STUCK

Oh, boy am I ever!  But we'll get back to that.  
Christmas is past and I hope and pray that each of you has felt blessed this season.  It is past, and yet it's not.  Keep the spirit of Christmas alive all year, remember the ultimate gift and what it meant and means. 
According to the powers of the "net", my readers have been busy lately so most probably have not even missed that I haven't written like I was.  Well, I'm stuck.
I bet we all could share stories of being stuck in different situations in our lives.  My earliest memory of this is when I was around 10.  I grew up on a farm in NW Iowa.  In the spring, after the snow has melted and you try to walk through the cattle yard to do chores, after there has been a season of cow poo building up, well - most likely you will get stuck.  I did.  When I tried to walk forward I walked right out of my boots.  Yep, then I found myself stepping in it with just my stocking feet.  
Then there were the times when I was in high school.  I most always rode the bus to school ( I know that would be a foreign thing to students of today) and on our route there were a few driveways that we would need to turn around in.  Now understand that our driver was not the brightest bulb in the pack.  When backing up, we would all gather in the back of the bus and create weight that caused it to go deeper and further than it should.  Iowa winter snow tends to really pile up in the ditches, we would get stuck and then be late for school.  Loved it!
As an adult and mom there were times we would go tubing down the mighty Ocheydan River in the summer.  We would go for 1 or 2 miles.  Getting into the river was a challenge due to basically a drop off to the river but getting out sometimes proved to be even more of a challenge.  You would get to a spot that looked like you could walk out and climb the rest of the way - but sometimes it was deceiving and you would be stuck in muck.  
And just one more - the winter following Emily's engagement (our second daughter) she, our daughter Amy and myself took off on an excursion to scope out possible reception sites.  One of them happened to be a state park that was not used for anything in the winter.  We drove down the path, stopped to walk, came back and when we tried to back up to turn around we found ourselves stuck.  My only regret was not capturing a picture of one driving, and the other two of us trying to push our way out.  Too funny.
All of these experiences of getting stuck now cause me to laugh.  I have always believed that laughter is one of the greatest gifts that God gave us.  


I love the above picture.  I think this sums up how I want to always look at my position here on earth.  
Well, recently I have realized that I am once again stuck.  Now I won't go into the details, but I am referring to being spiritually and emotionally stuck.  I could try to walk forward and find myself stepping into some rather unpleasant stuff.  I could run to the back and try to get myself more stuck.  I could look for a place to get myself out or I could try to push.  But what I really need to do is give it ALL to God and leave it there.  Rely on Him to pull, push or lift me out.  I am here because this is where God wants me.  Circumstances that I find myself in the midst of are no surprise to Him.  He knows exactly what needs to be done and when.  I will wait on the Lord, I will be thankful for all His blessings, and I will follow His lead.  
In the meantime, it is good to laugh, to reflect of the past, be patient in the now and look forward to the future.  And I will laugh!

You know its almost Christmas when.....

Wow!  I can't believe its been 10 days since I have written.  It must be the season, right?  Well - I haven't been feeling it and its not that there is no snow.  But it has gotten me to reflect on Christmas's past.

When I was a child, you knew it was almost Christmas when mom would make a canner full of party mix, a tub full of caramel corn, a pan of red anise candy and a pan of peanut brittle.  Yum.  There would be a bowl of nuts in their shells that we could crack.  Now the party mix was the first thing she made and she would put it in the basement to "Keep" it until Christmas.  It didn't take long for us to figure this out.  :)  Also, the silver tinsel Christmas tree was up with the rotating 4 color wheel shining on it and the card board fireplace assembled with our stockings hung.  We would be going to our country church on Saturday mornings to practice for our program that was always on Christmas Eve.  

As an adult I knew it was almost Christmas time when I found myself busy creating Christmas gifts, writing my letters, watching my mailbox for cards coming my way, watching Christmas movies, doing Advent activities with our children and receiving plates of goodies from neighbors and friends.  There were programs to attend and music to listen to.  With working at church for several years, there would be advent readings I wrote, decorating throughout the church with the design team, gatherings to go to and plans in place for our 3 Christmas Eve services.

And now??? Well, it must be almost Christmas.  My grocery bill was higher, my pantry is full of ingredients to make yummy things, my Christmas cards are not in the mail yet, and I've been creating again.  The decorations are all up, we have been observing the advent readings in church, the stores are packed with the latest and greatest whatever that we all should be wanting and there is a Salvation Army bell ringer at every door.  But....

Well, I'm not feeling it.  I know it will get better, but I also know I have to take some responsibility for it.  I don't have the friends and neighbors here to share goodies with, programs to go to, (Eden's was cancelled due to ice and Chloe didn't have one), no writing of advent readings or organizing things for the worship services.  I can be more empathetic now for people that are not surrounded with friends and family, I can open my eyes to all that is around me and when I go to worship I can sit with my husband by my side and be totally fed.  I can open myself to letting God work in me, through me, and see what He is doing around me.  I can volunteer at the huge production of the Live Nativity that our church presents.  I can do fun Christmas things with our grandchildren that live here such as crafts, seeing the lights, etc.  And I can make up my mind to focus on what this is all about, be thankful for all I have (not what I don't have) and be a reflection of God's love to others.  

Do the same - look outside of yourself and see those around you.  Share His love and be thankful for what you do have.  Merry Christmas.

Its a stick to your ribs type of meal.

So if you needed to have a meal that was going to stay with you, sustain you for awhile - what would your choice be?  I always fall back on one that was a favorite of mine growing up on the farm.  It would be fried chicken, potatoes, gravy, corn, and dill pickles.  All of this was grown on the farm and I will admit, taken for granted all too often.  But it is still probably my favorite down to earth, stick to your ribs kind of meal.

When KFC came out with their mashed potato bowl a few years ago, it was a hit with me because it came close to having all these favorites for me in a quick dish I could get on my lunch hour.

This past Sunday at our church, Hillspring, I left with the feeling of just enjoying one of those stick to your ribs type of meals.  We are celebrating Advent like other Christian churches around the world.  This years focus is on the life of Mary.  Her life is being presented in a reverse time line.  (In case you don't connect - this way we will visit her life at the birth of Jesus on Christmas :) )  This past Sunday when the message was concluded, Pastor Bryan left the platform.  Music began and a woman portraying Mary entered to sit on the platform.  This was followed by two men dressed as Roman soldiers carrying a man portraying the body of Jesus after He had been crucified.  They laid Him next to her and she held His head on her lap.  "Mary Did You Know" was being sung as we went forward to partake in communion.  

Today is Wednesday and this meal is still sticking to my ribs.  You know its a great meal when it continues to feed you.  In Luke 2:19 we read, 

 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. (NLT)  I am sure Mary continued to ponder these things for many years, continuing through the death of her son.  The image that was portrayed while we were served communion is also one to ponder, one to think on for many years - for our lifetime.  We should reflect on this always, to remember what Christ did for us, what He continues to do for us through the gift of the Spirit and what will be done for us the day we are welcomed to our eternal home.  

A Firm Grip

So, just to be clear we do get snow here in this desert oasis area of the state of Washington.  It does not get very cold, it does not last long, and it does not get plowed.  So when it does arrive it results in late starts, multiple accidents, etc.  And what I have learned is this - watch where you have to stop so you can get started again.  Here's the explanation:  This is a very hilly area and if you have a normal car like mine and you stop at a traffic light or stop sign, don't be heading up hill.  You probably won't make it.  :)  My car did not have a firm grip of the snowy road.  

But here a few examples of someone having a firm grip.  Children usually do this to items in their possession.  When my nephew was some where around 2 years old, he could linger at the dinner table, be put down for a nap and get up a few hours later with a piece of meat in his mouth.  He had a firm grip of it between his cheek and gum.

When a daughter of ours was very young we could be shopping in a store and she would see a piece of string, a tag, a metal clip from a hanger, etc. on the floor.  She would pick it up with out me even realizing it.  We would finish our errands, I would lay her down for a nap and she would get up a few hours later with a firm grip of her treasures still in her hand.

One day this week as I was getting our grandson down for his nap, I laid down next to him to get him settled.  As I was lying there I watched him with 3 bean bags that he had taken to bed with him.  He had only two hands.  So he took one and tucked it into his arm pit and then he could hold one in each of his hands with a firm grip.  Now that's problem solving.

And one more - a few times when Abby and I have been walking she wants to go off the path due to curiosity.  But several times God has warned us about straying from our "path". ;)  Well, when she has done this she tends then to be limping.  So we stop, I lift up the affected leg and see that a "prickly" thing has a firm grip on the pad of her foot.  (I know - you think she would learn to stay on the path, but I'm sure God has thought that with us as humans as well.)

What have you found yourself with a firm grip on?  Is it something you need to let go of?  Does it have eternal value?  I'm not saying a person can't have things, but be careful what priority they have in your life.  Would you be willing to let go?  

Just remember to have a firm grip on the hope we have in our Savior Jesus Christ.  For that is where we need to have a firm grip.

So let’s do it—full of belief, confident that we’re presentable inside and out. Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word. 

Hebrews 10:23 The Message