Nativity Without the Mother of God

One of my favorite collections are my various Nativity scenes and sets. Two different nations from Africa, three from Latin America, and various artisans from Europe and the US are represented in my collection. They are each precious and unique.

The children's set you see above is the newest addition to my collection.  My mother-in-law gave it to me last year for Christmas.  So a few weeks ago, we first opened the box. To our surprise a key member of the Nativity is missing.  She is no where to be found.

There is no Mary, the Mother of God!

Instead, we have a Nativity scene with twin shepherds!  :)  Oops. Mind you this set was made in China. Makers knew that there needed to be 10 figurines in the box.  Not very particular on which ten figures though.

Mary has gone missing.  Perhaps the crying kid was too much for her.  Or the extra shepherd is the stand-in babysitter.

It is hard, if not impossible, to have a Nativity without Mary.  She models for us obedience and trust in God's amazing plan. She continues in her plans to marry Joseph and create a family together.  Mary must birth Jesus after all!  Ultimately, she will nurture his young faith and witness to him our Awesome God even as she watches her son die for the world's freedom from sin, stupid, and death.

My missing Mary has been a reminder of Mary's significance within God's plan.  Maybe even a reminder of how without each one of us... God's work is incomplete.

Each one of us matters.

When Your Former Confirmands Have Babies!

You know you are getting older when previous students of yours start their own families.  Again, I was dramatically reminded of where I am in life's cycle when one of my former confirmation students from my largest class ever- the Class of 2006- had his first born son yesterday.

Wow!  Have I been in ministry that long now?

Yes.  Yes, I have.

What a Difference a Year Makes!

During Advent of last year I was deep in the throws of supportive care giving to two ailing parents.  What a difference a year makes!  This may seem an odd way to mark the holidays, but it is an indication of life's changing seasons nonetheless.

A year ago in the midst of holiday baking my red foam cooler would be packed with meals and goodies to deliver to my in-laws while Lee Ann was in treatment for her brain cancer.  Alas, in June she received her ultimate healing in heaven.

During December of 2012 my father was recovering from a bad fall at a rehabilitation facility.  His holidays were not as he had hoped they would be.  But after the first of the year he returned home to his apartment. We are grateful for all who offered him compassionate care during his recovery.

Now, I wonder how we will remember this holy season a year from now?  Hmmm....

Christmas Decor'

I am the type of holiday decorator that appreciates coordinated fashion and color, but has always had a homegrown Christmas.  Homemade Christmas decor is like greeting old friends within the ornament box from your child's preschool days.  Everything on our tree is beautifully mismatched, but meaningful and significant.

This year we did something radically different. Our friends stayed in their boxes.

Last summer after Eric's mother died he brought home from his parent's house an SUV filled with Christmas ornaments. Lee Ann thoroughly enjoyed decorating her Christmas tree each year. She had hundreds if not thousands of ornaments!  I am not exaggerating.  Boxes upon boxes of gold, red, silver, white and pink glass ornaments are all at my house now!

She had a pink and white tree.  She did a red tree.  There was a gold tree.  And even a silver tree.  Each year was a different coordinated fashion of holiday shimmer and shine.  No wonder she left up her tree well into February each year.

This year in celebration of her first Christmas in heaven we decorated our tree with about 75% of her red and gold glass ornaments, most of her red berries, lots of her specialty ribbon, and her unique golden angel. Needless to say the task took hours...  but as you case see we are showcase ready!

Merry Christmas, Mom!

Thanksgiving Anew

The gathering at our table for Thanksgiving this year may have been smaller in number, but the sense of gratitude was enormous!  With the sun streaming through the sliding glass doors and our plates heaping with warm, tasty comfort foods, we made a wonderful family memory.

The table was laid with a set of my mother in law's dishes along with crystal glasses she gave me for my birthday.  Pretty as a picture!  In fact here is a photo... you can see a loaf of my infamous chocolate zuccihini bread in the background (by the bottle of wine).  Yum!

This year at our lovely Thanksgiving table we played a new Thanksgiving 'game'.  From A to Z each family member had to name something they were grateful for that began with that letter. 26 times 3 equals a lot of gratitude!!  We laughed and reminisced.  And then as we moved deeper into the alphabet each of us would think of a better item for a previous letter.  It was a hoot!

After we rolled away from the table our daughter smoked us in a game of monopoly by the fireplace.

A great day!  Simply a great day to be alive; be together;and be filled with thanks.

Duke Football Fan!

Unlike some folks, there is diversity in my sports interests.  Not everything is about basketball.

My years as a student in the Divinity School of Duke University included many autumn afternoons filled with Duke football!  My first year there we went to prestigious Hall of Fame Bowl.  Still have a beat up plastic cup to celebrate the occasion.  Or I might have used it to scoop cat liter back in 1999.  Hmm.

The other seasons were less exciting because we watched our opponents out score us by multiple digits. Mostly, those afternoon games were spent visiting with other students, eating hot pretzels and trying to figure out just exactly what my theology professor was lecturing in class each week.  The 'win' was a fun afternoon with friends with a side of mediocre football.

Great news, though, because.. our football team has another winning season this year!  We might even be Bowl bound, again!

It is a Thanksgiving miracle.

So here's to Duke athletics: football and basketball!  Woo hoo!

Gratitude Journal: My New App of Choice

During this season of thanks-living, I thought I would share my latest addiction: my new iPhone app; My Gratitude Journal by Happy Tapper.

Finally, something spiritual to do with my iPhone!

Over a month ago my search began for another way to express my writing and my gratitude.  This little app has been a lovely joy!  Everyone morning at 9:30 am I am sent a reminder buzz to write in my journal of gratitude.

Some days my list is longer than others.  And I can even search to entries with a key word of theme.  Gosh- I can even give that day's entry a star code!

We practice gratitude at our house because we understand that our God is a GIVER!  And when I leave in the space of gratefulness- life seems so much more smooth and filled with contentment.