Baby Jesus in a Dumptruck

When Ron and I married, he gave me a little manger scene that was made of wood and had a palm tree with fragile leaves. I soon knew that would not work with grubby little boy hands as Matthew and Andrew came along. So began the search for a better, "child friendly" manger set. There were those made from Weebles (you know wobble but don't fall down) and other current toy styles. Somehow they just did not seem accurate to me. I mean who wants your child to grow up thinking the Christ child looked like a Weeble? Although I guess theologically he did wobble like a human, but NOT fall down because He is God.

As a child I had visited J.W. Woolworth’s over the Christmas seasons. I remembered seeing the colorful plastic manger sets that could be bought in various sizes. The size seemed right and the diversity of characters seemed fairly accurate. I returned to Woolworth's as an adult parent and found the one pictured here on sale and knew that it would be great for little boys to set up, play with, and rearrange. Ron and I decided to help the boys set it up the first few times, but later it became their decorating choice to set it up themselves. Sometimes it was hard for two brothers to agree on the arrangement.

One year it was under the tree only to be moved to the side table later. Sometimes Mary ended up in the background (a true mom) and the cow took the side next to the Christ child. Joseph was sometimes confused with a Wiseman or a shepherd. (I don’t know where the Shepherds and the sheep are in this photo, maybe in the fields? And I guess the plastic Angel went to fetch them and left this glittery one as a replacement.) Over the years, I believe baby Jesus took a ride or two in the back of a Matchbox dump truck. I tried gluing him in the manger, but boy hands can “unglue” anything.

I think Jesus is happy to know that two little boys in Thomson, Georgia had a “hands on” experience in discovering the greatest gift God gave us!

Southern Fruitcake Cookies

Mama was not much for making fruit cake at Christmas. I don't know if it was the stigma some folks give to fruitcakes, the fact that we never seemed to eat and entire cake, or making them became too labor intensive. She did make a few over the years, but soon settled into making Fruit Cake Cookies. We loved them. They were easy to sneak between meals when Cliff and I were children, and quick to grab and dash as teenagers. Mama often took them to church "doings" and made the to give to friends and neighbors and had them on had for drop in company over the holiday season. As Cliff and I grew up and had children of our own. "Nanette's" Christmas cookies became something they looked forward to at the holidays. I don't think she has made any this year, so I better give her a prompt. Here is her recipe. I hope your family and friends enjoy them as much as we do.

Southern Fruit Cake Cookies

1/2 cup butter (softened)

1 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup chopped dates (optional)

½ cup chopped candied red cherries

½ cup chopped green cherries

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and brown sugar. Then, add egg and mix.

In a separate (and smaller) bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and soda.

Alternate pouring the flour mixture and the buttermilk in with the butter/sugar in the large mixing bowl.

Sprinkled in the cinnamon and nutmeg and mix.

Use a large spoon to stir in the nuts, dates and cherries. Mix until nuts and fruits are evenly distributed and well coated.

Grease a cookie sheet with Crisco.

Drop dough by rounded teaspoons onto cookie sheet.

It's a good idea to have cookie pans to rotate. Cookies work out better when they are put on a cold pan and then into a hot oven. If they are placed on a hot pan, then they may spread out too much and not be as soft.

Bake at 325 degrees F in a preheated oven for around 15 minutes. Oven times do vary, so watch the first batch. Cookies should be lightly browned.

Store in an air tight container.

Yield 2 to 3 dozen cookies (depending o the size)

Advent Love

(Advent Devotion 2005)

Galatians 5:22-23 The Message

We mothers sometimes hurry through the holidays forgetting what the season is really all about. We often lament that “other people” do not really understand the reason for the season. But what do us as Christian mothers DO to promote a heart for Christ in our children? We SAY we want our children to know the true meaning of Christmas, but our actions and often our words demonstrate a very different meaning. Let’s listen in on three conversations that could have happened on the very night of Christ’s birth. Do we see ourselves?

Standing in line for hotel reservations…
“Mama When can we go out and play with the other children?”
“Maaaammmmaaaa, I want to go out and see what the vendors have for sale”
“Mom, I want to see if I can find my friends”

“Hush children, evidently the couple ahead of us in line did not have the forethought to make reservations. They should have known Bethlehem would be busy and the hotels would be full. The family of David is a big family and we all had to come here for the census. You would think they would have planned ahead. Look how near she is to giving birth,”
Hamm! I wish they would hurry up! This baby needs her nap. I am so tired of tending to all of you. Where is your father? Over there around the camp fire with the other men “chewing the fat” I suppose. And they say we women like to talk!”


A few miles away. . .
“Where are those boys?” I told them to have those sheep back in the pasture near our home before dark! Teenage boys – you can’t live with them you can’t shoot them! Levi! Where are your sons? They act just like you and your brothers did at that age. This is all your fault. I told all of you I was fixing a special supper to celebrate the good fortune Yahweh has given us with such a fine heard of sheep. How can we celebrate with no sheep and no family? I work my fingers to the bone around here and not one appreciates it.! Is this how a family shows love to their family?”

A few months later . . .
“Son, You paid those wise men handsomely to return and tell you of this new king who is going to over throw your authority. Where are they? That’s what you get for trusting foreigners. I knew they looked shifty eyed! When are you going to listen to your mother?”


Mothers and Christmas – We work so hard to make things nice for our children. We plan special meals, we take special trips, we buy special gifts and all we really need to do is show love.
The same Love that came down to Bethlehem and found a room in a stable behind an inn because his parent’s did not make reservations; the same Love that distracted a bunch of teenage shepherds and led to away from home to see this tiny bundle of Love; this same Love that steered wise men off their course and caused them to bring gifts to an unlikely King.

Love came down and CHRISTmas can fill our soul with love. May this Advent be a time that you and your family focus on the real love of God and not just the weak human gestures we call love.

Dear Lord, I am so blessed to be a mother. Help me in my weakness to express to my children your love; a love that they will feel deeply in their souls and a love that they can pass on to others. Help me to not get caught up in the hurriedness of the holidays that I forget to hug my children and encase them in arms that represent the very arms of Your Son that stretched out on a cross to demonstrate the Love you have for us.

"Jingle Bells - I'll Fly Away"

Galatians 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Almost every time the boys and I went to visit Ron when he was in the nursing home we were greeted by Keith. Keith must have been around 40 years old, but had the mind of a young child. He did not speak, but he did make noises that let you know he was glad to see you. He especially liked Matthew and Andrew because they were “close to his age” and Mama was one of his favorites because she resembled his sister.

To some people Keith would have been pitied. His circumstances were not what most people would measure as happy. He of course did not meet the definition of successful by business standards, he had little family and they were not able to come visit him very often. He was not a GQ dresser because he was overweight and mostly wore sweat suits. Perhaps he did not have the skills to manipulate buttons or zippers. His mental ability did not afford him the ability to read and his attention span did not allow him to spend a lot of time watching television. Yes, Keith was referred to by many people as a “poor, poor soul”. Why would God allow such a person to exist? What could be the reason? These were just a few of the questions I had to answer for young boys who were dealing with their other questions about their father’s health and I must admit questions I too had at first.

Then God revealed to all of us the joy in Keith’s soul. He could sing! His two favorite songs were Jingle Bells and I’ll Fly Away. It became our pleasure to visit and be greeted by Keith. The boys would start him singing as soon as they saw him. Keith would smile and clap his hands and sing with them. He loved to sing. We loved to watch him. He made us smile as he sang. Our visits to a nursing home were not so sad because they started with Keith’s warm smile, the twinkle in his eye when he saw us and the pleasure he had in singing his version of Jingle Bells – I’ll Fly Away. Yes, God made Keith for a reason. Keith had a joyful spirit, a spirit that gave other’s joy.

When you think about it, the blending of the two songs that Keith sang were his way to sharing the Gospel. Jingle Bells told of Christmas and reminded us of Christ’s birth and I’ll Fly Away reminds us that there is a reward to those who accept this Christ as their savior. What was God’s purpose for Keith’s life? It is the same as mine to reflect HIM in my life.

Dear Lord,
Give me the willingness of Keith to share you to others in my own unique way. To share the joy of your presence in my life and to reflect the reason we celebrate advent and Christmas.

Hope

11 Then he said to me: "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.' 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. 14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.'"
Ezekiel 37:11-14

“I hope the preacher does not preach so long today.”
“I hope we have fried chicken for Sunday lunch.”
“I hope I pass my algebra test on Monday.”

We toss the word hope around so easily, but who is the source of the “I hopes”? Are we relying on ourselves or others? What happens if these events don’t happen as we “hope”? We aimlessly cast these hopes to the wind and move on to the next item on our “to hope for” list. This kind of hope is not the kind of hope we celebrate as believers.

I recently studied the book of Ruth again. In the past I always related to Ruth and secretly compared myself to her dedication and loyalty. But this time, at my age and circumstances in life, I found myself relating more to Naomi. What a lesson in hope she has for us as believers. Although she was grieving the deaths of her husband and two sons, she was penniless, and bitter from the circumstances of life, she still knew the source of hope. She forged through the pain, confusion, bitterness to a God with open arms and a plan for deliverance.

This hope in God and His deliverance for her and Ruth led her to take an uncommon trip back from a foreign land to her homeland where she hoped to find refuge. Because of her actions based on a deeply imbedded hope in God, she continued the lineage of the Messiah who would be born generations later in her very on home town – Bethlehem. (I know this is not theological, but I see this as a wink and nod from God to Naomi for her perseverance in hope.)

Today’s headlines cause many people to fear the worse. The economics of the USA are plummeting, terrorism is a daily threat, global warming is the intangible monster we keep hearing about, but we have hope. We have a God who is in control. He invented the economy, knows the very thoughts and actions of terrorist before they do, and global warming is as small as the light from a match compared to the vast universe He created. He is a waiting and loving God who allows us to bring our confusion, bitterness, pain, and fear along with our hope to Him.

Like Ezekiel we may hear those around us say hope is gone. Like Naomi we may be at the end of our ropes with no where to turn. Rest assured believer, God is the source of our hope. He will open the graves and raise up his people. He will breathe His Spirit into us and He will settle our fears and give us a home with Him. He is the source of all hope. All He asks us to do is come to Him in hope.