Deep Calls

OK, we do something kind of crazy in December...some people as soon as the day after Thanksgiving... We put a tree -- very very often -- an evergreen tree that was alive days ago, still green, still still smelling (wonderfully) of pine forests -- into our house. I know that since we all do it, it seems so normal and traditional and all that we really don't question it. We just do it! Then we decorate it with pretty, Christmas themed things: ornaments, garland, maybe popcorn and cranberries on a string, lights...a star or an angel on top. We leave it there and we let it shed its needles all over our living room floor. Why do we do this? Is "because it is a Christmas tree" a good enough answer? Do your kids even ask why? Have you ever asked why? There is an answer. Ok, don't freak out on me. It began as a pagan tradition. (I can hear it now, "OK Mertle. Get that thing out of our house...its pagan! " Calm down. don't do anything rash!) It began  

OK, so take a deep breath. Are you feeling a bit nervous? Wondering why I titled the blog "So WHY is Christmas in December"? Are you thinking, "Well, duh! It is in December cuz that is when Jesus was born." If so, sit down ~ ummm ~ NO. He wasn't born in December.  No, no...I am sure. Really. No, don't storm off...you CAN know for sure. Go to the gospel of Luke. Luke 1:5-10 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah ;  Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood,   So, Luke gives us a time marker: when Zechariah, who was in the division of Abijah, was on duty serving in the temple. Then if you go to I Chronicles: 1 Chron 24:2-5 With the help of Zadok a descendant of Eleazar and Ahimelech a descendant of Ithamar, David separated them into divisions for thei

I have been "gone" from the blog world for a WHILE . . . SORRY! Life had a way of yanking me off the path and zipping all creativity from my brain. But I have some 'off' time and I thought I would meander through some of my Christmas-y blogs and do some re-runs. Perhaps that will nudge me to write again ~ we'll see. So RE-RUN # 1 : Advent . . . are question marks forming on your brow? I find that not too many people "do" Advent these days. Are you from one of those families that got the Advent calendars and did the readings and had the candle wreath? I didn't grow up doing that. I wanted to do it when my kids were small...never managed to do it. (Yeah, that is one of the [many] black marks against me.) Somehow, raising 3 small children, . . . then when the first 3 were older, one small child and three bigger kids ~ well, somehow I just never got the wreath on time, or made the calendar, or bought a calendar...then ~ zip--blink your eyes ~ and it

I do this thing every November; everyday I post something that I am thankful for...on facebook I think that they call it "30 days of Thanksgiving". I don't do it to be part of the facebook crowd. I believe in being thankful. I think that thankfulness is powerful and profound and amazing. I think, in fact, it is crucial! My kids will tell you that. Long after I am gone, sipping tea with C. S. Lewis and Tolkien at the wedding supper of the Lamb, I hope that my kids will sit around laughing saying, "Remember when Mom used to make us make 'I am thankful for ... ' lists?"  I do.  All the time.  When they are struggling with anything: when they are sad, angry, depressed, overwhelmed  ...  it is like my cure-all ...  I will say, "You owe me a list of 10 things you are genuinely thankful for."  Many, many years ago my pastor, my first pastor, George Caywood taught on being thankful. It ~ clearly ~ made an impression. This is what he taught:

It has been a while...a long while...way too long. Somehow "Writer's Block" came in, unpacked it's suitcase and stayed WAY too long. So, I thought I'd put something down  ~ Something just in the way of tossing things it WB's suitcase...a hint like, "time to hit the road" Hmmmmm Wellllllll Can't really go back to Jonah, sorry Just can't I was going to write about how God shows Himself as the real HERO How God had this book written to show us That He had shown Jonah what He was really like, and What Jonah was really like. God is like that sometimes ~ OK, God is ALWAYS like Himself. That isn't what I mean I mean Sometimes God puts us in situations where we see that what matters to Him is not NOT following the rules and then feeling all "I'm all that and a bag of chips" cuz we are such good rule followers. God isn't about rules. REALLY! God wanted Jonah to see that LOVE you enemies IS the fabric of