We had a quiet Christmas here yesterday, but those are the kind I like best. Christmas Eve was time for family, my mom, brother, and sister-in-law came. We had a nice time, but I couldn’t help thinking how much things have changed since last year when my dad sat in the corner and opened presents and laughed along with us. My mom intended to spend Christmas Day with my dad at the nursing home, but she got a call that he’d contracted the flu, despite a flu shot, so they advised her to stay home. I agreed.

We had planned to celebrate Christmas with my dad today, but not until we’re sure the flu is gone. The last time my dad got the flu, I took him to the hospital for it and ended up catching it myself. Let’s just say that I can take a cold or even an infection now and then, though I don’t like being sick at all, but the flu…I go to great lengths to avoid it! The staff at the nursing home says he is doing better today, but I can’t get through to him on his phone. He’s probably run it out of battery again.

Ryan came home from Mexico with a cold, so he hasn’t been feeling so great this week. This morning he said he is a bit better, so hopefully, he’ll kick this soon. He started working on his story again last night.

I was reading in the Jerusalem Post yesterday how Christians are being persecuted in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus and of Israel’s King David. I remember when we visited there last March, our Israeli tour guide could not go with us across the border because Bethlehem is under Palestinian control. You could tell the town was not as clean as Jerusalem and in all honesty, we did not feel as safe. If this article in the Post is to be believed, it sounds like our Christian brothers and sisters will be all gone from this place in the near future. I pray not. The shop we purchased several items at was owned by a Palestinian Christian. I wonder if he is still there. I know Palestinians in Bethlehem made a grand time of Christmas Day and welcomed Christians to their town then (check is out here, but what of tomorrow or next year? Pray for the peace of this place. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

I’ve been reading a new book, a Christmas gift, by Ginger Garrett, a favorite biblical novelist, only this book isn’t fiction. It is Beauty Secrets of the Bible. I’ve already tried some of her skin tips and am making a list for the health food store. Imagine using olive oil and honey on your face? The ancients did, and there is wisdom in such natural, simplistic choices. She recommends a face exfoliate of powdered goat’s milk and oatmeal. Inexpensive alternatives to all the creams I use that aren’t doing much for me. I wonder what would happen if I truly ate, exercised, and used more natural products – will I see a difference in my health? I’ve been fascinated by biblical solutions for years, and Ginger’s book gives some easy, practical tips to try that won’t break the pocketbook. So we’ll see…

I bought two new puzzles to occupy us during our days off – though none of us need occupying – there is always plenty to do. Still, it’s fun to have something like this to do together. I started the thing, but then found I’d not done one of the beauty treatments with honey correctly and had to go re-shower to stop sticking to myself. I came back and found the puzzle had been confiscated and the boys had done the border – my favorite part! I’ll go back in a few minutes. Plans today include washing clothes and working on Abigail. I’m in the middle rereading it to fix some pacing and a few other issues.

In any case, I’m enjoying having my family around and having a rather quiet house right now. There is something refreshing about being with our loved ones. But the greater joy comes in spending quiet time with Yeshua (Jesus) our Messiah, our Savior, who came so long ago to a little town called Bethlehem…

Feliz Navidad! (Merry Christmas!)

Once upon a time there lived a Great King. This king lived in a palace of gold and pearls and pure gemstones, larger and brighter than anything else the kingdom had ever seen. Light and purity and perfection surrounded the king’s throne and nothing dark or impure or imperfect could ever enter his presence or see his face. Such things or people who practiced them couldn’t even get past the gatekeeper.

The kingdom outside of the King’s home had once been as light and pure and perfect as his palace, and the people who lived there were without blemish. But an enemy came and deceived one of the subjects and led the other one into a trap that plunged every person born thereafter into a darkness that could not be erased.

The just nature of the Great King could not fellowship with the darkness and demanded the subjects be destroyed for their unfaithfulness, for embracing the pride of his enemy. But the Great King’s pure love for the fallen people insisted that he find another way.

This king had a son, a Prince, heir to his throne and to his kingdom, who cared deeply for the subjects who were now enemies of his father. He did not wish to see them destroyed by his father’s perfect wrath. So he conferred with his father to see what could be done.

“There is a way,” the Great King said, looking at his son with a mix of pain and compassion. “But the price will cost us everything.”

The Prince held his father’s gaze, the words passing unspoken between them. At last the son looked out over the kingdom, gazing on the subjects so blinded by the darkness that they could no longer see the glories of the light above them.

“I will do it,” he said, turning back to face his father. “When the time is right, I will go.”

So the Prince left the palace in disguise and sneaked into the kingdom when no one was looking. He came in a way impossible for them to recognize, took on the appearance of one of them, an ordinary man, a poor day laborer. Without wealth, position, rights, or honor, setting aside everything he deserved as the Great King’s sole heir.

His disguise hid him well until he chose to tell them who he was. But when he finally told them why he came, to change their darkness into light, they didn’t believe him. Instead they mocked him and ridiculed him, and their hate for him grew until they finally put him to death and cast him outside of their kingdom.

They didn’t know his death would satisfy the perfect justice of his father. They didn’t know he could come back from the grave and live. Most of them remained in their darkness and never saw the light he came to give them.

But some believed. Some rejoiced to see him live again, and followed him from the kingdom to the palace of the Great King. He ushered them into the presence of his father and gave them pure white robes and washed the darkness from their eyes and from their souls so they could be with him forever.

The Prince endured the world, the flesh, and the devil for us so we could come to the Father’s palace and be with Him where He is.

“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:1-3

It’s why he came…

Merry Christmas!

Interruptions to life are not usually expected. But when they come, they tend to give us a bit of upheaval. Thus has been my week so far.

I awoke Monday to some suggestions and questions from my editor regarding Abigail, which I intended to get to that day. Then a few hours later, I received the final back-cover copy for Michal. What fun! The whole book-is-actually-going-to-print is starting to seem a bit real. :)

I was just showing the back copy to my oldest son when the phone rang. My mom was at the doctor’s office and the doctor was sending her to the emergency room – not via ambulance, but via “me”. (Too bad I don’t have a siren on my van.)

So I picked her up and off we went. She spent all night in emergency because there was no room for her in the real hospital. Apparently, emergency is not a comfortable place to sleep. While there, they subjected her to a bazillion tests, and I still don’t really know what’s wrong. This is her second night there, but hopefully, she’ll come home tomorrow. Prayers for her are greatly appreciated.

In the meantime, my dad is trying to comprehend this new change – he’s doing pretty well with it, but he misses her and worries about her and tonight he told me he’d been praying for her all day. And now it’s snowing outside…which means it’s probably a good thing my mom will spend one more night in the hospital instead of me trying to get her safely into the house in the snow.

It seems so strange that Christmas is next week with all of this happening and with my youngest son on a missions trip in Mexico. Life always has its ups and downs, its trials and triumphs, so none of this is totally unexpected – just the timing, I suppose. Mom and I had plans this week and the hospital was not one of them!

I watched an interview the other night with Steven Curtis Chapman where he talked about the death of his little girl, and how when it happened he asked the Lord to please not ask this of them. To suffer such a loss is too hard. (I agree!) And yet Steven seemed to humbly surrender to whatever God ultimately decided, despite his own desire to have the outcome be something far different.

And it occurred to me that life is so full of disappointments and tragedies and unexpected interruptions to what we have planned. It’s a wonder that we don’t consider the interruption to our plans as the norm and if what we set out to do actually happens, we should consider that the unexpected.

Or maybe I’m just rambling now and not thinking clearly after all…but suffice it to say, this is a very strange Christmas for us. Last year’s pictures showed my parents happily enjoying dinner and presents with part of the family – as many as could come – and this year everything has changed.

And yet the truth we celebrate remains constant no matter the circumstances. I’m not so caught up in gift buying or all the normal traditions as I have been in the past. We still maintain many of those traditions but the attitudes have changed. Relationships matter more than any gift we could receive. And knowing Christ is the best relationship above all.

To know Him is to find Someone to hang onto when life hits with the unexpected or interrupts with things we’d rather never happened. And in the end, to know Him makes all the difference.

I woke up before five this morning to the shower running. My youngest son, Ryan, had to be up and out the door to get to the church by six. He left with a group of young adults for a missions trip to Mexico. I presume they arrived safely, but I probably won’t hear from him until he arrives back at the church in ten days. Prayers for their whole team, for their health, safety, and the ability to help those they are there to serve, are most appreciated.

I went back to bed and slept late, but it’s still been a bit of a draggy day. I did manage to finish my Christmas cards, getting them all addressed and notes written, sealed and awaiting stamps.

In the meantime, Randy did some odd jobs around the house, one of which involved turning off part of the power, so I got my oldest son to help me clean the dust from my computer while it was shut down. Who would have ever thought that computers would need periodic dusting maintenance? Seems to me there ought to be something that isn’t prone to collecting dust.

We were supposed to go to our church’s Christmas program tonight, but the icy rain we were hearing outside along with the night’s forecast and my whopping headache changed our minds. So we stayed in and watched TV, but the headache would not budge. The guys popped in a DVD movie, and I started to watch it but the headache was not getting any better, so I came upstairs. I should be sleeping. Instead I am writing this blog post. I think sometimes I need a stronger dose of common sense…

In any case, it’s been a good day. I heard from my editor yesterday that she finished reading Abigail and she sounded very pleased with the story. I am much relieved. Second book angst had me wondering if book two in the series would hold up to her good opinion of book one. I think it does. :) Which, of course, makes writing book three a little easier.

It’s hard to believe Christmas is so soon. With the economy the way it is, I think many people will be having a holiday with far less in the way of material goods. We are feeling the need to cut back as well, but in all honesty, I rather like having the focus more on the relationships we have than the gifts we give and receive. Spending time with loved ones is more important to me and the best gift I can receive.

The news for Michigan was rather distressing this week. I was especially displeased to hear of the Senate’s refusal to help the automakers, and am glad the president is willing to step in. I know this is a complicated issue, and I won’t pretend to fully understand it. But I am disappointed that the Senate couldn’t seem to see its way clear to help – these companies support an industry that reaches far beyond the three companies themselves. I’m not sure why the senators couldn’t seem to see that. I’m most concerned for the jobs and the lives of the people who are affected by it all.

But I also know that my faith is in Someone higher than any government. God is still on His throne, though things do look rather bleak around us – especially in Michigan. People are despairing, even Christians. We need to remember where our hope truly lies. And there is hope. We can’t lose sight of that fact.

I pray that as Christmas Day approaches, we will keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

May the joy of the Lord – the joy of knowing God is still there and cares for us – be our strength.

Shalom~

We’ve been studying Abraham in our group Bible study for the past few months, and the other night a question arose about Abraham after Isaac’s birth. The scene takes us to a town on the border of Canaan, a city called Gerar in Genesis, ruled by a Philistine king, Abimelech. Abraham’s relationship with Abimelech precedes these events, which you can read about in Genesis 20.

After these events, Sarah gives birth to Isaac at the ripe old age of 90. (Abraham was 100.) Clearly past their prime. But Sarah nurses Isaac and when he is weaned Abraham throws a party. Everyone is celebrating Isaac with the exception of Ishmael, Abraham’s firstborn son. His attitude fits the prophecy the angel made of him to his mother before he was born – “He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”

Ishmael is somewhere between 16 and 19 years old, and he probably doesn’t appreciate being usurped by a whiny toddler, the long-awaited child of promise. Sarah notices Ishmael’s attitude and tells Abraham to send both Ishmael and his mother Hagar away.

Sarah’s feelings are understandable given Ishmael’s age and his attitude. Both Sarah and Abraham are old and they have no idea how long they will live. What would happen when they passed on? What if Isaac was still too young to take over the inheritance? Ishmael might harm Isaac or try to usurp Isaac’s rightful place. For though Ishmael was Abraham’s firstborn, his mother was not Abraham’s chosen wife. The child of promise would be Abraham’s heir.

Still, Abraham must have cared deeply for his firstborn, Ishmael. The Bible indicates enough comments from Abraham to God asking that Ishmael be blessed to indicate his love for his son. So when Sarah tells Abraham to send Ishmael and his mother away, Abraham is deeply troubled. He doesn’t want to listen to her, and might not have except that God intervened and told Abraham to do just that.

So…”Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy.”

Now this is where questions arise and Abraham appears to be a bit of a jerk. How it is that the day before, “The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son,” and now he can send his son away with only a skin of water and some food – only enough to carry on his mother’s shoulders? If he cared so much, why didn’t he send them away with a contingent of servants, some camels and goats, with skins of wine and water and food to last for a long journey? I’ve read this many times and it just doesn’t make sense to my mother heart.

But then it occurred to me. What if Abraham only gave Hagar and Ishmael enough food and water to make it from his encampment at Beersheba to the Philistine city of Gerar? Perhaps he thought she would head that way because it was the last place they had been. And Abimelech was a God-fearing king, someone who might recognize Abraham’s son and protect him and his mother. The text doesn’t say, but I wonder if Abraham might not have even given Hagar instruction where to go and suggested such a thing.

It would make sense to me that Abraham would hope his son wouldn’t travel far and that he would be under the protection of a king who respected his God. Whatever Abraham said to Hagar, we don’t know, but her decision took her not toward Gerar, which was closer toward the Mediterranean Sea, but south toward Egypt, her homeland. Problem was, Egypt was too far to make it on the small amount of food she could carry on her shoulders and a skin of water. (Read the rest of the story here.)

We tend to look down on Abraham for seeming to care so little for his son’s life or the life of his former handmaid by giving them such a paltry amount of provisions or help to get them where they wanted to go. But if Abraham was like other men, he may have had a plan and hoped his provision would take them where he wanted them to go. But Hagar wasn’t listening. In her hurt and despair she didn’t want to go to a land with a strange king that had made a treaty with Abraham. She wanted to go back home to the land whose king had no respect for Abraham. (That story is here.)

Whether my speculations are right or not, only God knows for sure, but I think it’s worth considering that Abraham might deserve giving him a new perspective on a formerly bad rap. :)

I’ve read a lot of books this year, and thought it might be good to list some of my favorites. I’ll start with historical fiction, since that is my favorite genre. These are not in any order, just books I truly enjoyed this year.

1. A Constant Heart by Siri Mitchell
2. Lady of Milkweed Manor by Julie Klassen
3. Rachel’s Secret by B.J.Hoff
4. From A Distance by Tamera Alexander
5. The Oak Leaves by Maureen Lang
6. Washington’s Lady by Nancy Moser
7. The Heavens Before by Kacy Barnett-Gramckow
8. Song of Erin by B.J. Hoff
9. Dreamers by Angela Hunt
10. Brothers by Angela Hunt
11. Journey by Angela Hunt
12. A Proper Pursuit by Lynn Austin
13. Just Jane by Nancy Moser
14. All the Tea in China by Jane Orcutt
15. Courting Trouble by Deeanne Gist

Contemporary fiction:

1. Leaving November by Deborah Raney
2. The Black Cloister by Melanie Dobson
3. Crime Scene Jerusalem by Alton Gansky
4. Off the Record by Elizabeth White

Books I’m reading but haven’t finished yet:

1. A Prince among Dogs Edited by Callie Smith Grant
2. A Dickens of a Cat Edited by Callie Smith Grant
3. A Tale of Two Sons by John MacArthur
4. The Gospel According to Moses – What my Jewish Friends Taught Me about Jesus by Athol Dickson
5. Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs
6. Reflections of God’s Holy Land by Eva Marie Everson and Miriam Feinberg Vamosh

Current fiction read:

The Watchers by Mark Andrew Olsen

I think there are more, but this is all I could remember from this year. I read one novel at a time, but non-fiction I tend to read several books at once. Problem there is I don’t always finish – or at least not all that quickly. Ah well…too many interests, too little time. And too big of a to-be-read pile. :)

A few on the list for next year:

1. The Warriors by Mark Andrew Olsen
2. She Always Wore Red by Angela Hunt
3. The Centurion’s Wife by Janette Oke and Davis Bunn
4. The Apothecary’s Daughter by Julie Klassen
5. Insight by Deborah Raney
6. The Inheritance by Tamera Alexander
7. Beyond this Moment by Tamera Alexander
8. My Sister Dilly by Maureen Lang
9. Yesterday’s Embers by Deborah Raney
10. Above All Things by Deborah Raney
11. Bad Ground by W. Dale Cramer
12. Wisconsin Brides by Jill Stengl
13. The Pawn by Steven James
14. Journey to the Well by Diana Wallis Taylor
15. Stuck in the Middle by Virginia Smith

And books I’m wishing for – for Christmas:

1. The Convenient Groom by Denise Hunter
2. Avishag by Yael Lotan
3. Havah: The Story of Eve by Tosca Lee
4. Demon, a memoir by Tosca Lee
5. Beauty Secrets of the Bible by Ginger Garrett
6. Nefertiti: A Novel by Michelle Moran

I probably shouldn’t even be listing these here as I am sure to leave out some wonderful story I should read or want to read. If only I could read faster…

And of course, I gravitate toward historical fiction with a mix of women’s fiction, contemporary romance, and suspense mingled in.

In any case, that’s my list. Maybe it will give some of you an idea for a list of your own.

Happy reading~