Endings and Beginnings...

    I never was much of a New Year's Eve party person...because I like to get up too early, and like to go to bed before midnight! But one of my goals for today is to go back through the year's journals, and pay very close attention to what has happened this year. There are several reasons:
--- So many changes have taken place in my life, and I want to look at how some of them came to be, how I made decisions, when I procrastinated.
--- I am facing some huge challenges this year and for the rest of my life. What have I learned so far that will help me through the next thing?
--- I always need to be reminded of God's faithfulness in the past, because it increases my faith that He won't abandon me now.
--- I want to see the progression of joy in my life this year. It has been a transformation that will help me with the upcoming surgery, recuperation, and challenges of aging!
     I don't really make resolutions, but I am renewing a commitment to: listen more carefully to God's voice, continue to walk on the path of healing and wholeness, laugh a lot, and stay connected to the Word.
     May your 2011 be a year for becoming all that you were created to be!

Magnificent

   It was snowing when I left Sunnyside to work in Yakima today. The sky was a heavy gray blanket, pulled across the heavens. Out on the freeway, I was astounded by the vista ahead. Just 10 miles up the road, the gray sky ended. The sun splashed on Mt. Adams and Mt. Ranier and across the hills. I never want to take the Washington landscape for granted.
   Psalm 121 - "I look to the hills..." The psalmist goes on to say our strength doesn't come from those mountains, but from the Maker of them!

The Day After Christmas

THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

Twas the day after Christmas and throughout the world

All creatures were finding their lives in a whirl.

I thought I could change things; I knew this was it…

The year I could make all the broken parts fit.

I found just the right gift, sent everyone cards,

Forgot no one important, put lights in the yard.

I hosted the dinner of traditional fare,

and worked to make certain all the right guests were there.

But the day after Christmas, I woke with deep gloom

A heaviness settled and filled every room.

I walked through my home with a feeling of dread,

Remembering well all the words that were said.

The old family grudges still hung in the air,

So thick with disgust and the depths of despair.

I sat in the stillness and thought what went wrong.

The old life-long wounds had lasted so long.

No tinsel or bells, no pastry or presents

Could move it or change it, or help it to make sense.

The Book sat nearby and I opened the pages.

My eyes fell upon the words of the ages.

“I bring you good news of great joy for all.”

The Baby, ah yes…asleep in the stall.

The Lord Jesus Christ, how could I have forgotten?

The power of Jesus, the Father’s begotten?

I left Him outside, not inviting Him in.

His love was the answer, the cure to my sin.

My anger and grudges, my hurts and my pains,

He could heal in an instant; my heart He would change.                                                                                                  

I lowered my head and prayed a short prayer

Asking God to forgive me and meet me right there.

He did at that moment and joy filled my heart.

And I knew right away I would have a fresh start.

I flew to the phone and called all my guests

To ask for forgiveness and offer my best

Of a new year’s adventure of living my life

To honor the Christ child and be free from strife.

Wonderful Christmas

     I knew my Christmas was going to be unique. As I was reading and journeling this morning, I put on a Mannheim Steamroller CD. When God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen came on, the music rocked...each stanza ends with "Good tidings of comfort and joy!" I closed my book and listened and thought about this day and my plans for the day. As I listened and considered the tidings of JOY I wanted to share with people, a picture popped into my mind: Snoopy dancing and dancing with joy! It simply made me laugh out loud, and lightened my heart. If I could have, I would have danced!
     I spent time with many different people today...folks from our church, people from Just Like Home, where Marvin lives, good friends who are going through some trials, others who are struggling to find any joy in life today, my neighbor who is in a nursing home and dreading the reality that she and her husband might not get to stay in their home any longer. She said, "I'm just afraid." 
     In each place I was, my thoughts seemed to focus on sharing this Christmas JOY with all these folks. I missed my children and grandchildren, but I didn't mope about not being together. I just found great excitement in being with people who needed JOY today.
Thanks, Jesus --- I hope my celebrations brought You JOY too!
   

Welcome, Jesus

    We had a birthday tradition every year my children were home. When they woke up, I would sit with them and their "birth book," which is a book w/pictures and the story of their births. (It's not for general viewing!) I would tell them about the excitement we felt as that special day arrived...about the plans, what exactly happened. Even as the kids got older, they put up with this kind of remembrance. Sometimes they asked questions. Sometimes the conversations became biological, philosophical, and theological!
    I'm not sure the children remember it as such a special time, but I do. The three months of morning sickness, the weight gain, the physical limitations, the pain of childbirth and recovery --- all paled in comparison with the wonder of these two beautiful, amazing children sitting with me, coming to understand their arrival in this world!
    I'm not sure I communicated clearly to them how special they are, but I hope so. They have blessed my life in so many ways.
    As we celebrate Jesus' birth this morning, today, and every day, may our living reflect how important He is to our lives! What hope would we have if He had not come?
   Welcome, Jesus --- into my heart and life, into my home.

Christmas Presence...Presents

    It's Christmas Eve...and there are family get-togethers, parties, special dinners. This year's Christmas is turning out to be very different from any I've had before. I had breakfast with a dear friend this morning, and we chatted about seeing the hand of God in our lives, even through the tough stuff. It was a "joy-filled" time.
    Then lunch with a young friend who inspires me. Just seeing how God has changed his life in so many ways leaves me with great hope.
    What better gifts could I have at Christmas...joy-filling, hope-producing conversations with good friends! I am thankful.

Inheritance

    Yesterday was my mother's birthday; she would have been 90 years old. She passed away in 2006. I look a lot like my mother, and have inherited several things from her:

• Her interest in other people, an outgoing personality.
• Musical abilities. She didn't play an instrument, but she could sing.
• Interest in the Bible and commitment to a local church body.

    Those are some of the good things. I've also inherited arthritis from her! It started in my thumbs and now in my knees.


Sharon and her daddy



    Tomorrow is my daughter's birthday. (I won't say how many, Sharon!) She is such an amazing woman. The inheritance from my mother has passed on to her too - I hope the arthritis doesn't!  

    We don't get to choose what we inherit from our family of origin. We get the positive and the negative things. But as an old Nike advertisement said, "You are not your mother," which seems to mean we can choose what we do with what we inherit. 

     I am thankful today. More to come on "thanks and joy."

    

Laughing at Myself!

On my way home from the doctor's office, I called 2 friends and invited them to meet me at the Chinese restaurant for a late lunch...my treat because of an unexpected Christmas gift I received. We talked and laughed together, talked with the owner and the servers, and enjoyed ourselves. I asked my friend, Anna, if she could change the large bill I had received. She brought back $$$ and gave it to me. I thought she had taken out the amount for the lunches, so we all just walked out. Before we even got to our cars, one of the waitresses was there, asking if I had paid it?  Did I have the check?  Oh my...that was embarrassing! But it made all of us smile! Just one of those days.

Laugh at yourself...

Laugh at yourself first, before anyone else can.

Elsa Maxwell, September 28, 1958

I need to follow this advice when I am taking myself far too seriously.

A Serious Christmas

     Every year we celebrate Christmas a little differently. Sometimes our children and grandchildren come and there is a lot of activity. Sometimes we visit family in other cities. Sometimes it's very chaotic and at other times, very quiet.
     This will be a quiet year, and I need that. It seems that I am actually being prepared for it. I've gotten over ranting and raving about the trappings of Christmas. Some of my friends are thankful! My thoughts this Christmas have centered around the humbling act of Jesus...becoming human, and what that really means.
     Jesus could have come in many different ways, but taking on the constraints and limitations of being human, with the express purpose of paying the price for sin...once for all...all people and all time - that's staggering. It is my meditation this Christmas.
     Every healthy birth is a miracle. So many things can go wrong. Even being an embryo and experiencing the birth process, feeling the stress of Mary as she faced being an unmarried pregnant woman in Palestine, the journey to Bethlehem, all had some impact on the infant Jesus.
     Some two years after Jesus' birth, the word went out: "Herod's looking for the 'newborn king of the Jews' and not to honor Him, but annihilate Him!" The family became refugees in Egypt. What kind of stress did that put on the toddler, Jesus?
     What this means is that Jesus understands our original pains and hurts. If you feel like you weren't wanted as a baby, but some kind of "surprise" or "accident," He can help you know you were created in the heart of God, under His watchful eye. If your early years were times of family turmoil and you didn't get your safety and security needs met by the people who were to take care of you, He can help you understand that He is the One who can now provide those things for you. 
     Christmas is so much more than the world makes it out to be! What new thoughts have you discovered this year?

Make Room

   In the book, The Life Model: Living From the Heart Jesus Gave You, the authors write about our basic need for JOY...that we are made to experience joy as little people. When we are not the "twinkle" in someone's eyes, especially our parents or primary caregivers, we are more likely to experience anger and frustration.
   When I was about 7 or 8 years old, I remember walking by a store that sold chandeliers, cut glass, and crystal items. The bizarre part was that I remember thinking how good it would feel to be able to walk in and clear the shelves, shattering glass everywhere. I remember thinking there must be something wrong with me. I didn't know anyone else who had those kinds of destructive thoughts at that age. I never told anyone.
    But when I started working on my JOY STRENGTH, I learned that I had an anger problem because of my perceptions of not experiencing joy as a little one. My first step of healing had to be identifying and working on the core issues of my anger, and letting God heal them.
    This is part of my joy journey --- and I'm still working on them. But I have LOTS less anger than I used to have...I'm not nearly as sarcastic...I can feel peace and joy more often than ever before.
    More on the story...is this something you are looking for? Let me know!  (THERE'S A JOY EVENT COMING FOR THE YAKIMA VALLEY!! I'll keep you posted!)

On Real Peace

     I love words, but they can also be frustrating. So many meanings for a word or phrase. Like "Peace on earth." It's in the music, cards, church. What does it mean? One of the names for Jesus was Prince of Peace, but He once said, "I didn't come to bring peace, but a sword." How do you reconcile that? So, Peace or No Peace?
     Let's discuss peace...when do we have it? When don't we? How do we get it? What wrecks it? More to come...
     

Seasons of Life

     Infants: self-absorbed, self-centered, see something they like and they want to have it, need someone to provide food and water, safety and security, and help with the functions of being human! Then someone teaches children to be independent and how to live in a society where sharing is vital for healthy relationships (hopefully). For the next x number of years, young people and adults can often take care of themselves quite well.
    Then something begins to happen: Aging, where adults return to the early stages of life: needing someone to provide food and water, a desperate search for safety and securty, and help with all the functions of being human. Independence slips from our fingers as we give up driving, need someone to cook for us, clean and repair our homes, do our laundry, and more.
     I watched her, the 80+ little woman with snowy white hair, as she very slowly ate her lunch. She talked clearly and gave answers that made sense...when she heard the question. There was no vacant stare of Alzheimers or dementia. Her eyes were bright and interested in what was happening around her.
     Because she is a slow eater, others were done with their meal while she had 1/2 a plate of food left. Dessert was brought out for her table-mate, and placed on the placemat next to her.
     Suddenly her head came up, and as she chewed, her gaze fell on the dessert. She never took her eyes off of it. She chewed and stared. Everyone was watching for one little movement, when her hand would reach out for her neighbor's dish. She didn't care whose it was...it looked good and she wanted it. But she wasn't quite quick enough! It was gone before she had a chance. The tense shoulders relaxed and she continued chewing and waiting for her own serving.
     No guile...not one ounce of revenge or anger...simply "see it" and "want to eat it," no matter who it belongs to.
     Ah, one day, I too will be in her shoes!
    

2010 winding down

     It will soon be time for 2010 EOY TV specials. We get to see again those stories we got sick of the first time!
     I want to go back and look at what's happened to me in the last year. At a new juncture in life, it's time to evaluate. Maybe some of my joy journey will be interesting to someone. Maybe not.    
     I want this blog to be full of joy...stories that inspire and lift my spirits, links to things that make me laugh out loud, joy sitings, and daily life lessons.
     I hope readers will find here something that makes them smile. If not...CLICK.