Christmas Visions

"Mimi," our granddaughter Bethany began, "Would you like to hear the cantata our church presented last week?"

Of course, I would! She was a participant! Bethany pulled up the video of the performance on our  television screen, and when the second presentation came on, my husband and I found ourselves surprisingly singing along snatches of "The Night the Angels Sang." The memories and long forgotten words of the song came back as we remembered our long-ago church putting on this cantata!

How we practiced to perfection night after night under the guidance of our concert pianist! Over and over, we rehearsed the lovely piece until at last it met her satisfaction!

"I remember I finally got the last note right," Howard said as we viewed it last night.

Another treat we had a few nights ago was watching a video on YouTube of our son, Jamie (aka Benjamin) preaching at his church in Texas. We were so proud, thankful and grateful as he presented his message, "Peace and Wonder."  In it, he stressed those attributes as they relate to us today.

Finally, we were pleased with the filmed photography story of our granddaughter Corrin's wedding to David Wallace several weeks ago. All the beauty, hopefulness, and anticipation of a new life together captured our hearts for the young couple. Expressive, deep hugs were given as parents released their loved ones to each other.

Especially touching to me was to see the bride's father releasing his daughter to take the bridegroom's arm as they prepared to repeat their vows. The jubilation was palpable as joy and celebration followed with the young and old smiling, congratulating and enjoying the party.

I couldn't help but think how all these events reflect our Father's plan: The angels singing, the wonderful sermon of "Peace and Wonder," and the beautiful wedding, a picture of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, Revelation 19:7-9, "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his bride has made herself ready.

And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.

And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God"

Christmas Joys!

Last night was the children's Christmas play at church.  I looked forward eagerly to their presentation, and I was rewarded with a captivating, hilarious and earnest tableau from the innocents. How heart-warming and guileless they were as they wriggled, pushed away charming, too-long bangs from eyes, twisted a dress, or  tugged on a T-shirt bearing the manger scene created by their director, our granddaughter Michaela.

Their sweet voices filled the air as they sang traditional Christmas melodies, all the while doing the motions, being with a jingling bell, raised hands, or other practiced movements, keeping their adoring audience  of  parents, grand-parents and friends enthralled. Songs were interspersed with readings of the Christmas story, by "Grandpa" (the church pastor), and scriptures from a precocious young reader.

Refreshments with finger foods brought by church ladies followed the program, extending the delightful evening with warm chatter and visiting in a full dining area. As we were preparing to leave, an elderly lady approached us with a Christmas-y box full of homemade treats and goodies.

"I just wanted to give you this," she said to my husband with a tremulous smile, "because I enjoyed your sermon so much last Sunday!"

What a sweet gesture! Howard had preached a week ago and had received many words of appreciation from the kind church folks!

After church earlier that day, our granddaughter Bethany called and set up a lunch meeting for us and her kids who attend another church.  We enjoyed it so much, as we are still unfamiliar with so much of the area here. After a satisfying, tasty meal when we were making preparations to leave, diners from an adjacent booth stopped and remarked about the children.

"They are so precious!" the elderly ladies exclaimed, wanting to know their ages and admiring them. Bethany's boys are three and seven, while a little visiting cousin is also three.

"I never had any children," one of the quite-old ladies said. Seeing this row of little boys had caught her attention and  the wonder of little ones.

Two more days until Christmas actually arrives, but the warmth and anticipation in the air is palpable as we celebrate the most important event in history, the birth of Jesus!

The High Note!

Today Howard preached his first sermon in five or six years! We were so pleased that he was afforded this opportunity! Plans were made for he and two of our granddaughters, Sarah and Bethany, to sing a special song before he preached. They had practiced until they found their efforts were satisfactory, and the girls stood waiting for the guitar on Paw Paw's lap to give the opening strum.

However,  my full-of-not-preaching for several years husband launched into his subject with introductory incidents and testimonies from the past. His granddaughters were patiently shifting from one foot to the other, until at last he joined them in the song.

Soon my spouse was preaching in earnest, bringing forth stories and examples of reaching the "High Note" in seeking God and earnest worship. He mentioned the preacher in the Azusa Street's outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the last century. To deflect attention to himself, the long ago preacher would put a box over his head as he preached, preferring that God get all the glory from the message he brought forth.

Other examples of seekers reaching the "High Note" were brought out as the congregation praised in worship, laughed in joy or eagerly listened to the sermon.  Finally, today's speaker gave his testimony of narrowly escaping death when he was held up at gun-point by an intruder at the furniture store he managed in New Orleans. He had already been aware of several robberies in the area where the proprietors or employees were shot and killed.

As my husband was able to reach the telephone when the bandit left, he called the New Orleans Police Department Armed Robbery Division and was put on hold momentarily.  Suddenly he heard a voice that he knew came from God, saying, "I've kept you through two of these things, (which He had) and now I want you to go do what I've told you to do."

As related by my spouse, he knew in his heart he was supposed to be in ministry, but raising a family of six children seemed more important.  Nevertheless, Howard resigned the job, enrolled in ministry school, graduated after two years and started preaching. That was in the eighties, and he became Assistant pastor in two churches, Pastor of a church on the Mississippi coast, and served in other positions over the years.  He has reached the "High Note!"

Snow Day!

Snow! I couldn't believe the white stuff everywhere when I opened the door yesterday morning. Ugh! I didn't want snow! But as the morning wore on and the sun came out, I recognized the beauty of the snow!

Later, as I swept off the fluffy accumulation on our porch and steps, I was actually enjoying it! The flakes sparkled like diamonds in the flurry of my broom.

Howard  had a doctor's appointment that afternoon, and as we drove along the curvy roads I noticed the frozen beauty of the roadside trees. Every bare branch and twig was coated with white, looking like crystalline straws of candy in a mesh of mystery. As we got nearer to town, cultivated hedges and evergreen shrubs dripped with ermine cloaks of perfectly symmetrical swaths of snow on their dark shoulders.

Many scriptures in the Bible speak of snow. Job 38:22 reads, "Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? Or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail?"

Psalm 147:16-17 tells us, "He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes. He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?"

Verse 18 goes on to say, "He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow."

Howard had a good report at the doctor's office, only to return in August, so we left in light spirits. We couldn't pass up a coffee shop on this cold afternoon, enjoying a steaming cup and an indulgent donut for the ride home, where I admired anew God's wonderful creation of snow!

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

We saw the movie, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, last night. It made me think of the program that was on TV and that my children watched when they were little. The soft-spoken star of the show was very gentle and appealing to his young audience.

The actor who portrayed Mr. Rogers had to learn to mimic the slow, deliberate speech that was the hallmark of Roger's personality.  In his trade-mark song, Fred Rogers emphasized the phrase, "Won't you be my neighbor?"

I got to thinking about what the Bible says about neighbors. The parable of the Good Samaritan was an illustration to a lawyer who asked how he would inherit eternal life, Luke 10:25. Jesus asked him what was written in the law about it. 

The lawyer answered by saying, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind,; and thy neighbor as thyself." Then he asked Jesus "Who is my neighbor?"

This led to the story of the Good Samaritan, which is about a traveler who was attacked, robbed, and left half dead. A priest saw him, but passed by, then a Levite noticed the wounded man, and passed by on the other side.  Finally, a Samaritan had mercy on the victim, took care of him and took him to an inn to recover.

Then Jesus asked, "Which of the three was neighbor to him who fell among thieves?" The man answered correctly, to which Jesus said, "Go and do likewise."

Fred Rogers learned to be compassionate at an early age. He was teased by other kids because he was chubby. His tormentors called him, Fat Freddy, and he never forgot the rejection, only determining to be kind to all.

Rogers was a talented musician, as was his wife, Joanne. They met in college, and had been married for 50 years. No doubt they were very good neighbors!

Like a Miracle on 34th Street!

"I can see!  I can see!" Howard awoke me by exclaiming. "I got up in the middle of the night and went to the kitchen to check my eyes, and I can see perfectly!"

Praise God! He had an appointment yesterday to see his eye doctor he had scheduled following a medical visit a few weeks ago. At that time, a needle was used in his eye to repair small aneurysms. This time, a laser beam was shot onto his retina! Hopefully, the treatment will be permanent.

I was allowed to stay in the room with Howard for the procedure, but I had to wear colored glasses to protect my eyes. The patient had to face the glaring beam, but thankfully the results were worth it!

My grateful husband couldn't wait to share the good news, and phoned all our kids early this morning. Greg, in Oklahoma, Trevor in Nevada, Mark in Austin, and tonight, Jamie in Texas and Amy in Georgia. Julie is local, but she is excited, too!

It reminded me of the Bible story of Jesus healing the blind man, John 9:1-12.  In Verse 25, when the Pharisees learned that Jesus healed the man by putting clay on his eyes, they called Jesus a sinner. The healed man answered and said, " Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see."

The doctor seemed sure of the results, for he said, "If you have to come back and have it re-done, there will be no charge!"

We were so excited that Howard would be able to drive safely downtown today and were ready to get into the car when our granddaughter Bethany showed up and offered to drive us. We enjoyed a great outing, still rejoicing in the good news! Thank you, Jesus!

Holidays: Holy days

What a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday we had! Prepping and shopping for days, pies baking, turkeys thawing, so many casseroles we couldn't count them. After all, there were only thirty of us gathered around tables set up in the church auditorium! Three young grands plus twelve greats under 9 years old kept the party going with their antics and play, enjoying each other's company.

Conversation lasted long and late over empty plates that soon gave way to sampling left-overs. Guitars materialized, songs recalled and harmonized, passing babies around on loving laps led to reflective lulls and laughter.

Before those who were picking up wraps were about to leave, our resident host suggested prayers for any who desired. What a worshipful time followed! Our out-of-town minister's families  joined with fervent prayers and prophecies, assurances, comfort and healing words. Sweet tears of consolation escaping lashes were not uncommon.

The party wasn't over, though, for we all congregated at a restaurant Friday night for another time of food and fellowship. Afterwards, those who weren't too tired traveled to the race-tracks at Bristol to see the Christmas lights and ride on the tracks.

Saturday morning found us at a pancake house send-off breakfast for our Texas family, who had a plane to catch.  Another breakfast good-bye followed Sunday morning for our daughter's Mississippi family.  Although her hunter son had not spotted a deer he had waited in hiding for, his disappointment was forgotten as home and his youth group loomed before them.

I froze left-over turkey and dressing, we are finishing off the pies, so tomorrow is another day. Now I am getting out Christmas decor, little white lights are illuminating winter compositions, and toy props crowd a wicker trunk.  Little grands are practicing Christmas carols for church programs as the real meaning of Christmas is taught and gifts anticipated, learning that Jesus is the greatest gift of all!