Farewell

Here we are at the end of 2011 and the end of my blog as well. As I consider stewardship of time, I think I need to use the hours on other things in 2012. Blogging consumes a lot of time, at least it has for me. It's had its place and purpose, and I'm glad I kept at it for the year, but it's time to put it aside.
I had three goals during the past year. The first was twofold--to pen thoughts that draw my own heart toward my eternal home and toward my brief earthly home, as well as to be an encouragement to others along the way. Another goal was to post most days, which actually happened, although December was rather lean. A third goal bore no fruit.
To those of you who let me know you were reading my blog--I thank you. That in itself was an encouragement to me. I hope you were encouraged as well. To those of you who let me know that you were encouraged, edified, or benefited in some way, I super-duper thank you! Oftentimes when I felt like quitting mid-stream for one reason or another, someone would let me know that something they'd read on Homeward was a blessing. Those who did that--you were such a blessing to me in return!
If you've just recently come across Homeward, do linger for awhile and explore a few posts. I hope something you read will be an encouragement to you.
May the days to come find us all preparing for our heavenly home and fulfilling first ministries within our earthly homes, helping others prepare for eternity as well. I hope to see you over there.

~ Vickie

Painting ~ Leave Taking, Charles Haigh Wood 1856-1927

The Christmas Ten Commandments

pixabay

A friend sent me the following that I'd like to share with you this Christmas Season.

THE CHRISTMAS TEN COMMANDMENTS

1. Thou shalt give thy heart to Christ. Let Him be at the top of thy Christmas list.

2. Thou shalt prepare thy soul for Christmas. Spend not so much on gifts that thy soul is forgotten.

3. Thou shalt not let Santa Claus replace Christ, thus robbing the day of its spiritual reality.

4. Thou shalt not burden the shop girl, the mailman, and the merchant with complaints and demands.  

5. Thou shalt give thyself with thy gift. This will increase its value a hundred fold, and he who receiveth it shall treasure it forever.

6. Thou shalt not value gifts received by their cost. Even the least expensive may signify love, and that is more priceless than silver and gold.

7. Thou shalt not neglect the needy. Share thy blessings with many who will go hungry and cold unless thou are generous.

8. Thou shalt not neglect thy church. Its services highlight the true meaning of the season.

9. Thou shalt be as a little child. Not until thou has become in spirit as a little one art thou ready to enter into the kingdom of Heaven.

10. Thou shall not forget to share your joy, peace and faith with those around you.

 ~Author Unknown

Image ~ Merry Christmas, Flash Buddy via pixabay
CC0 Creative Commons

The Source of Song

When I awake of the morning, I like to get a nugget to ponder until my quiet time. Sharing with you today a thought from David Jeremiah that I read this morning----

Christianity is a religion of song. Agnosticism has no carols. Confucianism and Brahmanism have no anthems or alleluias. Dreary, weird dirges reveal no hope for the present or for the future. Christianity however, is filled with music. Only the message of Christ puts a song in a person's heart.

When you have Christ in your heart something changes inside of you and a melody starts to form that you can't really control. It is unlike any other belief system.

As we read the stories of Christmas in the Book of Luke, we find six different songs recorded almost back-to-back:

• the "Beatitude of Elizabeth," when she was visited by Mary
• the "Magnificat of Mary," Mary's song
• the "Benedictus of Zacharias," the father of John the Baptist
• the "Song of Simeon," when he was presented with the Christ Child at the temple
• the "Evangel Song" of the angel of the Lord over the plains
• and finally, the "Gloria" of the angelic hosts.

When Jesus came into the world, music was reborn.

~ from Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God

Painting ~ Girls at the Piano 1892, Pierrie Auguste Renoir 1841-1919
Wiki Commons public domain

Ironing and Listening

Today is ironing day, and I listened in to Revive Our Hearts to pass the time. Nancy Leigh DeMoss is pointing our thoughts toward Christ in this Christmas season. The title of the series is Zechariah's Hymn, someone we seldom hear about in the Christmas story. But here we see clearly the themes of redemption and salvation as God visits earth.

Nancy says,

So as we approach this season where we celebrate, we remember, we rejoice in the advent, the first coming of Christ to this earth, we join with saints of old, such as Zechariah, in singing and saying from our hearts, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people."

Painting ~ Woman Ironing, Armand Gautier 1825-1924

Wiki Gallery public domain

The Simple Woman's Daybook

On Saturdays I reflect on simple thoughts and simple pleasures. My leads are somewhat similar to others in The Simple Woman's Daybook group, yet a bit different as well.  
 

Outside my window...
Christmas lights reminding me that Jesus is the Light of the World. We got our outside decorations up today. Sometime this week we'll put up the tree.

A Picture to Share...

 
Mary and Joseph in our front garden. Actually, he looks like a shepherd, doesn't he?

Learning...
To let God bring whatever things into my life where He wants my involvement and to be content in the rest of a measure in the symphony of life.

   

From the sewing room...

I finished this wall quilt that I named "Garden Pathways" and hung it in the upstairs hallway. I practiced free motion quilting some viney leaves on it, but I think I hurried it too much. I did learn some of what not to do, though, and to take my time and be patient with the process.
 
This coming week I'm looking forward to...

Making sugar cookies for My Beloved--his favorite.

From the kitchen...

Made some biscotti while visiting with my parents. Sharing the recipe. It's originally from bettycrocker.com, but I thought it was much too dry, so I tweaked it some. Here's my version.

Orange-Almond Biscotti
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
3 eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted and chopped

1. Heat oven to 350 F.
2. Stir together sugar, butter, orange peel and eggs vigorously in large bowl until creamy and well blended. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt and almonds. Shape half of the dough at a time into rectangle, 10 x 3 inches, on ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake about 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
4.  Cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Place slices cut side down on cookie sheet.
5. Bake about 15 minutes or until crisp and light brown.Removed from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. 

Noticing the sound of...

The vaporizer bubbling away. A soothing sound. I've tended to get nosebleeds easily the past few years in the dry air of winter. The vaporizer helps tremendously.

Thinking...

 That there is great mystery is the incarnation of Jesus Christ. If you haven't read The Incomparable Christ by J. Oswald Sanders, I recommend it to you.

Thankful...

For My Beloved. A friend gave me some pictures of our family taken a few years back, which brought to mind how much we've changed--in several ways. My love for him grows deeper, and I feel the same from him. I'm thankful for another Christmas together. I was reading a blog today of a woman whose husband recently died. She is having a difficult time of it, this first Christmas alone, with sorrow upon sorrow. It's only by God's grace that any of us see the good of life in times like that, but I don't think she knows Him.

Around the house...
The closets that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago--I MUST get to those this week!

A thought from my Quiet Time...

From 1 Thessalonians  5:23--Now may the God of peace sanctify you entirely. 

Sanctification is a quiet work. A quiet work within. A quiet work wrought by God. The God of peace.

Sanctification is that process of being set apart for God. He begins our sanctification at the point of salvation, and He will complete it in its entirety. Yet He interweaves His grace and power with His exhortations to holiness in daily living:

• v. 11 - encourage one another and build one another up
• v. 12 - appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord
• v. 14 - admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone
• v. 15 - do not repay evil for evil, but seek after that which is good for one another
• v. 16 - rejoice always
• v. 17 - pray without ceasing
• v. 18 - in everything give thanks
• v. 19 - do not quench the spirit
• v. 20 - do not despise prophetic utterances
• v. 21 - examine everything carefully, hold fast to that which is good
• v. 22 - abstain from every form of evil

These we are to be diligent about in the process of sanctification. Yet it is God who brings us to maturity, who sanctifies us wholly, entirely. He is the source and author of sanctification, and without Him we can do nothing.

 

Currently reading...

An Amish Christmas by Cynthia Keller.  It caught my eye at the library when I stopped in for some children's books. Just a couple of chapters into it. I'm typically not fond of fiction, but I am fond of the Amish, so I thought I'd get a little glimpse into what someone thinks they do to keep our current culture's Christmas at bay.

Home Again

Toast on the Hearth, Carlton Alfred Smith

Getting back into routine after being away for a few days for a Christmas visit with my parents and sisters in Alabama. Amidst the baking of three batches of biscotti to share and other holiday goings on, Mom and I enjoyed going to her favorite quilt shop and starting to work on her wall quilt. I turned a little coupon money into a few lovely cuts of fabric. It's fun to visit quilt shops and to savor their individual character. The weather was unusually good this time of the year for traveling, and although distance is no friend to families for a lot of reasons,  I'm thankful for interstates and scenic back roads. Looking forward to a visit with my daughters right after Christmas and hoping the weather is conducive to their travel as well. Many times they've come or gone over treacherous conditions.

I was chatting with the postal clerk yesterday as I dropped off some Christmas cards, and we were discussing our current culture's Christmas. It takes a concerted effort to avoid it and to keep Christ as the center of celebration. I'm convinced staying out of the stores as much as possible is a great benefit toward that end. Oh, but that doesn't include quilt shops! I think one of the things I really like about them is the human touch that naturally goes with the fabric as we gladly offer labors of love through it.

Reading from The Incomparable Christ this morning and sharing just a brief paragraph with you.

The mystery of the incarnation will never be fully explained until "we know even as we are known." But it is not the only mystery in this mysterious world, as Lecerf said, "The presence of mystery is the footprint of the divine." We are daily surrounded by mysterious facts, which are facts nevertheless. We may not understand how Jesus could be at the same time fully divine and yet really human, but that need be no insuperable obstacle to faith. The fact has been believed by many of the greatest minds of the ages.

~ J. Oswald Sanders 

Painting ~ Toast on the Hearth, Carlton Alfred Smith 1853-1946
Wiki Commons public domain

Walking Toward the Beginning

I resonated with this thought from J.R. Miller. Perhaps some of you do as well. ~ ~ ~

Old age ought to be the most beautiful period of a good life. Yet not always is it so. There are elements in the experience of old age which make it hard to keep the inner life ever in a state of renewal. The bodily powers are decaying. The senses are growing dull. It is lonely. There is in memory a record of empty cribs and vacant chairs, of sacred mounds in the cemetery. The work of life has dropped from the hands. It is not easy to keep the joy in living in the heart in such experiences. Yet that is the problem of true Christian living. While the outward man decays, the inward man should be renewed day by day. This is possible, too, as many Christian old people have proved. Keeping near the heart of Christ is again, as always, the secret. Faith gives a new meaning to life. It is seen no more in its relation to earth and what is gone, but in its relation to immortality and what is to come. The Christian old man’s best days are not behind him, but always before him. He is walking, not toward the end, but toward the beginning. The dissolving of the earthly tabernacle is a pledge that the house not made with hands is almost ready.

~ J.R. Miller

Painting ~ Teasing the Kitten, Joseph Clark 1834-1926
via iamachild.com

My All-Sufficient Savior

My thoughts today come from the thread that runs throughout the Bible--Jesus Christ. From Genesis to Malachi we're told of the forthcoming of the One who would deliver His people from their sins. From the Gospel of Mark through the Gospel of John we see the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies, and from the book of Acts to Revelation we see the name of Jesus in all His radiant glory. Following are just a few of His names, titles, and characteristics.

As I stop and ponder on each one, I am reminded that He is my all-sufficient Savior.

The Lord
The Creator of All Things

The Everlasting Father

The Beginning and the Ending

The Life

The Word of God

The Word of Life

The Image of the Invisible God

The Man Christ Jesus

The Son of Man
His First Born Son

The Servant of the Father

A Man of Sorrows
The Lord Jesus Christ

Messiah, Which Is Called Christ

The Lamb of God
A Lamb Without Blemish and Without Spot
The Shepherd of the Sheep

The Door of the Sheep

The Great Shepherd

The Vine

The Tree of Life

The Bread of Life

The Rose of Sharon

The Lily of the Valleys

The Light of the World

The Bright and Morning Star

The Rock of My Strength

The Builder

The Foundation

Chief Cornerstone

A Ransom

The High Priest

The Mediator

The Intercessor

The Advocate

The Surety

The Chosen of God

The Redeemer

The Shiloh (Peace Maker)

The Truth

The Amen

The Just One

The Resurrection

The Deliverer

King of Kings

Lord of Peace

Lord of All

The Prince of Life

The Prince of Peace

The Righteous Judge

Lord of Lords

King Over All the Earth

The Gift of God

His Unspeakable Gift

The Savior of the World

"Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty which was, and is, and is to come."
Revelation 4:8

"Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever."
Hebrews 13:8

Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming

Lo, How a rose e'er blooming

From tender spring hath sprung!

Of Jesse's lineage coming,

As men of old have sung.

It came, a floweret bright,

Amid the cold of winter,

When half spent was the night.

Isaiah 'twas foretold it,

The Rose I have in mind

With Mary we behold it,

The Virgin mother kind

To show God's love aright,

She bore to men a Savior

When half spent was the night.

The shepherds heard the story 

Proclaimed by angels bright,

How Christ, the Lord of Glory

Was born on earth this night.

To Bethlehem they sped

And in the manger found him,

As angels heralds said.

This Flower, whose fragrance tender

With sweetness fills the air,

Dispels with glorious splendor

The darkness everywhere;

True man, yet very God,

From Sin and death he saves us,

And lightens every load.

----------------
 Traditional German Carol
1599

Photo ~Red Rose, Peggy Greb (USDA-ARS)

Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Thankful for What I Receive and What I Escape

Finishing up reading through Nancy Leigh DeMoss's book Choosing Gratitude. I read the book a couple of years ago as well during the Thanksgiving season, and God used Nancy to help me understand the importance of the attitude of gratitude, no matter my circumstances or feelings. I've come to realize that times when I pray and don't receive what I desire are in reality avenues of escape -- because God is sovereign and sees the beginning to the end. He may be shielding me from the consequences of what I desire, even though in itself and otherwise it may be a good thing. I long to view much more through the eyes of thankfulness. I'd like to share something that Nancy wrote that spoke to my heart.

Matthew Henry, the eighteenth-century Puritan preacher whose Bible commentary remains among the most popular of all time, was accosted by robbers while living in London.

Perhaps you've experienced this yourself--whether by having your car broken into or coming home to discover that your house had been burglarized. It's among the most unsettling things that can happen to a person. I'm sure it was, as well, for a quiet, thoughtful man of letters like Matthew Henry.

And yet, upon further reflection (as he wrote in his diary), he couldn't help but find something to be thankful for as a result of his misfortune: 

Let me be thankful, first, because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took my purse, they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed. 

What a perspective! As someone has said, "If you can't be thankful for what you receive, be thankful for what you escape."

It is simply true that the person who has chosen to make gratitude his or her mind-set and lifestyle can view anything -- anything! -- through the eyes of thankfulness. The whole world looks different when we do. And the one whose gratitude is Christian gratitude -- directed not toward good genes or good timing but toward God Himself--finds that she deepens her relationship with Him on many levels.

 ~ Nancy Leigh DeMoss from Choosing Gratitude


Painting ~ Sweet Solitude 1919, Edmund Blaire Leighton 1852-1922
Wikipedia Commons public domain
 

Thinking About Santa

I wrote in yesterday's post about some Christmas traditions that our family enjoyed over the years and shared a link with you to Revive Our Hearts with other women discussing their own traditions to keep the gospel central at Christmas. Elizabeth had shared the following with me some time back. Thought I'd pass these thoughts from Noel Piper along to you today.

Thinking About Santa
(Author: Noel Piper)

Over the years, we have chosen not to include Santa Claus in our Christmas stories and decorations. There are several reasons.

First, fairy tales are fun and we enjoy them, but we don't ask our children to believe them.

Second, we want our children to understand God as fully as they're able at whatever age they are. So we try to avoid anything that would delay or distort that understanding. It seems to us that celebrating with a mixture of Santa and manger will postpone a child's clear understanding of what the real truth of God is. It's very difficult for a young child to pick through a marble cake of part-truth and part-imagination to find the crumbs of reality.

Third, we think about how confusing it must be to a straight-thinking, uncritically-minded preschooler because Santa is so much like what we're trying all year to teach our children about God. Look, for example, at the "attributes" of Santa.

He's omniscient—he sees everything you do.
He rewards you if you're good.
He's omnipresent—at least, he can be everywhere in one night.
He gives you good gifts.
He's the most famous "old man in the sky" figure.
But at the deeper level that young children haven't reached yet in their understanding, he is not like God at all.

For example, does Santa really care if we're bad or good? Think of the most awful kid you can remember. Did he or she ever not get gifts from Santa?

What about Santa's spying and then rewarding you if you're good enough? That's not the way God operates. He gave us his gift—his Son—even though we weren't good at all. "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). He gave his gift to us to make us good, not because we had proved ourselves good enough.

Helping our children understand God as much as they're able at whatever age they are is our primary goal. But we've also seen some other encouraging effects of not including Santa in our celebration.

First, I think children are glad to realize that their parents, who live with them all year and know all the worst things about them, still show their love at Christmas. Isn't that more significant than a funny, old, make-believe man who drops in just once a year?

Second, I think most children know their family's usual giving patterns for birthday and special events. They tend to have an instinct about their family's typical spending levels and abilities. Knowing that their Christmas gifts come from the people they love, rather than from a bottomless sack, can help diminish the "I-want-this, give-me-that" syndrome.

And finally, when children know that God's generosity is reflected by God's people, it tends to encourage a sense of responsibility about helping make Christmas good for others.

Karsten, for example, worked hard on one gift in 1975. On that Christmas morning, his daddy stepped around a large, loose-flapped cardboard box to get to his chair at the breakfast table. "Where's Karsten?" he asked, expecting to see our excited three-year-old raring to leap into the day. Sitting down, I said, "He'll be here in a minute."

I nudged the box with my toe. From inside the carton, Karsten threw back the flaps and sprang to his full three-foot stature. "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them..." He had memorized Luke 2:8-20 as a gift for his dad. Karsten knew the real story.

In fact, a few days later, he and I were walking down the hall at the church we attended then. One of the older ladies leaned down to squeeze his pink, round cheek and asked, "What did Santa bring you?" Karsten's head jerked quickly toward me, and he whispered loudly, "Doesn't she know?"

(Adapted from Treasuring God in Our Traditions)

Image ~ Clkr free vector image via pixabay
CC0 Creative Commons

Creating Traditions That Point to the Gospel

 I didn't take this cold to church last night, so I spent the time listening to Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss. I had missed several days of broadcast, so I listened to three sessions while My Beloved was at church. Nancy had several ladies in the studio talking about Christmas traditions and making Christmas meaningful. A lot of good ideas were shared.

It's easy to get caught up in the makings of our current culture's Christmas, the shopping and decorating, the baking, all the special activities and expectations, and lose sight of celebrating the incarnation of the greatest gift - the Savior of the world. We learned many years ago that we have to be intentional in keeping Christ in Christmas. Otherwise, it becomes just a secular gift-giving holiday, turning merchant colors from red to black.

It's easy for children to think of Christmas as presents and santa and just tack on Christ's birth because, well, that's just the Christian thing to do (for those who do the Christian thing). We've never played santa, and if our daughters made Christmas lists, it was for what they were going to give to someone else, not what they wanted to receive. Our purpose in gift-giving reflected the gift-giving of the wise men and God's giving the greatest gift of all, His Son.

While we had a "blessing box" in which we shared the special blessings we received during the year, we also wanted to be a special blessing to those in need at Christmas. We usually chose a girl from the bus ministry at our church, and our daughters had great fun anonymously buying her clothes and items that they would enjoy receiving themselves. It was a special blessing when we'd see her wear her new clothes to church.

Christmas Eve has always been special, and still are when our daughters are home for the holiday. We have special goodies, but the best part is spending the evening reading the account of Christ's birth and singing Christmas carols. Then we open one gift before bed (and another if they could talk their daddy into it). It would take a couple of hours to open all the gifts on Christmas morning, not because there were so many, but because we opened them one by one, one person at a time, reflecting on the gift and the giver, trying it out, maybe trying it on, expressing appreciation.

Relating as much of the goings on of Christmas to the gospel message as we can helps to focus on Christ's birth. For example, we talk of the decorative lights as a reminder that Jesus is the light of the world. The red of Christmas reminds us that He was born to die for our sins. The green reminds us of our new birth because He came into the world to die and rise again. Gold speaks of the golden streets of Heaven, purple His royalty, white and snow His purity and that our sins shall be as white as snow if we know Him. Angels - Gabriel announcing Christ's birth. The star at the tree top - the star that led the shepherds to the Christ child. Bells ring out the good news of His birth. We always liked to have a manger scene that the children could move the pieces around. Wise men still seek Him. Our Christmas cards are an opportunity to share the gospel message.  And the music - carols and songs about the birth of Christ, not reindeer on the roof.

Joy to the world -- the Lord is come! Come, let us adore Him!

Painting ~ By Marcel Rieder (1862-1942) (Collection privée  Photographie by P.F. Rieder) 
Public domain via Wikimedia Commons