May you find light and peace and rest as you meditate on the true meaning of Christmas! May the Light of the World shine into your heart and home and bring calmness and joy to your heart!

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”

Luke 2:4-20

We have known each other for a while now. We are all older, a tad wiser, and we have experienced much of life together. Years ago when we first met at work, our children were young, single digits in age, they – like us – have grown and aged. We all have sons and we had landed there a while. They are all different ages and in different stages of life. Many of our experiences are the same; we could all trend on the social media with the hashtag BoyMom.  

Their sons are grown and have entered the professional world. One has been drafted by the NFL and will no doubt do extraordinary things, the other is a bussiness-man in Atlanta. I wondered if they could have foreseen what the future would hold for their own boys so many years ago. I wondered what it takes to raise boys that become those kinds of men. 

“Motherhood looks different when your son outgrows you,” I thought. It saddened me to think what that was going to look like for me as my own son grows into adulthood. As I was thinking, their conversation shifted. They were talking about their boys becoming men, growing into adulthood, taking on responsibility. 

My thoughts shifted to another mother of a son. Another Boy-Mom

“You know why the shepherds knew right where to find Him in a town packed to the gills with people who’d come to town for a census?” 

It was a rhetorical question I knew, but I realized I did not know why. I’d always figured it was the star, or the… well the innkeeper let the cat out of the bag… maybe it was the… well… I didn’t actually know how they knew, I had never once asked myself that.

“Those shepherds weren’t just any ol’ shepherds, they were the keeper of the sacrifice.” This part I knew, the Bethlehem shepherds were responsible for rearing lambs to be sacrificed in the temple. Those sheep were special, they were to be blemish free perfect lambs to be sacrificed for the sins of the people. 

The Preacher Man  answered my question for me. 

“Those lambs were special. They had to be perfect so they were wrapped in swaddling clothes at birth and placed in a designated place of safety, like a manger, so as not to hurt themselves from thrashing around at birth. There was a place that was done, those shepherds woulda known where that was when those angels announced it.”

All my life I’d missed it, I can about quote this one from memory

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:11-12 

 I had missed a little word, sign. There it was, written out in scripture – the how they knew. 

That new mother, that ultimate boymom, had used what she had available to calm and quiet her little one. The Baby born that would change the world. That once and for all sacrifice for the sins of His people, the sins of His Mother, and the Sins of you and me. She likely couldn’t have known nor understood what was to come, what we have the perspective of history and scripture to know, but she was obedient and faithful beyond her seeing and that is all that was required of her in that moment. As time would unfold she was, and is, the ultimate Hashtag Boy-Mom. 

Have you ever looked in the sky to see a search light? When my brothers and I were young, businesses would set up huge search lights to send out strong lights into the night sky. You could see them for miles around. Sometimes there would be just one light but others times there would be many lights all starting from the same place circling through the sky. We would climb into our car and go out in search of these lights. The light was on a rotating base and would move in a circle around the sky. We would watch for it as we moved in the direction of the beginning point of the light. My Daddy would zigzag through the roads to look for where the light was shining. There was so much excitement when we would finally find the business that was using the search lights. We would get out of the car and be so overjoyed because we had found the reason for the light. There would usually be refreshments or something fun going on. It was a celebration! We had Found the Light!!

As I think about lights in the sky, I cannot not help but think of the Star that the Wise Men saw. They knew the stars in the sky. They knew that there were stars that stayed in position and other stars that were moving stars that we understand to be planets. The Wise Men were probably mathematicians that had mapped out the heavens. They would have known the stars and would have identified them, so they would have been excited and filled with wonderment about a new star that appeared. The Wise Men were diligently looking to the heavens so they recognized the new star.

If the star was so visible in the sky, why did King Herod’s advisors not see the star?

They were not looking for it. They were not diligently studying the heavens.

Jeremiah 29:13 says, “Your will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

In John 8:12 (ESV), Jesus tells us “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” 

Are you looking for the Light? 

Are you seeking Jesus?

It had been a particularly difficult Sunday start. It was nothing short of miraculous that we had arrived to the Church-house intact. 

I found myself in the position of adversary for the teenage daughter. She was angry at my insistence on her obedience. My mama used to say to me that I’d better “toe the line.”  I had no idea what that idiom meant in reality, but in our house it meant I’d better straighten up or I was going to experience the dire consequence that accompanied my choices. 

On the way in the door I’d said a quick prayer, the kind mothers everywhere must pray. It was something along the lines of “Lord give me the strength not to lose my mind up in here.” My other two children heard me and giggled at their not-a-gansta mama prayer.

As I worshipped and sang, prayed and petitioned, my adversary sat beside me and fumed with protest. She declared, “Don’t touch me!” when I’d accidentally brushed up against her, and I thought for sure we’d go toe to toe when I removed from her possession a smuggled in tumbler filled with apple juice. 

He leaned over and whispered in my ear, “She’s just makin’ noise.”

He is observant and direct. When he speaks to me, a man of few words. I’ve learned to listen when he speaks, to focus and pay attention because he doesn’t often repeat himself. I have also learned while he is not always profound and earth shattering with his words, he is wise.

“She’s just making noise.”

It was his way of saying to let it alone, let it go, and do not let the action of someone else influence me so much that I lose focus on the task at hand, on the King and what I had been instructed to do. 

I’d allowed her disobedience to become my own.

Without even being aware I had lost sight of what I was to do. The noise of another drowning out the whispers from the King. In wisdom, my husband was telling me to ignore the noise, focus and pay attention to the One who is never just noise and Who has the ability to speak peace and calm to my tumultuous heart even in the center of conflict. 

A charming Christmas carol and personal favorite of mine begins with that very question:

Do you see what I see?

Said the night wind to the little lamb,
Do you see what I see?
Way up in the sky little lamb,
Do you see what I see?
A star, a star,
Dancing in the night,
With a tail as big as a kite
With a tail as big as a kite.

Often our most precious gifts begin with a look. We look up at the sunrise first thing in the morning waiting to unwrap the gift of a new day that God has given us. We look over at a classmate in high school and sparks fly – the beginnings of a lifelong love. Kids look under the tree with eager eyes full of expectation. We look down at that tiny baby just seconds old, and our lives are changed forever by the best gift that we ever got. We look inward and see our sin and pain and need, and that is the beginning of a lifelong journey with Jesus – the best gift ever given.

Are we looking? Are we taking time to look around, to see those who are hurting? Those in need? Are we seeing the desperation of souls that are empty and lonely because they don’t know Jesus? Are we taking time to look?

Are we listening, too? This time of year the songs proclaim God’s glory and perfect gift. The bells and harps, guitars and orchestras, and the voices – lone and clear are full choir and rich and harmonic. What joy to listen! God uses these sounds to soften our hearts and prick our spirits. Are we listening for God to speak to us? He may be whispering, “Listen to the lonely. Listen to the wounded. Listen to the angry and betrayed. Be my heart to them.”

Said the little lamb to the shepherd boy,
Do you hear what I hear?
Ringing through the sky shepherd boy,
Do you hear what I hear?
A song, a song,
High above the trees,
With a voice as big as the sea
With a voice as big as the sea.

Are we seeking to know what the shepherds in Bethlehem knew? The Christ child, the King, Immanuel had been born. A tiny babe who deserves all our gifts of worship and praise. Do we seek Hi through His Word? Are we wise women seeking to know Him and understand His ways and His purposes in our life? Let us bring Him our gift – our only gift worth giving the Baby King, our heart.

Said the shepherd boy to the mighty king,
Do you know what I know?
In your palace warm mighty king,
Do you know what I know?
A child, a child,
Shivers in the cold,
Let us bring him silver and gold,
Let us bring him silver and gold.

Listen! Proclaim! Celebrate! The Christ child is the goodness and the light and the hope that our world seeks! Make Him Known! Declare His Greatness! Share the Good News! Enjoy this season to the fullest! Enjoy Our Savior to the fullest! He came to give us life – life abundant! (John 10:10)

Said the king to the people everywhere,
Listen to what I say!
Pray for peace people everywhere.
Listen to what I say!
The child, the child,
Sleeping in the night,
He will bring us goodness and light
He will bring us goodness and light!

This Christmas season may you look and see. Listen and hear. Seek Him and know Him. Proclaim and celebrate the goodness and light He alone can bring!

Ever had that dream where you feel like you’re falling to your death and you jerk and wake yourself up? Me too. Scary dream. It leaves your heart pounding.

What’s even worse is when you have one of those wide-awake, real life moments that leave your heart pounding: sudden bad news, abandonment, a train wreck happening in your life. You feel like you’re in an endless fall. You can’t see the bottom. And it seems that the adrenalin-inducing situation will never end – or worse, will end in catastrophe.

When one of those things happens, there’s only one thing to do. Well actually that’s not true. There are several things we could do. We could pitch fit like a three-year-old, cuss out the person causing us pain (that’s “curse” for you non-Southern folks), binge on chocolate, get drunk, pop a pill, or freak out in any number of other personal preference ways. But then we would still be in the same overwhelming situation, plus we would have probably added pain and complications to our situation.

My favorite movie is Apollo 13. And one of my favorite scenes from it occurs after the mission-terminating accident has happened. The 3 astronauts on board the damaged spacecraft are assessing their situation. Tensions are high. They are frightened. Anger and accusations boil over as a result and an argument ensues for a couple of minutes until the mission commander, Jim Lovell, brings it to a halt with this statement:

Jim Lovell: “All right, look, we’re not doing this, gentlemen, we’re not gonna do this. We’re not gonna go bouncing off the walls for the next 10 minutes, because we’re just gonna end up right back here with the same problems!”

Since seeing this movie the very first time, this line has never left me. How often do I find myself in crisis and begin to freak out and bounce off the walls and say or do stupid things that complicate the situation, only to find myself right back in the same place when my anger is spent and my ranting is over? I’ve wasted all that time and energy, and probably increased my blood pressure and aggravated my health all for nothing. When if I reacted as I know is best, I would probably have found a more helpful, peaceful, and God-honoring way of conducting myself that would have left me in a better place emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and even physically.

There truly is only one thing to do that will help and not add to our tumultuous situation. That is to turn to The One who can catch us when we’re falling – our Father God. Turn to Him in prayer. Turn to His Word. Turn your heart to meditate on Him. Psalm 91 reminds us…

Psalm 91

¹ Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
² I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.”

³ Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare
    and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;
    his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only observe with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.

⁹ If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
¹⁰ no harm will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;
¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

¹⁴ “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
¹⁵ He will call on me, and I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble,
    I will deliver him and honor him.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.”

So the next time you feel yourself falling, turn to The One who can catch us when we’re falling. Then let go and let yourself fall… Fall into Jesus’ arms. Fall at God’s feet in prayer and worship. Fall on the altar in repentance of the sin that may have gotten you into your mess. Fall before the majesty of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the only one who can truly rescue. Then simply trust… God’s got you Girl!

2020 has become known as the year people hate. I’ve heard so many say they are just done with it and if I’m honest, I’ve said the same. This year has also become a year of division. So many choosing sides over one thing or another. It has brought with it much fear, anxiety, anger, and even hate. It’s so easy to get caught up in the emotions and the rhetoric that surrounds this year.

But for the last few months, I have been asking God what it is that he is trying to tell or show me. Knowing that nothing comes to me that isn’t first sifted through the Father’s hands makes me understand that he knew everything that was ahead. The question is, how have I responded to it? Have I been salt and light to this world or have I been a reason for others to turn away? Have I shown Jesus or I have just shown my flesh? A few scriptures the Lord has given me lately are:

Galatians 5:13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

Proverbs 18:1 An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends and against all sound judgment starts quarrels.

Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

And the one that really gets me:

John 13:15  I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

Have I followed the example Christ gave me? Have I served with humility? Have I been a witness by sharing the good news of Jesus or has my flesh been louder to the world than the love of God? The Lord has been telling me that they are watching, they are seeking. The field is ripe for the harvest, but am I destroying the crop by being rotten fruit?

I love a line in the song from Casting Crowns, “Jesus, Friend of Sinners.” It says, “they don’t know what we’re for, only what we’re against when we judge the wounded. Let’s put down our signs, cross over the lines and love like you did.”

To sum it all up, I pray as 2020 comes to a close and for the rest of my days, that people see Jesus when they look at me. I pray I show love and that I always point others to Christ. May the World know we are Christians by our love.

A little song I used to sing with my kids went something like this…

“Are you humbly grateful or grumbly hateful, What’s your attitude? Do you grumble and groan, or let it be known You’re grateful for all God’s done for you?”

A very good question for us to consider today, especially after the year of Coronavirus! We could each spout out a list of grumbles and groans I’m sure. But 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us that is not God’s will.

In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. 1 These. 5:18

No matter the situation – no matter how small or large, easy or difficult, sad or happy, stressful or peaceful your situation – there are always things we can discover and acknowledge to God with thanksgiving. ALWAYS!

Can we say with the apostle Paul…

“I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.” Philippians 4:11-13

Have we, like Paul, learned to be thankful and content? Contentedness really is a by-product of being thankful.

We’ve lived through a challenging year, ladies. It has been difficult at times to have a grateful heart. But then at other times, like when I hear of a tragedy someone else is facing, I’m so very thankful for my own simple life problems and all. You too?

Have you had trouble being thankful for the hard things though?

Have you spent more time praying & thanking God or griping and running your mouth about these things? COVID, masks, government mandates, those who don’t wear masks, those who do, the election, …?

We need to develop the discipline to choose to see through thankful eyes and look for God’s provision and His purposes in ALL things. I don’t mean we’ll never have negative feelings or opinions. I mean we control our tongues, rest our hearts in Jesus, and look to our omnipotent Heavenly Father to handle all the things we want to be grumbly hateful about.

Thanksgiving in our lives makes us consciously aware of significant things that we may otherwise overlook. Thanksgiving focuses our attention in the right direction – from worry to praise, from fear to faith.

Are you able to give thanks …

1. When life is chaotic.
2. When catastrophe strikes. illness, loss, destruction, rebellion, disappointment
3. When you feel rejected or unloved.
4. When your prayers are still unanswered or are answered in a way that you do not like.
5. When we don’t know how we will survive because of financial issues or job loss
6. When we feel forgotten, overlooked, or abandoned.
7. When we live in the shadows, not the limelight. 
8. When we are not asked to serve in a capacity we really want to.
9. When we face the death of someone we love
10. When we face death ourselves.
11. When we are in a season of depression or despair
12. When we feel lonely

When times are challenging and and we find it difficult to find something to be thankful for, here are a few things to consider.

Jer. 29:11-14 states “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord.”

So what are some things we can be thankful for in a really bad situation?

Salvation of course! For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him shall never perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

1. God’s strength, protection, & help. Psalm 28:7

2. That God hears our prayers. John11:41

3. That we received the Word of God and accepted Christ and that His word is alive and active in us “performing its work in believers.” 1 These. 2:13

4. God’s direction through our trying times when we don’t know the right course to take. We must try NOT to live by our own understanding – by our own wits or worldly advice – but trust Him to get us through on a straight path. Proverbs 3:5-6

5. He has given us everything we need for life and godliness. 2 Peter 1:3

6. God’s peace that He will put in our hearts when we come to Him in prayer and thanksgiving! Philippians 4:6-7

7. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted. Psalm 34:18

8. God will be there to comfort us in all our troubles. 2 Corinthians 1:4

9. He will strengthen us for service to Him. 1 Timothy 1:12

10. We have God’s provision! If He provides for the birds and adorns the flowers so beautifully, how much more will He provide for our every need. Matthew 6:25-33

11.  We Have Christ – the Hope of glory! Colossians 1:17

Today, choose to find something to be thankful for!

There were blankets, quilts, and a comforter on the floor. My little doxie tilted her head in puzzlement. I had seriously interrupted her world of play so early in the morning. I was making my bed and as a direct result of fitful sleep my sheets needed tending to. The fitted sheet had popped off the corners and the flat was nowhere to be found. My husband stood opposite of me on his side of the bed, staring. I could hear what he was thinking. 

“How exactly do you manage to do this? How are you capable of tearing sheets completely off the bed in the midst of sleep?” 

He doesn’t actually say it anymore, twenty years of being bedmates and he doesn’t have to. He is a solid as a rock sleeper. He stays in one position, on his side of the bed, his bedding is nearly just as it was the night before when he entered  the bed as when he awakens. 

I had removed everything and thrown it into a tall pile on the floor while I sorted out my post slumber sheet confusion. 

The most playful doxie has earned many nicknames since becoming a Martin. She is “Happy Baby”, “Crazy Baby”, “Crazy Eyes”, “Mae-Mae”, “Happy Eater”, “Stinky-Baby”, “Silly-Baby”, “Kissy-Baby.” She responds to most any name and is most enthusiastic when she does so. She is a dapple doxie with unique coloring. She looks like a myriad of chocolate foods. She resembles cheesecake brownies, Baskin Robbins Chocolate Peanut butter ice cream, a Toasted Marshmallow, and a chocolate ribbon I make for the family, “That good cake you make” is actually what they call it. 

So as she tilted her head toward the towering obstacle in her path blocking her exit, I giggled. “What’s the matter Mae? Did Mama mess up your plan and block your path?” The tower of blankets where ten times her height, the passageway between my bed and the furniture hugging the wall completely occluded. There was no way over, no way around, no way under the pile. Macy was stuck and there was no way out, no way to the other side. She whined as she surveyed her circumstances. That got my husband’s attention. He leaned over and saw her predicament. I made some comment about having to work quickly to clear her path because she had no way out. About that time he said, “What’d you say?” as I caught a flash of her brownie-colored body heading out of the bedroom door. 

Where I saw no way out,  overwhelming obstacles, Macy had not been deterred. She realized what I had not. She had been made for just such an obstacle as this. Where there was no way out, her long and low body flattened out and she crawled beneath my bed to freedom on the other side. She had been given just what she needed to make it through a most daunting situation. She couldn’t have walked under my bed. It is too low for that, even as vertically challenged as she is she would have not had clearance for her head. Immediately the King’s Word came to mind. 

 

Isaiah 43: 19

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

1 Corinthians 10:13

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

That puzzled pup reminded me that the Lord makes a way when there doesn’t even seem to be a way and that He can be trusted to do that even when my eyes can not see how that is even possible. 

I do not have to try and figure out the way out of so many impossible situations if I trust and have faith in Him to make the way.

In fact, I would even go so far as to say, if I can figure it out, that isn’t faith at all. 

Macy’s ancestral dachshunds were made to hunt badgers, they are low to the ground, to track scents, and long so they could hunt into badger burrows. She was equipped to make that escape long before I had presented the obstacle before her. She rarely uses that equipping, she is more of a snuggly baby than a ferocious badger hunting baby.  She did remind me though I am like her in that I have been given the Holy Spirit through my faith in Jesus to equip me in those moments of obstacle presented to me and that He has promised He will make a way. He is the way. 

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

              -Jesus Christ