Pain and Thanksgiving

Here I am. I’m sitting with my little dog snuggled beside me-all cozy. I have the turkey parts cooking in the crock pot so we will have rich broth for the dressing. The bread is drying in the oven. In a couple or four hours I can go in and chop my celery, carrots, onion and bread to make the dressing. Then it will be done for tomorrow.

Rachael will soon come down and put together the cranberry salad. She will have to work today until MIDNIGHT. Then she has to get up tomorrow and work until five. How crazy is that!

And so Michael and I are going to be cooking turkey tomorrow. That should be a real trip. I’ll provide the brains and know how. He’ll provide the knees. It is so aggravating to know how to do so many things and not have the knees to take the multitude of little steps to get it done. I never realized how much stepping around was required to do something as simple as fixing a turkey!

I used to go through all the chopping and stirring and fixing without a thought. I would start from scratch and not sit down until the turkey was in the oven and everything was finished. Then I would clean up afterwards and, other than a little whine about being tired, I hardly even paused.

Now. Now I plan every step around the kitchen before I stand up. We are blessed with a very small kitchen. Rachael can practically stand in the center of it and cook a meal.  Well, not quite, but almost. Because I can’t swivel on my knees and take the necessary tiny quick steps I have to carefully plot the stages of every operation: Start here with the veggies from the fridge, scoot the plastic bowl full of those down the counter, across the stove, down the counter across the sink, pick up my favorite knife from the drawer, move all of that on to the bar where I can then go along and then around to the other side where I can sit down and do all the dicing, slicing and combining. Oh Wait! I forgot the cutting board. Now I have to get up and walk all the way around the corner and the fridge to the cupboard where we keep the cutting board. And oh yes, a couple paper towels might come in handy.. and a wet dish cloth to wipe up any smears or crumbs—especially onion juice. Now, back around to sit down and actually do the work.

Does that sound ridiculous? Yeah, it is. A normal cook would stand at the counter; pick up her instruments when she needed them, chop and slice, take the many tiny steps back and forth and around until her dish was assembled and in the oven. I never used to think about it. But now I simply cannot stand or walk that long. Some have thought, maybe still think, that my reluctance to stand and walk is due to laziness; they have never known the pain I walk with on every step. Those same people have attributed my weight to my laziness when actually the reverse is true. The weight gain came with the enforced sedentary life style after I was no longer able to walk and move freely. Oh well. What goes around comes around.

Meantime, Michael and I will  have a good time getting Thanksgiving dinner ready for Rachael tomorrow.

BTW,  Bilbo is now in Lake Town.  After the barrels floated down the channel from the elves' hall, they were collected and roped together in a raft and poled from the mouth of the channel down the river to Lake Town. I haven't had time to take him much forther...

good friday

They’re walking up Tome Hill this morning. Some started early, early and it’s only 5:30 now. Tome Hill is, I guess you would call it, a shrine. Catholic believers from all around make a pilgrimage on Good Friday to the top of it where there are crosses set up commemorating the hill of Golgotha.

Some carry heavy loads, posts, or crosses to the top of the hill and leave them there. Others just walk. I don’t suppose saying hundreds would be an exaggeration. Hundreds of people some with children, some with pets trailing them, some carrying water, some not, old, young and in between, some for 20, 25 miles away—they all walk up Tome Hill. To many it is an act of dedication, remorse, repentance, restitution, seeking for absolution of sin; for others, I’m sure, it is a tradition pursued in honor of not just Jesus, but past family members and commemoration of happenings long past. It is at the very least an impressive site.

I have divided feelings about the trek. The sentimental part of me finds a certain value in commemorating Christ’s suffering in this way. It is only a emotional self serving kind of feeling though. Call it self-gratification-doing something because it fulfills a need to be perceived as devoted to Christ and the Church, an admirable tradition perhaps remembering past years when the walk was made with much loved parents, grandparents, friends and family.

For many, though, the walk is one done as an act of contrition, as an atonement of sorts for committed sins and a sign of dedication to God. And here is where the sad part of it comes in. There is no atonement from God to be gained from subjecting the body to the privation of a long difficult walk to any place. Forgiveness comes only through true repentance. And true repentance can happen only between man and God. True repentance can only be achieved when sins are forsaken and the individual is changed.

To the child of God remembering the death of Christ bring heartache and tears. If the movie, The Passion of Christ, did anything good, it was to portray for thousands the reality of what Christ suffered for us. But for those thousands, it only brought a few minutes of tears and heartache; then it was forgotten. That suffering is of no effect if it is only remembered for a few minutes of empathy and sentimentality then forgotten throughout our daily lives.
For that great suffering to have meaning, it must take effect in our lives. It must result in our own sorrow and conviction and ultimately our repentence for sins. When that happens the cost of our sins will be paid by that suffering. Our love and gratitude will result in a deep and lasting change in the way we live.

Thank the Lord for a Savior! Thank the Lord for Saving Grace! Thank the Lord for enduring, keeping power that endures past a few days of sentimentality and self-imposed castigation and self-punishment that requires we return time after time and year after year seeking pardon!

Christ isn’t lying in a tomb. He isn’t hanging still on a cross with those horrific wounds. He came down from that cross to make a change in the hearts of men! He can and does and will live in your heart and mine!

gingerbread houses

I got a Pix message from Kerra the other day. Some background is needed before I tell the story.

When Seth and Keva were old enough for both to have some manual dexterity (Kindergarten for Seth) Kerra began a Christmas tradition of building a gingerbread house. She made the gingerbread, of course and assembled the house. Then the kids did the decoration.

The first time was at my house. Keva was pretty much able to apply her own decorations, but Seth and I collaborated on our two sides. He put the candies on and I helped with the fine details. Kerra has continued the tradition as the kids get older and the houses more elaborate. I used to have copies of the houses from each year on my phone, but I’ve replaced the phone at least once and I may have erased the one from last year even.

This year’s house I will keep for posterity. They built this fabulous hogan! I love it. Right now I only have one photo, but if more come I’ll come back and past them in this post. Traditional hogans have no windows and only a smoke hole in the top, so there wasn't a lot of room for embellishment. Theirs had a few flowers or scrolls or something and I don't know what the circles are on the sides. Still, grandmas aren't the most critical audiences in the world and I think it is great.

This absolutely has to be the FIRST gingerbread hogan in history!

mary, did you know, could you ever imagine?

I recently listened again to the song, "Mary, Did You Know?" I think it rates on the same page as “Silent Night” and “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem.” As always it struck a chord in my heart. I read an article someplace where the writer said 'I don't care what Mary thought or knew." He wanted to prove a point of some sort. I'm not sure what. But I believe that any woman who has ever held her first born child close in her arms and looked at the wonder of that tiny face and the delicate hands can relate directly to the thoughts that must have been going through Mary's mind as she 'kept all these things and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:18-19)

What overwhelming wonder that God would reveal this Child's birth to shepherds in the fields with a heavenly chorus! What a tremendous awe must have surrounded her to know that she held the Son of God in her arms, smoothed His silken hair and kissed His rose-petal skin! What a sense of humility to feel the responsibility that God had entrusted to her !

How overwhelming! God sent His most precious Son, to bear the sins of the world. But He sent him as a Babe in a manger that He might grow up and live as a Man. So that he might be Our Example, in all points tested as we are yet be without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

Take a minute to go watch the video: htp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1oHJR2g7Tw And think about the words: "Mary, Did you know. . . That your baby boy has walked where angels trod? And when you kiss your little boy You've kissed the face of God" It overwhelms me.

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Did you know
That your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know
That your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that youve delivered
Will soon deliver you

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Did you know
That your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know
That your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little boy
Youve kissed the face of god

Mary, did you know?
The blind will see
The deaf will hear
And the dead will live again
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of the lamb

Mary, did you know
That your baby boy is lord of all creation?
Did you know
That your baby boy will one day rules the nations?
Did you know
That your baby boy is heavens perfect lamb?
This sleeping child youre holding
Is the great I am
(Reba McEntire)

and now Christmas!

Now we enter the Christmas holidays.

I love Christmas time. I like the colors-red and green against white with the punctuations of gold and blue sparkles. I like the lights, all colors and all combinations. I like the sounds of Christmas songs everywhere. I hope for snow and cold crisp air every year. I like the decorations everywhere. I like the nativity scenes with shepherds and wise men mixed indiscriminately at the manger. I like the Santas in the department stores. I like all the fantasy surrounding the reindeer and the North Pole and the elves’ workshops. I like reading the Christmas story from Luke. I like reading the story of the ‘Littlest Angel.” I like reciting “Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house…” I even like the feelings of joy and good-will that seem to be generated whether true or false. I like the opportunity to give gifts to those we love and even those we think kindly of but neglect to acknowledge mostly. I like it all.

But every year I’m confronted with two sets of people who are both very militant in their feelings about Christmas. One group insists that we should not participate in Christmas celebrations at all because they are Pagan. The other group is affronted and angry because people are taking Christ out of Christmas by saying ‘happy holidays,’ and refusing to allow nativity scenes on public grounds. Both groups are missing the whole point of Christmas.

To those who say we shouldn’t even participate in Christmas I say, “Who other than the People of God who have been redeemed should be rejoicing in His Birth! We of all people should rejoice at His Birth!" Yes, I know the Baby didn’t redeem us, but the Man He grew to be did! His Life as a Man could never have happened had he not been born as a real baby and grew as a human, “subject to like passions” as we are.

The angels in heaven saw fit to rejoice and celebrate His Birth. The Lord hung a new star in the heavens to honor of it. The Magi traveled hundreds of miles to honor Him. Why is it wrong for us to celebrate it?

Why not observe it when the rest of the world does? The time opens wide the doors for witnessing about His Life and Death and Salvation. Give gifts with the Love God demonstrated in giving His Son. Rejoice with the elation of the angels and show good-will to all. Yes, we should demonstrate those feelings all year, I know that. Consider though: God loves us always and gives us good gifts always, yet He chose the birthday of Christ to demonstrate it especially, over and above other times. We need to do the same.

When those who call themselves the People of God are so nasty, yes, nasty and mean spirited, about the evil of observing Christmas they deny the very thing that makes us able to triumph over our flesh. The fact that Jesus was born and lived as a Man, is our example and an assurance of our ability to live the same way through His Power. It is something to rejoice over, not a time to pull righteous robes around our shoulders and cause friction and hard feelings. We destroy our message and witness with this kind of attitude.

Self righteousness creeps in so easily sometimes. I guess what strikes me as most deceptive about the position is that many times the ones who are so oppositional to celebrating Christmas have an “Appreciation Day” that they celebrate with their family and friends, ‘so the kids won’t be left out.’ Phooey! How hypocritical can we be?

Then there is the second group who go around bemoaning the fact that society is ‘taking Christ out of Christmas.” That is about as foolish as the first position. Once again their very attitude is belying the message they are trying to present. So what if people don’t want to say ‘Merry Christmas” ( I don’t like the idea of ‘making merry’ at Christmas anyway. It represents drunkenness and debauchery to me. I say “Happy Christmas” ) If someone says, ‘Happy Holidays” we can still put Christ right back in there and say “Merry Christmas.” But no, too often people preach a little sermon that falls on deaf ears because of the nastiness that creeps into the speech. They leave no witness at all.

We tend to forget that no one knows the exact date of Jesus Birth. The Catholic Church early on arbitrarily picked the date to celebrate Christ’s birth so it would coincide with the pagan winter rites. There is nothing sacred about December 25th. Why fuss? We want to promote good will to men, but then we turn right around and get all offended over celebrating His Birth! There’s just something very wrong with that attitude.

Others get all offended with someone who writes “Xmas.” They have “crossed out Jesus.” But an ‘X” was the symbol from early times for Christians and Christ. Why not use it for an opportunity to present Christ? They have already called more attention to Him by using the X than they would by just writing “Christmas.” Don’t be offended, rejoice! A door has been opened.

Someone griped to me the other day that people were calling the “Christmas tree” a ‘holiday bush.’ Again they were offended because it was taking Christ out of Christmas. Dear me! Do they know where the Christmas tree came from? Early pagans would cut branches of ever green and bring them into the house to be decorated with bright bits of metal and images of their gods. Even Jeremiah decried the pagan practice of bring in a tree and decorating it. Don’t get all hyped up because someone calls it a holiday bush. If you want to regard that beautiful erection in your living room during December each year as a Christmas tree, that’s okay with me. It has that meaning TO YOU. I think Christmas trees are pretty too, but again there is nothing sacred about the Christmas tree. They are not holy symbols. They are purely decorations!

On whichever side of the issue you may stand, be very careful of your attitude. Satan is using one of the most glorious events in human history to tear apart the Church and destroy its witness to the world. Instead of being a loud and abrasive noise, try being like Paul in the pantheon at Athens. He could have taken a nasty attitude from several directions. He chose rather to ignore the wholesale deception and evil all around him and seized the opportunity to preach Christ. He could have attacked their beliefs on all sides instead he stood up and said, “Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.”

However you stand regarding Christmas don’t get all wrapped up with defending and attacking and standing for. What a fantastic time of year to have an influence. People will listen now who might not listen at any other time of year! Just do like Paul and declare Jesus!

Thanksgiving is over

Whew! Thanksgiving is over.

For a retired lady with a very restricted life, it was a very busy time—mostly because it was busy for the people around me. Rachael and Michael (R & M) both worked up to the very day and Rachael had to work on Thanksgiving Day from 8 to 5. We had a very good day anyway. She made the cranberry salad Wednesday evening and I made the dressing and turkey on T-day.

We had broken up the bread while the cranberry salad was making and Thursday morning I chopped the veggies for the dressing and heated the broth to put together the dressing. That baked in the morning. Then about 3:00 I got the turkey ready. We had an abbreviated turkey this year. Rachael had a turkey breast in the freezer for months that she wanted out of there. But I like dark meat! So she bought a couple turkey legs and we had breast and legs, kind of a strange looking turkey. We still had more than enough turkey for us.

Michael invited the neighbor kid over for dinner on Thursday night. His grandparents recently came to live with his family and although Josh is going to school and was working full time up until just last spring, they are very critical of him. They had also been criticizing his dad who has a very good office job, but currently is hobbling around on a broken foot. He works full time, but the foot naturally limits his work at home for now. Anyway the grandparents were complaining that Josh and his dad were lazy and never did anything. Josh was very upset and rather than stay inside and cause even more trouble he was outside. Wise young man, if I do say so. So we had dinner with him and watched the football game. A typical American Thanksgiving.

(By the time Josh went home after the football game his mother had arrived home. She is a nurse and had been called in to work on Thanksgiving morning--:( I think maybe that was part of the grandparents’ problem. Her work disrupted the holiday. But by the time Josh went home she had talked to the grandparents and settled them down. Poor Josh. )

Rachael had to work again Friday morning and so did Michael. The two of them were planning to leave for Pittsburg for a wedding the same evening. They were both hustling around all evening but had everything together by about six o’clock. They left here and arrived in Pittsburg at nine something.

That left me alone for the weekend. I told some of my friends that I got to be a grown-up for three days! Better yet, I had all the Thanksgiving leftovers to myself! Now for some people that might be a Major Ugh, but I love cold turkey and cranberry salad and that was the major part of our leftovers. There was also a big pan of dressing, but I didn’t make much of a dent in that. I’d done enough carbs at dinner. So from Friday’s dinner to Sunday lunch I had turkey and cranberry salad! Mmmm. I took a brief break on Saturday morning to have fried eggs and a slice of ham, but lunch was back to turkey! I was so stingy with it that I only shared little bites with the dogs!

And my blood glucose readings stayed well under 120! Mostly they were between 98 and 107. That's pretty good for a holiday full of high carb foods.

So Thanksgiving is over for another year.

Thank you, Lord for all your blessings. In spite of the economy, my kids all have good and stable jobs. We all have good health. My grandkids are growing. My dogs are healthy. My cats are beautiful. My room is cozy and so inviting. My son calls me almost every morning. I have people here that I can do a little for when I start their coffee and put their eggs on to boil before work. I can be a witness for the Lord through the internet even though I can hardly get out at all. Life is full and it is good.