A Light to My Path

My Prayer

2012-01-24T06:20:00.001-08:00

My prayer for today as a mom:
God, give me strength for my tasks. Give me patience with children who are still - always - learning. Give me love for tender hearts. Give me a sense of justice to teach right from wrong, but grace and mercy to forgive as abundantly as I have been forgiven. Give me compassion for hurts, comfort for sadness, and most of all, words to teach them of Your great love for them in Christ. In His holy name I ask this, and for His sake. Amen.

Tame the Fingers?

2012-01-19T07:11:00.001-08:00

I've always tried to be careful and conscious about what I post online, on this blog, on Facebook, Twitter, and so on. However, this morning I posted about being reprimanded when dropping off the kids for school, as they were taking too long to get out of the van.

The woman in line told me that if they were having trouble getting out of the car, I should pull up and around so the other cars don't have to go around me. No sympathetic smile, (I was already frustrated with the kids for taking so long), no wording that would indicate that make it sound more like a suggestion than a command. So I was a little hurt. Yes, I know I'm too sensitive.

So I posted on Facebook that I'd been reprimanded in the pickup line for the kids being too slow, ending with what I thought was a humorous "Really?"

But then I started to get a lot of comments kinda of ragging on the person who talked to me. With each comment, I started to feel worse and worse. Was this what I'd wanted to happen? No. Was I still the cause of it? Yes. So I removed the post.

James, in his epistle describes how the tongue is impossible to tame. "For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so." (James 3:7-10 ESV)

Even though I didn't speak a word, I was still sinning in that I didn't look at the situation in the best light. Maybe she didn't smile because she was having a rough morning. Maybe someone else had complained against her for parents taking too long in drop-off and she felt she had to react to that. There are a thousand unknown variables that might affect the situation.

A good friend of mine, in teaching youth about the harmful effects of gossip and how you cannot retract what had been said, had the kids squirt toothpaste from a tube. She then asked them to try getting it back into the tube. Have you ever tried? It's impossible! Even if you manage to get some of it back in the tube, you're still left with. A big, sticky mess. So it is with our words.

With the Internet, we must be even more cautious. Words today spread with alarming speed. So what words are we spreading? Words that tear down and hurt others? Or words that build up and encourage?

James' conclusion to chapter three may be applied to the intent behind our words. "For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." (James 3:7-10, 16-18 ESV)

May God grant us the grace and patience to spread words of peace and love, sacrificing our own pride for the sake of the Gospel of Christ.

All for Christ

2012-01-07T10:38:00.001-08:00

Life is stressful. Sometimes more than other times. It is frustrating when things do not go how it seems they should. The demands on our time and energy seem unending. The weight of responsibilities and burdens (even good ones) add up. With all these things constantly picking at us, we can easily come to the conclusion that life is hard.

Let us consider, though, if life were easy. Would we be happy? Sure! Without a care in the world, we would never be tempted to complain, or to be discontented in this life. But comfort can easily lead to complacency. And that is a dangerous place to be. More on that another time.

When we struggle, though, for what purpose? Why not simply give up? Withdraw from the things that stress us? For us as Christians, there is one driving incentive which pushes us to persevere. It is the Gospel of Christ. We continue in this life, despite the difficulties, that we may bring hope to others for the next.

St. Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians, "I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings." (1 Corinthians 9:23 ESV) It would be so easy to never push ourselves from our comfort zones, to not care about other people, to never put ourselves out in the open for our faith to be seen. But then no one will see the hope in which we live, the Gospel which we can share. We who have struggles in this world persevere in hope that others might be touched by the love of Christ and His saving grace.

How do your particular struggles help further the kingdom of God?

Dear Lord, help us to see Your grace in our struggles. Give us strength that only You can impart, that we may persevere to the glory of Your name and the salvation of those around us. Amen.

In His Hands

2011-12-05T16:08:00.001-08:00

As some (most?) of you know, my husband and I recently had our third child by birth (fourth including by adoption, but that is for another post). Having a baby again is an interesting experience. Of course, we are thrilled and humbled and enchanted by this tiny life entrusted into our care. However, when we are not lost in his eyes or big piles of diapers or laundry, we notice little points of interest about babies.

Our baby couldn't do very much when he was born. He could cry, suck, and expel waste. However, it was enough, together with the care of his parents, to survive. It is amazing how God has created babies, helpless little infants, with just enough knowledge to do what is necessary. He gives them instincts or reflexes that they automatically do. One of my favorites, though I don't know any health benefit or scientific significance behind it, is the reflex that causes their little hands to grab whatever is in it. Our older kids love to put their fingers in his palm and feel his tiny fingers squeeze theirs. I'll admit, I love it, too. So many things those hands will learn to do in my baby's lifetime, but for now, they can only clench.

Knowing the physical inabilities of a baby, it is astounding that the Lord of all creation, the only-begotten of God, would subject Himself to that sort of limitation. His hands, so weak and tiny at His birth, would work, bless, heal, and eventually be pierced for our sins. And it doesn't end there. Those same hands, once still and cold in death, were alive and warm and even touched by His disciple, seeking proof of His resurrection.

At Christmas, it is easy to only think of Jesus the Holy Infant. We must also remember, though, that Christmas is not the end. It is, rather, the beginning of His time with us. He came for one purpose, to reconcile us to God. And that reconciliation was only possible through Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.

Christmas Traditions

2011-12-01T09:21:00.000-08:00

People have different things that they always to at Christmastime, traditions that they follow. For some people, it may be as simple as always exchanging gifts. For others, they may have lists of cookies to make every year, a specific place for each and every decoration, and special meals to prepare and share with others. Growing up, my family tended toward the latter.

One of my most prized Christmas decorations is a paint-your-own nativity set that my father had given my grandfather one year. Grandpa enjoyed painting it so much that the next year, he bought and painted a set for each of his five sons. Years later, shortly before my husband Karl and I were going to be married, my widowed grandmother was on hospice, diagnosed with terminal cancer. She began going through her things and listing what she wanted to go to whom. She decided that she wanted Karl and me to have the original nativity set.

This was and still is an incredibly precious gift to me. As a child and even now, I always loved setting up the pieces of the set and seeing the matching ones at my grandparents' and aunts and uncles' houses. It was also rather emblematic of our family's focus during Advent and Christmas. While we did do the whole cookies-decorations-visit Santa-give and receive gifts thing, my parents always made sure my sister and I knew that Christmas was about Christ coming to seek and save those who were lost in the darkness of sin, ourselves included.

Why lies He in such mean estate, where ox and ass are feeding? Good Christians, fear for sinners here the silent Word is pleading. Nails, spear shall pierce Him through, the cross be borne for me, for you. Hail, hail the Word made flesh, the Babe, the Son of Mary. (from What Child Is This?)

The Holy Family

2011-11-30T11:19:00.001-08:00

Families are great things. They ideally offer a place to belong, to love and be loved, a setting in which children are raised, and a safe-haven for all of its members. Sadly, in our fallen world, not all families offer those things. Sin causes discord, difficulty, and many other things where a family member will act with less than love toward the other members. But God stepped into our less-than-ideal situation on earth when He sent His Son, born into a family, that He might bring us into he family of God the Father.

The family of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus is a great example for us. Mary submits herself to God's will, even when the path may be a difficult one (Luke 1:38); being an unwed mother was not what it is today, as she could have been stoned. Joseph demonstrates honor and love of righteousness in his plans to deal with Mary before the Lord tells him not to be afraid to take her as his wife, even though she's pregnant with a baby that isn't his (Matthew 1:19-25). They both trusted God to come to their aid and not leave them helpless in what He asked of them. Still, even with their trust in God, their family wasn't perfect either. They didn't always understand what Jesus needed to be doing, such as when He was a boy in the temple at Passover, and they couldn't find Him (Luke 2:41-52). And again when Mary asked Him to help at a wedding before His time had come (John 2:1-11).

Ofttimes, it is difficult to be part of a family. We are called to give of ourselves for the good of others. When we love, we open ourselves to the possibility of being hurt. We really cannot do this very well on our own. But God doesn't leave us without help in our families.

When we are brought into God's Family through the work of the Holy Spirit, we become members of a Family that, while still full of imperfect people, has a Father who loves each of His children very much. And the Head of that Family never will let us down. He loves us enough that He have His life that we may be freed from the sin that ruled in our lives. Through Him, we are free to love others as He has loved us both in our families and outside of them.

Of the Father's love begotten, ere the worlds began to be, He is Alpha and Omega, He the Source, the Ending He. Of the things that are, that have been, and that future years shall see, evermore and evermore.

Anticipating Christmas

2011-11-29T07:45:00.001-08:00

I love the Advent season. And not just because of the gifts, though as a child that was a fun part of it. Now, I love finding and making gifts that friends and family will like, decorating the tree and house, and listening to the music. The whole season fills me with a sense of peace and a gentle sense of anticipation of what's to come.

And isn't that what Advent is really about? Anticipating what's to come. Specifically, the Savior. All of the decorations are fun and even meaningful. But their purpose (for me) is to heighten the sense of anticipation that Advent has about it.

The people of the Old Testament waited eagerly for their Savior. The early Christians waited eagerly for Christ to return. And we wait, as they did, for the same.

O come, O come, Emmanuel.

It's been a while...

2011-07-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything here. A lot has been going on. First of all, I'm pregnant! Due sometime around September 30th, it seems fairly certain that Baby Baughman #3 is a boy. But that brings me to the next news...

Baby Baughman #3 is now actually our 4th child. My husband's cousin passed away, leaving custody of her 10-year-old son to us. So we now have three children entrusted to our care by the Lord, soon to be (assuming all goes well with the remaining two-and-a-half months of this pregnancy) four. Our family has grown by leaps and bounds!

Now, as a part of the bedtime routine we've altered to fit in another child, Karl and I take turns singing hymns to the younger kids to help them sleep. Well, now I'm doing most of the singing, as Karl's taken on the task of helping the eldest start learning about the Lutheran Catechism. Recently, I began at the beginning of the hymnal and am working through the whole thing. Some of the songs I don't know, but those are easily skipped for now. The first set of hymns belong to the season of Advent, where we celebrate the Coming of the Lord (both His first coming as an infant and His Second Coming, to judge the world). One hymn in particular, Savior of the Nations, Come, struck me.

(From the footnotes of the hymn in the Lutheran Service Book) This hymn is attributed to Ambrose of Milan, who lived in the 300s. Martin Luther wrote a German translation during his lifetime, and it's been around since. Verse four in the hymnal speaks of Christ "stepping forth" from heaven to begin His work of saving humanity.

His saving us was very intentional.

Often when I think of Jesus, I think of the humility and the patience, the gentleness and how He almost seemed to just have everything happen to Him that did, including his suffering, death, and resurrection. And while He was indeed all of those things, it is sometimes too easy to forget His power, His majesty, His glory, His strength. It wasn't just "stuff" happening to a pushover. He stepped down from His throne in Heaven in order to allow all that to happen. There was great intentionality to what He did and what "happened" to Him. It wasn't an accident. He knew what He was doing.

Praise Him for that! How great a love would set aside the splendor of Heaven to even be with us, let alone suffer a terrible death for us. It is quite fitting, then, that the hymn ends in a verse of doxology, praising our Triune God.

Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for coming intentionally to save me. I look forward to Your return with eagerness. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Epic Fail

2011-02-07T10:19:00.000-08:00

Failure is not something that we like to consider. At least, I don't. Fear of failure is something that keeps me from trying a lot of things, whether it be talking to someone new in hopes of making a new friend or entering in some type of competition. Beyond my own fear of failure, I'm sure that most people have to deal with their own fear of the same thing at some level or another.

The thinking is, when we fail, that's it. We're done. But is that really it? Sure, we may not be able to continue on the same path, but in most cases, life is not over. We can go on and try for something else, learn from what happened, or even regroup and give it another go. But sometimes a failure is nothing more than a street sign on the road of life, directing us in another way.

Consider the Ultimate Failure, according to the world. Jesus was some upstart, trying to start a revolutionary movement, maybe to overthrow the Romans or maybe to reform the Jewish leadership of his day. But He failed. He died. The end. Right?

From a skewed spiritual perspective (that of the devil), He was God, attempting to redeem, to win back, the lost souls that Satan had stolen, the souls that had turned from Him and His love. He died trying. The end. Right?

Of course not. As Scripture had foretold and also records the event, He rose back to life, triumphant over sin, death, and the power of the devil. His righteousness is now ours, who by faith trust in Him. His love covers us, pours out from us to others. His seeming failure was in fact the greatest victory of all time.

And so when we fail, we can now cling to the knowledge that God worked through something as terrible as the death of an innocent Man on a cross to bring about redemption. And He continues to work through all sorts of unhappy circumstances, even failures, to bring people to the knowledge of His love and salvation. Praise God for His love for us in Christ Jesus, our victorious Lord and Savior!

Who's in Your Family?

2010-10-14T07:32:00.001-07:00

Some people (like my husband) find family trees and histories to be fascinating. Learning about the people from whom you are descended can be an interesting and informative experience. I personally do not know a great deal about all of my ancestors (Karl probably knows more about them than I do). We have drawn from their names, though, in naming our children.

St. Matthew records the ancestry of Jesus at the beginning of his Gospel. Among those named are many less-than-stellar individuals. I knew this without having to look at the footnotes in my study Bible, but something that those notes did point out was that all of them were sinners.

Of course, that is a given, as "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom.3:23). But sometimes when I read that verse, I gloss over it or apply it only to myself. Christ stood alone in his purity in this world. He came from a line of people tainted, stained, ruined by sin, in order to save a world full of people tained, stained, ruined by sin. St. Paul continues in his letter to the Christians in Rome by saying, "and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a porpitiation by his blood, to be received by faith" (Rom. 3:24).

God's grace is shown in Christ. It is shown in His allowing those sinners to be a part of His plan for their, for our salvation. It is shown in the way in which God calls us to be His children, washed clean in the blood of Christ.

Lord Jesus Christ, forgive me for my sins, which are too numerous for me to count. Thank You for Your love and mercy, which calls me from the darkness of my sin into the light of Your grace. Amen.

Controlling Emotions

2010-09-26T10:48:00.000-07:00

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.
~ Genesis 1:31a

I personally experience my emotions in a very strong way. When I am happy, there's not much that can bring me down and life's everyday hassles are easy to take in stride. When I'm feeling upset or down about something, a little spilled milk or water even can send me over the edge.

Emotions, like all else in Creation, were made to be good. They were good. After the Fall, however, they became distorted, perverted, like everything else. This is true of both "positive" emotions and "negative" emotions.

Can sad be a good thing to feel? Sure it can. When we or someone we love experiences a loss, we feel sad. That emotion is appropriate in that instance. Tainted by sin, though, we may feel that sadness begin to control us. (And I'm not talking about clinical depression here; that's something else entirely.) We may let the sadness or frustration or whatever other "negative" emotion begin to have entirely too much power in our lives.

What about happy? Can it be a negative thing? Of course. When someone who isn't nice to us or doesn't like us very much is humiliated or hurt, we may feel a perverse pleasure. But that's not a good way to experience that emotion. We're letting sin once again taint what God made good.

Looking for the influence of sin in our emotions, looking to see why we're feeling what we're feeling can help in keeping our emotions from ruling us and influencing us negatively. On the other hand, as children of God, we can also see the influence of His grace in our emotions.

We remember that what we have here in this world, good or bad, is transient and temporary. Because of that, we can rest in the assurance that God has called us to His kingdom, that we are made into new creatures, washed clean of sin. We are made able to renounce the devil and his attempts to use our emotions to pull us from God. Praise God for His healing and saving grace in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
~ II Corinthians 5:17

Resting in Grace

2010-04-28T10:12:00.000-07:00

Work. So much of life is about work. We work at desks, in gardens, in the kitchen, in the laundry room, at stores, in offices, everywhere. We have to catch up, get it done, excel or at least keep with the pace. When we can't do it all, as we inevitably can't at some point or another, we fail.

When we maintain this mode of operation in regards to our Faith, that which was given us in order to comfort, strengthen, enliven, and save becomes a burden. I don't read my Bible enough. My prayers are half-hearted at best. My witness is lacking. My love for God and my fellow man is tainted. What a wretched (wo)man I am!

But who is the active person in each of those sentences? I am. Who is it that saves? Me? No! I know myself well enough to know that no good thing can come from me apart from God. There is the answer: God. He is the one who sustains us: God the Father. He is the One who saved us: God the Son, Jesus Christ. He is the One who carries us to Christ: God the Holy Spirit. When I was dead in my sins, God picked me up, placed me on the rock of Christ Jesus and it is He who is the beginner and finisher of my faith.

Lord, when I can go no further, I rest on You. On Your grace to save, Your Spirit to move, Your love to fill me. May I rest in Your grace. Through Christ Jesus, Your Son, my Lord. Amen.

A Life of Prayer

2010-02-05T08:29:00.000-08:00

I am not a great pray-er. I do pray, throughout the day, but I have never been able to consider myself a "prayer warrior." I have a great deal of respect for those who can spend hours in prayer, petitioning God for His intervention on behalf of others, asking that God's Spirit would bring people to faith, that Christ's love would abound in His Church -- among many other things.

Last night, my husband and I read a devotional about prayer. It came from a book that a good friend of ours here in Selma gave to my husband for Christmas. It is called The LORD Will Answer: A Daily Prayer Catechism. The particular devotion we read encouraged the reader to pray throughout the day. At the table, when going to work, when looking at God's creation, and in any other situation we may find ourselves.

This was comforting to me. I have often felt rather inadequate in my inability to dedicate a great amount of time to prayer alone. But then, isn't that what God always does with us? He takes our inadequacies and uses them to His glory, in spite of ourselves. St. Paul, when discussing his "thorn in the flesh" says this: "Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (II Corinthians 12:8-10, ESV).

How does the blessing of prayer touch your life? How has God's invitation to you to approach His throne blessed you?

Cover us, O Lord, in Your grace, and draw us to You. May our lives be lives of prayer, spent in communion with You and in service to our neighbor to Your glory. In Christ's name and for His sake we pray. Amen.

Rejoice in Your Salvation

2010-01-27T14:57:00.000-08:00

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:3-9)

There are always troubles and trials that will come to us. Some of them are more difficult to deal with than others. The human heart cries out in anguish, sometimes with words "Why? How can I? When will this end?" and sometimes without words. But for those of us who have been found in Christ, we have assurance through the difficulties that we are not alone, that our struggles are not in vain.

Whether dealing with aggravating children, the morning rush hour, a stressful work schedule, the illness or death of a loved one -- we are not floundering blind in the sea of difficulties. Christ, the Light of the World, guides us to safe shores; His Church, the boat that carries us there; His Spirit, guiding us on our way. And over all, God the Father provides us with all that we need, until the time comes that we are brought to our Eternal Home.

Lord, guide me and keep my in Your love and grace now and always. Strengthen me for the trials I will face, and give me the encouragement and courage needed to do all that You have for me. Amen.

Tattered Clothes

2010-01-24T16:36:00.001-08:00

One of the things that I, and I'm sure many other writers, love about the Regency is the fashion. The clothes were fun and lovely and there were different types of dress for every occasion. Author Linore Rose Burkard has a fabulous article about fashion during the Regency time period. (She also has her third book out, The Country House Courtship; I haven't read it yet, but if it's anything like the first two, it should be wonderful.) The clothing of those wealthy enough to keep up with fashion was elegant, to say the least.

During this morning's sermon, our pastor mentioned that Jesus did not come as a fix-it Man. It is not that He is unable, but that He came for a different purpose than to make our lives here on earth perfect. What is this life if the life to come is not life, but death? Christ came to save our souls, to live and die and rise again so that we may have newness of life, not so that we can have all that we want now or so that our lives will be easy. Certainly, He blesses us with material as well as spiritual gifts, but it is our spiritual good that is center to what He did and what He does through the workings of His Spirit and His Word. The splendor of the most splendid clothes are like tattered rags compared to the excellence of what Christ gives us.

Dear Jesus, Friend of the downcast and Savior of sinners, grant me the peace and contentment that only You can give. May I remember that Your work on the cross has clothed my soul with a robe that is beautiful beyond comparison -- the robe of Your righteousness. Amen.

Christ's Cross

2010-01-11T06:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday in church we sang In the Cross of Christ I Glory. The first verse describes the cross -- the means through which God opened salvation to all people. The second verse goes on to claim the comfort of the cross -- how even when nothing seems to be going our way, we know that Christ's cross offers hope and peace. The third verse celebrates life's joys and how the cross makes those joys even better. Finally, the fourth verse sums it up: whether things are going well or poorly, the cross -- and what Christ accomplished on it -- is a constant source of peace and joy.

So often, when things are not going our way, we want to know why. Why is this happening to me? Why does it have to be so difficult? Why can't things be a little easier? But Christ did not take the easy route in His time on Earth. He allowed Himself to be humiliated, to suffer, to die -- all for the sinners that despised Him. Now we, who are called to follow Him, are called indeed to follow Him. Through wherever He leads. "And he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me'" (Luke 9:23, ESV). But we know that He will not ask us to go anywhere that He does not also go. He is with us always, leading us with His Spirit, comforting us with His cross.

Lord, make me a willing follower, wherever You might lead. May my life bring glory to you and benefit to my neighbor. Amen.

Community

2009-12-20T07:32:00.000-08:00

When we moved to our home here in a smaller city in Alabama, we hardly knew anyone. At our church, though, the people welcomed us unconditionally -- even though we were strangers, outsiders, so to speak. That's what the community of Christ does. When we are called to belong to God, we also belong to one another. St. Paul writes in I Corinthians 12 of us needing one another, supporting and helping one another. God sends us to each other, to meet needs and serve one another.

I personally experience the benefits of this community often. Just a few weeks ago, my husband and I were singing in the choir. Our almost-eighteen-month-old boy was being his usual squirmy self, so after the second song, I took him out to try to get him to fall asleep. This is a somewhat arduous task. It involves walking back and forth in the hallway, until the motion lulls him to sleep. He's not the smallest of kids. Our pastor's wife, after I had made one or two laps of the hallway, came out to ask if I would like her to take him for me. Normally, I like to try to be self-sufficient, but I'm slowly learning to accept these gifts that God sends to me. I gladly relinquished him to her capable care and went back into church to enjoy the sermon (perhaps the first time in several weeks).

Some people that I know believe that they can survive apart from this community, the Body of Christ. Now, we as Christians certainly can survive apart, but how sad I feel for those individuals, that they are not experiencing the benefits of this particular means that God has of providing for His children. And it's not only about help with kids -- as Christians, we receive spiritual encouragement, as well as social, emotional, physical, and mental benefit.

Thank You, Lord, for the community of believers into which we are called. Help us to appreciate Your goodness to us, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Christmas Cards

2009-12-11T06:45:00.001-08:00

I have been working on getting our Christmas cards together for the last week or so. Yesterday and today, I am signing them. In the past, I always watched a favorite movie or television show with my husband while preforming this rather mindless task.

1. Write names of recipients.

2. Write greeting: "Merry Christmas! May Christ be born anew in you this Christmas!"

3. Sign our names.

4. Next card. Repeat #1-3.

This year, I am working on them while my husband is at work. I let my daughter watch a kid's show so I wouldn't be distracted from the cards. And I started thinking about what the greeting means, for the individual receiving the cards.

(A note about the greeting: Several years ago, a pastor of mine gave a sermon in which he told of a monastic order who greeted one another with "May Christ be born anew in you" at Christmastime rather than with "Merry Christmas." It spoke more to the purpose of that first Christmas than the typical greeting.)

So as I signed cards, I started to pray for the people receiving each card. I know I'm not the first person to think of doing this. But for whatever reason, it had never occurred to me before this year. I don't know exactly what each person might need while I pray; some people I talk to often and others may not have heard from since last Christmas. But God knows what is on each person's heart. So whether it be a strengthening of faith, a renewal or beginning of belief, a need for comfort -- all these things, God knows.

My prayer for my readers - both those I know of and those I don't - is that Christ may be born anew in you! May God bless you with joy and peace in this season. Christ is born!

Whose Job Is It?

2009-12-06T19:48:00.000-08:00

We all have responsibilities. Some of mine, as a wife and mother, include cleaning the house and making sure meals are on the table, caring for my kids and making sure they're healthy in body, mind, and soul, caring for and supporting my husband. I have responsibilities at church, where I am a member of the choir and the LWML, as well as a school where I volunteer. We all have responsibilities.

Some people try to shirk their responsibilities and pass them off to others. "I don't have to help with this or that; it'll get done without me because someone else will do it." There are also people who try to take every responsibility upon themselves. "If I want something done right, I have to do it myself!" Then there are those who will do both, with different things. I am one of those. I take on too much of what I really enjoy and try to avoid the unpleasant things. It does not make for good balance. But that is another post.

What about the responsibility of our faith? Of our salvation? This, too, can be problematic when people want to take too much or too little responsibility for a life of faith.

During church today, one of the readings included Philippians 1:6 "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." The Apostle Paul is speaking here about the partnership in the Gospel that the church in Philippi has entered with him. Isn't that what our faith is about? We believe and are saved by faith through God's wonderful grace, but it doesn't end there. We are brought into partnership with all Christians, all believers, to share that grace and mercy that has already been (and is daily being) poured out on us. But look back at the verse. It says that "he [God] who began a good work in you." It does not say "You began this good work." Who is responsibile for our salvation? Jesus, of course! Then Paul continues, "will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." So God starts it and finishes it! We do have the responsibility of sharing God's Word of grace and mercy, as well as remaining faithful, but He does not leave us alone in this. The Holy Spirit is with us, giving us all that we need to do the good works He has prepared in advance for us to do! (Ephesians 2:10) He is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2) and we can rest in the knowledge that it is not on our shoulders, but is a yoke shared with Him (Matthew 11:29)!

Open Thou My Lips

2009-12-03T18:01:00.000-08:00

I had a very productive day today. I cleaned the family room, made the dough for the first Christmas cookies of the season, got some outside work done, and started getting Christmas decorations out of the closet. As I type this, the tree is a long, skinny stick with two layers of nice, full branches at the bottom and the little mini-tree at the top. Is this any indication that my day did not end in the same manner it started?

Earlier today, my seventeen-month-old son got into my purse and ate two (that I know of) pieces of gum. His breath was minty fresh, but it gave him some tummy problems. He had diarrhea twice before dinner. When I was getting him ready for his bath, I took off the diaper too soon and the floor got wet (not diarrhea, thank goodness!). After cleaning that up, I found a spot in his bedroom that our puppy wet. I cleaned that up, left the odor-removing spray to soak in, then returned to the bathtub to find my laughing baby boy sitting in cloudy water. I won't elaborate further. I got him and the tub cleaned up (though not disinfected), then got him dressed and ready for bed. Remembering that I needed to dry the spot on the floor, I set him down until I finished. After throwing away the paper towels and washing my hands, I found my son laughing and throwing bath toys into the (still not disinfected) bathtub.

The verse "Oh Lord, open Thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth Thy praise" (Psalm 51:15) comes to mind. When I found my little boy, I opened my lips, but my mouth did not show forth praise. Heart rate accelerating with every word, I yelled at him, scolding all the way to his bedroom. He just looked at me, not crying or laughing or anything. As soon as my emotional lapse of sanity had passed, I felt awful. He was just a little toddler, doing what he did every other evening after his bath; germs mean nothing to him. And the puppy is a puppy; it's something of a miracle that he is not having more accidents than he is. And I really need to remember to keep my purse out of reach.

I knew I needed to apologize. He wouldn't necessarily understand me, but I told him that Mommy was sorry for yelling and please forgive her. I hugged him and when he put his head on my shoulder and grabbed my ponytail with one hand like he does every other night, I knew that he forgave me. Then I prayed, confessed to God, asked Him to help me be a better mommy. I knew that when I entered the room, I was in no way able to say my son's bedtime prayer, until I had repented. Peace pushed out the tension I felt in my body, tears released the pain, and my little boy's sweet snuggling was a balm to my heart.

This Advent season, we look for the coming of our Lord, the Anointed One of God not as a powerful and mighty king, but as a tiny baby. He subjected Himself to all the stresses of daily life, to the pain of loved ones disappointing, to the censure of the world for not doing what they wanted Him to do. Why? To forgive wretched sinners like myself. To forgive wretched sinners like you. So we might be made right with God and equipped with His Spirit for service to others.

Lord Jesus, Bethlehem Child, Suffering Servant at Calvary, forgive me for the sins which caused You to humble Yourself, to subject Yourself to a humiliating and terrible death. Thank You for the forgiveness that Your blood bought. Thank You for the promise of Life that Your resurrection offers. Guide me with Your hand, that I may be a voice of Your love, mercy, and peace to those around me. Amen.

Oh Come, Oh Come Immanuel

2009-12-01T07:34:00.001-08:00

There are many things that people want. Some things are small, like wanting that light at the next intersection to stay green until you're through it. Some things are of greater importance, like a couple trying to have a baby for years. But all people have experienced that yearning, that hoping for something yet to come.

During the season of Advent, the Church experiences that same yearning, but for a much more consequential thing: the coming of the Messiah. We, as New Testament people, know that He has come already, that He has lived a perfect life, that He gave that life on the cross for the sins of the world, and that He rose again on Easter morning, triumphing over death, sin, and the devil. He offers that victory to us, as well.

But are we living in a perfect world? No. We wait, we yearn, for His second coming, when He will restore all things. There will be a new heaven and a new earth; every tear will be dried from our eyes, and there will be no pain or death.

And so we wait. Of course, we enjoy the blessings that God gives us and our time here on earth, but we never forget that we are an Advent people, looking for the coming (again) of our Lord.

Oh come, oh come Immanuel

And ransom captive Israel

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel

Shall come to Thee, oh Israel.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-27T19:18:00.000-08:00

We have been traveling this year for Thanksgiving. The first leg of our journey took us from the hilly, wooded land of central Alabama, to the level terrain of central Ohio. The next leg of our journey took us to St. Louis, Missouri. Farm country, small towns, hilly wooded areas, and populated cities are only a fraction of the beauty of God’s creation and the people He loves. It is amazing to see God’s creative handiwork in the varying landscapes.

With such an excellent creation for us to enjoy and care for, and with so many interesting and individual people to meet, it is easy for us to stop at that. Certainly, we should enjoy God’s creation and care for it and the creatures He has made, but do we look no further than that? No higher than the mountains? No further than East and West? No deeper than a person’s appearance?

We have an awe-inspiring Creation because it was made by an awe-inspiring Creator. But let’s not forget that your Creator alsodied for His creation. When we had become so lost in our sin that we could see no further than our own desires, our own selves, God did the unthinkable: He sent His Son, true God and true Man to redeem His lost and fallen Creation. Now we may see that creation through the grace of Christ and it takes on new meaning and beauty.

Lord Jesus, thank You for revealing Your might and splendor in Your Creation. Let us not become singularly focused on the Creation, that we may see the grace and mercy poured out for us on Your cross. Amen.

Control!

2009-11-22T13:47:00.000-08:00

In church this morning, we sang Take My Life and Let It Be, by Frances R. Havergal. A prayer-hymn, it asks that God would help us to use all of ourselves and our resources to His glory and to the benefit of our neighbor. The fifth verse in particular struck a chord in my heart.

“Take my will and make it Thine; / It shall be no longer mine. / Take my heart, it is Thine own; / It shall be Thy royal throne.”

How fiercely and how often does my will battle God’s! This takes many forms. Sometimes it is simply worrying about the future, whether things will work out for the best. Other times I might be trying to make my own plans. Often, it is a turning inward of my focus. But God assures us that He knows His plans for us (Jeremiah 29:11), that He can make good come from any situation, no matter how bleak it may seem at the time (Romans 8:28). What God offers us is hope -- hope that He is with us, that He is working, that He will take care of us.

As a sinner, I struggle with the desire to be in charge, to be my own master. But as a redeemed Christian, I am not my own; I am Christ’s. And when I remember this and let go of the reins, what a blessed relief it is that I am not required to have all the answers. I am not on my own, alone as I try to make my way through this life. God is with me, He has a plan for my life, things for me to do and for me to receive.

Lord, thank You for being with me and for having a plan for my life. Please help me to rest in Your grace and to follow Your Word in my life, that I may receive all the blessings you have in store for me. In the name of Christ, Amen.

New Title

2009-11-20T11:14:00.001-08:00

It has occurred to me that the title of my blog did not entirely fit what I wanted it to be. The old title "All My Hats" was rather me-focused and I wanted a title that was without a doubt God-focused.

During daily life, it is so very easy to become wrapped up in what I am doing, how I feel, all the things that affect me. When I can move my eyes from myself to the cross, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I find that the new perspective causes me to be much more content -- hence, a change in name.

Thank you to anyone who has been reading! It is my prayer that you will be blessed. If you have any comments, I welcome them!

Gooey Butter Cake

2009-11-17T20:18:00.000-08:00

I am taking a class about online marketing of books through an e-mail group with author Linore Rose Burkard. In the latest e-mail, she mentioned that while we do social networking online, we should connect with people according to their interests. She mentioned the verses in I Corinthians 9 in which Paul says, “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew. . . to those under the law . . . to those outside the law . . . to the weak . . . I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel . . .” (vv.19-23).

Yesterday evening, as I was making three types of Gooey Butter Cake (Plain, Chocolate, and Pumpkin) for my husband’s workplace, I was struck by how many variants there are on the original recipe. My grandmother used to make it with some regularity and she always made the plain one. In fact, I did not know there was any other way to make it until a couple of months ago. The base ingredients, however, are always the same: cake mix, butter, and an egg for the bottom layer and cream cheese, two eggs, vanilla, and powdered sugar for the top layer (sounds deliciously devastating to a diet, doesn’t it?). You can add pumpkin to the top, chocolate, peanut butter, or probably just about anything, but the heart of the recipe is the same.

As I like to do when baking, I allowed my mind to wander. Remembering what Linore had said, it struck me that we as Christians are a little bit like Gooey Butter Cake. The base is the same (Word of God, His Spirit working through that Word and through the Sacraments in our lives, and the Faith that was planted in our hearts), but the extras are as many and varied as the people who have been called according to God’s purpose. What an excellent blessing!

Christ came to a world of hurting, broken people. We who have been touched and healed by His love are now freed to serve others who are hurt, broken, and lost. We can meet people where they are, interact with those people according to common interests – we can be all thing to all people, so that as instruments of God’s grace, we might be the tool God uses to save them!

"I'm Lonely!"

2009-11-15T13:30:00.000-08:00

My four-year-old has been going through a phase (at least I hope it’s just a phase!) in which she does not want to be alone. Even when I tell her to go into the kitchen to choose a snack, she says, “I don’t want to be by myself! Will you please go with me?”

Psalm 139 is an excellent portion of Scripture which offers a great deal of comfort, regarding how intimately God knows us. Verse seven asks, “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” The psalmist of course comes to the conclusion that wherever he might go, God is there. “If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,’ even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you” (v. 11-12).

Now, of course, for the spirit troubled by sin, this passage may not offer hope, but terror. Where can a sinner hide from a holy, righteous and just God? We cannot hide from Him. He knows all and sees all – Even our sin. But we need not fear Him. God cannot stand sin, but His love and mercy is such that He could not leave us in our sin. He instead sent His Son, the only One who could bear the punishment for sin and satisfy God’s justice, while at the same time remaining holy and blameless so that the death which He suffered could not hold Him. He rose, and we too have that hope. He is with us always, to the end of time (Matthew 28:20).

What a blessing to teach this to my children! I pray that God’s love and patience will be reflected in my actions toward them!

Tea Leaves and New Creations

2009-11-11T08:15:00.000-08:00

As I have been reading books about Regency England for my novel, I come across interesting facts. One that I found in Everyday Life in Regency and Victorian England by Christine Hughes was about tea adulteration. During that time, people would sell used tea leaves, which would then be dried, redyed, and sold to lower classes.

I am a person who loves analogies to help explain God’s working in the lives of humanity. And so of course, upon reading that “new” tea was made from old tea, my brain started searching for an analogy. But can we, as Christians, be compared to this so-called “smouch” (the “new” tea)? II Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (ESV) The tea leaves are still the old leaves, just made to look new – no doubt deceiving to the undiscerning eye.

It has occurred to be before and again strikes me now that we cannot find the perfect analogy for the mysteries of God’s plan of salvation for His chosen people. There is no such thing. “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Romans 11:33, ESV) If we were to try to come up with a plan of salvation for ourselves, no doubt we would be just as lost in our sin as all humanity has been since the Fall in the Garden of Eden. Praise God that He has not left us to our own devices, but has entered our fallen world in the Person of His Son, Christ Jesus! Through the sacrifice of His blood, we are made clean, made into a new creation!

My Hats

2009-11-11T07:07:00.000-08:00

I have never been one of those girls who can wear hats. They just don't suit me at all (except a bonnet, but who wears a bonnet anymore unless they're re-enacting or at a costume party?). So I find it a little cheeky to call my blog "All My Hats" but of course I'm not talking about actual hats.

It is odd that now that my primary place of work is our home I feel like I am wearing more hats than ever before. There is my mommy hat, which I seem to wear most often. There's also my wife's hat, friend's hat, mentor and mentee hats, LWML (Lutheran Women's Missionary League) hat, and my Youth Group hat; I have a writer's hat now (yes, I'm working on a novel entitled "To Have and To Hold"), as well as the no-hat that is just me.

This last one seems sometimes to get lost sometimes. I forget to take off my hat and just be me: the person that God created. One might call this blog an attempt to be that person more often. My hope is to explore that person in this blog, to have a place to reflect on things that I learn and possibly to share some insight or other with anyone who happens to read this.