Author: LAH
Which Way Now, God?
Decorated trees are sprouting in living rooms around the country, carols are playing in the mall, and shoppers eagerly await packages from Amazon. It’s that time of year again—time for my birthday. As usual, we’re so busy with seasonal activities—Christmas parties, the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, more parties—that I barely have time to celebrate. That’s all right. In December, I prefer to focus on Someone else’s birthday.
As I’ve mentioned in the past, I tend to ignore New Year’s Eve and the start of the calendar year. It seems so arbitrary. Instead, I use my birthday as a time to mull over the year past and the year to come. What did God tell me to do last year? Did I do it? And what about the year to come? Is He directing me in any particular direction?
Grown-up Jesus
You know the words:
Away in a manger, no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.
The stars in the sky looked down where he lay, the little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes, but little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes;
I love thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky and stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay close by me forever, and love me, I pray;
bless all the dear children in thy tender care, and fit us for heaven to live with thee there.
With “Away in a Manger” running (and running… and running… ) through my head, it’s easy to focus on sweet baby Jesus, laying calmly in a bed of straw, never making a fuss even when he wets his swaddling cloths. That Jesus is easy to love. He’s non-threatening, making no demands on my time or resources. Baby Jesus doesn’t ask me to give up my pet sins. He doesn’t ask me to love the unlovable. He doesn’t ask me to lay down my life for His sake.
One-stop Christmas Shopping
You’re going to hate me. I’m already done with my Christmas shopping, and I had fun doing it! Since most of my shopping was done online, it was inevitable that I’d stumble across some totally cool items, something that would make the perfect gift—or at least stun the recipient. Unfortunately, none of them were quite right for anyone on my list. Since these finds are just too good to ignore, I’m passing them along to you. Who knows, maybe one of these is just what you’ve been looking for!
Banana Leaves Fresh (1 Lb) Bag 16oz Banana Leaves. I had no idea that you could buy banana leaves. Apparently, they’re an essential part of cooking and/or serving food in India, the Philippines, and other tropical locales. If you don’t want the real thing, you can get paper imitations. In fact, you can even get fake banana leaves with fake food on them (as illustrated here)! Where would you stick this banana leaf decal? If you get the real leaves, it would probably be a good idea to accompany them with an appropriate ethnic cookbook.
Free! Books!
Do you like to read? Do you like free stuff? Did you know that there are a zillion free books available for you to download to an e-reader? Here are four places to check:
David C. Cook. You’re probably familiar with their Sunday School curricula, as well as their Christian books. Did you know they often offer one or more new selections from their catalog for free? Simply visit their website. Today’s offering includes four books: Marriage Matters: Extraordinary change through ordinary moments, by Winston T. Smith, What’s Your Secret? Freedom Through Confession, by Aaron Stern (one of the pastors at our church!), truereligion: taking pieces of heaven to places of hell on earth, by Palmer Chinchen, and Touching Wonder: Recapturing the Awe of Christmas, by John Blasé.
The Morning After: Eating Healthy
Here we are, the day after Thanksgiving. Did you eat too much? Are you still feeling full? I, like many others, often throw out restraint on our national feast day, but the day after is another story. As I munch on leftover stuffing and sweet potatoes, my conscience is beginning to intrude on my carb-induced lethargy. It’s time to climb back onto the healthy food wagon before my cravings take over my life.
At the same time, Pete and I recently restructured our budget. I’m excited that we can finally plan our spending—he hasn’t missed a paycheck for an entire year now! Still, we’re not exactly flush (I’m looking for flexible employment), and our food budget is one area where we can conserve. The average person in the U.S. spends $7 per day on food. That works out to $420 per month to feed two people. We set our budget at only $300. (This is what we already spend, so we know we can do it.)
Be Thankful for More than Turkey
Thanksgiving. More and more, we’re calling it “Turkey Day.” Is Thanksgiving a holiday about eating as much turkey, stuffing, and pie as we can possibly handle? Has this holiday, like so many others, become so fixed on staying busy, keeping up our traditions, watching football, and buying stuff that we’re missing the point?
For the past few years my dad wasn’t well enough to travel, so we hosted Thanksgiving at our house. We invited friends, family, whoever needed a place to land, and I cleaned and shopped and cooked. Numbers varied, but we usually ended up with a dozen guests crowded around our table built for six. Somehow we made it work.
Let Trafficking Break Your Heart
Some books entertain, some educate or inform, and some make you want to leap out of your chair and do something! I just finished reading a book that screams for action.
A Walk Across the Sun, by Corban Addison, is fiction, but the underlying facts are real—and heartbreaking. The story follows two teenaged Indian sisters living near the beach south of Chennai. As the book begins, it’s December 26, 2004—the morning after Christmas—the last morning of life as they know it. The family had felt the earthquake the night before but, as no damage was done, it was soon forgotten. And then the waves come. Only the sisters survive. Soaked and bleeding, they stumble home only to discover the bodies of their beloved family. Their home has been destroyed, and with no food or water, they realize they cannot stay where they are.
Staying Available
Jump out of bed. Throw on workout clothes. Fry egg, drink tea, spend ten minutes reading the end of Colossians. Rush out the door, head for Curves. Dive into my 30 minute workout; spend 15 more stretching, then cool down for half an hour while chatting with some very interesting ladies. Drive home, clean up, throw on clean clothes. Write blog post, run out door for appointment downtown.
And on and on it goes.
How in the world did I get so busy? Why do I have so little time? And I only work part time! What if I had a job that took up 40 hours a week—or more?
It’s not just me. Everyone I know seems to be running at top speed. We fill our calendars then wonder why we feel so stressed. It’s an epidemic.
Not My Will…
I’ve been going to PT recently. It seems that as a result of lugging my heavy camera and computer gear around Swaziland, I’ve developed tendonitis in both elbows. In addition to the heat and cold and e-stim and other PT tricks, I’ve been given a number of exercises and stretches aimed at improving my posture and thus relieving stress on my arm muscles. I don’t mind the exercises—they’re pretty easy and relatively painless. But the stretches—they’re killing me! It seems I’m not as flexible as I used to be.
Compost 