity declare the Word of God on your life, on the lives of your friends and family and into your community. You have the GOOD NEWS! Give it!
“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
‘Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!'” Luke 2
So, for today, Casting Crowns with a newer rendition of these powerful lyrics. This song gives me goosebumps! Everytime the choir sings, “Peace on Earth,” I get so excited about this amazing gift from heaven all over again.
Glory to God in the highest – I worship Him, I gift Him with my abandoned love and praise. Peace on earth and goodwill – He gifts me back! And He gives good gifts! Please receive this today, and believe it no matter how scary or hopeless the world seems: God is good and He gives PEACE. May you be blessed today with a “suddenly” moment just like the shepherds were. :)
P.S. No kidding – I really just mean to post a song, not get all crazy enthusiastic about it, but this i what happens to me!
Jesus said: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14.27
I told you the other day I looked up something about Advent from a Catholic site and they had used Wikipedia’s definition of it, which is…odd. But anyway…I have not come to criticize, I have come to try to figure out the traditions of it because it is fun. And I have started my own tradition this year – songs. :)
Amelie was glad to discover her old friend is back today
Anyway, in the 80s we lived in a small Nebraska city and there was a strong liturgical bent and I followed along, observing customs like the Advent wreath and lighting candles and basically just did whatever everyone else was doing. But I’ve decided to try to understand the value of it in my old age, because I like things with meaning, and I find that rituals and patterns in our lives offer a rhythmic order that keeps our steps steady, day in and day out, season by season…
So, this morning I wondered, “Now what exactly are all those purple candles and the one pink one about???” And found, after just clicking through a few sites on my Google-search: that explanation varies greatly!!! Proof: {{click here}}.
Pick a meaning, any meaning. What? Am I going to have to attend seminary to sort this thing out? I don’t think so. I am choosing for the week following the second Sunday of Advent to be about Peace (which is one of the options listed. Last week, hope. This week. peace.). So let’s just agree that yesterday’s Advent candle (which I did not light) began a week looking forward to Peace. Yes, Peace on earth, in the world, OK. But Peace inside us, too, in our homes, where we go, as we drive (with all the maniacs on the road), in the decisions we make and the conversations we have: Peace.
And since for whatever reason, I seem to be on an 80s kick today (as evidenced by my Twitter posts), I shouldn’t have been surprised by this song coming to mind when I said, “God? Give me a song for my Advent observation. Something in the peace-genre,” as if He is just spinning discs on request for me. I waited for something spectacular to come to mind. Then, just as evening fell, I heard Carman’s voice in my head. From the mid-80s: Fear Not, My Child. It isn’t actually a “peace” song, but it reminds me of Jesus’s words in John 14.27
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.
I think if Jesus says He is giving us HIS peace, we can safely kiss fear good-bye. It isn’t helping us at all, anyway. So, it’s 6:40 pm and I am going to listen, in the light of the tree (yes-TV is off!)…join me…
Today’s Advent Song…Fear Not, My Child
He knows how to take care of what is causing us fear.
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