A New Year and More Magnificent Grace
As I look over my list of posts I see that in November and December I started 3 posts that I never completed. I think this is the first time since I started my blog in 2010 that I have not posted at least 1 time every month. As with so many things the temptation is to stop completely. You have stopped exercising and you wonder, isn't walking the dog enough? You have changed your diet for health reasons but over the holidays you have slid back to your old ways. As long as you don't gain weight ,isn't that the only thing that matters? You no longer read your Bible daily using the plan your friend suggested and now you wonder if it matters anyway. Perhaps your old haphazard plan to read the Bible whenever was okay with God.
Just as I don't feel comfortable with any of these responses neither do I feel comfortable stopping the blog. For a long time I have been consciously aware of God's grace in my life. Since I started my blog I have had to discipline myself to be on a constant grace watch.
The past 2 months have been full of evidences of God's grace. To be honest I am much more aware of this fact looking back on the time rather than when I was living it. Thanksgiving we spent with our immediate family. 3 out of 4 of our children live within an hour of us. We usually see all of the Virginia family at least once a month. For our son Josh and his family it isn't a trek across country but a feat of patience traveling 95 which takes between 1 and 2 hours. Our son Chris travels all of about 15 minutes. Our daughter Jessica and her family travel by foot about 15 seconds as they cross over from their side of the house to our side. In spite of the closeness of these 3 and their spouses and the 5 almost 6 grandchildren, I still need the holidays to remind me of how blessed we are.
Our eldest daughter remains tucked away in Vermont far removed from family traditions. In spite of her absence I still marvel at not just the food spread before us (made by our lovely very pregnant daughter-in-law, Karin) but I also marvel at these boisterous bright children. What a privilege to know that not only do we bear the names Nana and Poppop but we have opportunities to live out those titles in the lives of our grands.
About 1 month later we were all together again, except for our daughter Laura. This time instead of Josh and Karin's home we were at our home. We unwrapped presents near the tree on which hung ornaments, many of which were markers of ages past. A small frame held a black and white picture of my parents as a young couple on the boardwalk at the beach. They were dressed up as was the custom then providing a true indication of the great difference between then and now. One ornament bore the date 1978 in green yarn, a gift from my mother to mark the arrival of our Laura from South Korea. Other ornaments bore pictures of our adult children at various points in their years of growth. A number of ornaments represent shepherds or other figures common to nativity scenes. Fluffy lambs adorn a few branches, a cute but somber reminder of the gift of all gifts, the lamb that was given to take away the sins of the world ( John 1:29)
Thanksgiving and Christmas take up two different squares on the calendar and in spite of their differences they hold a lot in common.
At Thanksgiving our giving of thanks is fleeting and shallow if it does not focus first of all on the wisest and most generous giver of all. As Christmas comes we exchange the Fall colors in our home for red and green. We put the pumpkins away and pull out the lights and a wreath. We become so immersed in the buying of gifts our vision becomes out of focus as we often overlook what's most important.
Perhaps we should think of Christmas as Thanksgiving, part 2. Both parts must be put in the context of the best gift, Jesus and the best giver, God the father. When we consciously live in this truth our vision becomes clearer and the cares of the world take their proper place. Romans 8:32 states this well.
He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Just as I don't feel comfortable with any of these responses neither do I feel comfortable stopping the blog. For a long time I have been consciously aware of God's grace in my life. Since I started my blog I have had to discipline myself to be on a constant grace watch.
The past 2 months have been full of evidences of God's grace. To be honest I am much more aware of this fact looking back on the time rather than when I was living it. Thanksgiving we spent with our immediate family. 3 out of 4 of our children live within an hour of us. We usually see all of the Virginia family at least once a month. For our son Josh and his family it isn't a trek across country but a feat of patience traveling 95 which takes between 1 and 2 hours. Our son Chris travels all of about 15 minutes. Our daughter Jessica and her family travel by foot about 15 seconds as they cross over from their side of the house to our side. In spite of the closeness of these 3 and their spouses and the 5 almost 6 grandchildren, I still need the holidays to remind me of how blessed we are.
Our eldest daughter remains tucked away in Vermont far removed from family traditions. In spite of her absence I still marvel at not just the food spread before us (made by our lovely very pregnant daughter-in-law, Karin) but I also marvel at these boisterous bright children. What a privilege to know that not only do we bear the names Nana and Poppop but we have opportunities to live out those titles in the lives of our grands.
About 1 month later we were all together again, except for our daughter Laura. This time instead of Josh and Karin's home we were at our home. We unwrapped presents near the tree on which hung ornaments, many of which were markers of ages past. A small frame held a black and white picture of my parents as a young couple on the boardwalk at the beach. They were dressed up as was the custom then providing a true indication of the great difference between then and now. One ornament bore the date 1978 in green yarn, a gift from my mother to mark the arrival of our Laura from South Korea. Other ornaments bore pictures of our adult children at various points in their years of growth. A number of ornaments represent shepherds or other figures common to nativity scenes. Fluffy lambs adorn a few branches, a cute but somber reminder of the gift of all gifts, the lamb that was given to take away the sins of the world ( John 1:29)
Thanksgiving and Christmas take up two different squares on the calendar and in spite of their differences they hold a lot in common.
At Thanksgiving our giving of thanks is fleeting and shallow if it does not focus first of all on the wisest and most generous giver of all. As Christmas comes we exchange the Fall colors in our home for red and green. We put the pumpkins away and pull out the lights and a wreath. We become so immersed in the buying of gifts our vision becomes out of focus as we often overlook what's most important.
Perhaps we should think of Christmas as Thanksgiving, part 2. Both parts must be put in the context of the best gift, Jesus and the best giver, God the father. When we consciously live in this truth our vision becomes clearer and the cares of the world take their proper place. Romans 8:32 states this well.
He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
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