Into His Rest

 "Come unto me. all ye that labour and are heavy laden. and I will give you rest."

Tomorrow I start telling the story of Christmas with special emphasis on hesed, the love He is able to give to all and especially felt by those who covenant with him to always remember Him and keep His commandments. Some years ago I wrote a song with a friend that encompassed that rest experienced by those who turn their hearts over to Him. I wanted to capture the sound of rest, the feeling of rest and the surety of His rest. Below is a music video of that song.

 

              

In pride I turned my back on God and chose to shun the iron rod.

But sin brought misery and strife, no peace or joy refreshed my life.

Into His rest,

freed from all doubt, heart open now from inside out.

Into His rest, nothing to hide,

I come to him, arms open wide.

Long have I faltered so full of doubt, allowing pride to look me out.

But prayer upon Thy sacred name, 

Awakes my heart, consumes all shame.

Into His rest,

freed from all doubt, heart open now from inside out.

Into His rest, nothing to hide,

I come to him, arms open wide.

I kneel repentant, my life's restored.

Merciful Savior, my pain's no more.

Thy healing balm of peace sublime,

Thy glorious love transcends all time.

Into His rest,

freed from all doubt, heart open now from inside out.

Into His rest, nothing to hide,

I come to him, arms open wide.

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More Jesus

 For a calm Christmas I choose to invite more of Jesus into my daily life and expand my Christmas story of faith.

Do you know the Hebrew word hesed? There is no English equivalent. From Hebrew into English it can be translated as love, mercy, kindness, grace, but none of these words completely encompass hesed.

     "One translation expert examined all the occurrences of hesed in Genesis and concluded that its wide range of possible meanings made it necessary to focus carefully on the context before deciding whether the primary element of the Hebrew word “be that of mercy, faithful love, obligation under some contract or agreement, devotion, responsibility to help, tender love, sympathy, or whatever else it may be."

This December I want to search for relationships in the New Testament where hesed is displayed by Jesus and for another.

Eva Timothy Art

How was Jesus with:

His Heavenly Father

His earthly parents

John the Baptist

Nicodemus

Andrew (Matt: 4:18-20)

James and John  (Matt 4:21-22)

Rich Young Ruler (Matt, 19:16-30)

Peter

Thomas

Mary Magdalene

Martha

Mary

Lazarus 

John

The Woman at the Well

The list does go on and will surely be more than 25, one for each day, Dec.1-25. I marvel at this love and can't fully comprehend it. I worry that I can't merit it. But, that's about me and I need to turn my focus to Him and really consider his abilities, along with my Heavenly Parents. 

"Once you and I have made a covenant with God, our relationship with Him becomes much closer than before our covenant. Now we are bound together. Because of our covenant with God, He will never tire in His efforts to help us, and we will never exhaust His merciful patience with us. Each of us has a special place in God's heart. He has high hope's for us." 

President Russel M. Nelson, "The Everlasting Covenant", October Liahona

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Into the Black Hole

Into The Black Hole

   I’m in the black, I’m in the red,

It’s Friday and I shop til bed.

   The sales are big, or so they seem,

Is it real or just a scheme?

  If I add up all my savings

From my needed cravings,

  I’ll come out in the black and 

My budget will be on track.

  I need that hot air fryer

I’m such a prudent buyer.

  I saved thirty dollars there 

I can apply that to the chair.

  With the discount on that one

I can definitely outrun,

  My goal to save loads of money

And impress my frugal 'honey'.

Today is Black Friday and my e-mail box is overflowing with offers to save, save, save. Part of the stress of Christmas is money. I am saddened to hear the reports in the past of Christmas spending in the trillions. Will it be so this year? 

Something I have learned through experience is to make a budget and then have that money in my account to pay off the credit card within the month. That relieves the January blues but there is still the stress of giving to children and grandchildren. My grandchildren are almost all teenagers. Is it even possible to give them a meaningful gift?

And what about decorations and food?

My neighbor put free items out in front of their house during their move. Everyday I would look at a grapevine wreath, dusty and old. I finally took it home and made a fifty dollar wreath by cleaning the vines, re-decorating with greens and adding a tiny bit of bling, all for free.

I'm looking for more of those opportunities to make instead of buying. It isn't an easy endeavor and not always black and white. The gift may be thoughtful and kind but still under appreciated. Perhaps my rule should be to let go of the expectation once the gift is given. 

What money related goals do you have?

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How Do You Want To Feel At Thanksgiving?

Holiday Feelings

   How do I want to feel?

Do I have control over that? 

   Holidays are such a big deal

At times I feel like a door mat.

   Be sure to get enough gifts, 

Write cards to those I’ve forgotten.

   Make all the food on the lists,

If I don’t, I’ll feel rotten.

I’d like to feel welcoming,

  Calm, whole, and gracious.

I’d like to be strengthening,

 Heart open and spacious.

 What has to happen 

For me to feel like that? 

Gathering with family is on the horizon and maybe it's time to consider what you want to feel at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Last year at this time I had a phone visit with a life coach named Bonnie. She offered an introductory session for women with adult children who struggle to connect. 

She asked me two questions that I had difficulty answering.

How do you want to feel when you get together with your family?

What has to happen to help you feel that way?

We worked on thoughts that arise during family gatherings because really it is our thoughts that generate our feelings. Here are some negative thoughts that have arisen and might arise again during a family gathering.

"My house is dirty. I wish I was a better housekeeper."

"I really should have purchased more food."

"Why does that grandchild just sit in the corner on their phone?"

"I need to start washing dishes right away."

"Why doesn't anyone help?"

So, from these thoughts, I am inadequate, why are they doing that, I am not loved, feelings arise. But are these thoughts facts? No, they are perceptions which may or may not be true.

And then Bonnie challenged me to try some new thoughts. 

"I really want to show love to that grandchild in the corner."

"I am so grateful that my son and family traveled here to be with us."

"My daughter-in-law brought the best side dishes."

"I can't wait to go on a walk with their dogs."

These new thoughts brought a whole variety of feelings, such as; love, gratitude, anticipation of fun, and appreciation from my family.

That's what I wanted to feel! So, what had to happen to feel that way?

I had to change my thoughts. Bingo!

Easier said than done but, it worked. I had a great Thanksgiving last year and intend to carry that into the holiday season this year.

"You control how you show up in the world by controlling who you want to be."

Bonnie Lyman, Coaching

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The Story Of Magic

Christmas Magic

   My Papa surprised me one year

With a play house for my doll.

   The gift was hand-made and dear,

And came with one open wall.

  He made a rustic bed and chair, 

A dresser with tiny drawers,

  And to the attic, a small stair-

Led up to the outdoors.

   Magic is found in surprise,

And not in causation.

   It allows possibility to arise

Into our imagination.

                                       

   One of the five stories of Christmas is the story of magic. My definition of magic is "wonderful,; exciting; as in "what a magical moment", from the Oxford Languages Dictionary. Maybe you believe in Santa Claus, in tiny elves who make gifts, and in reindeer who fly all around the world delivering presents, or maybe you believe in a benevolent monk who surprises others with oranges and gingerbread at Christmas. Whatever magic resides in your past or even in your present it does bring warm memories and feelings of grand possibility. Here are some magic moments which I love remembering.

    Magic Others Created For Me

       One Christmas my grandmother made matching aprons for me and my doll Gretel. We both had pockets and inside she placed an embroidered hanky. Gretel's was adorably tiny.

       My daughter-in-law gave my son and I a gift of attending a  baking class together where we learned to make incredible pies. Being with him and doing the measuring, mixing, and rolling was so fun and I learned how inventive he was when he decorated the pie top.

       When my children were still little two huge packages appeared on our door on Christmas Eve. We were still new to the community and really had no idea who left the boxes. The magic was that the gifts matched the age and interests of each family member. It was uncanny. Who knew us that well?

     My husband secretly purchased a piece of art that I fell in love with during a gallery tour. It was painted by Donna Romero. He hung it on the wall on Christmas Eve and I was the last to notice. She told me later how he came back to purchase the painting and arranged to pick it up Christmas Eve Day.

  Magic I Created For Others

     I made a scavenger hunt for visiting family by taking pictures of little things downtown and then giving two groups the laminated thumbnail pictures and telling them there were prizes for the group that found them all. They had to text me a picture when they located the item.

     My daughter and I took two granddaughters to The Nutcracker Ballet in the city. The Pacific Northwest Ballet was decorated incredibly in the lobby and in the theater. Each granddaughter received a wooden Nutcracker from the gift store.

Magic That Just Happened

    The toy robot I purchased twenty years earlier still worked at Christmas and entertained my grandchildren for hours.

     The Christmas lights across the street lit up a pattern in my living room which sparkled and shined.

      

   My examples demonstrate that magic isn't made solely with money or surprises. Christmas magic is stored all year round and it finds outlets during the season when we allow possibilities to surface. It happens when we are paying attention to others instead of ourselves. Magic happens when we are turned outward.

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The Story Of Abundance

Too Much

  Shall we buy a string of lights?

    Oh, no, let’s buy six.

  Shall we get some candles?

    Oh, yes, let’s get five.

  Shall we bake a pie?

     Oh, no, let’s bake four.

   Shall we get a Christmas tree

     Oh, yes, let’s buy three.

   Shall we roast a turkey?

     Oh, no, let’s do prime rib, too.

  Shall we celebrate this day together?

     Just one day? Let’s do the whole week.

The Story of Abundance is a problematic story, in my opinion. Yes, the decorating of shop windows is festive and fun. I especially enjoy driving through my tiny town at 6:00 am, when no one is there except the lights. The Bookshop has a window with a easy chair and little table piled with new books. Warm light from an antique lamp shines on the scene. The Pharmacy windows are a blaze with twinkle lights, highlighting fancy plates and decorative linens.

    But, the expectation of giving more and more leads to a franticness inside of me and a desperate feeling of inadequacy. My house is not festive enough, just look at that street of lights. My tree is not big enough, just look how our neighbor decorates. My gifts are too practical, just look how my relative creates magic for everyone.

Abundance is a positive word. It means we have more than enough and actually I live in abundance year round. Is there something of which I need more? More satiety, more outward caring, and more time with Jesus. He gives abundantly and entreats us to take His yoke upon us. That has never sounded attractive. Aren't we all part of the yoke with which He carries our weaknesses, our rebellions, our lack? Seems too much.

But yet, He says His burden is light? How can that be?

The answer seems to be LOVE.

Jesus has an abundance of love.

His love makes burdens LIGHT.

Shall we spread some love like Jesus this year?

Yes, let's give more.

"The key is to work out which elements of the story (of abundance) bring you genuine joy and them, then let go of the rest, rather than get sucked into the materialistic whirlwind."

Beth Kempton, Calm Christmas

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The Story Of Connection

 

                                                                                     The Missing Tree

 The day I bought the baby grand

A Christmas custom vanished.

  The tree which made our room expand 

Was now utterly banished.

Instead of boughs of twinkling lights

 The twinkling, turned tinkling onto keys.

A shinning plastic tree, displayed at nights

  Atop the black lid, did not quite please.

I piled the Christmas gifts underside,

 Consoled myself with proper tone.

The better compromise was implied 

  As melody ascended the throne.

One way families connect at Christmas is through the Christmas tree. For some the picking of the tree is going to a tree farm and actually choosing and cutting down a tree, for others it is visiting a lot and picking a tree, while still others dust off the artificial tree in the closet and bring it back to it's original shape. 

Then there is the decorating. Old favorite ornaments come back, new ones are sometimes handmade from clay or paper. All of these traditions bring connection which is a most important story of Christmas. 

When we moved the baby grand piano into our small house it dominated the living room. While we no longer purchased a real, floor to ceiling tree, we turned to making more music at Christmas. Now the grandchildren hammer out Jingle Bells as soon as they walk through the door. 

No matter what connects us to loved ones, gathering, feasting, or gift giving, it helps to slow down and enjoy the moments. Look at faces, feel the excitement of others, hold a hand, or listen more intently, these acts of turning outward will strengthen connection. 

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Three Symbols Of My Christmas Heritage

                           My Christmas Story of Faith grew out of my Christmas Story of Heritage

Christmas Sense

  Sappy, sticky, evergreen boughs,

A soapy smell, mingled with earth.

  Cinnamon, ginger, better somehow

When vanilla allows them birth.

  Smoky, sizzling heat from candles

Tucked into pockets of green pine,

   While Messiah music from Handel’s

Genius, lights spirit stars, as a sign,

  He is coming. I smell it, hear it,

Touch it, as I knead the dough,

  All the planing helps me commit

To receiving Him, quiet and slow.

My mother introduced three symbols of Christmas to me which still resonant for me today. The Christmas story from the Holy Bible,  the advent celebrations and wreath, and the making of Pefferkuchen, along with other baked treats.

The old German script in my mother's bible was almost impossible to read because I didn't have much training in the style. But, I loved hearing my brother read the opening lines of Luke 2.

Es begab sich aber zu der Zeit, daß ein Gebot von dem Kaiser Augustus ausging, daß alle Welt geschätzt würde.

Each Sunday before Christmas we would read from the New Testament and sometimes from the prophet Isaiah. These scriptural passages brought the anticipation for the Coming of Jesus and became a spiritual foundation for my Christmas celebration.

The advent wreath was a creative craft for my mother. Each year she gathered boughs, pinecones, and ribbons to intertwine through a wire base. Then she would wire on four new candles, one for every Sunday. 

And lastly, she gathered the long list of ingredients to make Pefferkuchen, sometimes called Lebkuchen. 

The fragrance of anise, cardamon, cinnamon, and allspice filled the kitchen. Sometimes my father would carve figures and animals out of the dough. They were prized by me when it came time to eat them. My mother stored them in the cool basement so they were made at the end of November. 

These are the ingredients of my Christmas heritage story. I improvise with these basics and make new activities each year. I like to change things now and then but my heart calls for these three symbols.

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Gathering For A Calm Christmas

 In order to have a calm Christmas some ingredients must be gathered together.

Yesterday I ordered 25 new candles for my Emanuel Wreath, dusted off the Cable and Cotton lights, and searched for my favorite advent guide. It seems early but day to day life often gets in the way of gathering supplies. If I have everything ready then I'm not tempted to re-purchase supples that I can't find in the last moment. Of the Five Stories of Christmas the Faith Story is most important to me. Each year I add another layer of experience to the many sacred Christmas memories of the past. 

In my memories, my mother gathered Christmas together early. She bustled about in November buying a little of the spices, nuts, and chocolate for the coming weeks. She always made the Advent wreath herself which meant gathering boughs and pinecones, ribbons and candles. So much of Christmas is preparation, sacred and secret. 

Before

Before Mary set out for Bethlehem

What preparations did she make?

Did she ponder making Him a diadem?

A crown, to honor his namesake?

Did she make the swaddling clothes,

Of borrow them from a cousin?

What details did she choose not to disclose?

Were they a few or maybe a dozen?

I gather the objects that bring the story

Into my time and into my space,

Light, scents, reminders of his glory,

Things that testify of His grace.

"What we need is a way to marry what matters to us with what matters to those we love, and let go of the rest."

Beth Kempton, A Calm Christmas

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Calm Christmas

"I have learned that a calm Christmas is usually a good Christmas, which leads to a happy new year."

A Calm Christmas by Beth Kempton

Christmas can be a difficult time for me. I am deeply in love with the religious source of this holiday but as a secular season I can often be overwhelmed by shopping, decorating, and cooking. Some years my stomach seizes up thinking about my unrealistic goals. 

At this time of year I have a beautiful book to guide me through this season.

I would love to share my favorites parts with you and hope you might like to buy it yourself. Every Monday I will write a post about my discoveries on this beloved subject. Here is the table of contents from Beth's book to give you some sense of what she writes about.

 I am writing about each section. This is a landing page and come back to read other posts

Anticipation Before Christmas

The Five Stories of Christmas 

Gathering Supplies For a Calm Christmas

Three Symbols Of My Christmas Heritage

The Story Of Connection

The Story Of Abundance

The Story Of Magic

How Do You Want To Feel At Thanksgiving And Christmas?

Mission Christmas

Into The Black Hole

More Jesus In My Faith Story

Into His Rest

Hesed Between Father And Son

Jesus and His Mother

Will Nicodemus See

Baptism By John

Come And See

The Well

Wilt Thou Be Made Whole

The Bread Of Life

Fearful

He Hath Sent me

His Yoke Is Easy

Neither Do I Condemn You

Being In The Sheepfold

Eyes To See

The Anointed One

Christmas Past

Anticipation- One Week Away

The Shortest Day

Celebration During Christmas

Mindful Gifting

Heart and Hearth

Honoring The Melancholy

The Holy Night

Manifestations After Christmas

Savor the Hush

Reflecting

A Glimpse of The Next Year

To a merrier Christmas and a happier New Year.

  

Some Of My Things Part 10

 The Memoir

I had a dream of creating some books to encourage family members to write their life stories. The books would have writing prompts and places for pictures. Tutor The Heart Publications was my own invention and I did a limited run, printing, collating and binding them at my local print shop. 

My mother-in-law Beth was the first to send her’s back to me completely finished from the Texas panhandle. I was so impressed! She included stories, pictures, no one had actually seen before, and even recipes. Why did she spend so much effort and time on this project? Well, she had a deep love for us but also a very deep love for teaching her children about their ancestors. She worked tirelessly on genealogy research and made multiple copies of everything so that each child had their own copy. 

My children loved the stories she told about their dad. She thought his building model airplanes was very interesting. Once they were finished he hung them from the ceiling and she would navigate through the airplanes when cleaning his room. She laughingly recounted how he climbed up on the roof and jumped from there onto the trampoline. While these stories were not all in her Cherished Memories Book she did include a hilarious story about her father and the run-away car.

I can imagine her voice telling the story with occasional “ya’al’s” thrown in and the phrase “ya’al’s lil’ doll” used to describe her grandbabies. 

Beth was an excellent cook. She didn’t describe herself that way but what made her excellent was her consistent use of the recipe. She followed directions exactly. My husband could never understand why my dishes were always a little different because his mother’s recipes were always the same. Improvising was unthinkable and unnecessary. When she came to visit she always brought her recipe file in case she could cook us dinner. Along with her recipes she sometimes brought ingredients that might be unavailable where we lived. We often made a trip to the grocery store to purchase a forgotten item while making dinner. How different from my mother who only went shopping on Fridays. No other days, just Friday.

The Southern Peach Coffee Cake was included in her memories book. The secret ingredient was a tablespoon of butterscotch pudding powder. During the 1960's an 70's canned goods were a staple 

Tall, proper, and always gracious are words I would use to describe her. I learned to be grateful when I was with her because she exhibited gratitude in both speech and behavior.  She was a cheerleader for all her family, lauding achievements of others and encouraging us to be better. I am not surprised that she speedily returned the empty memories book full of her stories and charm. She did it out of love.