I remember Christmases past when our boys were small. The days between Christmas and New Years were packed with entertaining family and friends. Something happened in December that made us think we had to fit all the year’s entertainment into one month, and in some cases one week. The calendar was filled, and we were exhausted.

One year several of us caught the flu, which curtailed our entertaining. I remember hating the illness, but at the same time feeling guiltily glad for the reprieve. What I didn’t realize then was how much time would change the way we do things. Our boys are adults now and they are the ones with the full calendars running here and there. It’s weird to have a quiet house, actually a rather messy house right now, with boxes still scattered about waiting for us to put them away. Entertaining has slowed to a minimum this year, and sometimes I wonder if this is a new trend or just one of those quiet blessings of rest God gives.

In some respects, it’s been a difficult year, especially for my husband in caring for his dad and all that follows the death of a loved one. In other ways, it’s been busy with travel and projects and normal life activity. And while the house is quieter than in years when we did a lot of entertaining, there is still a fair amount of noise and intermittent friends dropping in from time to time.

Maybe it seems quieter and less stressful because I don’t care as much how perfect the house looks or whether there are boxes and presents cluttering the place. Perhaps I realize that everyone else lives with clutter as well, unless they are obsessive at cleaning, which I am not. (Though my guys might disagree.) Let’s just say, I obsess less than I used to. And I enjoy the company more.

So while I do hope we still have the chance to interact with friends a few more times before this year is done, I’m not sorry for the solitude now and then. It offers more time for reflection and to do what Mary did that long ago night when Jesus was born. She pondered all these things in her heart. This year, I’ve been doing a bit of the same. Perhaps in days to come I’ll share some of those ponderings – like how love and selfishness can’t occupy the same space, and why strangers could hate a man they didn’t know…

But for now, my kids are ready to watch an episode of House, one of our favorite TV shows, and I intend to join them. And maybe have a dish of peppermint ice cream with hot fudge…in our rather quiet house. :)

Happy Holidays.

This post is not meant to spark a debate about the phrases “Merry Christmas” vs. “Happy Holidays.” In actuality, I think both can be appropriate. Happy Holidays can be a condensed version of “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year” for people in a hurry. And if I’m not mistaken, “Holiday” is derived from the term “Holy Day” – so either way the reference can include the nativity story of Jesus’ birth.

But Merry Christmas includes the name of Christ, a name that is above every name, a name that brings healing to hurting hearts. Christ’s birth offers hope for the world, everlasting hope of peace with God and the peace of God, which passes all understanding. The peace the angels hinted at when they said to the shepherds, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.”

Throughout the ages, men and women have longed for peace in many forms – world peace, relational peace, and individual peace. Jesus came to give all three, though few could see it at the time. And most refuse to see it still.

Individual peace that fills the soul is more than just the absence of worry. It is a sense of trust and calm of knowing that whatever happens God is in control, and He has our best interests at heart, working all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

Relational peace is a bit more difficult. Love and forgiveness are not normal human tendencies. But where Christ rules in our hearts by faith, they are possible, and as far as it concerns us, we can live at peace with all men.

World peace – the hope of most people across the globe – will come one day. But that day is not this day. That day will come when Christ rules and reigns, when His kingdom comes to earth the second time. In that day, the proclamation of the angels to lowly shepherds of “peace on earth” will come to its full fruition.

He came the first time as a helpless baby so that He could fulfill His mission and become the atoning sacrifice for our sins so that we might have peace with God and the peace of God ruling in our hearts by faith in Him. And He will come again as a conquering king to fulfill the rest of his plan to rule the world in justice and peace – something we will never know until we truly know Him.

If He had not come the first time, we would be without hope, without peace on earth or goodwill toward men – either now or in the days to come. But He did come that long ago night, born of a virgin, laid in a manger, proclaimed of angels, worshiped by seeking men. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6 NIV)

“To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—” (John 1:12 NIV)

Which is why Merry CHRISTmas offers more hope than the more generic “Happy Holidays.”

Christ Jesus our hope! (I Timothy 1:1 NIV)The best gift of all.

Merry Christmas!

I thought it might be fun to share some of how we decorate our home at Christmastime. I love the beauty of the lights and the trees, but I especially love the symbols of Christmas. Take color, for instance. My little tree has white lights with white ribbons and a mixture of mostly red and white ornaments. White symbolizes Christ’s pure life, while red symbolizes his shed blood. Some might suggest that Christmas is not the time to use symbols of the crucifixion, but I would disagree. Without the cross, Christmas would have no meaning. My little Christmas tree reminds me of why He came.

Years ago, my husband built his own symbol to combine the traditional Christmas wreath with the cross of Christ. It’s one of my favorite decorations. In ancient Rome, wreaths were often used as signs of victory. The birth of Christ was the start of the greatest victory ever known – Christ’s perfect life, sacrificial death, and victory over the grave.

While I love the Christmas wreath, my favorite decorations are in the family room where the big tree hides my office and above the mantle sits the nativity set all illumined in colorful lights. On the wall above the nativity is a framed picture of a table set in gorgeous gold place settings among the clouds. The scene is symbolic of that future day when Christians will feast together at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, foretold in the book of Revelation.

Other decorations are more for beauty than symbolism. I put garland and lights on the stairway and the piano as well. This year, I bought different colored garland and lights and redid the way I decked out the piano – less cluttered. Shadow likes my changes as I added some artificial poinsettias to a vase and there is just enough space between the piano light and the vase for him to fit to chew the leaves. (This is the kitty who prefers plastic to paper – Tiger would choose paper so he leaves the fake flowers alone.) I’ve caught Shadow in the act of munching twice now and the second time I tried to get his picture, but he didn’t want any evidence against him to stick. (It’s his word against mine.) :) So he scurried away before I could snap the shot.

Both kitties would like my readers to believe they are perfectly innocent and never cause any trouble at all. But of course, my earlier picture of our fallen tree is one big strike against Shadow, which is probably another reason he doesn’t want to get caught chewing my flowers. In years past I had velvet bows on the stair rail and the big tree, but I got tired of Shadow pulling them off the rail and putting teeth marks all over them.

Two years ago when we got Tiger, Shadow would allow “that kid” to only get so close. He still tends to prefer to keep his distance, but they did allow us to take this picture of them both looking sweet and innocent together.

And so there you have it. A peek at some of my favorite homemade scenes of Christmas. I truly enjoy these moments, this one month of the year where my home looks festive. I never did get into including Santa Claus even when the boys were small. We had a flannel graph nativity board instead where we told the story of Christ’s birth in picture form as we read the Scripture account to go along with the flannel cut-outs. I wanted the boys to grasp the real reason for this holiday. So our focus has always been Jesus and always will be.

From His birth to his resurrection to His soon return – what a wonderful season to celebrate Him in every way.

Merry Christmas!

The snow outside my window today is deeper than we’ve seen in our area in a long time – about eight inches. And winter doesn’t officially start until this Saturday. Tiger thought the snow quite intriguing as he sat at the back door watching through the glass. I’ll agree, it is a pretty sight. Of course, without the sun, these pictures do look a bit dreary. In actuality, the view was prettier with the human eye than the camera’s eye.

But sight is only pleasing if you are indoors. The cars were buried and the roads treacherous for those who did venture out. Our city declared a snow emergency, which means we can’t park in the street because of the needed plowing. Our church closed and our Sunday school Christmas party was canceled. So we turned on the Christmas lights and the gas fireplace and enjoyed a quiet day. Actually, I got a lot accomplished – finished my Christmas letters, made Christmas cookies, which were almost a disaster, but my cookie-baking hubby came to my rescue, and washed clothes. I should have sat by the fire and read all afternoon, but I’m afraid I succumbed to the tyranny of the urgent.

Last weekend we baked two kinds of cookies (we usually make about a dozen different kinds) but this year we ate up almost all of the sugar cookies already so our cookie trays are likely to be a bit sparse during our family celebrations. Maybe we’ll make another batch…but here is proof we actually made the first one…

And here is proof that my sweet husband Randy does most of the cookie baking. Ryan helped him make his famous jelly fold-overs because he wants to learn how to carry on Randy’s tradition someday for his family. Ryan’s girlfriend also helped, and so did I. We made it a family affair. :)

These cookies were taken from a newspaper article in 1986. He’s made them probably every year since. They are best eaten the same night we make them, so we throw calories to the wind and enjoy the marvelous tastes on jelly fold-over night. We freeze the rest, but they are never quite as good as they are that first night.

Tonight Randy and Ryan are busy golfing, bowling, and playing tennis on the Wii and the rest of us are about to join them in a game of bowling. The weather outside may be frightful, but the fire, the family, and the fun are indeed delightful. As this week promises to be quite busy (I’m not done Christmas shopping), I’m going to enjoy this snowed-in reprieve and go enjoy my family.

Until next time – stay warm. :)

I’m a visual person, that is I like to see how things are done or look upon people with my own eyes rather than simply read about them or read how something is put together. When it comes to reading directions…let’s just say that my engineer husband and computer-programmer son are careful to read such things before they begin a project or try to operate new machinery. I, on the other hand, would rather figure it out by pressing buttons and holding things in my hands. I will read the directions if there is a chance I will break something. But give me hands-on instruction any day.

When I’m reading a book, I cannot see the characters (unless they are portrayed on the cover) but if the author weaves descriptions well, I can visualize the people and scenes as I read. Almost like seeing it playing out as a movie in my head. The same thing happens as I write. I want to be there, in the scene with the characters. But when I write, I need to see my characters with my eyes in order to describe them to readers who don’t have my Idea Board sitting in front of them.
(This is the Idea Board or Character Collage for my historical suspense Mourning at Midnight, which hasn’t sold yet.)

When I began writing twenty years ago, I just wrote what I imagined. I didn’t know I was a visual person back then and didn’t realize that my writing held little color and life. Thankfully, I’ve learned a few things since and one of them is that I need visuals!

For Michal, I do have a few pictures scattered on a bulletin board that I referred to now and then. But as I wrote other books in other genres, my friend Deb Raney introduced me to what she called an Idea Board. She sent me pictures of some of her Idea Boards, inspiring me to make my own. Right now, the Idea Board for my suspense Buried sits above my computer screen. It is time to replace it with Abigail.

So I’ve been casting characters. Much like a movie director searches for actors and actresses to play the roles in his film, I’ve been searching the Internet for pictures of Jewish actors and actresses to fit the roles of David, Abigail, and the many other members of Abigail’s cast. In the past, I flipped through clothing catalogs for my characters. This time I wanted each one to have a Jewish heritage. I was amazed at how many members of the acting community have Jewish roots. It was a fun discovery!

The hardest part has been finding men with long hair and beards. I suppose if I knew how to use Photo Shop, and if it wasn’t a lengthy process, I could have added the necessary beards or removed glasses, etc., but it has already taken me a week to cast my characters. I didn’t want it to take a month! (They would not have worn wire-rimmed glasses in 1000 B.C.)

And of course, the two starring roles, particularly David since he is in all three books, was hardest to cast. I had been through dozens of photos searching for the right actor when I complained to my oldest son, Jeff, how difficult this was. He thought about it for all of two seconds and gave me a suggestion. We didn’t know whether the man was Jewish or not, but he had played a Jewish agent in a well-known film, cast by Jewish director Steven Spielberg. I figured if Steve Spielberg could be satisfied by this guy’s image, so could I. Besides, he’s a perfect fit!

I’m still working on who gets the role of Nabal, but I’m nearly ready to put the Idea Board together. This is the fun part of writing for me and something I refer to constantly for inspiration. The cards along the side of the board in the picture were character cards I made with the details and motives of each character. I don’t always make these cards, but they do help when you’re trying to remember how tall your character is or what year they were born! Hair color and eye color are easy – I just look at the picture!

I’ve felt a little like I’m picking out the players for the movie versions of my books, though I have no idea if they would ever even be optioned for film. And if they were, it’s not likely I’d get to pick the lead roles. But I can for my books, so I will! :)

I love Christmas. When my kids were small, I put great effort into emphasizing the Christian aspect of this holiday. Amidst the joy of giving and receiving gifts, our home reflected the Nativity story and its ultimate purpose in the cross of Jesus Christ. For that is why He came – to die, to be buried, and to rise again.

Christians understand this message and to all who would seek Him, we are happy to share this good news. But the Christmas holiday in itself does not come from Christian roots. In fact, the effort today to pull away from Christ, to focus on “Happy Holidays” or winter solstice is essentially where the celebration on and around December 25th began.

Sometimes as Christians, I think we forget that, and when we see stores refuse to put up “Merry Christmas” signs, replacing them with neutral, non-Christian greetings, we can become offended, as though the affront was toward us personally. But I wonder…why should we expect people of other faiths who do not know our Christ to willingly celebrate His birth?

If you google Christmas History, you will find many sites dedicated to explaining where these winter celebrations came from. They began long before Christians chose to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Some were dedicated to foreign gods, others were a simple rejoicing that winter was nearing an end. Apparently, some time during the Roman era, Christians turned the pagan Saturnalia celebration into one with Christian overtones, perhaps to try to stamp out the moral decadence that accompanied the holiday. As Christian beliefs grew in popularity, the winter solstice became the focus of Christ’s birth.

Celebrating Jesus’ birth on December 25th is a wonderful thing for those who love and trust Him. It is also a great time to explain to those who don’t understand our beliefs why we believe as we do. I love seeing nativity displays in various parts of the city and hearing songs about my Savior in stores as I shop. To keep Christ the focus of our Christmas is important to us because the holiday is meaningless without Him.

But I think Christmas is also a time when we as Christians need to remember that not everyone believes as we do, and we need to take care how we will react to changes as we watch our culture shift back toward pagan winter solstice celebrations instead of religious Christian observances. Should we become defensive and angry when we receive Christmas cards with Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas? Is the best response to be proactive and declare to the world that we observe Christmas and resent anyone who suggests the holidays are about presents and Santa and snowmen?

Or would we be better off praying for those around us who do not understand our message, looking for ways to show them the love and mercy of Jesus Christ? To live peaceful and quiet lives and, “Remind the people…to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.”

Jesus’ birth and life reflected nothing less.